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29-year-old Anthony Juarez of El Centro says his cologne collection takes up more space than his girlfriend's beauty care products. Juarez is a sales associate at Dillard's in the Imperial Valley Mall. (JULIO MORALES PHOTO / July 14, 2012) |
Confidence and character. That is what 19-year-old Gio Murillo said he is trying to project to those around him. And to do that, Murillo pays particularly close attention to his manner of dress and appearance.
As a salesperson at Don Roberto Jewelers in the Imperial Valley Mall, Murillo said he is well aware of how one’s appearance correlates with making a “good impression.”
“I think it’s always important to take pride in your appearance,” the El Centro resident said. “It says a lot about you.”
Having a father who also works in sales and has always paid close attention to his appearance also proved influential, Murillo said, noting that at a rather tender age he developed a taste for ironing his clothes, collared shirts and tapered haircuts.
Aside from dressing smartly for his full-time job, Murillo said he is also fond of weekly haircuts, daily applications of body wash and baby lotion as well as the occasional teeth-whitening strips.
“It makes me feel confident that I can take care of myself,” Murillo said.
Nor is Murillo alone. Latino men’s grooming habits reveal that they associate grooming products with personal confidence and attractiveness, a panel convened earlier this year by the Cosmetics Executive Women revealed.
Additionally, between 2000 and 2009, spending by Latino consumers on personal care products and services grew from $5.3 billion to $7.5
billion, an increase of 41 percent, according to an October report titled “The Latino Health and Beauty Care Market” by the consumer market research firm Packaged Facts. Spending by non-Latino consumers on personal care products and services grew during the same period by only 15 percent.
When it comes to Mexican Americans, pride in appearance is a longstanding tradition, 22-year-old Lorenzo Valdez said.
“It’s been a part of the culture since the beginning,” the Calexico resident said. “Think of the zoot suit pachucos.”
As a 12-year-old at his family’s gatherings he first noticed that it was time to leave his boyhood activities and their accompanying grime behind.
Older cousins, who tended to always smell good and dress in a “clean-looking cholo-style,” prompted Valdez to start paying more attention to his appearance.
“They were always interested in their hair cuts and their facial hair,” the Calexico resident said.
While Valdez said that clothes present his biggest budgetary demands, personal care products rank at the top, too, on account of his highly sensitive skin.
“More than anything it’s lotion,” he said. “It’s one of my main things.”
Compared to men in general, Latino men are also much more likely to use skin care products such as moisturizers and facial cleansing products, the report stated. Spending by Latinos on personal care products and services is also projected to reach $10.3 billion by 2016.
Describing himself as something of a Casanova type, 29-year-old Anthony Juarez said he is not as “high-maintenance” as he might have been during his days as a single.
Yet he readily admits that his large cologne collection rivals the contents of his girlfriend’s beauty care products.
As a sales associate at the Dillard’s department store in the mall, Juarez said keeping up his appearance is crucial for his type of job and dates back to his junior high school days when he first began to appreciate “fresh” haircuts and stylish clothes.
“Latinos like to look good and be in fashion,” the El Centro resident said, adding that for him the decision at a young age to take pride in his appearance stemmed from a desire “to get the girls.”
On Friday, Juarez and a co-worker could be seen checking out the Brow Design store in the mall and joking about using its eyebrow sculpting services. As it happens, about one in eight customers there is a male, a Brow Design female employee said.
Staff Writer, Copy Editor Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665 or at jmorales@ivpressonline.com
As a salesperson at Don Roberto Jewelers in the Imperial Valley Mall, Murillo said he is well aware of how one’s appearance correlates with making a “good impression.”
“I think it’s always important to take pride in your appearance,” the El Centro resident said. “It says a lot about you.”
Having a father who also works in sales and has always paid close attention to his appearance also proved influential, Murillo said, noting that at a rather tender age he developed a taste for ironing his clothes, collared shirts and tapered haircuts.
Aside from dressing smartly for his full-time job, Murillo said he is also fond of weekly haircuts, daily applications of body wash and baby lotion as well as the occasional teeth-whitening strips.
“It makes me feel confident that I can take care of myself,” Murillo said.
Nor is Murillo alone. Latino men’s grooming habits reveal that they associate grooming products with personal confidence and attractiveness, a panel convened earlier this year by the Cosmetics Executive Women revealed.
Additionally, between 2000 and 2009, spending by Latino consumers on personal care products and services grew from $5.3 billion to $7.5
billion, an increase of 41 percent, according to an October report titled “The Latino Health and Beauty Care Market” by the consumer market research firm Packaged Facts. Spending by non-Latino consumers on personal care products and services grew during the same period by only 15 percent.
When it comes to Mexican Americans, pride in appearance is a longstanding tradition, 22-year-old Lorenzo Valdez said.
“It’s been a part of the culture since the beginning,” the Calexico resident said. “Think of the zoot suit pachucos.”
As a 12-year-old at his family’s gatherings he first noticed that it was time to leave his boyhood activities and their accompanying grime behind.
Older cousins, who tended to always smell good and dress in a “clean-looking cholo-style,” prompted Valdez to start paying more attention to his appearance.
“They were always interested in their hair cuts and their facial hair,” the Calexico resident said.
While Valdez said that clothes present his biggest budgetary demands, personal care products rank at the top, too, on account of his highly sensitive skin.
“More than anything it’s lotion,” he said. “It’s one of my main things.”
Compared to men in general, Latino men are also much more likely to use skin care products such as moisturizers and facial cleansing products, the report stated. Spending by Latinos on personal care products and services is also projected to reach $10.3 billion by 2016.
Describing himself as something of a Casanova type, 29-year-old Anthony Juarez said he is not as “high-maintenance” as he might have been during his days as a single.
Yet he readily admits that his large cologne collection rivals the contents of his girlfriend’s beauty care products.
As a sales associate at the Dillard’s department store in the mall, Juarez said keeping up his appearance is crucial for his type of job and dates back to his junior high school days when he first began to appreciate “fresh” haircuts and stylish clothes.
“Latinos like to look good and be in fashion,” the El Centro resident said, adding that for him the decision at a young age to take pride in his appearance stemmed from a desire “to get the girls.”
On Friday, Juarez and a co-worker could be seen checking out the Brow Design store in the mall and joking about using its eyebrow sculpting services. As it happens, about one in eight customers there is a male, a Brow Design female employee said.
Staff Writer, Copy Editor Julio Morales can be reached at 760-335-4665 or at jmorales@ivpressonline.com
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