I wonder when evolution will catch up with us women so that we remain body hair-free throughout our lifetime. It won’t be in my lifetime, so I continue to seek the best method to beat back the bush. Actually, I’m not that hairy, but my underarm hair regrows at a pace that defies the 30 years of waxing war I have inflicted on them. I tried “home-waxing” and, while it is pretty effective, it is messy and time-consuming. And my attempt to outsource to the salon  has escalated the cost of this endless battle. But I have a new weapon in my arsenal. The Braun Silk Epilator. Don’t be fooled by its cute pink packaging, this device is a killer, and I should know ’cause it nearly killed me the first time I used it. Doing the legs was pretty pain free, but I then had a false sense of confidence and attacked my underarms. What can I say? It was “shock and awe”. It was truly painful, and my first reaction was to turn the evil thing off. But then I worked up the courage to try again. I acclimatised to the pain and within a couple of minutes was hair-free, and victorious.

I’m now at an age where my skincare needs to get more serious. And by serious, I mean serums. I stopped at the Dr Sebagh counter at Peter Jones where an extremely well-informed, older sales woman talked me into trying his original serum (I balked at the price tag of the newer serum). After a couple of weeks, I must say, I am sold on the serum. My skin looks great. I can’t wait to try the new serum which is, apparently, even better. And this time I won’t balk at the price.

the new and improved serum

Once you hit a certain age (probably about 30), there is a fine line drawn between you and the cosmetic counter girls. Their recommendations for buying eye cream suddenly seem, well, insulting rather than helpful.

Recently, I was walking through Selfridges’ cosmetic floor in London, hoping to see some new products when I was approached by a girl (I say girl here because she looked about 16) working for 3Lab. She (seemingly) singled me out of a crowd and handed me a sample of their ‘H’ Serum. I saw immediately that it was an “anti-aging” product and promptly marched off — slightly affronted — but still clutching the sample of course. (Rule No. 1 – always take the samples)

Back at the hotel, humiliation in check, I gave it a try. I managed to squeeze out about 4 days worth from the packet – and I mean squeeeezed out. I loved it.

3Lab is a relatively new company (2002) and this is its signature product. The “H” stands for human growth hormone, which is more commonly injected into the skin to improve its tone and elasticity. “H” Serum uses the first bio-engineered topical growth hormone and is considered to be a breakthrough product. Reviews seem to concur with this pronouncement.

After only a few days, I believed my skin looked and felt better. However my desire to continue evaluating the efficacy of this wonder product has been thwarted somewhat by the exhorbitant price tag (US$175 according to various websites).

Perhaps my pride can stand another beating and a return to Selfridges may be in order. I’ll be sure to skip the eye cream that day and walk slooowly...

3Lab products are available in Hong Kong at Harvey Nichols.

Butter. I am cautious about butter. It’s rich, decadent and heavy and should only be consumed in moderation – so what are we to expect from a body butter?

Body butter. Just saying it makes me feel greasy. I normally reserve body products that leave a shiny film for toast-tanned legs in summer time. But a recent visit to the cold, dry air of London has changed my mind.

I have been packing around a sample of Bliss’s Plum Body Butter in my travel toiletry case for about a year now, convinced that it would be too rich even for my dry skin. I finally ripped it open in a desperate attempt to combat the dry conditions in my hotel room.

The body butter was not like butter at all, at least not like body butters I have tried in the past (mainly the Body Shop’s version). It went on thick but disappeared quickly into the skin, leaving hardly a trace of shine. And best of all, the plum fragrance didn’t have an over-powering, jam-like sweetness  to it, like many other fruit-fragranced products do.

In my view, waxing beats shaving hands down. A razor hasn’t touched my skin since I put the pink Bic shaver in the bin 25 years ago. And despite the hassles involved in waxing, and the advancement of razor technology, I will never go back.

But what is with the wax being used in salons these days? My regular place I swear changed their wax (though they denied it). Suddenly I was getting an itchy rash after waxing and, most importantly, I wasn’t keeping that just-waxed smoothness for very long. From what I could tell, the wax was not pulling the hair out by the root but instead breaking it off so I would get… can you believe this…. a STUBBLE after about a week. STUBBLE.

I switched places and when they spread on the paper thin wax I knew it would be the same problem. And it was. more stubble.

Now, I have been waxing for a long time and I know this is not working the way it should.

A friend of mine gave me a jar of MOOM wax. It costs about HK$90 and you can get it at Watson’s. I was sceptical at first, but then I figured it couldn’t be half as bad as the salons.

