Joining Hollywood celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez and Paris Hilton will be Hong Kong star Karen Mok Man-wai , who is venturing into a new business. With 'Karen Mok the Fragrance', she became this week one of the few Asian stars to launch their own brand of perfume.
'In western countries it's quite the norm for celebrities to have their own fragrances or have their own line of clothing,' says Mok (right). 'The fragrance market in Asia can definitely expand and it is about time we had our own.'
She earlier launched her own designer lingerie collection, 'Passion Play'. Although she has a growing interest in expanding her business concerns by launching her own clothing, jeans and shoes collections, acting and singing will remain her main occupations, Mok says.
Her latest film is Lost, Indulgence, released last week. The romantic drama directed by the mainland's Zhang Yibai depicts karaoke girl Su Dan (played by Mok) caught up in a relationship with a taxi driver, his wife and his son.
In order to prepare for the role of a Cantonese karaoke girl in Chongqing, where the film is set, Mok visited a local bar.
'The director actually suggested that,' she recalls. 'He said then I could do my homework. So we [the whole crew] all went but I made the big mistake of going too early.'