Divasoria

Jill Genio is a second year associate in a large top-tier law firm here in the Philippines. She practices corporate law focusing on mergers & acquisitions, corporate re-structuring, regulatory matters and government matters.

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Sasa is one of those stores that people tend to pass over in Hong Kong, because it’s literally everywhere. I know I never went in before because it seemed like they had one on every block. Now, my friends make fun of me because I pop into every Sasa I can when I have time just to check what products are available. It’s got a ton of products covering all price ranges, so it’s now one of my favorite shopping destinations in Hong Kong.

The four items below are the things I’ve found in Sasa that I use on a daily or almost daily basis:

Juju Cosmetics Aquamoist Moisture Milk

I first bought this in Hong Kong maybe a year and a half ago when my skin was suffering from extreme dryness in the cold, and I didn’t feel like the moisturizer I brought with me (Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion) was doing me much good. I picked this up because I heard about the brand from one of the beauty gurus on YouTube that I follow.

This product has everything I ever wanted in a moisturizer: it’s light AND deeply moisturizing at the same time. The first time I tried it, I woke up with drastically different skin. My face was very soft and a bit moist to the touch, but not oily. It’s been more than a year later and I’ve been using it every night. I’ve gone through only about a fourth of the bottle. You only need a tiny drop to cover your whole face so a 150 ml bottle will last you forever.

It’s got hyaluronic acid in it, which is supposed to be ultra moisturizing. It supposedly grabs moisture in the air and sucks it into your skin, so your skin is moisturized for a really long time. I know there are other brands available in Hong Kong that have hyaluronic acid (like Hada Labo) but I don’t think I’d need to try anything other than Juju since it pretty does everything for me and I don’t think I’m going to run out of it anytime soon.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir

When I saw that one of the Sasa stores I popped into had Caudalie products, I grabbed this immediately. It’s probably the priciest thing I’ve ever bought from a Sasa. Caudalie’s Beauty Elixier is something you spray on your face either as a toner or as a makeup setting spray. It’s got a mix of essential oils and plant active ingredients, and no parabens or sulfates or any of that unnatural stuff.

This product has gotten so much coverage on YouTube and I can see why. I use this every day after I put on my makeup and on days when I forget, I feel like something’s missing. It takes away that overly-powdered look that I hate and gives your skin that radiant vibe. It doesn’t make you dewy and look like a disco ball, which is what I like. Plus, I’ve discovered that I get less oily during the day if I put this on, even after all my makeup is on. It’s great to spritz on your face throughout the day, too, so I have a Travalo with this in it.

Canmake Cream Blush

I was never a fan of cream blush until I tried this one day. Canmake’s cream blushes have a wonderful formula. They’re very pigmented but easy to blend, so they just fade into your skin and look incredibly natural. They have a nice set of matte colors, though I’ve only bought the two above. Orange shades look good on my skin tone so, as you can see, I’ve used the orange one on the right so often that the label has rubbed off. The pink shade below is for days when I want to look girlier.

Canmake products are also available in other department stores and places like Watsons in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Dollywink Eyeliner

The Dollywink eyeliner is also a very popular holy grail item that’s always sold out in Sasa! I have the two pencil liners in brown and black, and the liquid one in black.

The pencil liners are good for what they are. They glide on kind of dry and not creamy or anything. I know lots of people like creamy pencil liners, but I actually don’t since they tend to easily smudge on me. I really like the brown liner for days when I want to look natural and not too made up.

The liquid eyeliner, though, is EXCELLENT. I’ve never liked a liquid liner as much as I like this. It’s incredibly pigmented, it’s got a great thin tip with a good quality brush, it goes on like a wonderfully inky but not runny pen, it’s waterproof, it lasts forever even without primer.. it’s just amazing.

as told to divasoria