Celebrity Life

As the numbers of those vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus is steadily rising, a question continues to bother many — should one get an antibody test done even if they are inoculated.

Though the situation in many countries seems to be improving, one must note that the pandemic isn’t over yet. Wearing of masks and other WHO-recommended or government-mandated guidelines need to be adhered to at all times.

The best way to contain the spread of the virus is to get vaccinated. Fortunately, sustained vaccination drives in countries around the world are showing favourable results as more people are lining up to get their jabs.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), 6,545,309,084 vaccine doses have been administered as of 18 October, 2021. On 21 October, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that India has completed one billion vaccinations — a phenomenal achievement given the many administrative, societal, political, bureaucratic and policy problems that the country of over 1.3 billion people is burdened with.

With the gradual increase in vaccinations in the world, people also want to know whether they have the required antibodies to fight the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2.

What is an antibody test?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national public health agency of the US, “antibody or serology tests look for antibodies in your blood that fight the virus that causes COVID-19.”

In the US, antibody tests can be done at authorised laboratories and through healthcare professionals. However, decisions on testing are taken by local or state health departments and professionals.

What does 'positive' and 'negative' mean in antibody tests?

A “positive” result means the test subject has antibodies from either a previous COVID-19 infection or the vaccine present in the body. According to the CDC, even those who have been asymptomatic can have antibodies. However, the issue is that, a person may test “positive” even if the body has no antibodies present. This is called a “false positive”, says the CDC.

Meanwhile, a “negative” result presents the opposite, meaning the body has no antibodies present. This could be because the test subject has never been infected with the virus or is not vaccinated.

Similar to “false positive”, test results, in this case, can be “false negative” too, which would mean despite having been infected by the virus or being vaccinated, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies go undetected in a test subject.

Should you take the test?

No, there is no need to go for an antibody test.

On 19 May, 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement, urging people not to consider even authorised SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests as an evaluation of their protection status from the COVID virus.

The FDA recommends consulting a healthcare provider if someone tests “positive” because it could mean anything, including a previous infection from the virus and not antibodies from vaccination.

“A COVID-19 vaccination may also cause a positive antibody test result for some but not all antibody tests,” the FDA says.

The American agency also says that “researchers do not know whether the presence of antibodies means that you are immune to COVID-19; or if you are immune, how long it will last.”

Making matters worse, an antibody test can be completely useless.

According to MIT Medical, the protection levels needed against serious illnesses, symptomatic illnesses or infections might not be gauged by antibody tests.

Getting vaccinated

Taking the jab is the best way to prevent the virus from rampaging through lives. While the situation was dire around the world last year, things were much worse in many countries that were hit by a devastating second wave early this year.

Underlining the urgency of the situation and the need for a safer and healthier world, the WHO recommends taking “whatever vaccine is made available to you first, even if you have already had COVID-19.” It reminds us that even though “no vaccine is 100 percent protective," the approved vaccines can prevent serious illness and thereby death from the virus.

At the same time, even vaccinated people must continue taking necessary precautions and follow other WHO recommendations to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread.

So, get vaccinated today.

(Main and Featured images: Fusion Medical Animation/@fusion_medical_animation/Unsplash)

The post Do You Need An Antibody Test To Check If The COVID-19 Vaccine Is Still Working? appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

As Chaumet's CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt tells us, bringing the house's 240-year heritage into the modern era is an immense task that amounts to a "daily obsession". But if the new pieces in the Chaumet Joséphine collection are anything to go by, the Place Vendôme stalwart is heading in the right direction.

What kind of woman today does the Joséphine collection appeal to?

First, it’s about a woman with a certain character. Because when you choose to wear a tiara on your finger, you’re making a choice of distinction, a choice of character. You’re sending a message to say you’re not like everyone else and you have a certain strength and a certain personality. But also a sense of virtuosity, grace and beauty, because it’s not for women who want to be too provocative.

It’s a way to set your personality. And then of course, there are two major reasons to become a client of Joséphine. On one side, it remains one of the favourite pieces chosen for a bridal purpose. It’s connected to the initial history of Chaumet, the history of the power and love between Napoleon and Joséphine. And Napoleon is known everywhere, that’s incredible. There’s another type of client on the other side of the connection with the pearls, the coloured stones, something a bit easier and more accessible.

