Tag Archives: Beauty

Models Own Slate Green nail polish review

models own slate green

I can’t remember what I heard about first: the existence of British nail polish brand Models Own… or the fact that they regularly have amazing 50% off sales on their website!

They recently had another such sale and of course, I immediately began to get itchy buying fingers. But for once, I managed to exercise some cosmetics control and instead decided to shop from my substantial stash instead – resulting in a quick mani using Models Own Slate Green.

The results? I really need to start shopping my stash more often! How on earth did I let this colour go undiscovered in the murky depths of my drawers for so long?

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Sense Of Touch Sai Ying Pun Spa review – good morning Vietnam!

sense of touch hong kong massage

UPDATE: Sense Of Touch Sai Ying Pun has now closed; don’t worry though, the awesome Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O is still very much open!

Soho – say whaaat? Poho – pah! These days, Hong Kong’s hottest area is strictly Westside, with more hipsters heading there than a gallery opening serving craft beers and burger sliders.

So far, most of the buzz has been around Western District’s new bars and restaurants, but now there’s something to make us beauty geeks sit up and take notice too – Sense Of Touch Sai Ying Pun.

I’m a big fan of Sense Of Touch, a homegrown spa chain that has now grown to eight locations in Hong Kong, as I think that they deliver quality and consistency across all the venues I’ve visited. The Sai Ying Pun Sense Of Touch is a little smaller than most of their other spas (i.e. the Tseung Kwan O branch) with only around five treatment rooms, but it’s still just as stylishly decked out as all its bigger sisters. I loved the colourful armchairs and Vietnamese-style white latticework screens in the foyer, where manicures, pedicures and foot massages take place. Meanwhile, the treatment rooms are simple and small – but they certainly don’t feel cramped or bare either.

sense of touch sai ying pun

I was booked in for Good Morning Vietnam – an exfoliation, steam shower and massage treatment that’s only available at Sense Of Touch Sai Ying Pun. Your 105 minutes of pure pampering bliss begins with an Elemis ginger and lime scrub, which is every bit as invigorating and defiantly un-abrasive as only the best scrubs can be.

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Shu Uemura Laque Supreme in Chu Chu Coral and Wild Rose review – baby got laque!

shu uemura laque supreme

The arrival of Shu Uemura’s latest lip product = this baby’s got laque!

Oh come on, you know I can never resist a good pun… and nor can I resist a good lippie. Shu Uemura’s Laque Supreme is a gorgeous halfway house between a lipstick and a lip gloss – but there certainly isn’t anything half-hearted about the final results!

Inspired by the high shine and rich colours of Japanese lacquerware, Laque Supreme essentially marries the consistency of a lip gloss with the intense pigmentation of a lipstick. But actually, it’s even better than that.

shu uemura laque supreme swatches wn02 cr01Top to bottom: Wild Rose/Wild Fuchsia (WN02), Chu Chu Coral (CR01)

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Benefit Roller Lash mascara review – curl power

benefit roller lash

Beauty confessions: I hate mascara.

I know, I know… mascara is like, everyone else’s desert island essential. But with crazy-sensitive eyes that tear up at the merest suggestion of the music from Up (the other day I even cried about how cute a dog on Instagram was), I very rarely wear the stuff. In general, I find mascara heavy, that it irritates my eyes, that it’s a pain to remove… and for all that, it doesn’t even make that much of a difference to how my face looks. [Note: I opt for lashings of eyeliner instead.]

benefit roller lash mascara brush

BUT if I did wear mascara often, then Benefit’s Roller Lash mascara would probably be high on my list.

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Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream Intense Hydration moisturiser review – he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

kiehls ultra facial cream intense hydration

If you thought that living in Hong Kong meant you got to avoid the vagaries of winter weather, think again. The only difference? Unlike the UK, we’re just vastly unprepared for it!

Nevertheless, there are a couple of things you can buy to lessen the pain. Millions of Uniqlo Heattech tops. A mini convection heater to tote around wherever you go. And a really really good winter moisturiser. Which is exactly where Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream Intense Hydration comes in.

Add dry weather to drying conditions (hello that beloved convection heater!) and you end up with pretty parched skin. Given that Hong Kong’s usual climate of heat and humidity is the exact opposite of this and you can see why a change in your skincare routine is most definitely called for! So it’s out with light, gel-based moisturisers and in with heavy-duty hydrating creams. However, what’s amazing about Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Intense Hydration Cream is that whilst it’s heavy-duty, it does so without actually being heavy. Which has to be some sort of make-up miracle.

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Zoya Aurora nail polish review

zoya aurora

Hail to the Princess Aurora! All of her subjects adore her! Hail to the King, hail to the Queen, hail to the Princess Aurora!

