Beauty & Wellness
Everything new in beauty this February 2022 that we’ve had our eyes — and our hearts set — on.
Skincare lines, eye serums and creams and so many red lipsticks. Here’s this month’s roundup of the newest must-have fragrances, makeup, skincare and other beauty products to add to your collection now. And make sure to check our previous instalments here!
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Makeup & Fragrance
Expert skincare brand Caudalie has partnered with genetics professor Dr David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School to bring us the new Premier Cru Collection, which features patented TET8TM technology to remove signs of ageing, aiding the natural production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.
That means slowing down worrying visible features like deep wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots while supporting your skin’s firmness, elasticity, and radiance. Like all its products, the line is clean with no endocrine disruptors, no irritants, no animal-derived ingredients and no non-biodegradable ingredients.
Chanel’s new No1 beauty collection is dedicated to a distinctive red version of founder Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite flower: the camellia. In particular, the skincare line features potent infusions of the red camellia, harnessing its anti-ageing and nourishing properties.
Our pick is the lightweight gel-texture serum, which works to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and pores, and improves skin elasticity. And the collection makes every effort to be more sustainable, with 30 percent less packaging as well as refillable products.
From Estee Lauder, the Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond Transformative Brilliance Serum is a skincare gem (see what we did there?), made with a potent infusion of the brand’s exclusive Black Diamond Truffle Extract and Vitamin C to reveal brighter, more radiant skin that’s noticeably firmer and more supple.
New from Hourglass Cosmetics, the aptly named Equilibrium Instant Plumping Eye Mask is a powerful treatment for the eye area, hydrating and plumping while reducing the look of puffiness and eye bags. Its gel formula is infused with one plumping and one cell-balancing complex. What more could you need?
Celebrity-favourite skincare brand La Mer has created the ultimate eye cream: The Eye Concentrate. Promising to be your solution to fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles, the fast-absorbing cream is made specially for the delicate area under your eyes, and is powered by a concentrated form of the luxury brand?s cell-renewing Miracle Broth™, brightening molasses, soothing kelp, and lime tea.
NARS? all-new Light Reflecting Skincare has been expertly developed to hydrate, smooth, firm and plump your face ? delivering glass-like skin that promises to reflect light.
The line-up includes a lightweight gel-cream moisturiser, a peptide- and hyaluronic acid-packed eye and lash gel, a clarifying treatment, a restorative skin barrier-strengthening night treatment and, perhaps the standout, a dual-texture firming serum that harnesses the power of gold fortified peptides, red snow extract and encapsulated baobab oil. The collection is available in NARS stores, boutique counters, and the brand’s eShop.
One of the most asked-about products from The Ordinary, the previously discontinued 2% Salicylic Acid product is back and better than before. An exfoliator created for blemish-prone skin, the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution is designed to clear dead skin cells that can contribute to clogged pores, aiding in your skin’s clarity.
If this version is still too strong, consider the Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution, a gentler approach to decongestion and exfoliation that delivers the active acid in a slower manner.
A new addition to the brand?s Pure Shots range, the Eye Reboot Concentrate from YSL Beauty promises to help your skin-fatigue recovery, combatting signs of exhaustion on the face where it shows up first ? the contours of your eyes.
Beautifully complementing the Night Reboot Serum, this lightweight concentrate features antioxidant-packed moonlight cactus and a unique caffeine complex. Apply a single pump to the eye contour day and night, and use in tandem with the serum for best results. It’s available to purchase at Lane Crawford.
The first lip care product from Dolce & Gabbana Beauty, the Sheerlips Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm is infused with Dolce & Gabbana Beauty?s Mediterranean Glow Complex and sunflower seed wax to deliver hydration, all-day comfort and a subtle touch of colour. It comes in four flower-inspired shades in signature D&G gold packaging.
Gucci Beauty?s S?rum de Beaut? Fluide Matifiant is the brand?s first mattifying primer, with a gel formula developed to suit and care for all skin types while keeping makeup looking fresh all day. It can be used alone to even out complexion and blur the appearance of pores, or to blend seamlessly with foundation for a natural, long-wearing look.