This year, Chaumet's creations have also incorporated sleeker, more modern takes on the tiara. Can you tell us a bit about the new high jewellery?

After many creations that were a bit more tiara-like, a bit more decorative, more visible, more baroque in a certain way, we wanted to enrich the collection with new ways to mix and match, and to go for designs that were slicker, with a more minimalist approach, because that’s also the style of today. We have a feeling that clients today are a little more understated, and we have the capacity to create beauty through a fine line, rather than an accumulation. So one of our high- jewellery pieces, which is sort of a V with a stone in suspension, doesn’t shout about its design. It’s all about balance.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Joséphine collection...

But we don’t mark it that way for two reasons. I always feel that if you start doing anniversaries for everything, then at the end, what’s the meaning in it? Last year, when we did the 240 years of Chaumet, that was slightly different. For Chaumet, our heritage is much longer than a decade, it’s about centuries. Instead, this year, we’re celebrating our connection with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon, which is significant in Europe and in France. We’ve done an exhibition at 12 Place Vendôme that was open to the public which tells the love story of Napoleon and Josephine through 150 different objects, beautiful loans from museums and private owners.

Which piece proved to be the most challenging piece in the collection?

The most discussed and the most debated one was the watch. Because we’re clearly a jeweller, and we’ve focused all our efforts and attention on jewellery. But since a few years ago, we’ve reassessed and repositioned what watches mean for Chaumet. It’s true that with the business of watches within Chaumet, we’ve really tried to be coherent with what the story of watchmaking for Chaumet is as a jeweller. One of our challenges was to look at the market – in the market, 90 percent of watches are round – and nobody’s waiting for Chaumet to create a round watch, because we already have thousands of beautiful options on the market.

We decided on a shaped watch, and it wasn’t very difficult to settle on the pear shape, like an illusion of a diamond. We also faceted the watch’s dial.

How do you balance 240 years of heritage behind a brand and stay relevant at the same time?

That’s really the obsession every single day. How do we continue the narrative, the link to the story? Since the pandemic, we’ve seen clients choose Chaumet because there’s longevity. And so it becomes a daily obsession of ours to convey this message to our clients through different means, including the digital approach, so we can speak to the needs of our audience today. We also go through the traditional channels and have books and exhibitions. I regularly write down on paper in two columns: on one side, how much do we tell the story of Chaumet, and on the other, how do we take a contemporary approach, either through the narrative or through using different tools? I take a step back and ask myself is there a balance? If we’re going too much in one direction, maybe it’s time to rebalance. It’s in everything we do.

The post Experts Offer Tips for Returning to ‘Normal’ Post-COVID appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

As Chaumet's CEO Jean-Marc Mansvelt tells us, bringing the house's 240-year heritage into the modern era is an immense task that amounts to a "daily obsession". But if the new pieces in the Chaumet Joséphine collection are anything to go by, the Place Vendôme stalwart is heading in the right direction.

What kind of woman today does the Joséphine collection appeal to?

First, it’s about a woman with a certain character. Because when you choose to wear a tiara on your finger, you’re making a choice of distinction, a choice of character. You’re sending a message to say you’re not like everyone else and you have a certain strength and a certain personality. But also a sense of virtuosity, grace and beauty, because it’s not for women who want to be too provocative.

It’s a way to set your personality. And then of course, there are two major reasons to become a client of Joséphine. On one side, it remains one of the favourite pieces chosen for a bridal purpose. It’s connected to the initial history of Chaumet, the history of the power and love between Napoleon and Joséphine. And Napoleon is known everywhere, that’s incredible. There’s another type of client on the other side of the connection with the pearls, the coloured stones, something a bit easier and more accessible.

This year, Chaumet's creations have also incorporated sleeker, more modern takes on the tiara. Can you tell us a bit about the new high jewellery?

