Shopping in Lane Crawford, Hong Kong

Selfridges is my favourite department store in the whole wide world.  I miss shopping in Selfridges the most since departing London.  I desperately needed an alternative/ dupe now that I live in Hong Kong.  Of course I wouldn't be disappointed, Hong Kong has Lane Crawford in their LaLa land.

Unlike Selfridges which only has 3 stores in the whole of the UK, Lane Crawford has 4 stores in Hong Kong, its territory also crosses the border and has another 2 stores in Beijing and one in Shanghai.  In Lane Crawford, its beauty hall is called Joyce Beauty where you can find most international brands, from Dior, Chanel, to Tom Ford and Chantecaille, also Jo Malone and By Terry, etc.  It's a bit like if Selfridges and Space NK has a beauty princess daughter, Joyce Beauty would be her!

Recently, my childhood best friend, Miss V and I had another shopping trip down in Lane Crawford, I told her I wanted to get a Joyce Beauty card.  She was stunned but the beauty blogger inside me has to have one of these to confirm her identity in this vibrant city.

I went to the fresh counter, as it was pretty difficult to hunt down back in London.  Whereas in Hong Kong, fresh counter is relatively readily available in many department stores.  fresh SUGAR Rose tinted balm is one of their most popular products but the slightly high price tag scared me a way a few times.  So, when I found out from my sister forksandbrushes a holiday gift set which has the three star products - Sugar Lip Polish, Sugar Rose and Sugar Shine Lip Treatment; I was all itchy to get my hands on it.  All these wonderful products cost only HK$275 or UK£21.  Pretty good value, eh?

Although they don't come in the full size, they are good enough for me to sample three fresh products at once and to get my lips sorted out, as they are getting a little dry and flaky you know?!

Just as when I was getting all excited about this gift set, the lovely fresh lady  told me I was eligible to receive a welcome gift as becoming a Joyce Beauty member.  Wow there I was thinking, 'hooray a free gift, whatever that would be I would be happy!'

When I was handed over the gift..... scroll down please.........

It's a SK-II gift set which contains 2 sachets of serum and a little pot (rather generous) stem power cream, I believe it's used as a nuit cream.  I was and still am a very happy bunny!

I feel like a more complete beauty junkie in Hong Kong now that I have claimed a bit of an identity in Lane Crawford - I know it sounds a little crazy but it's true!

Are you as obsessed as me putting your feet in the beauty department in major department stores in your own home cities? What gifts have you received from your department stores in the past?

Weekend Special #1: Anna Sui Surprise

Shopping around Apita, previously known as UNY (a Japanese Department Store in Hong Kong, a bit like House of Fraser; but Apita also has an impressive supermarket selling mainly Japanese food); is one of my favourite things to do at the weekends since relocating to Hong  Kong.

Today was no exception. After lunch, Mr H and I went wandering around Apita and suddenly I stumbled into this small but compact section, which is packed full of Japanese magazines.

It's an area inside Apita which I don't normally go into but today was different!

I was greeted by a mountain of Japanese magazines, with a trick. Many of these magazines come with free gifts, mainly handbags and cosmetic bags!

Before seeing these I knew already lots of Japanese magazines come with impressive freebies but this was the first time I browsed each of them with care, I looked at every single one of the free gifts .

Suddenly, I saw a black and purple coloured magazine which attracted my eye sight, it was an Anna Sui magazine!

With this magazine, you get a cosmetic bag! As a fan of Anna Sui's, I knew I had to get it despite I already have a vast makeup bag collection! 

As I unwrapped the A4 size box, it felt like Christmas has come early (only 11 days to go)!  Wow, in front of my very eyes was this black colour with purple embroidery prints design makeup and wash bag.  It's a lot bigger (W270 x H210 x D40mm) than I think but I think it would be perfect to hold both cosmetics stuff and skincare essentials, this would be perfect for organisation beauty freaks!

I love it as well that it also has a detachable smaller pouch to put bits and pieces.  You can definitely use it as part of this cosmetic bag but I might use it as a separate makeup bag elsewhere.  Even though this makeup bag was first launched as part of the Spring Collection 2012, I didn't think twice about it's an item which was first available more than a year ago.  I rather like Anna Sui stuff and normally her accessories do come with a high price tag.  So when this appeared in front of my eyes, I couldn't let it go....

The magazine that comes with also looks very interesting.  It has all the Anna Sui stuff from beauty, to clothing, handbags, to umbrellas.

I cannot wait to have a proper study of the magazine, and a suitable occasion when I can use this beautiful makeup bag.

