Making sure she starts her new year looking good, model mum Janet Ma Sze-wai was among the tai-tais attending an afternoon tea for Swiss beauty brand La Prairie last Friday at the Conrad Hotel. The cause for this pause was its latest line of triple whitening-action cream and serum. Delivering the spiel was its research and development vice-president, Sven Gohla, who offered a 30-minute biochemical class on how tissues and cells can be protected against lipofuscin, pigmentation and DNA ageing through extracts of lemon, ginseng, white tea and soya bean. We're not sure how many people really paid attention, but the class seemed to be a success because the questions asked afterwards were how much does it cost and where can I buy it? For Ma, price is not a factor when it comes to looking good. 'It is just a very simple reason,' Ma said. 'Humans are not like dogs. A pug may look cute with wrinkles, but humans don't. A woman with firm skin and without wrinkles is, of course, more pleasant to look at.' A model since her teens in the mid-1980s, Ma said she was lucky her profession had given her an insight into skincare, which she's determined to pass on to her daughters. 'I share all my experience with my girls about the importance of skincare. I think it is important to start looking after your skin from a young age, as early as your teens.' We're assuming she's also teaching them other important lessons like, you know, to stay in school, be responsible people and to avoid touching live poultry.
