For a truly rosy complexion, try a little flower power

Black orchid extract is the key ingredient of Guerlain’s Orchidée Impériale Black cream. The flowery essence is blended with other anti-ageing ingredients to prevent wrinkles and blemishes. A specially designed applicator is provided to massage the cream deep into the skin.

Delicate pink pearls of rose oil are blended and broken down by a salt serum base to form the revitalising Absolue L’Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask by Lancôme. The fragrant five-minute mask is topped off with Absolue L’Extrait Ultimate Beautifying Lotion for a soft, radiant finish.

Givenchy’s Le Soin essence oils – paired together in a Noir and Blanc set for night and day application – are designed to restore balance in the skin’s energy flows. The key ingredient? Extract from a blue alga that is among the most ancient life forms on Earth.

SK-II’s do-it-all R.N.A. Power regimen targets 10 signs of ageing, such as firmness, dryness, lack of radiance, roughness and, of course, wrinkles. The Radical New Age eye cream mixes natural yeast and soy with its Pitera product and lupine-alfalfa extract, among other ingredients.

Tickled-pink perfume

Goodbye to gloss, it’s time to mix and match with matte lipsticks

The cosmetics industry has come a long way since the ancient Egyptians concocted homemade lipsticks from red ochre and crushed bugs. Women now have their pick of a seemingly impossible palette of colours, textures and finishes – all bottled in glitzy and eye-catching tubes.

The glory days of gloss appear to be waning, with many women ditching their sticky liquid cosmetics. Yet the drier matte lipstick, a fairly recent trend, seems to make some women wary. This is largely because of its tendency to exaggerate certain blemishes, such as bumps and cracks. Thankfully, a number of sophisticated new products , complete with hydrating and moisturising ingredients, have emerged to help remedy this problem.

Dior lipsticks, for instance, last 16 hours and help hydrate and revitalise lips with their blend of mango butter and Aroleat Samphira. This season, more than 60 years after Dior released Rouge Dior, its first lipstick, the luxury brand has set about reinventing its classic look, now available in an ultra-matte or satin finish.

Aside from Dior, Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Lancôme have all jumped on the matte wagon this autumn. The Giorgio Armani Lip Magnet, a matte liquid lipstick, is available in 18 bold shades, while Gucci’s Sensuous Deep-Matte Lipstick is said to leave the wearer’s lips feeling supple and silky. In a similar vein, Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge collection comes in a choice of three finishes – matte, sheer or cream.

“The glory days of gloss appear to be waning, with many women ditching their sticky liquid cosmetics”

Again maximising on choice, Mac has outdone itself with its Liptensity collection, which features 24 new shades of lipstick, in a range of bold and brilliant colours. Options include black Stallion and peachy Toast and Butter.

Another fresh option this year is Tom Ford’s Lip Contour Duo, boasting a lighter shade of lip shaper on one end of the stick and a darker lip colour at the other. The two shades can be combined and blended together for a fetching faded ombré effect.

For a touch of the more exotic, Russian model Natalia Vodianova’s new Holiday Makeup collection – produced in association with Guerlain – evokes images of the bright red bindi favoured by Hindu women as a symbol of creation.

The new collections from By Terry and NARS take a glamour-on-the go approach. By Terry’s convenient Rouge-Expert Click Stick summons the perfect layer of lipstick at the click of a button. The Velvet Lip Glide by NARS, meanwhile is a celebration of the liberated women of the 1970s.

Whether it be matte or glossy, neutral-coloured or vibrant, this season’s lipstick products should leave no-one down in the mouth.

Tempting cologne

Sometimes, as Adam and Eve found out, the forbidden fruit is the most tempting. And Jo Malone London’s Pomegranate Noir cologne, set to be released in a limited edition bottle, taps into this temptation with its latest fragrance.

The fragrance – one of the brand’s most popular – adds a tinge of mystery and masculinity to a typically sweet scent and is ideal for the man who likes a taste of intrigue.

Pomegranate, raspberry and plum intermingle with notes of pink pepper, Casablanca lily and spicy woods.

The striped black and clear glass bottle, topped with a black ribbon, will be available this November.

Hong Kong celebs attend YSL Vinyl Cream lipstick launch party

Fashion icon and Cantopop singer Sammi Cheng made a “Fabulous” appearance at Yves Saint Laurent’s Beauty Night Out party, which kicked off recently at Sky100, Hong Kong’s tallest landmark on the 100th floor of the International Commerce Centre.

The star rocked a strapless black dress and classic red lips – a fitting outfit for the launch of YSL’s Vernis À Lèvres Vinyl Cream liquid lipstick. The new line boasts 12 shades of silky smooth lip colour, and the product is a multipurpose mash-up of a lip stain, lipstick and lip gloss. Perfect for any retro chic look, the finish shines like vinyl.

Nearly 1,000 fashionistas and guests posed for photos and danced the night away to hits played by all-girl DJ group Zombettes from Malaysia and local indie band Chochukmo.