Anna Sui Spring Collection 2012 Magazine HK$158/ £12

Top 3 cream blusher

How do you like to colour in your cheeks every morning?  I get very excited about what cheek product to wear every day.  If you haven't caught up with my Top 3 Powder Blusher, you don't know what you have missed!

Today, I want to share with you my Top 3 cream blusher.  I'm slowly growing my love towards cream cheek products.  Reason being I'm not entirely sure if they are my favourite blushers type.  I find blusher should be in powder form.  The logic is a bit similar to my trust is on liquid foundation, rather than on powder form.  Blusher should be powder, be it loose or on the pan.  

But for today, let's forget about my weird rationale on cream blusher; I still have my top 3 that I have enjoyed using and still am loving them.

Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush won my heart in the drugstore cream blusher category.  I think it is a dupe for Diorblush Cheek Cream.  A fraction of the price of the luxury Diorblush, Revlon offers a long-lasting bright pink colour to your cheeks.  It is quite a creamy texture but within it you can feel that it hydrates your skin, especially good for those dry-skinned girl, like myself.  I normally use my fingertips to blend into my skin which can be done so easily but sometimes when I can spend a bit more time on my makeup, Real Techniques Stippling brush is my best companion when it comes to applying cream blusher.

When it comes to cream blusher, I think Jouer definitely delivers.  Jouer doesn't have fancy packaging but instead, they are functional, honest and gives the best quality and performance.  Inside this little brown square comes a slightly darker shade of coral cream blush.  It is actually a Cheek & Lip Tint but I've only been using it as a cheek tint rather than for my lips as I found it a little unhygienic and would try anything to avoid blemishes to cause at all cost.  Anyway, back to this little box of tint, it tints your skin but allows you to have enough to blend it away in your cheeks to perfection.  Unlike other liquid tint by other brands, this is very easy to blend because of its creamy texture.  It is also because it is a tint, it stays put extremely outstandingly.  

I fell into the Chanel's trap again so when I bought this Le Blush Creme De Chanel Cream Blush (in the shade of Inspiration), I wasn't expecting anything at all.  It was purely to satisfy my desire to own one Chanel cream blush when it was first launched a few months ago, and dreaming of transforming into a Chanel kinda gal once I have this put on my cheeks.

Perhaps the philosophy is that when you least expect something to happen, it would surprise you.  This Chanel cream blush surprised me in a really pleasant way.  It gave one of the most natural pinky finish to my cheeks, and the creamy texture is so easy to blend and works especially well with fingers rather than with a brush. It also manages to stay put for a rather reasonable amount of time.  Thank you, Chanel for fulfilling my dream to own you and to actually enjoy using your cream blush.

Do you feel the same way as me, blushers are meant to be in powder form?  What's your favourite cream blush?

Early Christmas Present from London!

Christmas has come a little early for me in Hong Kong!  Thank you to my friends Mr and Mrs Liu in London.  I have completely forgotten about keeping the parcel I received in the post tonight until Christmas day to unwrap them.

As soon as I saw this little square shape box being wrapped with Space NK tissue paper, I lost my sensibility and ripped off the paper instinctly.  I saw this very cute bauble by this works.

This is This Works' Beauty Shimmer Ball.  The beauty ball is a multi-coloured tinned ball which you can use as a decorative bauble on your christmas tree or in fact, hang it up anywhere in the house to just add that little extra beauty touch to any beauty junkies leading up to the christmas period.

Inside this beauty ball, comes the shimmer balm which you can dab on lips, cheekbones, eyes or décolleté for a subtle shimmer.

I cannot wait to start using it!

I have never used anything by This Works but have heard so many brilliant things about this brand.

Thank you my friend for knowing me so well.

Perhaps this has given you an idea of a Christmas present that you want to buy for one of your friends?

Merry Christmas everyone!

Top 3 powder blushers

I am a total blusher junkie - I love blusher more than any other beauty products in the beauty world.  I don't know about you but when I apply blusher on my cheeks everyday, I feel that it adds to the finishing touch to any makeup look.  I love how they make my look complete, I love how wide a colour range cheek products have; more importantly, I love collecting every single blusher by every single makeup brand.  I'm working on it.

I have just way to many blushers, so to do a blogpost to feature every single one of them isn't a sensible one. I also don't want to bore you to death!  So, I decided to do two posts to feature my top 3 powder blushers and another of my favourite 3 cream blushers.

First up, Chantecaille Coral Reef Palette.  Chanetecaille products are insanely expensive, it's a fact.  But more to the point their products really are amazing.  When it comes to knowing how to create or bring out the best of the features from any woman's face, they know exactly how to do it.

