I love my fine jewellery, but those neon-coloured fancy necklaces have turned my head recently. Where can I buy one and would you recommend wearing it like a real piece?
Nice in Neon, Tai Hang
The Dictator rules: Of course not! Think about it. You don't wear your statement diamond necklaces to the movies, do you? What makes fashion jewellery fun is the tongue-in-cheek reference to formal dressing in a completely casual context. I love the bright yellow, pink and turquoise resin multi-row necklaces at Kate Spade (HK$2,200 and up; Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2116 4998). And you might not associate Juicy Couture with jewellery, but its mixed neon chain, crystal and fabric necklaces are fantastic in a rock 'n' roll princess sort of way (HK$1,100; Times Square, Causeway Bay, tel: 2118 2980). French brand Shourouk does exactly the look you should be going for, but at prices inching up towards the fine jewellery department (HK$9,700 and up; Harvey Nichols, Pacific Place, tel: 3968 2668). RJ Graziano never fails to come out with on-trend pieces. This season, it's a collection of coloured stone necklaces that aren't exactly neon, and that's a good thing; they're vibrant enough to wear now and after the brights trend fades (HK$1,880 and up; Harvey Nichols). Miu Miu's multicoloured jewellery is sweet, too. It is designed in the brand's signature quirky style, with mixed colours and materials, as well as the cameo series that just landed in stores (HK$4,750 to HK$6,500; Pacific Place, tel: 2918 4616). Neon necklaces look best, in my opinion, in a choker or bib style, not longer. Juxtapose the over-the-top glitz with jeans and a T-shirt. It can also look fab with a pretty day dress. Whatever you do, though, let that be the statement piece. If you try to co-ordinate your earrings, bracelets, shoes and/or bag, you'll end up looking like a deranged, psychedelic beauty queen.
When Sephora was here, I used to buy this nail polish remover pen thing to clean up the sides when I paint my nails. Now that they're gone, where can I get one? Everywhere I went, they didn't know what I was talking about, except when they sold me one that turned out to be a cuticle oil pen.
Correction Fluid, Mid-Levels
The Dictator: Seriously? I'll tell you exactly why you haven't been able to find special equipment to correct a bad nail painting: user error! A simple cotton swab or, for better precision, a cuticle stick wrapped in cotton wool then dipped in nail polish remover will do exactly the same job without cluttering your medicine cabinet. Here's another idea: learn to paint within the lines or go to one of the tens of amazing, affordable nail salons that do great mani/pedis all over Hong Kong. Nail Nail should have a branch near you, such as the one at the end of the Mid-Levels escalator at IFC Mall, Central (tel: 2366 9322). I was, nevertheless, intrigued by your question so I did actually search for corrector pens and came up with surprisingly little in a town that is not only beauty obsessed, but also loves its gadgets. The best I saw, though, was by Erbe Solingen and comes with three fibre-tip refills (HK$75; Fanda, World-Wide House, Central, tel: 2311 6168). Sephora.com doesn't deliver to Hong Kong, but other great sites do. Drugstore.com, for example, sells the Cutex Corrector Pen with Nail Polish Remover for about HK$31, not including delivery. Now, clean up your act, would you?