After many creations that were a bit more tiara-like, a bit more decorative, more visible, more baroque in a certain way, we wanted to enrich the collection with new ways to mix and match, and to go for designs that were slicker, with a more minimalist approach, because that’s also the style of today. We have a feeling that clients today are a little more understated, and we have the capacity to create beauty through a fine line, rather than an accumulation. So one of our high- jewellery pieces, which is sort of a V with a stone in suspension, doesn’t shout about its design. It’s all about balance.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Joséphine collection...

But we don’t mark it that way for two reasons. I always feel that if you start doing anniversaries for everything, then at the end, what’s the meaning in it? Last year, when we did the 240 years of Chaumet, that was slightly different. For Chaumet, our heritage is much longer than a decade, it’s about centuries. Instead, this year, we’re celebrating our connection with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon, which is significant in Europe and in France. We’ve done an exhibition at 12 Place Vendôme that was open to the public which tells the love story of Napoleon and Josephine through 150 different objects, beautiful loans from museums and private owners.

Which piece proved to be the most challenging piece in the collection?

The most discussed and the most debated one was the watch. Because we’re clearly a jeweller, and we’ve focused all our efforts and attention on jewellery. But since a few years ago, we’ve reassessed and repositioned what watches mean for Chaumet. It’s true that with the business of watches within Chaumet, we’ve really tried to be coherent with what the story of watchmaking for Chaumet is as a jeweller. One of our challenges was to look at the market – in the market, 90 percent of watches are round – and nobody’s waiting for Chaumet to create a round watch, because we already have thousands of beautiful options on the market.

We decided on a shaped watch, and it wasn’t very difficult to settle on the pear shape, like an illusion of a diamond. We also faceted the watch’s dial.

How do you balance 240 years of heritage behind a brand and stay relevant at the same time?

That’s really the obsession every single day. How do we continue the narrative, the link to the story? Since the pandemic, we’ve seen clients choose Chaumet because there’s longevity. And so it becomes a daily obsession of ours to convey this message to our clients through different means, including the digital approach, so we can speak to the needs of our audience today. We also go through the traditional channels and have books and exhibitions. I regularly write down on paper in two columns: on one side, how much do we tell the story of Chaumet, and on the other, how do we take a contemporary approach, either through the narrative or through using different tools? I take a step back and ask myself is there a balance? If we’re going too much in one direction, maybe it’s time to rebalance. It’s in everything we do.

The post How to Stay Focused: 7 Tips That Work, According to Experts appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

If you have an urge to radiate the effortless good looks of a K-pop star, Dr Lisa Chan explains how it’s done.

With the explosion in popularity of global K-pop superstars, such as Blackpink and BTS, many of my clients have come to me with requests for the kind of skin and contour enhancements that make such artists look impeccable without make-up. Some recent favourites include:

Glass Skin: Poreless, luminous skin that glows from within. As any good make-up artist will emphasise, foundations and concealers can only do so much to cover blemishes and pockmarks. Dewy, hydrated and radiant-looking skin is the basis for flawless make-up and, depending on the initial condition of the skin, this can be achieved via deep dermal hydrating injections and sessions of intense pulsed light.

Eyelid Contouring: Prominent creases that widen and increase the charisma of the eyes. Over time, sagging of the upper eyelid skin and loss of volume under the brow area can result in a tired, defeated appearance. Biostimulant and hyaluronic acid filler injections can fill in creases and make up for fat loss and bony resorption, while devices utilising high-intensity focused ultrasound and radiofrequency energy can help tighten and lift sagging skin. Opaque lenses will need to be worn to protect the eyeballs during treatment.

Aegyo Sal: The creation of “charming fat” under the eyes radiates youth and good cheer. If you’ve ever wondered why so many Korean celebrities always look as if they’re smiling, this is one of their best-kept secrets. Tiny cannulas are used to deposit minuscule amounts of hyaluronic acid fillers under the bottom lash line to mimic the muscular action of “smiling eyes” and create a highlighted, cheerful effect.

Smile Lipt: A lip reshaping and “smile” formation technique. To add to the impression of effortless serenity, gone are the days of puffy overblown lips, in favour of delicate petal-shaped borders with upturned corners. Carefully placed botulinum toxin injections and low-viscosity hyaluronic acid fillers can smooth out wrinkles and gently lift lip corners, while intense pulsed light can reduce unwanted pigmentation.

