GET GLOWING!

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT you, but walking through the beauty floor of a department store makes me anxious. The sheer volume of products on offer can be overwhelming, and the salespeople fighting for your attention with pea-size samples, tester strips and make-up swatches being waved at you — sales pitch notwithstanding — just a wee bit intrusive. But such is the business of beauty: it’s massive, madly competitive and consumers are so spoilt for choice that they’re often left perplexed and inundated with information. And that’s where we come in.

For the last couple of months, Prestige’s editorial team has been hard at work scouring the market for the best beauty and wellness products and services. We shortlisted these to 300, each tested, critiqued and rated. Sounds like a dream, but this was no easy feat, which was why we asked the help of four industry experts — shout out to make-up artist Alexa Bui, influencer and yogi Elva Ni, fashion influencer Feiping Chang and makeover artist extraordinaire Rickykazaf — who helped us review these products and services. The result is what we can proudly and confidently say is a list of the 50 best beauty and wellness products that covers everything from skin and haircare, make-up, overall wellness and everything in between. You’ll find this comprehensive list on page 20, alongside the products that topped the Readers’ Choice survey.

We also spoke to Marcus Lam, style director of Essensuals by Toni & Guy, who offered useful haircare and styling tips (page 8). He talks, among other things, about the proper way to treat coloured hair, how to give our oft-neglected scalp some TLC, as well as styling trends, letting us in on the hottest colours and haircuts. We also feature one of the most luxurious wellness destinations in Hong Kong — if not Asia right now — Rosewood’s Asaya (page 12), highlighting its wholistic approach to wellness and the extravagant space it provides them in. We’re sure you’ll be wanting to book a session ASAP.

We also examine the growing trend of CBD in beauty and wellness (page 2). While already hugely popular in North America, CBD is still held with some reservation in Asia. In Hong Kong, however, CBD is legal so we’ve seen retailers such as Joyce Beauty bringing in products from brands Saint Jane, Nature of Things and Treaty. Why, we can even ingest them with our coffee at Elephant Grounds!

We hope this book will enlighten you on an array of beauty products, services and topics, if not reinforce what you already know. We aim to make your trips to the beauty counters and spas a lot less perplexing and make them the enjoyable and worthwhile experiences they should be.