Next up, one of my latest addition to my already overflowing blushers’ collection is by Charlotte Tilbury.  For those who live outside of the UK or are unfamiliar with Charlotte, she is one of the top makeup artists in the UK.  Charlotte is renowned for her rock chic and feline cat-flick eyeliner look.  I had the pleasure to meet with her back in early September 2013 when she first launched her makeup range in Selfridges.

I picked up her very special Cheek to Chic blusher and I have the colour Love is the drug (Yeah rock and roll never dies!!!!)  You can basically use this blusher in 3-way – swirl the outer circle for a more natural look, or if you are looking for a more cheeky finish to your total makeup look, you can rely on the inner circle to pop the apple of your cheeks.  You can also combine the two (swirl & pop) to intensify your look for special occasions or in the evenings.

Finally, a cheek product which I have been longing for absolutely ages which is currently not available in the UK.  Rumour has it though it will land itself in the British High Street from across the pond in Spring 2014.  Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush by Physicians Formula, I picked up in Paris a few months ago.  I went absolutely mental when I saw a whole counter of Physicians Formula before my very eye. 

First of all I love the pop of pink packaging, it is so sweet, so girly!  The cheek palette itself is full of heart shapes embossed on the surface.  It truly has made me a very happy girl whenever I apply this blusher on my cheeks, ‘wink’ and ‘smile’!  Inside this compact cheek product, it has a second compartment where it has a very cute little pink brush.  It isn’t the best brush in the world but it is enough to brush on if you are on the go or when you are travelling.

The colour pay off is quite subtle, and not as bright pink as it looks on the pan.  However it is so it gives such a natural blush finish to your face.  I loved it!

Have you used any of these cheek products before?  What’s your favourite powder blushers?

Stay, don't stray!

I'm not an eye primer wearer, I rely on the power of my dry skin which seems to grasp my makeup pretty well; apart from the occasion panda eyes which caused by some rubbish mascara. 

Until recently I found this Stay, Don't stray primer by benefit sitting at the back of my beauty drawers. I gave it a go and was blown away by it!

This primer comes in a light beige colour, and is creamy in texture. It is multi-purpose as it can be used as an eye shadow primers which you put all over eyelids or as a stay-put primer for concealer, which I haven't tried using it as. 

It doesn't feel greasy or anything and blends very well. It sets opaque although it doesn't offer any colour tone which is quite handy for the next steps of eye makeup.

Here's a few experimental picture to attempt to illustrate (non-scientifically) how my eye makeup differed when I had the primer on or not.  Please note as they were taken on different days... and I tried to take them in an as similar way as possible.

When makeup was first put on at 11am: 

With Primer On

Without Primer on

This was after 5+hours:

With Primer On

Without Primer On

As you might be able to see, my makeup with the primers on seem to look much more intense than the one without.  I did notice a difference personally.  Despite I don't have a big problem for the staying power of my makeup in the past, I did feel that this primer helped in making my makeup staying in place a little better.

Are you an eye primer wearer?  What have you used in the past?  Would you recommend the same one or you have an alternative one that you prefer?

My office beauty essentials

I cannot believe I got myself a job (part time, luckily) just a month after I was back in Hong Kong. It feels surreal working here, it's definitely not for the faint hearted. Working in Hong Kong is very tough, the intensity of the workload makes me feel unbreathable.... But I do feel at least I'm doing something albeit a crappy paid job.

Anyway, I still managed to fill my work drawers with a few beauty essentials which I want to share with you.

My hands get very dry, especially after I wash my hands. I'm currently using up Rose hand cream by L'occitane. I like anything rose scented, it's not too sweet but it's a fresh floral scent that wakes me up. L'occitane handcreams never fail to disappoint, it's moisturising enough but not leaving your hands greasy at all.

As I needed a new, and slightly larger size hand cream I went to Sasa and picked this Hand Veil hand cream for hand and nails by Metholatum. I didn't know what to expect but the reason why I chose this was because I needed a hand cream that is functional and performs. I wanted something no fuss!  It surprised me in a very good way! Not only does it moisturise my hands it also hydrates my nails and cuticles as they tend to go dry and rough quite easily. The moisturising power lasts very long, too. I'm very pleased with it!

Whilst my hands get dry, my lips get chapped! I have just way too many lip balms lying around everywhere. I am using this beer flavoured lip balm by Manufacktura from Prague. It's in a squeezy tube which is very handy when it comes to applying onto the lips. It does carry a flavour but I'm not too convinced it's beer... It doesn't 'taste' alcoholic though. It's a light textured lip balm and it hydrates my lips well. 

I also keep a NYX lipgloss in my drawer at work, too. Sometimes I just can't be bothered to look for my lipsticks inside my makeup pouch from my handbag, coz I'm just way too busy at work I simply don't have time to trawl through my handbag!

What's your beauty essentials at work?