A photo corner proved popular, where guests had the chance to create their own vinyl cover displaying portraits of them modelling one of the new Vinyl Cream lip colours.

YSL fans and fashion lovers who didn’t make the party were not left disappointed, though. A live broadcast on social media showcased pictures and videos captured on the NFC digital wristbands worn by guests.

Organic beauty

If someone said, “We need to live in harmony with nature”, you’d probably dismiss them as a treehugger who lives in a log cabin without running water or electricity, and we doubt you’d be too far off the truth.

The reality of living and working in Hong Kong is that it is difficult to get out and enjoy the city’s parks, reserves and trails. Most people spend the majority of their time surrounded by high-rise buildings.

And MTM Skincare is well aware how bad living in a concrete jungle is to men’s and women’s skin, which is why they have released the Custom-Blended Harmonious Collection.

The collection is sourced from a variety of organically grown plants in Japan and relieves allergy symptoms and strengthens the immune system, while adding moisture to the skin.

With its main ingredients harvested and extracted from organic farmlands, the unisex skincare collection is as close to nature as some Hong Kongers will get.

Natural choice for Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner — yes, we know it‘s only October – it’s about time to start thinking what to get the special woman in your life.

Jurlique, the Australian cosmetics brand, has just released its 2016 holiday/Christmas skin-care collection, Give Nature, Bring Joy.

As the name suggests, the skin-care collection promotes the benefits of nature, which Jurlique believes has the ultimate power to create, nurture and soothe. It isn’t called Mother Nature for nothing.

The collection has something for every skin type with four mini-versions of hand creams, the Petite Hand Care Collection. There are also skin-care gift sets to choose from, along with the return of the Ultimate Face & Body Collection, which has 10 skin-care products.

Is there a better way to show your love than to help someone improve their skin?

Skincare on the go

Sweden has given us many things to be thankful for: the band ABBA, IKEA furniture, and Absolut Vodka, to name a few. The country is also home to some of the most beautiful people walking the Earth.

So it is surprising to learn that a Swedish beauty brand has launched a new skincare device for women to help boost confidence. Surely there is no need for such a device in Sweden? Presumably the company just wants to help the rest of us “plain” people. It must be an act of philanthropy!

Whatever the reason, FOREO’s latest product, the LUNA go, is a portable version of the LUNA 2 facial cleansing brush. This powerful, rechargeable and travel-friendly device has been specially created to deliver full cleansing and anti-ageing experiences.

The surface of the LUNA go is made up of rounded silicone touch-points, which make it gentle enough for daily use.

We doubt the LUNA go will make you as attractive as a Swedish person, but it could boost your confidence.

There is also a model for men.

Autumn Launch for Prada’s Sensual New Scent

Who is the Prada man? That question is at the very heart of L’Homme Prada, the brand’s sultry new fragrance. This airy yet sensual scent is said to blend a variety of classically masculine aromas – neroli, geranium and patchouli – with the more nuanced notes of iris and amber.

L’Homme Prada – together with La Femme Prada, its far more ladylike counterpart – will make its Hong Kong debut at the fragrance counters of SOGO’s Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay outlets on 28 September, prior to a wider roll out from 12 October onwards.

The perfume’s more female-friendly incarnation is described as a “hyper-sensual floral scent” and comes interwoven with notes of the Ylang Ylang tree and a hint of distilled vetiver grass.

Hibistonic by Ami Iyök

Beauty is big business, with a veritable ocean of lotions and mountains of powders and creams out there it can be hard to know where to start…

Ami Iyök is an Iberian beauty brand originally established in sunny Barcelona specialising in eco-luxe skincare. While the company sources its ingredients from all over the world it maintains an environmentally friendly focus and a responsible approach to sustainable resourcing that is worth noting.

Within its eco-friendly, fully re-usable packaging is a range of luxury high-end beauty products for the discerning consumer with a conscience. One of our favourites is the Hibistonic toner.

Hibistonic is a toner made of natural ingredients that helps to remove excess oils and nourish your skin leaving you feeling clean, refreshed and naturally beautiful. Its an all-in-one toner with hemostatic, astringent, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effects and thanks to a touch of cinnamon, this naturally clear toner has pleasant, exotic spice notes in its scent.

Use daily on your oily trouble zones after washing your face or applying a cleansing face mask. Just a few drops will do, make sure to wipe off any excess residue and voila! You are ready to face the day, clean, refreshed and grease free.

Hottest New Fragrance

Iconic English brand Burberry has unveiled its first foray into the world of scents with My Burberry Black a new parfum for women. The launch was celebrated with the coincidental release of a snapchat lens and a global marketing campaign featuring up and coming English starlet Lily James. The fragrance is described as “fusing the scent of sun-drenched jasmine flower and peach nectar with a touch of rose. The signature rose note at the heart of My Burberry is given a sweet and candied twist, while rich amber patchouli rounds off the scent for a deep and captivating finish.”

The scent is available now city-wide in select stores.