Previously released as a special-edition item, Hourglass’ Confession Lipstick in shade Red 0 is back. Featuring a one-of-a-kind vegan red, this is one of the few (perhaps only) red lipstick on the market that is truly cruelty-free and completely vegan. Instead of the beauty industry’s standard red pigment made from crushed female insects, this lipstick used no animal by-products, harming no animals in its production and testing.
The new Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Shine On lipsticks are shaped like a professional lip brush, allowing you to effortlessly outline and contour the lips while it delivers rich, luminous colour. Its hydrating, plumping formula is thanks to hyaluronic acid and red cranberries. It?s available in 20 vibrant shades, encased in luxurious red packaging.
NARS is celebrating Valentine?s with The Love Affair Collection ? cult favourite products and the brand?s bestsellers in limited-edition gold and red-heart encasing. The line includes products you?re bound to have tried and loved before, including the Natural Radiant Longwear Cushion Foundation, Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder and Radiant Creamy Concealer.
Tom Ford has released the Most Wanted Satin Matte Reds collection, a glorious selection of scarlet and crimson lipsticks in a luminous, saturated formula that promises to leave lips moisturised and plump-looking while delivering a satin-matte, full-coverage finish.
To celebrate the brand?s signature Eau Rose eau de toilette, diptyque has created the Eau Rose eau de parfum ?imagined up by perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin, with a more intense fragrance from the same blend of fresh green leaves, petals and stems from the Damascus rose and centifolia roses as the original, but with the addition of the ?upcycled? firad rose.
Make sure to check out the four specially-decorated candles designed to mark the occasion, that revolve around the floral tone and complementary accents: Roses, Camomille (Chamomile), Artichaut (Artichoke) and Litchi.
(Hero image courtesy and image 10 courtesy of Tom Ford, featured image and image 1 courtesy of La Mer)
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There's no better way to mark the occasion than with good food — and lots of it. Here's our pick of the best Chinese New Year luxury puddings and treats.
With the start of the new lunar year just around the corner, stock up on the best desserts on offer. Turnip puddings (also called radish cakes) are traditional Chinese dim sum snacks, commonly served in Cantonese yum cha. Don't underestimate the small dish — in Cantonese, its name “leen goh” or “loh bak goh” is a homophone for “year higher”, ushering in new heights of prosperity for the coming year.
And we adore the Chinese New Year chuen hup, or traditional candy box, portion of the holiday. A bright red circular box set enticingly open upon coffee tables, filled with all kinds of sweet and savoury treats — it's a time-honoured custom, along with the coconut and turnip puddings. Each neat little segment houses a treat with an auspicious meaning of its own: lotus seeds are symbolic signs of improved fertility; lotus root, of love; tangerines and kumquats sound phonetically similar to "gold"; melon seeds to money and wealth. Chocolate coins, well, are coins.
To celebrate new beginnings and the new year, we've compiled the best Chinese New Year luxury puddings and treats for you and your loved ones to welcome the Year of the Tiger with.
China Tang's artisan Chinese New Year puddings are a modern take on the classic recipe, serving up two whole new flavours to welcome the Year of the Tiger: a turnip pudding with dried tiger prawn and local preserved meat and a handmade rice pudding with Taiwanese brown sugar and purple rice. Both are crafted by executive chef Menex Cheung and dim sum chef Mok Wing Kwai, and come in these stunning gift boxes decorated with China Tang’s signature Narcissus pattern — symbolizing grace and fortune. You can order the puddings and pick them up from the restaurant.
China Tang Landmark, Shop 411-413, 4/F, LANDMARK ATRIUM, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central; +852 2522 2148
Michelin-starred Duddell's selection of Chinese New Year puddings is a trio of classic favourite flavours: turnip (HK$348), taro (HK$348) and a "New Year" Pudding (HK$298). Pick up one, all three, or a gift set including the restaurant's signature X.O. Sauce. It's all packaged in a specially designed gift box created in collaboration with G.O.D. (Goods of Desire), with an ornate hand-drawn pattern typical of the embellishments found on Chinese teacups and soup bowls, a nod to its Hong Kong heritage. You can purchase at the restaurant or order online for delivery — find out more here.
We also love the look of the "Prosperous New Year Hamper", stocked with six traditional delicacies: a new year pudding; braised South African 5 head abalone with Duddell’s Abalone Sauce; a signature X.O. Sauce; homemade walnut cookies; Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Yellow Label Brut, Champagne; and Fook Ming Tong Fuding Jasmine Mao Feng Tea.