Jaw Contouring: A sculpted, defined appearance to the jawline. Double chins and loose skin can make it difficult to be camera-ready at all angles, but there are multiple ways to combat these issues. Deoxycholic acid, a fat emulsifier naturally found in the body, can be injected to reduce stubborn fat under the chin area, while a combination of hyaluronic acid fillers, polydioxanone threads, high-intensity focused ultrasound and radiofrequency treatments can be used to tighten, lift and improve the definition of the chin and jaw.

K-pop artists are known for their meticulous attention to detail and high beauty standards that make it seemingly impossible for unflattering photos to surface. Beauty filters and Photoshop aside, there’s nothing quite like the glow of confidence that comes from looking and feeling your best.

Follow Dr Chan on Instagram for more beauty tips and musings.

The post Dr Lisa Chan on K-pop Inspired Beauty Enhancements appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

When you are investing in any type of product, you naturally want to ensure you get something of high quality and that does what it is supposed to do.

The post Some Positive Effects of High-Quality CBD Products appeared first on LUXUO.

Thierry Wasser, master perfumer at Guerlain, talks to Prestige about the latest compositions in L'Art & La Metière collection, and the past, present, and genderless tomorrow of perfume-making.

Perfume making at Guerlain is pretty much an elevated art form under the leadership of master perfumer Thierry Wasser, who ensures that all the house’s creations connect with the spirit of the time. It was under his watch that the exclusive L’Art & La Metière collection was established in 2005 as an ode to the source of all perfumes – the natural, raw materials themselves.

This year, the collection is relaunched as an impassioned celebration of the art of fragrance, with the original 11 scents joined by four beloved Guerlain fragrances – Frenchy Lavande, Hermès Troublants, Oeillet Pourpre and Épices Volées (formerly Le Frenchy, Un Dimanche à la Campagne, Lui and Arsène Lupin Voyou respectively). Two new compositions have also created by Guerlain perfumer Delphine Jelk. Rose Chérie and Santal Pao Rose are both interpretations of that most popular floral, the rose, to bring the L’Art & La Metière collection up to 17 unique and distinct scents.

Although the rose is popularly viewed as a feminine ingredient, Wasser insists this was an “occidental way of thinking”, and that the divide never existed in the world of perfume until marketing intervened. And Wasser would know: he’s worked with Jean-Paul Guerlain himself and, before joining the house permanently in 2008, he’d created many notable perfumes for others, including Christian Dior and Lancôme.

Wasser talked about his lifelong commitment to perfumes, the joys of creating perfumes that celebrate a singular accord, and his belief that the future of fragrances will be genderless.

I read that you collected plants to dry at home and make tinctures when you were young. Were you always fascinated with nature, raw materials and scents?

From about the age of 10, I began reading all the literature I could find regarding medicinal plants, then I’d search the hills outside Montreux for the species I’d read about. Indeed, I’d collect them, dry them, and make all sorts of potions. It was my first, innocent, romantic foray into perfumery.

You’ve made so many well-known perfumes in the past, for other houses as well as Guerlain. How would you describe what makes your signature?

I’d rather leave it to beauty journalists and fragrance critics to identify my signature, since self-analysis can be quite difficult. I do believe that I’m versatile as a creator, due in part to my natural curiosity and desire to explore.

How do you approach each new fragrance in a creative way? Is it important to you to create a completely new fragrance with a new story or do you look to the archives?

Formulating fragrance is a way to express oneself, sometimes creatively, sometimes emotionally. In order to do that clearly, one needs to have a sense of culture – its past and its present. There are times when I do take inspiration from the past; other times I literally begin with a fresh, blank page in front of me. I think creating from both perspectives makes for a richer, fuller expression.

Of all the senses, smell is the most powerful when it comes to evoking memories and feelings. Is this something you bear in mind when creating new fragrances?

