Discount stores can offer better deals for cosmetics than malls
Don't blow your budget on expensive make-up at mall shops. Try the discount stores that specialise in grey-market goods
The constant upkeep of a woman's appearance requires time, effort and most of all, money. But products vary wildly in terms of prices, so where does one start for decent and affordable cosmetics?
Make-up pro Kathy Sung, at Plush Agency, says that it all begins with the face. She recommends starting with a simple face cream, like an Australian lanolin cream, before mixing and matching with a range of make-up.
"For primer, I use L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base - it's great for covering pores and is reasonably priced. For Foundation, I use Estée Lauder and Bobbi Brown's cream foundation and powder, both have smooth finishes. For eye shadow and blushes, I use Naas and Mac, because the colours are sharp and long lasting," she says.
Now, where do you buy the products cheaply? Sung says ditch the overpriced department stores and head to local shops like Sasa. "Sasa's products are cheap and they sell sample sizes of big-name brands," she says.
Hong Kong's lenient parallel import laws allows stores such as Sasa, Bonjour and other names to import small shipments of cosmetics from neighbouring Asian countries, where the prices are cheaper.
But Sung warns there are drawbacks: the cosmetics aren't regulated, meaning prices differ from store to store and the products are sometimes expired, so make sure to hunt around.