page 2 of 4

BARGAINS/ CHEAP STUFF

Beauty Supply stores* - carries discount of Christian Dior (sometimes discontinued stuff), Chanel, Versace, Shiseido..etc make-up. They also have skincare from La Prarie, Sisley, Darphin, Decleor, EL, Lancome, plus haircare like Redken and TIGI, all on discount prices. Shiseido curler for $45 (Shu is $100 if you buy it at their free-standing boutiques, and at selected Shiseido counters you can even buy the curler for $53). You can also buy tiny plastic jars, bottles, etc. Plus sample size dept. store skincare, false lashes, perfume copycats, etc. Drugstore stuff, some Asian drugstore brands as well (like Cyber Colors, Correges, with well-stocked tester racks). SaSa stores in Tsim Sha Tsui Cameron Rd, Mongkok Fa Yuen Street. Website under construction: sasa.com. Strawberry store at TST Star Ferry Pier, or end of the Ocean line of malls. You will also find some Avon and ROC products for sale. What you find varies at store to store but at Shatin Sasa I've found Cargo cosmetics, Prestige cosmetics.

Strawberry has a greater variety of products, especially in terms of dept. store make-up. There's MAC eyeshadows and foundations, which are never available at Sasa. There's also Lancome mascaras (mostly browns, blues, a few black Keracils left). On the otherhand things that are available at both store are generally cheaper at Sasa, by $10-20, they are still discounted though, I guess it's because of their location and rents. Website (with ordering): strawberrynet.com

If you are looking for samples to buy, Aster and Bonjour stores are usually more well-stocked, with a large range of samples.
There are some hot eyelash curlers at Sasa and Mannings for $60-$70. Sometimes also at Log-On/City'Super.
If you are looking for wierd stuff beauty supply stores will also have it, from crease glue for vanishing lids to a pumping suction thing for pores, all the wierd and maybe wonderful Japanese inventions. You can also get teeth towel wipes at Log-On/CitySuper.

Marks and Spencer* is a UK dept. store and they have stores here, you can find their affordable Classic make-up line inside with testers. They have some good yellow-based foundations, some innovative stack towers for eyeshadows, cream blushes (shimmer and matts), eyeshadows in wands (they are sheer, watercolor transparent, quite unique). Website. The department store also have their own brand of of clothing, lingerie, and everything else. The lingerie is one of their best sellers.

Komenuka Bijin is available at Log-On, Citysupers, etc. for half the price retailed at Sephora!

Skinteuticals Vitamin C products are also much cheaper here for some reason. Available at Prescriptives Plus.

Red Earth*- everywhere. The free-standing boutiques carries more stuff, like loose powder, foundation, pefume and brushes. A lot like TBS but much cheaper and much better quality in my opinion. Love the lipglosses, the best deal at $15 a pop and tons of colors. Huge array of colors for nail polishes too, and some good Urban Decay knock-offs. RE also has its own corner at most Esprit stores. Red Earth also has a clearance store where all the unpopular products or shades go for even lower prices. This is the one at the 53-52 Peking Rd. HMV intersection at TST (exit C). Once a year they have an annual sale during spring/summer and it's a great time to pick up stuff, but they also have other deals during other times of year like buy 1 get 1 free etc. Up coming news: in autumn 2000 Espirt will be launching their own baths and beauty line made for them by Lancaster, including bath salts, lotions/gels, mist sprays and scented candles.

DRUGSTORE STUFF

- only 2 chains: Watsons & Mannings. You'll also find L'Oreal, Revlon, Revlon Streetwear, and Maybelline here. Not much of a selection and things are usually more expensive than in US. However things made in Japan will be much cheaper here. Biore nose strips are 1/4 the price here and Clean and Clear blotting films are 1/2 price. Stock up! Some special whitening drugstore items are available from Neutrogena, Ponds, Nivea, Oil of Olay, Biore Qualite and L'Oreal that aren't available in North America. Neutrogena rack at Watsons will also have testers. Also if you want to try Avon without ordering you can find a small selection of skincare at Watsons and also Sasa has some of the more expensive Avon items. There's also a counter at Nathan Rd.'s Watsons in Mongkok. And of course, Hello Kitty lipbalms.

There's also a whole rack of Japanese drugstore skincare, but instructions & ingredients is in Japanese, I have no idea what it is, so needless to say I haven't tried anything.

