Just take a look at the celebrity brand ambassadors for Korean skin care and cosmetic brands, The Face Shop and Etude House.

Both have stores here.

The Face Shop's current face is Korean actor Bae Yong Joon, who first rose to fame in the hit 2002 drama Winter Sonata.

Korean actor Lee Min Ho, of TV drama Boys Over Flowers fame, is Etude House's face.

Both celebrities, with their longish locks and doe-eyed features, sport feminine looks.

Ms Sylvia Heng, The Face Shop's marketing supervisor said the recent ads which feature Yong Joon with long hair are aimed at projecting a "fresh, clean and healthy" look for the brand.

She said the company has received feedback that the ad made Yong Joon look feminine.

But, "there is more positive feedback on the whole," she added.

On whether pretty boys can take off in Singapore like in Korea, Ms Heng was not certain. She pointed out that only 15 per cent of the Singapore stores' customers are men.

In Korea, the percentage is higher, though she says she does not have exact figures.

Ms Heng said: "In Korea, both men and women are into using cosmetics and taking care of their looks so there are naturally more male customers, but in Singapore, it's different."

Not just a pretty face

Choosing a brand ambassador isn't a matter of selecting a pretty boy face over a masculine one either, she noted.

"We picked the celebrity who is suitable for our brand image, someone who is healthy-looking," she said.

Mr Bhakt Yap, in his 40s, the chief operating officer of Quest Model Management, said he has noticed more men styled in an androgynous manner.

He said: "Now the look that is popular on the streets is someone very lean, with features that are a bit feminine.

"But most guys may not go 'Hey I wear make-up' because they may fear being stereotyped as gay."

And for commercial models, the demand for the pretty-boy look is still limited, Mr Yap said.

Less than 3 per cent of his male models fit into that category, he said.

While pretty boys are good for advertisers who want to market products targeted at young customers, the type that is more in demand for his agency tends to be older - in their late 20s - and sports a more corporate look.

This article was first published in The New Paper.