• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 13, 2013

The House of Dior says actor Robert Pattinson, best known for his role as hunky vampire Edward Cullen in the “Twilightseries,” is the new face of Dior Homme.

Pattinson, 27, first gained acclaim in the fourth "Harry Potter" sequel, and has also appeared in such films as “Remember Me” and “Water for Elephants.” He replaces Jude Law, who has been starring in Dior’s ads since 2010. The company says photographer Nan Goldin shot the print campaign, with broadcast ads filmed by French director Romain Gavras. (At this point, ads are only running in Europe (except in the U.K.) and Asia (except China and Japan).

But it looks like American men will be eager to spritz on Dior Homme, too: The NPD Group has just released its analysis of the men’s prestige fragrance market, and says sales in the U.S. climbed 6% in the latest 12-month period, to $953 million. About 63% of men between the ages of 18 and 64 say they wear fragrance at least some of the time, and 23% say they wear it daily. (Of course, that means close to 40% never touch the stuff.)

Of those who wear scents, 40% say they have just one bottle.

Most make their decision based on other people, with adult men saying the most important factor in purchasing a fragrance is that a woman or partner likes it. And among young men 13 to 17, dad is important, with almost 40% reporting that they have been influenced by their fathers. (Even more, however, say they wear a scent to impress girls.)

Overall, men prefer fragrances they describe as clean, fresh, and masculine. And increasingly, they like a good deal -- including prepackaged gift sets as well as larger bottles, which they perceive as a greater value. NPD says sales of larger sized bottles gained 12% in the last 12 months, and 25% of buyers bought a pre-packaged gift, which included ancillary products.

“Men are creatures of habit when it comes to their scent selection, remaining loyal to what they know and like,” writes Karen Grant, NPD’s VP and senior global industry analyst. “While they are driven primarily by practical factors, and are less focused on choosing scents because of an emotional appeal such as being memorable, romantic, or different, men’s fragrance decisions are heavily influenced by the key people in their lives.”