Creating a fragrance is like telling a story, but instead of words I use raw materials – and, like words, each one has a meaning. That said, the story I choose to tell via fragrance is open to interpretation from the wearer and may be forever linked to their memories and feelings in a way that I never intended or imagined. I quite like that aspect of perfume. It’s intensely personal and eternal in a way that I’ll never know.

Perfumes are usually created as a mix of different notes, but with the L’Art & La Metière collection you placed a singular focus on a raw material itself to create the fragrance. What inspired you to do this?

The fragrances in this collection are of a style, one that distinctly expresses a feeling about a specific raw material. This collection reflects the unique marriage of intention and a singular note. That collision of emotion and solo raw material is very inspiring to me.

Are there certain raw materials that you find more interesting to work with than others?

My passion for specific notes is very capricious. Very often when working with one accord, I begin to fall in love with another complementary ingredient. I can’t name a favourite, because my interest is constantly changing.

The rose comes in so many variants. The new Rose Chérie and the Santal Pao Rose, for example, are two very different takes. Can you tell us more about the two fragrances and the ingredients you’ve chosen to work with?

Rose Chérie is about romanticism. It’s a romantic interpretation of the beauty of the flower itself. It’s like a sweet kiss. Santal Pao Rosa reflects a flower grounded in soil. The added touch of sandalwood gives the fragrance strength and even a sense of spirituality.

How do the new fragrances compliment the other rose scents in the line?

Rose Barbare, the other rose fragrance in the line, is a very sensual, carnal composition. I think these two new additions help to reveal more of the moods and facets of this endlessly inspiring ingredient.

You’ve credited Jean-Paul Guerlain himself for teaching you the importance of sourcing raw materials.

Jean-Paul Guerlain had a very logical, common-sense approach to sourcing, which I learned and appreciate greatly. I’m proud to witness and uphold Guerlain’s long-standing commitment to sustainability, a value of the house well before my arrival and before it was fashionable. Without sustainability, we’d never have been able to maintain our partnerships and relevance for so many years.

When did perfumes become gendered and, moving forward, will we see more unisex fragrances?

Fragrance became gendered in Europe on the democratisation of the use of perfume. The public’s mindset at the time liked to discriminate between male and female. It’s a very occidental way of thinking. If you go to other cultures, these divisions don’t exist in the world of perfume. I like to think that the future is to design fragrances that are genderless rather than unisex. It’s a fine difference but to me, it’s one that matters.

Is there more room today for men to express their beauty and style?

My hope and my belief are that future generations of perfumers will be free to create without limitations of gender or societal norms. Yes, there’s more room today for all of us to express our individual beauty in ways that my ancestors couldn’t have imagined, but there’s always potential to evolve even further. Freedom of expression in fragrance is the future.

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Thierry Wasser, master perfumer at Guerlain, talks to Prestige about the latest compositions in L'Art & La Metière collection, and the past, present, and genderless tomorrow of perfume-making.

Perfume making at Guerlain is pretty much an elevated art form under the leadership of master perfumer Thierry Wasser, who ensures that all the house’s creations connect with the spirit of the time. It was under his watch that the exclusive L’Art & La Metière collection was established in 2005 as an ode to the source of all perfumes – the natural, raw materials themselves.

This year, the collection is relaunched as an impassioned celebration of the art of fragrance, with the original 11 scents joined by four beloved Guerlain fragrances – Frenchy Lavande, Hermès Troublants, Oeillet Pourpre and Épices Volées (formerly Le Frenchy, Un Dimanche à la Campagne, Lui and Arsène Lupin Voyou respectively). Two new compositions have also created by Guerlain perfumer Delphine Jelk. Rose Chérie and Santal Pao Rose are both interpretations of that most popular floral, the rose, to bring the L’Art & La Metière collection up to 17 unique and distinct scents.

Although the rose is popularly viewed as a feminine ingredient, Wasser insists this was an “occidental way of thinking”, and that the divide never existed in the world of perfume until marketing intervened. And Wasser would know: he’s worked with Jean-Paul Guerlain himself and, before joining the house permanently in 2008, he’d created many notable perfumes for others, including Christian Dior and Lancôme.