Moom is a sugar-based wax. You heat it up for like, 10 seconds in the microwave. It goes on thick and comes off easily. Looking at the cotton strips (included with the wax) I can see quite clearly, that all the hairs are coming off with the roots. Amazing. this stuff is awesome.

I even overcame my darkest fears and did my own underarms. And best of all, the excess washes off with warm water. No more waiting to get a booking at salons.

But I am only so brave. I’ll still be leaving the bikini wax to the professionals.

Do you have dry skin? The kind that itches immediately after coming out of the shower? Is it so itchy you think twice about lathering up? Well then I suggest you march straight over to Kiehl’s and pick up their Creme de Corps Cleanser.

I was a big fan of Kiehl’s even before it arrived in HK. But I had gone off it the last couple of years. I never could get past the non-lathering shampoos (yes I know that the lack of lather means no sulfates, but still), and I became wooed away by other skincare products.

But while I was there the other day buying a tinted lip balm for a friend who is on her way to climb Mt Kilimingaro (she may be roughing it but a little colour in the lip balm never hurt), I decided to try the body wash.

I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, it lathers up really well. And being Kiehl’s, it doesn’t have any annoying scents. But most importantly, my skin felt great after the shower and not even the slightest bit itchy.

I haven’t tried teaming it up with the body cream, which I have tried before and did like. At the time I thought it was a bit too rich, but given the lower humidity in HK right now, it may be worth a second try.

I confess, I’m a skin cleanser whore. I move from brand to brand without a shred of guilt because I’m on a continual quest for pore perfection. With the needs of my skin varying with the fluctuations in humidity, temperature and pollution, it seemed impossible to find a cleanser that can stand up to the task. That is, until now.

I had never heard of the French skincare brand Bioderma, until one day, by chance, I realised I was about to board a plane with no skin cleanser and came across it in a Watson’s Drugstore (I have never seen it in Watson’s since by the way). I bought it and was so impressed I went on a search for it once I had finished the bottle. It took me a couple of weeks to find it again at CitySuper in Times Square. I found out also that my doctor (Dr Lauren Bramley — whom every woman over 40 in Hong Kong seems to see for their skin “maintanance”) sells it too.

Bioderma’s cleanser for sensitive skin (I bought the oily skin formula for my daughter recently as well) has the consistency of water. You simply soak a cotton pad and wipe. It takes off make-up and dirt incredibly well and never leaves my skin dry. You can even use it to remove eye make up. Best of all, you don’t need to follow up with a toner, although I like to finish off with a spritz of Yonka Lotion (toner).

I stumbled across another place selling Bioderma in a building on Wellington Street, coming up from Queens Road Central, between the 7-11 and Kosmo. Look for a big sign on the sidewalk. It is on the 3rd floor, I believe it is called “Alice Beauty Supply”. They sell big 500ml bottles at a decent discount. They also sell some Dr Haushka products shipped directly from Germany and Dermalogica as well.

I never bothered trying Murad before. I confess it was probably the boring packaging that threw me. Their new, fresh look should generate some interest.

Essential Day Spa are great for throwing in samples, and in my last order they included a handful of Murad samples. I tried them all and the eye cream, in my opinion was the stand-out. I’m always looking for a new eye cream and this one has a nice texture, absorbs easily, minimises fine lines AND has an SPF (I never understood why more eyecreams don’t have SPF).

But getting Murad in Hong Kong presents another problem. No website will ship it here (due to licencing agreements, I suspect) and buying it from the salon brings a heavy mark-up. I went to the distributor who happens to be the PAUA group (who also runs Elemis and Frederique Spas). They refused to tell me who else sells Murad in Hong Kong, besides them, even though they are the sole distributor.

So what to do? At present I refuse to give in to the secretive PAUA group and buy Murad at a heavy mark-up, so I guess I’ll just stick with Strivectin for now.

I’m a big fan of Yonka products ever since they were used in my first facial 13 years ago. I use quite a few of the products and I swear by them.

Gommage is one of my favourites, especially since the pollution in Hong Kong has become worse. It is a clarifying gel, not a scrub, so it is gentle enough to use 2-3 times a week. You simply spread a thin layer on your face, wait a few minutes, then rub it off. It’s quick and easy.

There is a gommage 303 for sensitive skin which can even be used around the eyes and gommage 305 for oily skin.

You can buy Yonka in Hong Kong from Beauty Gallery (7th floor Oriental Commercial Bldg on Lyndhurst Terrace Central (across from the HSBC) or you can order it online from Essential Day Spa in Vancouver which ships internationally (if you order over a certain amount, the shipping is free! Highly recommended).

What’s your favourite product for battling the effects of pollution?