For David Walker-Smith, the director of beauty at Selfridges, male concealer is only a beachhead. “We have tinted moisturiser, fake tan, eyebrow waxing ...” he tails off wistfully, considering what might have been if only men were not so conservative. “It's all there if they want it.”

He briefly stops talking to let Almantas Kiskuntas, the Baltic region's champion make-up artist of 2004, apply Yves Saint Laurent's new Touche Eclat for men under his eyes. Then he stands up, looks in the mirror - his top three buttons undone to reveal an immaculately waxed chest - and says to The Times: “Right, your turn.”

As far as the male beauty world is concerned, the arrival this weekend of Touche Eclat, the male analogue of the ubiquitous female concealer, is a sign that metrosexual man is becoming a profitable proposition. It joins guyliner and manscara - shamelessly punning additions in Superdrug's range of products - to fight over a male grooming market worth an estimated £700million a year.

With the market expected to defy the credit crunch to grow to almost £900 million next year, Yves Saint Laurent is confident that society is now ready for men in make-up. “Sure of himself and his masculinity, L'Homme Yves Saint Laurent imposes his own style,” the company says in a glossy pamphlet that uses the word “virile” a lot. “He knows that his power of seduction, composed of strength and sensitivity, makes him irresistible.” Mr Kiskuntas is about to make L'homme Times irresistible too. He brushes an orange powder around my eyes and under my nose and describes the virtues of the product. “This is unique, it is not for ladies. And it doesn't matter how much you put on, it will be invisible.”

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In a couple of minutes, the steady hand that once defeated the best make-up artists of Latvia and Estonia is done. I certainly don't look as if I have make-up on. I look, perhaps, a little brighter, less tired. Touche Eclat claims to use reflective particles to smooth out the appearance of tired areas, while appearing natural. The original product was released in 1992, and quickly became a staple of the fashion house's range.

A small powder puff of beauticians - if that is the correct collective noun - has gathered to watch. “You look a-ma-zing,” one says. The general feeling is that I am an airbrushed, smoother, better me. The response from colleagues later is rather different. The home editor stares and then declares that I look “well groomed”. The foreign news editor stares for even longer, and asks: “What's concealer?”

According to Mr Walker-Smith this is just hypocrisy. “I know a lot of men use these sort of products in secret,” he says. “They are embarrassed and often end up stealing their wife's or girlfriend's. Everyone wants to look their best.”

Just draw a line after guyliner

Lucy Bannerman, Commentary

On the sex appeal of men in make-up, I'm of the rock star school of thought. That is to say, “manscara” and “guyliner” good, foundation, concealer and all other products in need of an application brush, well, ever-so-slightly bad.

If worn by the right man, in the right way, eyeliner signals potentially attractive qualities - imaginative, unconventional, a crucial appreciation of David Bowie. Or possibly a roguish bon viveur who knows how to enjoy himself.

But the artificial radiance of Touch Eclat? It has all the sex appeal of Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian leader, whom I imagine is no stranger to the rejuvenating effects of Luminous Toffee Radiant touch No 4 - and is a perfect example of what can go wrong when make-up and machismo collide.

Rightly or wrongly, a man intent on expelling dark shadows will always seem slightly more vain or self-obsessed than the millions of women who wake up every morning thanking God for the magic make-up bag of tricks that helps us to present a slightly less scary front to the outside world.

It is the same principle applied to receding hairlines. Whether we prefer men bald or bouffant, I've yet to hear a woman exclaim, “Ooh, he looks so much fitter with that hairweave.” Far better to be seen not to care than be caught caring too much.