Shopping for make-up

There's a lot of make-up out there, and a lot of places to buy it from. Here's a breakdown of the best places to shop.

DRUGSTORE OR CHEMIST

This is the best place to stock up on basic beauty supplies, such as cotton balls, nail-polish remover, make-up sponges, and cotton swabs. These stores are really convenient and filled with bargains. The make-up here is usually less expensive than other stores, and often there are discounts on items. I love trying out lipgloss shades and buying crazy nail polish shades here. The only downside to such shopping is that you can't test all the products before you buy them, so you might end up disappointed with the shade or texture.

Examples: Mannings, Watsons, SASA, Bonjour

DEPARTMENT STORE

Most of the high-end brands are sold at counters in department stores. This kind of make-up can get pretty expensive, but what you get in return is knowledge from salespeople who are trained to put on make-up. These people can give you lots of tips, ideas, and sometimes free samples. These brand are usually clustered together on a floor, so you can look around for a variety. A plus point is that you get to try a product before you buy it.

Examples: Harvey Nichols, Faces, SEIBU

BEAUTY SUPERSTORES

These one-stop shops are amazing! You always find something new in here, and there's always something different that you want to try. They have such a wide range of beauty products, from a totally classic fragrance to crazy false eyelashes. The staff can usually answer basic questions, and don't push you into buying anything.

Examples: SASA, Bonjour

ART-SUPPLY STORE

A tip is to use the paintbrushes sold at these stores as make-up brushes. You can get a good variety of shapes. They are a lot cheaper than the brushes at department or beauty stores and work just as well. Make-up brushes at normal beauty counters are ridiculously expensive. You can also buy empty make-up palettes to mix your own shades, or to store leftovers of your favorite products.

WEB SITES

As they say, "the grass is always greener on the other side". When in Hong Kong, you'd still like to see products from other companies that aren't available here. This also applies to different shades. Each brand caters to specific shades for each country depending on the mass population. If you're on the darker side, it's harder to find the perfect foundation shade in Hong Kong as compared to the States. Once you know the products you like, it's very convenient. Browsing websites is also a good way of checking out new colors, products and looks.

Examples: Sephora, AMAZON, eBay