They are very particular about the shades of foundations they use and wide range of facials confuse them. Well, here we are not talking of the look-conscious chicks, but of the soon-to-be-married men, who are not lagging behind these days when it comes to their wedding day make-up.

Give the credit to the metro-sexual actors of Bollywood or change in taste of the females that boys are, out of choice or compulsion, much more particular about their make up. The effort is maximum for their wedding day, when they make sure they put the right face forward to sweep the brides off their feet.

Right from skin to hair to eye brows, men are equally and rightfully careful. And pandering to this trend is the recent mushrooming of a number of male/unisex salon in the city. Much on the lines of bridal packages, groom packages also includes beauty regimes to be followed culminating with the grand D-day makeup.

"Grooms, along with taking care of their skin, also like to go in for complete relaxation treatments so that the mind and body is relaxed, helping to give a better result to the effect of make-up on their face," says Avinash Sharma, business development manager, The Four Fountains Spa.

The Spa manager observes, that grooms want more of looks enhancement. "We provide a lot of skin-lightening facials that enhance the clarity and brightness of the skin. Body polishing is also another package we deal with, which involves usage of mineral salt that helps in the exfoliation process of the skin best suited to the male requirement on such important occasions."

Meenakshi Lavatre, owner of Vasundhara Herbal Beauty Salon at Koregaon Park states, "Men, just like women, are very conscious about their looks especially on the special day and give a lot of preference to facials, bleaching, threading of eyebrows, waxing (chest), body polishing, aromatherapy, laser treatments, pigmentation and anti-wrinkle treatment, etc, which starts a month or two in advance. Application of make-up, especially on the marriage eve consists mostly of a heavy base of foundation and concealer to blot out pimples/acne and dark circles. "

"I gave a lot of importance to concealing my dark circles and acne. Under-eye wrinkles were also a small issue that had to be taken care of" says Siddharth Banerjee, a customer of Vasundhara beauty salon. But there are also small local gents' salons that cater to the minimal requirements of this upcoming trend byproviding invigoration at a reasonable cost. "I provide basic make-up and herbal/facial treatment for grooms, depending upon the skin type." Says Ajay Akhuj, owner of Ajinkya Gents Salon, Kondhwa, which caters to the middle class section of the society

Wasim Khalil, owner of the Excellence Saloon located at Aundh says, "Even though male grooming is an important concept nowadays and men are ready to spend heavily on upgrading their overall looks, most males prefer reasonable packages and services, which make them look the best, yet don't affect their pockets to a great extent," says Wasim. Brides,