Hands off! Metrosexual men are costing their partners £234 a year using their beauty products AND they have expensive tastes

A man who looks after his skin is a quality millions of women admire in their partners these days.

Yet having a man who takes time to moisturise is one thing, while using your most luxurious - and expensive - beauty products is quite another.

New research has today revealed that British men are using £234 worth of their partners' most expensive beauty products to pamper themselves with - and pretty much on a daily basis too.

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So if you were wondering why your favourite, most luxurious moisturiser - you know, the one you save for special occasions - seems to be diminishing at a frightening rate, it's probably because it's not just you using it.

Almost half of women surveyed revealed their man would turn their noses up at their cheaper beauty products and ALWAYS plump for their most expensive ones - with many having a penchant for favourites, such as Clarins, Avene and La Roche Posay.

That's not the only sting either, as a quarter reckoned their man was using far too much of their expensive lotions too.

Thanks to most metrosexual men having such expensive tastes, many women are having to fork out almost £20 a month as a result - thanks to their men using too much product at once.

Most women said their boyfriend or husband would regularly use day and night moisturiser, while over 1 in 5 said he would try to use their products sneakily when they weren’t looking.

Rakesh Aggarwal CEO of Escentual.com said: “Twenty years ago most men wouldn’t have dreamed of using a moisturiser but nowadays it is much more commonplace thanks to role models like David Beckham.

"But it’s clear that many men still haven’t got into the habit of actually buying their own beauty products and tend to use their partner’s moisturiser instead."

He added: “What is especially cheeky is that the men generally turned their nose up at cheaper high-street moisturisers and only want to use their girlfriend’s more expensive premium brands like Clarins and Avene.”

Of the British wives and girlfriends questioned in the Escentual.com survey, the main reason men weren't buying their own products was because they hated shopping.

Nearly 40 per cent said their boyfriend couldn’t be bothered to go to look around the shops to get their own skin-care products, while another 21 per cent said that he would be too embarrassed to buy moisturiser in a high-street shop and would hate his male friends to know that he buys beauty products.

Rakesh Aggarwal from Escentual.com said: “Clearly there is still some stigma attached for men to buy beauty products in public, but mainly it’s because guys hate going shopping. This is why we have seen a marked increase for men buying skin-care products online because that way they can avoid feeling awkward in a shop.”

Metrosexual Mans’ Top Five Moisturisers:

1. Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream
2. La Roche-Posay Effaclar H - Compensating Soothing Moisturiser
3. Vichy Aqualia Thermal 48hr Hydraton for Sensitive Skin Pot
4. Avene Rich Compensating Cream
5. DIOR Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Crème

Does your man pinch your moisturiser? Tell us over on Twitter now.