Lots of exciting things have been happening on the beauty scene in Hong Kong recently – so here’s a quick recap for any of my fellow make-up junkies…
LUSH IS BACK!
The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted all of Lush’s HK stores closing in the tailend of 2012… well, now our fave purveyor of fresh delish-smelling handmade cosmetics is back and better than ever!
They’ve opened a brand spanking new store on Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui – and for those of you used to shopping Lush in other countries, the experience is far more Lush-tastic than the somewhat cramped MTR stores from before. The store is huge, bedecked in trademark Lush fashion and boasts loads of fun product testers for you to demo… and super friendly staff to help you try them all!
All our old faves are back, from their Fresh Face Masks (the chocolate-scented Cupcake is divine) to their big colourful chunks of soap (Honey I Washed The Kids is always a winner) and fizzy Bath Ballistics bath bombs, plus their vegan Emotional Brilliance make-up range too. There are also plenty of new goodies to play with, like their revamped Gorilla Perfume collection, the amazing Play-Doh-esque 4-in-1 FUN soap and a shedload of new hair and skincare products to boot. As ever with Lush, it’s all hand-made, with an emphasis on eco-friendly packaging, fresh natural vegetarian ingredients, no animal testing, as few chemicals and preservatives as possible, and charity and ethical campaign support too. They’ve also opened a new counter in LCX in Harbour City too, in case you fancy a pampering pit stop on your next shopping spree. Welcome back Lush – we missed you!
Lush, 24A Granville Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 2723 4282; K7A, LCX, 3/F Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 3791 2131
TOM FORD BEAUTY OPENS
We’ve had a TOM FORD Fashion Boutique for a while in Hong Kong – but now we can finally celebrate the arrival of his beauty section too! We’re talking super luxurious lipsticks, eye palettes and foundations, high-tech skincare and sumptuous fragrances, all in Tom’s signature style (with a subtle TF logo embossed on most things to prove it!). The range is perhaps most famous for the Tom Ford Private Blend Collection, a selection of artisanal perfumes for both men and women made with exquisite ingredients to create one-of-a-kind glamorous and sophisticated scents – ideal presents for that ultra-picky perfume connoisseur in your life.
Prices are… well, Tom Ford prices – expect to pay around $500 for the colour cosmetics, $1500 for the moisturisers, and upwards of $1700 for the perfumes. We’re in extreme treat yourself/birthday wish list territory here girls!
TOM FORD BEAUTY is available at the Tom Ford Fashion Boutique, Shop 2049, ifc mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong, 2234 7802 and at counters in Lane Crawford Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui and Times Square, Causeway Bay.
WHERE TO BUY URBAN DECAY IN HONG KONG
Remember my post lamenting the lack of Urban Decay in Hong Kong? Well, a reader left me a tip-off for somewhere she had discovered my fave cosmetics brand in the 852 – and of course, I had to go check it out!
The shop in question is called Dudes in Causeway Bay, and it’s a real find. In addition to stocking a small range of Urban Decay at prices not too crazily inflated from the US ones (I spotted their cult Naked Palettes, Primer Potion, 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils, Lip Junkie lip glosses and a few more bits and pieces), the very helpful sales staff also told me that they would be able to order products in for me if they were available on Urban Decay’s US website. I reckon this means that Dudes is operating a more sophisticated version of my make-up mule system… but if it means more of us can get our mitts on UD goodies until they find an official distributor here in HK, then it’s yippee as far as I’m concerned!
Even if you aren’t a fan of Urban Decay, Dudes is well worth a look – they also stock lots of other hard-to-find fashion and cosmetics brands, plus items that are US exclusives. They’ve got Victoria’s Secret (clothes and fragrances), UGGs, Abercrombie, TOMS, Tory Burch, Bath & Body Works, elf, Cover Girl and many more, plus loads of yummy American sweeties too – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, we’re looking at you! Thanks to Amanda for the tip-off – my make-up cabinet is eternally grateful!
Dudes, 2/F, 42 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, 3568 3812; closed Wednesdays
www.facebook.com/DudesHongKong