Opinion | Why you won't find that Tory Burch frock Pippa Middleton wore

Sigh. Just another Western expat cliché, moving all the way to Asia only to live in a bubble approximation of "home". Given our talent for bursting bubbles, you came to the right place. Even if you've been stuck in the Bermuda Triangle of school runs, yummy mummy yoga and dinner parties, you should recognise Laneige (www.laneige.com.hk) from this column. Marketing itself as a moisturising expert using "water science" (aka purified mineral water), its name is derived from the French word for snow ("neige"). Sulwhasoo (www.sulwhasoo.com.hk), a luxury brand owned by the same company as Laneige, takes its inspiration from Korean herbal medicine and the ginseng associated with Gaeseong, the city where it was founded. Try its anti-ageing Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream (HK$1,500) or the Timetreasure Renovating Cream (HK$1,700). Feeling adventurous? Check out SkinFood (en.skinfood.com.hk) and sample its Snail, Egg White, Lentil or Black Pearl Caviar products (HK$15 to HK$595). Other brands to consider: Charm in Cell, The History of Whoo and The Face Shop.

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This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: The Dictator

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