The Dictator: on style, she rules

I read that jeans skirts in a pencil style are in for autumn and I quite liked the idea, especially as I’m too old for those mini jeans skirts now. So why are they not sold in any of the Central shopping malls?
Pencilling It In, Central

The Dictator rules: Ah, perhaps that’s because you were looking in the wrong place. Although this is a more grown-up take on the jeans skirt, its designer incarnations for autumn-winter don’t seem to have landed in the SAR yet. Denim retailers tend to congregate in different parts of town, such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay, where the youngsters shop. G-Star, for example, has two nice examples in black denim: the Midge (HK$1,495; Times Square, Causeway Bay, tel: 3104 9099), which falls just above the knee; and the Pavan (HK$1,245), which reaches just below the knee. Levi’s does great ones, too, including a mid-blue wash and classic slim cut (HK$500 and up; Hysan Place, Causeway Bay, tel: 2613 9023). Or see The Gap’s basic, dark denim skirt (HK$349; Hysan Place, tel: 2907 8368), which will look great with a T-shirt and even better with a crisp white button-down or chunky knit in cooler months. Alternatively, you can buy Diesel via www.asos.com, where you’ll also find cool denim skirts by its inhouse brand, New Look, and others (HK$300 and up). Now, you know how I said Central was the wrong place to look? Well, not exactly. J. Crew is doing possibly the best dark wash denim pencil skirt in terms of look and price tag (HK$980; IFC Mall, Central, tel: 2628 5611).

I have ass envy after my summer holidays. I overheard some pretty young things at the hotel pool talking about an amazing butt cream, which sounds like it would help my pitifully sagging, ageing backside. Have you heard of this?
Can I Have a Lift? Mid-Levels East

The Dictator: Oh yes indeed, we’ve all heard about your saggy derriere. It’s all anyone can talk about, especially in the Twittersphere. Just kidding. Call me crazy, but I thought exercise was the only way to improve your butt without invasive measures. Stimulating circulation, detoxifying and eliminating water retention also helps. So buying a product by Rodial called Bum Lift Gel (HK$600) sounds like a potion for you. As the brand will tell you honestly, it creates temporary tightening and firming to give the appearance of a lifted posterior. Perricone MD’s Cold Plasma Body (HK$850, an antiageing body lotion, is supposed to also be helpful in this area, formulated with concentrated caffeine to minimise the appearance of cellulite. Remember how popular Clarins used to be for this sort of thing? Try its Body Lift Cellulite Control (HK$520) to hydrate, lift, tone, firm and reshape your bottom. Elemis does a Sculpting Firming System set (HK$990), with the firming cream and lipo-refining serum designed to flush toxins and increase circulation with brown algae, sea fennel and bitter orange.