Wasser talked about his lifelong commitment to perfumes, the joys of creating perfumes that celebrate a singular accord, and his belief that the future of fragrances will be genderless.

I read that you collected plants to dry at home and make tinctures when you were young. Were you always fascinated with nature, raw materials and scents?

From about the age of 10, I began reading all the literature I could find regarding medicinal plants, then I’d search the hills outside Montreux for the species I’d read about. Indeed, I’d collect them, dry them, and make all sorts of potions. It was my first, innocent, romantic foray into perfumery.

You’ve made so many well-known perfumes in the past, for other houses as well as Guerlain. How would you describe what makes your signature?

I’d rather leave it to beauty journalists and fragrance critics to identify my signature, since self-analysis can be quite difficult. I do believe that I’m versatile as a creator, due in part to my natural curiosity and desire to explore.

How do you approach each new fragrance in a creative way? Is it important to you to create a completely new fragrance with a new story or do you look to the archives?

Formulating fragrance is a way to express oneself, sometimes creatively, sometimes emotionally. In order to do that clearly, one needs to have a sense of culture – its past and its present. There are times when I do take inspiration from the past; other times I literally begin with a fresh, blank page in front of me. I think creating from both perspectives makes for a richer, fuller expression.

Of all the senses, smell is the most powerful when it comes to evoking memories and feelings. Is this something you bear in mind when creating new fragrances?

Creating a fragrance is like telling a story, but instead of words I use raw materials – and, like words, each one has a meaning. That said, the story I choose to tell via fragrance is open to interpretation from the wearer and may be forever linked to their memories and feelings in a way that I never intended or imagined. I quite like that aspect of perfume. It’s intensely personal and eternal in a way that I’ll never know.

Perfumes are usually created as a mix of different notes, but with the L’Art & La Metière collection you placed a singular focus on a raw material itself to create the fragrance. What inspired you to do this?

The fragrances in this collection are of a style, one that distinctly expresses a feeling about a specific raw material. This collection reflects the unique marriage of intention and a singular note. That collision of emotion and solo raw material is very inspiring to me.

Are there certain raw materials that you find more interesting to work with than others?

My passion for specific notes is very capricious. Very often when working with one accord, I begin to fall in love with another complementary ingredient. I can’t name a favourite, because my interest is constantly changing.

The rose comes in so many variants. The new Rose Chérie and the Santal Pao Rose, for example, are two very different takes. Can you tell us more about the two fragrances and the ingredients you’ve chosen to work with?

Rose Chérie is about romanticism. It’s a romantic interpretation of the beauty of the flower itself. It’s like a sweet kiss. Santal Pao Rosa reflects a flower grounded in soil. The added touch of sandalwood gives the fragrance strength and even a sense of spirituality.

How do the new fragrances compliment the other rose scents in the line?

Rose Barbare, the other rose fragrance in the line, is a very sensual, carnal composition. I think these two new additions help to reveal more of the moods and facets of this endlessly inspiring ingredient.

You’ve credited Jean-Paul Guerlain himself for teaching you the importance of sourcing raw materials.

Jean-Paul Guerlain had a very logical, common-sense approach to sourcing, which I learned and appreciate greatly. I’m proud to witness and uphold Guerlain’s long-standing commitment to sustainability, a value of the house well before my arrival and before it was fashionable. Without sustainability, we’d never have been able to maintain our partnerships and relevance for so many years.

When did perfumes become gendered and, moving forward, will we see more unisex fragrances?

Fragrance became gendered in Europe on the democratisation of the use of perfume. The public’s mindset at the time liked to discriminate between male and female. It’s a very occidental way of thinking. If you go to other cultures, these divisions don’t exist in the world of perfume. I like to think that the future is to design fragrances that are genderless rather than unisex. It’s a fine difference but to me, it’s one that matters.

Is there more room today for men to express their beauty and style?

My hope and my belief are that future generations of perfumers will be free to create without limitations of gender or societal norms. Yes, there’s more room today for all of us to express our individual beauty in ways that my ancestors couldn’t have imagined, but there’s always potential to evolve even further. Freedom of expression in fragrance is the future.

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