Sabrina’s Top 5 Beauty Picks: January

Clothing, accessories, and jewellery have long been my calling, but I have only recently realised what a beauty junkie I am. I am constantly acquiring and assessing new products and sharing my latest and greatest with friends, but I have yet to make my faves public. Well, these skin secrets will now be passed along to you, my dear Sassy reader! Each month I will bring you five products that I have tried, tested, and given my stamp of approval. Let’s delay no more… check out this months top picks here!

NARS Lip Gloss in Sixties Fan
Two swipes of this rich thick gloss and you are ready to hit the town. At first glance the shade looks ultra dark in the tube, but once applied it calms down and leaves you with a jammy, raspberry shade that works for day or night. The formula keeps lips moisturised and line free to start, then fades into more of a strawberry stain after an hour or so.

Available at all NARS counters in Hong Kong (see here), www.narscosmetics.com.

LUSH Mint Julips Lip Scrub
Lip scrubs have always had a place in my beauty cabinet, so when I saw this one in a jar by the counter I knew I had to try it. I’ve long been a fan of the Body Shop Lipscruff, which is shaped like a lipstick – making it very portable. The issue is once you apply it you need a tissue handy to wipe it off, so now I’m carrying scrubs and tissues around and who really exfoliates their lips on the go anyway!? Enter LUSH’s Mint Julips Lip Scrub. Keep this in your shower so you can scrub your lips right along with your body. It tastes like sugar and mint so it’s ultra yummy to use (these also happen to be the main ingredients). It’s also self-preserving, so that “use by” sticker found on other LUSH products is not seen here. After two rounds (I doubled up as the flavour was so good I wanted to have another go), my lips were left soft and smooth and ready for the dry winter weather ahead!

Available at all LUSH Hong Kong store locations (see here), www.lush-hk.com.

Benefit The POREfessional Shine Vanishing Pro Powder
Benefit is a brand with packaging as snappy as the products are useful, so I was curious to try out this powder. The brush is hidden in the base and the top twists so you can extract only the amount of powder you actually need. That results in less product waste and a cleaner make up bag! The powder is very smooth and fine and did a great job of matte-fying my look. I did notice that the pores around my cheeks and nose seemed smaller after applying. I only had to apply this in the morning and was shine free all day, but I’m curious to see how it lasts once the HK summer is in full force.

Available at all Benefit counters in HK (see here), www.benefitcosmetics.hk.

Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Toit
I’m always amazed when I meet a woman that has a signature scent. The idea of wearing the same scent day after day intrigues me. I own about as many perfumes as there are months in the year, and change them around depending on my mood, attire, or whom I’ll be meeting (i.e I know my husband’s favourite)! But if I had to choose a signature scent, this one would definitely be in the running. It’s based on the scents found in a hanging garden in Paris… think apple, pear, and magnolia which lead to a fresh and fruity aroma perfect for ringing in spring.

Available at all Hermes counters and stores in Hong Kong (see here), www.hermes.com.

Evie Amazingly Soothing Make Up Remover Oil
I’ve saved the best for last here! This is the only make up remover you will ever need so toss all those wipes, cleansers, bars, and eye oils away! Pumps a few squirts of this into dry hands and then lather together between your palms. Massage your entire face and neck in circular motions letting your palms rest on your eyelids for a moment longer. Rinse off with warm water and watch every stitch of make up you had on swirl down the drain. I was even able to remove a thick, liquid cat eye complete with waterproof mascara with ease and I didn’t need to go back over my eyes with a separate eye make up remover afterwards! This stuff is unreal and it leaves your skin soft until the next morning.

Evie products are available on their site and at Harvey Nichols locations in Hong Kong.

There you have it! Check back for the February selects soon!