Beauty wonderland

LANE Crawford houses the biggest Charlotte Tilbury in the region. There are quite a lot of airlines that ply the route, but for those who want to fly fuss-free and in style, Cathay Pacific is a top choice that comes to mind.

Canton Road in Hong Kong is a visual feast.

Fashion is met with such audacity. People are not afraid to mix-and-match — a maxi skirt with a statement shirt, a leather vest with comfortable sneaks.

The clothes are not the only treats for the eyes. Down the stretch of the famous road are designer boutiques, from Dior, Gucci, Bulgari, to Chanel and Hermes, to name a few. What’s mind-boggling are the lines outside these luxury boutiques. Even the cars plying this famed road are things of beauty.

Such is the legend of Canton Road. If the outside is already a thing of beauty, one huge block of a shopping mecca is heaven to shopaholics. Inside this 2-million square foot paradise is a pandemonium of sorts. The humongous space houses 450 shops and over 320 beauty brands.

Welcome to Harbour City — the wonderland of beauty.

Thankfully, neighboring countries are just an average of one and a half hours away by air!

Among the most visibly stunning feature of Harbour City is its Facesss space located at Ocean Terminal. It is understandably a draw for the millennial beauty mavens because of its neon-lit and backstage-inspired counters. It is like a giant maze of backstage makeup counters where one can just get lost in over 70 beauty brand offerings such as the Dior Backstage Studio, MAC, Make Up For Ever and Nars.

For those who are into owning exclusives, Facesss houses a number of brands exclusive to their stores. EyeKo, Roger&Gallet, CosmeGo, SeoulSoul and Urban Decay are just some of these. These brands are also found in Facesss’ other outlet in the 16-storey shopping complex Times Square in Causeway Bay.

Cult favorite Urban Decay carries its famous Naked Palettes (HK$500), loved for its highly pigmented shades, and their vaunted makeup prepping and setting sprays. Lightweight and easy to set, the Urban Decay setting sprays are available in three formulas: all nighter for all skin types, de-slick for oily skin, and chill for dry skin. All of these retail for HK$280.

Hollywood’s favorite foundation Koh Gen Do is found at the multi-brand Japanese concept store CosmeGo. The trendy lifestyle counter also houses the dermatological skincare brand Takami. Just beside CosmeGo is its famous Korean counterpart SeoulSoul, which carries the Iope brand and Mediheal ampoule and eye masks.

If Facesss is for the young and hip, two stores in Harbour City offer stylish and niche brands.

Joyce retails some of the niche brands from all over the world including the luxury, high-end sun and skincare brand Hampton Sun and NuFace facial toning and lifting devices.

Harbour City’s Lane Crawford is the biggest and multi-level shopping experience housing over 1,000 brands. Among its must-visit counters is Asia’s biggest Charlotte Tilbury counter. It stands out for its signature gold and shades of pink, nude and red makeup consoles and counters. Asian fans do not have to travel to London just to get their hands on the cult favorite Magic Cream or their fix of Tilbury lipsticks!

Another great feature of this counter are the different makeup looks from which shoppers can choose. These include The Radiant Beauty look especially created by Charlotte for the Asian market. These looks come with a makeup bag that contains all the makeup used to achieve the look.

Besides counters and counters of beauty finds including an organic beauty space, Lane Crawford espouses support for bespoke fashion and emerging artists.

Tailors from London fly to Hong Kong twice a year for Lane Crawford’s made-to-measure program for those who want their bespoke suits.

Aside from featuring known designers or fashion labels such as The Row and Alexander McQueen, Lane Crawford equalizes its shopping choice by creating an emerging designers program where they stock the winning products in their store and online site. The Creative Callout initiative has been done eight times in a span of four years in Hong Kong and China and even outside such as Los Angeles and Sydney.

Of course, no look is ever complete without a dab of one’s favorite scent. Among the many, many choices in Harbour City are two standouts in terms of legacy and commitment.

Cha-Ling Esprit du The is a brand backed by LVMH Research. It take pride in the fact that 95 percent of its products source ingredients from plant origins.

Much of their products use Pu’Er tea leaves from Yunnan province in China. Their Spring Mask is heavily favored, among which is a citation of excellence from Marie Claire. Their Eau de Toilettes are also recommended. Overall, when one drops by their store, it’s going to be a clean and refreshing journey of the senses.

For those who want a scent of royalty and legacy, Guerlain just recently opened its fragrance-only boutique store in Harbour City. The store’s intimate space provide for a personal encounter with the scents that even the royalty approves of. Like Napoleon III’s muse Empress Eugenie, one can have their bespoke scents at Guerlain. The journey starts with an attendant helping the guest to identify the scent their prefer. After three rounds of smelling 14 favorite raw materials, a scent is then identified for one’s personal consumption. The personalization does not stop there as one can choose either the white, colored or gold Bee bottle in 125 ml, 250 ml or 500 ml. These will then be tied with one’s choice of ribbon or bow-tie.

Harbour City is such a mesmerizing place for beauty mavens that traveling there is a major bucket-list entry. Thankfully, for Filipinos, it is just an average of an hour and a half away.

There are quite a lot of airlines that ply the route, but for those who want to fly fuss-free and in style, Cathay Pacific is a top choice that comes to mind.

Starting from Manila, traveling via Cathay is a breeze with its famous lounge located at the L3 at Terminal 3.

Warm colors bathe the lounge filled with cozy lounge chairs and electronic ports.

Over at the world-famous Hong Kong International Airport, where Cathay Pacific houses its hub, there are five lounges that its business, first class and Marco Polo Elite flyers frequently visit.

These lounges are conveniently located beside gates for boarding. The Wing near Gates 1 to 4 is an expansive stretch that features a coffee bar and the famous The Noodle Bar, with serving every flyers favorite, the Dan Dan Mein Noodles.

On the other side, just a few blocks adjacent to The Wings is the newly opened The Deck. Launched last March, The Deck near Gate 16, houses The Terrace, an open-ceiling verandah which affords guests a panoramic view of the airport’s apron, taxi-ways and northern runway. Across The Terrace is another counter of The Noodle Bar.

Over at the other end, near the West Concourse, is The Bridge near Gate 35. It has The Bakery where freshly baked pastries can be enjoyed, as well as The Bistro for a selection of Asian and Western dishes. Also, it has shower rooms complete with branded toilet amenities.

Just a little walk away from The Bridge is The Pier near Gates 63, 64 and 65. There’s The Teahouse which offers seasonal and artisanal tea varieties. One can cap off their flight with soothing massages at the in-house spa The Retreat.

Hong Kong’s beauty wonderland is an overwhelming experience but is definitely one for the books.