Duddell’s, 1 Duddell Street, Central; +852 2525 9191
To no one's surprise, it's all about the chocolates at Godiva. The Belgian chocolatier has drawn up a new motif for the Year of the Tiger, auspicious red and gold packaging printed with swimming koi and a tiger portrait set amongst crackling fireworks as a symbolic image of wealth. For the chocolates, the bijou creations feature the same lucky tiger motif over the surface and are packed in three distinct flavours: Raspberry Orange White chocolate, Pecan Praliné Milk chocolate and 85% Dark Ganache chocolate. Order before 31 January to enjoy special offers including free gifts, including a complimentary box of chocolates, or 10% off any purchase of HK$688. Find out more and order here.
Godiva, various locations across Hong Kong
Little Bao is paying tribute to lucky colour red with a beetroot turnip cake, replacing turnip with fresh beetroot for a natural bold red cake. Ingredients include Sam Hing Lung rose wine sausages, Thai dried shrimp and natural seasoning for extra-healthy eating. You can also opt for the taro cake, made with Okinawan sweet potato and fresh taro for an extra soft and pillowy texture, and also to help boost the immune system. You can order them and more here.
Little Bao, 1-3 Shin Hing Street, Central; +852 6794 8414
Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel is celebrating the new lunar year with traditional Chinese recipes, serving up three classic puddings — a savoury Chinese Turnip Cake with Conpoy made from Chinese sausage and Jinhua ham; a sweet Coconut Pudding with Gold Leaf decorated with golden leaf glutinous rice and coconut milk; and a Water Chestnut Cake filled with crunchy water chestnut pieces. Bottles of homemade XO Chilli Sauce are also available to order. You can find out more here.
Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, No. 3 Canton Road, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; +852 2118 7283
Located inside Cordis, Michelin-starred Ming Court is offering an array of festive treats to ring in the Lunar New Year. Executive Chef Li Yuet Faat has prepared three auspicious puddings: a coconut Chinese New Year Pudding; an abalone, conpoy, and air-dried preserved meat and turnip pudding; and a red date and coconut pudding. Go for the deluxe Chinese New Year hamper, with a coconut pudding, homemade XO sauce, South African premium 12 head abalone and more. You can order it here.
Ming Court, Level 6, 555 Shanghai Street, Cordis, Mong Kok, Kowloon; +852 3552 3301
Rosewood Hong Kong is offering an array of Chinese New Year sets for gifting, featuring everything from traditional puddings to homemade XO sauce, festive candies, afternoon tea sets and more. Don't miss the well-wishes themed hampers: Harvest (HK$9,988), Fortune (HK$3,388), and Joy (HK$2,288) — for every CNY hamper purchased, Rosewood will donate 5% of the proceeds to support ImpactHK and their work to support those experiencing homelessness in Hong Kong. Find out more here.
We also love the clever Chinese New Year advent calendar from Rosewood — rather than counting down, you count on from the first day of the lunar calendar into the new Year of the Tiger. The whole set holds 15 special treats from the hotel, one for each day of the Chinese traditional holiday that lasts for two weeks. Tug open the jewel-toned drawers to discover a selection of delicious snacks from fortune cookies and egg rolls to XO sauce, palmiers, nougats, ginger candies and crunchy peanut bites. Much better than your usual melon seeds. You can order it here.
Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, +852 3891 8732
No crème brulée from Paul Lafayet this Chinese New Year. What you can get, though, is the patisserie's Lucky Tiger Gift Box with French illustrator Emilie Sarnel's hand drawing of two dancing tigers. The gift box set pulls open to reveal three different tiers featuring a whole afternoon experience: “Cookirons" — a cookie-based iteration of the brand's famous macaron; jasmine and hojicha tea tins with pots of honey in the second and a special fine bone china porcelain dish at the base to hold it all. The plate is specially tailored to the Year of the Tiger, featuring a sketch of two smiling tigers amongst a flowery meadow filled with macarons. You can order it online here.