At (selected) Watsons only:
More goodies hail from Australia: G Star* has cute food-themed skincare products. The lipbalm are packaged like tiny jam jars in their glass bottle, tin lid, and stuck on labels. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before? The packaging could be a little more sophis though. There's also a yogurt body lotion, toast sponge, jam gel body lotion (it does smell like jam but lighter), butter soap, and my 2 favourites, a giant size chocolate bar soap (also in vanilla and coconut flavour) that has grooves that you can break off and baths salts in a box like Chinese take-outs. Look for this in the baths section of selected stores (lie the one in Shatin Plaza or TST HMV). They are cute but the quality isn't that good.

Canmake cosmetics* - Japanese drugstore brand, available at new Watsons. Testers for everything in everyshade. I love their cream shadows, their version of Mayb's Cool Effects. More shades, great staying power that just won't rub off. It's available at Watsons drugstore at Festival Walk, the new Ocean mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, and across from Sogo in Causeway (exit F? Jardin exit), Pioneer Centre Mongkok (MTR exit B1). They also have a clear trasnparent-blue gel for lashes which I thought was unique (also comes in no-color clear gel, black, brown etc). This stuff is targeted at teens and (like most Japanese drugstore brands) most of the stuff are shimmery. Now there's also a very similar Japanese line called Fiance also available at Watsons.

Z.A. cosmetics - I think it's linked to Shiseido, but it's definitely Chinese based. za-ny.com To my knowledge it's only sold in Asia, and Hawaii, despite the "New York" bit. Has testers for powders (some very yellow-based shades) and lipsticks. If you are a sucker for good packaging you won't like this line. Also has limited skincare and hair stuff - the megavoltage skincare cream is one of its best sellers.

Stuf bath care, cosmetics, and fragrance from Australia. Bath care include various versions of body scrubs, foot scrubs (called Stomp!), and Boo bath bombs. Cosmetics include lipsticks (the packaging for this is hardly eye candy), eyeliner pencil (shimmery White Lawn to the basic blacks and browns), pressed powder and some warm-based very sheer foundations, blush, and brushes. There's also a shimmer lotion called Celebrity Skin (I love their names), and some glittery body lotion. Overall it looks to be a fun line but some of the scents are truly awful! So far I've only seen this at Festival Walk, Sha Tin, and TST (HMV exit C, turn in first corner) Watsons. Check out their website stuf.com.au

Face of Australis - basic products. Harder to find than ZA. Not a lot of colors, most eyeshadows are shimmery. I got 1 lipstick (has typical lipstick smell) from them and it lasts very well but other than that the line doesn't interest me. See our unofficial catalogs for more.

At Mannings Only

Kai's* (Japanese) have silicon padded eyelash curlers. And the one factor that's better than Shiseido or Shu, they sell replacement pads. Kai has 2 lines, one called La Beau the other Cosmeup. It seems the same except for packaging, but then I can't read the Japanese. The La Beau line is available at Mannings, they have a great section/part curler for curling just section of lashes for $22. The same style from Cosmeup (available at Log-On) costs $31. Cosmeup also has a pero style part-curler $42, and a foldable full curler -very handy for stuffing into slim pockets. They also sell other beauty grooming kits from hair sissors to tweezers.

If you dig around the skincare shelves you'll also find some funky looking cleansers, including Neutrome from Japan which has suspended gold flakes in the cleanser (has testers) and some other products. A brand from Italy (name escapes me, something like DCP or DCT) which has colorful swirls in a clear gel, kinda of like marble, available in yellow-to-green graduation tones, orange, and blue to green.

and the not really worth mentioning, but just in case...
Eco Aroma aromatherapy products from Australia, plus a full range of skincare, from eye gel, lipbalm, scrub, green tea cleansing bar to massage oil and cellulite rub (huh?). Beautiful aromatherapy pots. Some bath bombs as well. Natalie skincare (and baths) from Australia, everything from glitter gel, bead candles to bubble baths. Scents: honey, strawberry, rose, etc. Fou d'elle cosmetics. Everything from cream eyeshadow, lipgloss, e/s, to lipsticks. Packaging is all Korean tho, despite the French name. Testers for everything and everyshade. Some raves about the mascara. Neece Japanese cosmetics, bottom price range. Looks like there are some nice very wearable colors, but slight gold shimmer in most of them. The packaging is clear and simple, everything comes in a tiny plastic clear pouch. Also at Watsons: United Color of Benetton - Available at SaSa and some drugstores. I really like the texture of their eyeshadows, very soft, unfortunetly every single on seems to be shimmery. Testers for everything. Pro Japanese bottom price range, almost no-name cosmetics. They look like they have some pretty nail polish colors, eyeshadow duos are tiny and kind of cute. The packaging is simple and transparent. Another brand called Sophie have multi-colored blush (with patches of diff color that are suppose to mix together when you wipe brush across).

Turn to page 3 of our guide. -->
<-- back to table of contents,