Given that Sleeping Beauty was always my favourite Disney princess, it was always likely I’d feel the urge to buy Zoya’s Aurora nail polish – and yes, I totally buy cosmetics based on the product names. Thankfully, the colour turned out to be pretty stellar.

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Clinique Chubby Sticks in Heftiest Hibiscus, Chunky Cherry and Jumbo Jasmine review

clinique chubby sticks

“Hello, my name is Rachel and I am a Chubb-aholic.”

Yes, ever since Clinique’s Chubby Sticks arrived on the beauty scene in 2011, I have found myself addicted to all crayon-shaped lip products that cross my path – be they the Chubby Sticks themselves, or bandwagon-jumping Chubb-alikes like Sisley’s Phyto-Lip Twists and Revlon’s Colorburst Balms. So it was only a matter of time before the itch hit and yet more Chubby Sticks found their way into my collection; if I plead innocence as to how they got there, will the make-up gods (and my bank balance) believe me?

clinique chubby sticks heftiest hibiscus chunky cherry jumbo jasmine swatchLeft to right: Heftiest Hibiscus, Chunky Cherry, Jumbo Jasmine

The latest additions to my Chubby Stick family are Heftiest Hibiscus, Chunky Cherry and Jumbo Jasmine. And of course, they are all pretty awesome. In case you need a recap as to why Clinique Chubby Sticks in general are awesome, may I point you to my previous reviews here and here… but if you are too lazy to click (tut tut), here are the basics:

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Clinique Quickliner For Eyes Intense in Intense Clove, Intense Truffle and Intense Peridot review

clinique quickliners intense truffle intense clove intense peridot

#BeautyBloggerProblems – having such a mega stash of make-up hidden away that you forget what products you even own in the first place!

Back in 2012, I reviewed Clinique’s Quickliner For Eyes Intense eyeliners… loved them… then promptly forgot all about them in favour of my usual Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil and Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner combination. But one day recently, when I couldn’t be bothered to faff with my eyeliner brush or go crazy with colour (funnily enough, the exact circumstances I predicted myself using them in my Quickliner review – well done me!), I spotted them sitting forlornly in my eyeliner tub – and remembered exactly why I fell in love with them in the first place. They’re so easy to use! The colour is so intense! They’re great for sensitive eyes!

clinique quickliners for eyes intense

… Which is how I found myself in Clinique buying another three Quickliner For Eyes Intense pencils – this time in Intense Clove, Intense Truffle and Intense Peridot. And I found myself smitten all over again, like a grown woman surfing Friends Reunited only to fall back in love with her teenage crush.

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Essentials by Cinci handmade soaps review – land of soap and glory!

ec soaps hong kong

For me, soap is something old people use. It sits on your soap-dish for ages looking unattractively scummy, it doesn’t lather up properly and it leaves you feeling almost too squeakily clean. Suffice to say, I’m a shower gel girl all the way.

However, bringing the humble soap into the 21st century is Essentials By Cinci EC Soap. The brainchild of qualified Chinese medicine practitioner Cinci Leung, these soaps are handmade in Hong Kong from all-natural ingredients – and look absolutely gorgeous to boot.

essentials by cinci hong kong

Before you start imagining Leung as some wizened bearded old man concocting noxious-smelling brews in a ye olde style apothecary, let me tell you that she’s actually a bright young woman with a more modern approach to Chinese medicine – a philosophy which is totally reflected in the Essentials by Cinci soaps themselves.

Leung explained to me that many shower gels are formulated with ingredients that end up stripping off your skin’s natural oils as well as the dirt and sweat we want rid of. Her soaps are much milder and have been created to both cleanse and moisturise – sudsational stuff!

handmade soaps hong kong essentials by cinci

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Benefit The POREfessional: Agent Zero Shine finishing powder review – your secret weapon against sticky summers

benefit the porefessional agent zero shine powder

“Girls don’t sweat, they perspire.”

… Said no girl who lived in Hong Kong ever.

Hong Kong is not the place to come if you’re scared of a bit of sweat. Our summers basically read like the keywords for an x-rated video – hot, wet, sticky, sweaty – and there ain’t much you can do about it. However, there are a few secret weapons you can deploy to help you look a little more fresh-faced and fragrant even in the stickiest of summers, and one of my favourites is Benefit’s The POREfessional: Agent Zero Shine powder.

benefit the porefessional spy gal

“Secret weapon” is a totally apt phrase for Agent Zero Shine. Not only is the packaging officially the cutest – adorned with Benefit’s cartoon Spy Gal, a secret agent “porefessional” whose mission (should you choose to accept it) is to combat the appearance of pores – but like many of the best cosmetics, when applied right, no one can even tell you’re using it… just that you look extra awesome instead.

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