Paul Lafayet, various locations across Hong Kong
So this might not fit into traditional Chinese candy boxes, but it will still sit very prettily amongst red-adorned decor around the home. For the Year of the Tiger, Saicho has launched a very special creation of only 900 bottles — Eight Immortals — featuring the special Dan Cong Oolong tea grown atop Phoenix Mountain's Tian Liao village in Guangdong. From harvest to roast and rolling, the Dan Cong Oolong leaves are looked after by a qualified tea master. The result is a fragrant blend that adheres to the leaves' distinct complexity: bright notes of ginger mango and tangerine that rounds into a bitterness, then herbal, the likes of anise, fennel and tarragon. With Eight Immortals' earthy savouriness, Saicho recommends pairing with traditional Chinese New Year dishes including Chinese steamed fish and tang yang (glutinous rice dumplings). You can shop Saicho's Chinese New Year selection here.
Candy box fillings will be extra exciting with the addition of Smith & Sinclair treats, they're made after your favourite tipples! The UK-based brand crafts vegan-friendly gummies — or "Edible Cocktails" — from anything, including classic Gin & Tonic to special concoctions like Passionfruit Mojito. For the Year of the Tiger, the brand has designed a special red, tiger-printed sleeve as a symbol of good luck and fortune. These can be fitted over any of Smith & Sinclair's nine signature sets, from spirit-based "Gin Obsessed" or "Tequila Time" to themed "Love Box" or "Night In". You can order and find out more here.
Sugarfina's candy cubes are a delight, both to give and receive. For this Chinese New Year, the confectioner has crafted a series of Candy Bento Boxes for easy gifting (and enjoying!) — with anything from a single cube to a lucky set of eight, featuring the brand's sweet creations in fun, auspicious names. There's the Lotus Flowers flavoured with lychee, Tangerine Bears, berried-flavoured Royal Roses and Golden Pearls. If not for the sweets within, get this set for the beautifully artistic packaging: a hand-crafted shadow box of red and gold decor motifs of lanterns, flowers and a temple to mark new beginnings.
Sugarfina, various locations across Hong Kong
One of the traditional elements of the Year of the Tiger is the big cat's head, symbolising strength and good health. Inspired by traditional Chinese "tiger head shoes" worn by children, the Peninsula Boutique & Café is celebrating the new year with plenty of tiger head-decorated gift sets — you can hang the box up as a Chinese New Year decoration! Pick up the festive "Robust Tiger Gift Set" (with cookies, candies, chocolate, tea and more), and any of the Chinese New Year puddings. You can find out more here.
The Peninsula Boutique & Café, The Peninsula Arcade, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; +852 2696 6969
You may be spoilt for choice with Venchi's range of Chinese New Year gift boxes, but one thing's for sure: the range of lucky red and gold packaging all feature the Italian brand's signature 140-years, Piedmont Master Chocolatiers-approved sweets. Pick up The Chinese New Year Double Layer Hexagon Gift Box, an extensive collection of the brand's favourite chocolates: Cremini, Chocoviar, Truffles, and Dubledoni. Or consider the Chinese New Year Round Hamper, which features Venchi's latest creation Gianduja N.3 with Hazelnut, and is a close replica of the traditional chuen hup with the rounded exterior and organised sections within.
Venchi, various locations across Hong Kong
Led by celebrated chef Tam Tung, Michelin-starred Yat Tung Heen is celebrating the new year by bringing back its highly sought-after turnip pudding, classic Chinese New Year pudding and the restaurant's signature gift box (which includes housemade premium XO sauce, candied walnuts and hand-selected Ginseng Oolong tea leaves). And to minimise the environmental impact of the gifting season, each pudding is thoughtfully packaged in a 100% recyclable eco-friendly paper box. You can find out more here.
Yat Tung Heen, Level B2, Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, +852 2710 1093
Two Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Ying Jee Club is serving the finest delectable pastry duo, a savoury turnip pudding with conpoy and air-dried meat and a sweet coconut milk pudding with red bean and Ceylon tea. Both are handcrafted daily by executive chef Siu Hin-Chi, who has amassed 20 Michelin stars over the past decade alone — rest assured, the preservative-free puddings epitomise the highest standard of Cantonese cuisine in both texture and flavour. You can order in-person at the restaurant, or by calling 2801 6882 or emailing reservation@yingjeeclub.hk — find out more here.
Ying Jee Club, Shop G05, 107 & 108, Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Road Central; +852 2801 6882
(Hero image courtesy of Yat Tung Heen, featured image courtesy of Duddell's, image 1 courtesy of China Tang)
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