MORE MEN USING COSMETICS NEVER TOO OLD TO LOOK YOUNG.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer

A man's slide into middle age starts years earlier with the line across the forehead.

Next comes a spot on the cheek, followed by the hint of a crow's foot, then a wrinkle near the mouth. Soon, the chin loses its youthful jut and the hairline begins its march backward.

Dude, this is so uncool.

For years, makeup companies have made a fortune preying upon the female fear of aging. Now they're tapping into the male paranoia that wrinkled skin portends impending old age.

Alongside the legion of anti-aging products for women, cosmetics makers now hawk increasingly popular creams, gels and other concoctions to fight off the signs of age that besmirch young men's faces.

``If you look good, you think you perform better,'' said Fred Fisher, 57, of Northridge. ``If you look in the mirror and don't see liver spots, no crow's feet, the brow's OK, that's one more day you don't have to fight off retirement.''

Gone are the days of Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier or Richard Gere, men who could age gracefully without fear. Today's man heads toward maturity with reluctance and armed with green tea extract.

Just five years ago, there was nearly no market for such products. Today, major manufacturers such as L'Oreal Paris, Avon and Shiseido Men and hipster labels like Billy Dangerously and Jack Black alike sling the concoctions.

The ``cosmeceutical'' market -- which the research company Packaged Facts, the publishing division of MarketResearch.com, defines as skin products with both a cosmetic and therapeutic component -- accounted for $13.3 billion in sales last year, a 7 percent annual increase. That's up from $2.6 billion five years ago and should account for more than $17 billion annually by 2010. The men's market still remains an unquantified slice of the total, but represents a fast-growing niche for companies.

Packaged Facts' most recent report on the industry also notes that there were 103.2 million Americans aged 30-54 last year. The previous generation, aged 55-64, was 29.9 million in 2005, and will increase 19.3 percent to more than 35.4 million in 2010. As their temples gray and skin goes rough, the report suggests those people will become increasingly interested in staving off the years by reaching for a tube of youth.

``While boomers' vanity is expected to remain a driver of cosmeceuticals sales, it is important to realize that one's worry about wrinkles and sagging flesh peaks in middle-age,'' the company wrote in its report. ``Late middle-agers and seniors seem to know that only so much correction is possible ... .''

Fisher employs Rodan + Fields Anti-Age cream and an array of vitamins. Each month, the retiree spends between $50 and $80, money he considers an investment. Though his driver's license says otherwise, he insists he stopped aging at 23, which he attributes to his scrupulous maintenance of his skin.

For the guy who wants the fountain of youth at the cosmetics counter, anti-aging creams provide quick peace of mind concealed in nondescript tubes.

Mark Lantz, national fragrance market buyer for Nordstrom, said men have begun paying particular attention to their mouths and eyes, even before they're deep into the aging process.

``I'm amazed at how many guys come up to me asking things specifically about lines around their eyes,'' Lantz said. ``I had a guy come in looking for concealer for both him and his son, for their dark circles under their eyes.''

Whether given medicinal sounding names like Men's Expert Vita Lift from L'Oreal Paris or macho appellations like Ken Men Cosmetics' Battlescars, the products promise to reduce wrinkles and protect against the harsh effects of all-night benders and the sun's cruel rays.

Gentlemen above the age of 45 make up the largest target market, but companies also aim to lure consumers in their 20s who are beginning to question youth's fleeting nature.

It's not just vanity, either.

In an image-centric city like L.A., where both sexes lie about their age and plastic surgery shows up on holiday wish lists, projecting an air of young vigor takes on an added urgency.

``The years of drinking, partying and smoking have caught up with them and they were using their girlfriend's products,'' said Candice Rainey, associate editor for GQ Magazine.

``Guys want to look young, because being old means you're out of a job. They want to preserve their face, preserve their youth.

``There are so many products now, it's getting ridiculous.''

L'Oreal Paris was one of the first to set its sights upon the market, figuring it could capitalize on the recent trend in increasingly upscale men's grooming and shaving products.

The company supplemented its men's expert line with a pair of moisturizers and enlisted Kyan Douglas, grooming and beauty expert of television's ``Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,'' to serve as spokesman and consultant.

Part of the trick with makeup for men comes from developing proper formulation -- women's products are generally too oily for males -- but Douglas says there's a significant amount of psychology involved as well.

``When you're young, it feels like it'll last forever and you're never going to be old,'' he said. ``One day, you're looking in the mirror and you say, `Oh, my God.'''

Douglas had that moment of hard reality recently while experimenting with a 5 o'clock-shadow look. Upon closer examination in the bathroom, he discovered gray hair creeping into his whiskers. As he stood there, contemplating his chin, his thoughts echoed beyond just whether he should shave to whether he should make more meaningful decisions.

``For some reason, it got me thinking about my life,'' he said. ``OK, I'm 36, soon I'll be 40, what's my life all about, what's my legacy going to be? On some level, you start thinking about those deeper things.''

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

818-713-3738

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Fred Fisher towels off after working out at Divine Bodies Gym in Chatsworth, top. He works out at the gym to keep a youthful look. ``If you look good, you think you perform better,'' said Fisher, 57, of Northridge.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer