Driven by greater spending power and the desire to improve the quality of life, Chinese men are increasingly expanding their skin care regime 

It would appear that having a beauty regime is no longer exclusive to those of the fairer sex－even men are getting into the game.

Based on a report by Chinese firm Zhiyan Consulting, the size of the Chinese mainland male skin care and makeup market was worth 5.01 billion yuan ($758 million) in 2016, up from 2.06 billion yuan in 2010. The market is set to reach 6.48 billion yuan in 2019.

Another indication that men have been playing catch-up with women in this market is evidenced by how the per capita consumption disparity for beauty products between the two sexes has narrowed to 13.7 yuan, down from 26.6 yuan in 2014, according to Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.

Liu Cong, a professional makeup artist with Trevor Sorbie, said that male customers have in recent years been paying more attention to skin care practices, including using moisturizing and anti-aging products. He noted that many men today also use makeup to improve their appearance.

"In the past, men only cared about whether their face looked clean, so shaving was the only form of skin care," he notes.