Living in Hong Kong has a few beauty cons.

1. Industry-favourite brands not available. Despite the numerous Japanese/Korean beauty brands here in HK, brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Tom Ford, Urban Decay, Too Faced or even Koh Gen Do (which is a japanese brand) are not available. You can order their items online but most of the time you’ll have to pay a ridiculous amount for the shipping fee. I could have bought a whole another product with just the shipping fee… not to mention you can’t have nail polishes and perfumes shipped internationally…

2. Late Seasonal Collection Releases. Other high end brands such as Chanel, Dior, Guerlain etc has counters in Hong Kong department stores, and I am very grateful for this. However, they are always behind when it comes to seasonal collection releases. Sometimes it’s over a month behind… For someone who’s obsessed with makeup, I can’t wait that long!

3. No online shopping. That sucks because I love shopping online. Of course for makeup it’s always better to see the colors for real before purchasing, but online shopping is definitely a lot more convenient, and you never have to put up with any unprofessional sales persons. And don’t you just love to open the packages that are ‘freshly’ delivered, get excited, and be greeted by surprise? (or disappointment at times…)

4. No returns. What if I purchased something and am not satisfied with it? What if it gives me break outs? There are absolutely no returns for beauty products here in Hong Kong and that’s just a bummer.

My solution?

Luckily I have a very close friend who still studies in the US, and he has so kindly offered to help me with purchasing beauty products. He would mail me some of the products, or bring them back to me when he returns to Hong kong for a vacation. He’s my savior. lol

I was able to purchase the Urban Decay Naked Palette and eyeshadow primer, Tom Ford Blushes and Eyeshadow palettes and some Deborah Lippmann nail polishes at a much lower prices thanks to him!

Recently I purchased a few more items from Sephora and all I have to do now is wait for them to arrive to my doorstep!!! I thought I would show you what I bought and probably this would be a sneak peek to what I will review soon!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

This is the highly-anticipated palette of the year! I have not owned the original palette for a long time, but I do love it. I was hoping that there are a bit more choices in terms of colors for that palette, so this would be wonderful addition to my collection. If this Naked 2 palette is just as amazing as the original one, I think these two palettes would be the only palettes any girl would need. Too bad they don’t sell this in Hong Kong, or else my girl friends would have received this or the original palette as their christmas gifts!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Professional Size

I bought this Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion along with the original Naked Palette a few months ago, and I love it. My shadows do stay put a lot longer, and I love that although it does go on very smoothly, when it dries it’s not too smooth that it’s almost slippery, like the Nars Pro-prime smudge proof eyeshadow base. So now I’m purchasing the professional size which contains 150% more product than the non-professional size!

Koh Gen Do Moisture Concealer

I am absolutely a fan of Koh Gen Do. Their Moisture Foundation is absolutely amazing. The price-point is rather expensive, but it are made of natural botanical ingredients with skincare benefit. They are also fragrance-free, and works with very sensitive skin. It gives you a flawless finish and many Makeup artists use this on actresses for HD cameras! This Moisture Concealer has been highly recommended by a lot of magazines and makeup artists, and the only reason why I haven’t tried this before was because of my Cle de peau concealer. It works absolutely nicely on me, so I wasn’t looking for another concealer. But recently I could not resist the temptation and so I bought it on sephora.com!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue Glitter Bonding Eye Shadow Primer

This is the Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue Glitter Bonding Eye Shadow Primer. (What a long name!!!) From what I’ve heard this is a strong primer meant to grab and hold glitter. I’ve always wanted something like this, not that I always wear glitter, but when I do wear glitter, I would love to have something that is strong enough to fix the glitter on my eyes so they won’t fall onto my face.

Yves Saint Laurent ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain

And this is the product that I’m most excited about. I’m sure it will be available in Hong Kong sooner or later, but this YSL ROUGE PUR COUTURE Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain is too much of a temptation. A liquid lipstick stain that has a glossy finish! I’m always a lazy person, and I almost never reapply my lipstick after eating or drinking, and I don’t usually use lip glosses because I’m just… lazy. (lol) So this is absolutely perfect. I can’t wait to try them on!!!

As I’m writing this, my friend sent me a picture of the above items! They have arrived after just 2 days I ordered them! Thankyou Sephora!!!

The Sephora Haul has arrived!!!!