Four products to protect your skin from Hong Kong’s air pollution

You can’t escape the city’s dirty air but there are ways to lessen its impact on your skin

By Rachel Cheung

1 Sep 2017

A woman covers her nose at a crossing in Causeway Bay, one of the most polluted areas in Hong Kong. Picture: SCMP

1A’s All-Day Mask. Apply the 1A All-Day Mask (HK$660/50ml) underneath your sun lotion or foundation. With the texture of a moisturiser, the formula – developed by Allies of Skin, a Singaporean brand now stocked at Joyce Beauty – acts as a protective shield, preventing dust particles and toxins from entering pores.

Estée Lauder’s cleansing jelly. Estée Lauder’s Pore Purifying Cleansing Jelly (HK$220/125ml) is part of the brand’s Nutritious Micro-Algae range. The green gel foams up when water is added, so a small amount goes a long way.

John Masters Organics’ purifying mask. Used twice weekly, John Masters Organics’ Moroccan Clay Purifying Mask (HK$365/57 grams) is said to detox skin by extracting impurities from pores. The effect is most noticeable on the T-zone, which is left feeling super clean.

The Body Shop’s peel. For a more gentle exfoliant, The Body Shop’s Youth Liquid Peel (HK$179/145ml) is ideal, lifting dull skin and giving it a natural glow.