Start the new year by treating yourself with a dose of better skin! Nowadays we are definitely more conscious about what we use and consume, which is why companies have been responding to our needs and are coming up with environmentally friendly solutions. Here are a few you can try as a new year's resolution:
HK Honey
I have mentioned the Re-use Candle Making Workshop before at Shanghai Street Studios, which is being ran on the last Saturday of every month. I am totally in love with their upcycling packaging with a local twist, creating natural beeswax candles with unique scents. HK Honey, ran by designer turn urban beekeeper Michael Leung, does more than just cool workshops. When he first saw bees being kept in European city centres, he thought, if they could do it, why can't we? He never turned back, dedicating his career in harvesting locally produced honey and other bee products.
Their au naturale lychee and longan spring time honey is only available for us lucky Hong Konger, with free delivery when ordering online. Alternatively, you could pop into Kapok, Daydream Nation, or Konzepp for your very own bottle. Their candles, handmade with natural beeswax and a tint of honey fragrance, are delivered internationally. Since they are not made of any petroleum-based chemicals, these babies, coming in one big chunk or three small pieces, release a clean white smoke when they are being burnt.
They also host tours around their urban bee farm in Ngau Tau Kok, Kwun Tong. [Read: Who would have thought there would be farms there?] They really know how to enjoy life, planting fresh herbs on their rooftop farm for making honey tea, as well as baking honey biscuits for a relaxing afternoon tea. Join their candle-making workshops and sample their yummy honey sponge cake, which is natural, healthy, and above all, fresh, since most of the ingredients were sourced from local produces.
HK Honey
Address: 306 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon.
Email: hello@hkhoney.org
Website: http://www.hkhoney.org
So...Soap
So...Soap is a social enterprise project ran by Bella Ip, with the aid of a non-profit organization Sustainable Lifestyle and Organic Works, aka SLOW. In search of flexi-hours work in the organic field, she went on the route of creating a startup where mothers could work near home with flexible working hours. So...Soap is now taking on women from all walks of life in their home districts all over Hong Kong, training them as soap makers. That way, they could spend more time at home caring for their family while still being able to contribute to their family's finances. Not only are their soap good for your skin, they are also good for your society.
Focusing on the concept of sustainability, they are chipping in their bit to build better skin, better air, a better living environment, and in particular, a better society. Through hand-making organic soap right here in Hong Kong with plant-based oils, natural essential oils, magnetized nano-filtered water, and alkaline substance, their products are 100% natural to suit your delicate skin. Wow, so there is actually quality organic products being locally made right here in our little city!
Their packaging is equally eco-friendly, since their bottles are reused after stringent sterilisation. Pump-head bottle are provided at your initial purchase only, which you can reuse it bottle after bottle, while the bottle itself you can give back for reuse purposes. Contact them to find your closest distribution point!
So...Soap
Telephone: 2621 3060
Email: info@sosoap.com
Website: http://www.sosoap.com/
Essie
Essie is America's favourite nail colour brand, creating formulae that don't contain harmful substance like DBP, Formaldehyde, or Toluene. Their 2012 Spring/Summer collection, the Spring Palette, is a beautiful set that is well worth investing in. The volatile economy should not be the determining factor to the way we dress, so bring on these bright colours for a good mood on the rainy days! Their six pastel colour pieces in this season's collection don't just reflect the goodness of spring, but also brightens up our skin colour, practically making our hands glow.
This mint green Navigate Her reminds me of Chanel's previous take on green, only this one is a shade lighter. Ole Caliente, on the other hand, is for those who love the sexy bright Latin American red. The light peach colour in A Crewed Interest will make the perfect base colour for a French manicure, while Orange, It’s Obvious! is a wild wild shade that words can't describe. To Buy Or Not To Buy is a pale lavender that you will instantly fall for, while the shocking pink in Tour de Finance will hijack your style. These colours are available in February 2012, so watch out for its arrival!
Cher 2
Address: Room 1202A, 12/F Century Square, 1-13 D'Aguilar Street, Central.Website: http://www.sosoap.com/
Essie
Essie is America's favourite nail colour brand, creating formulae that don't contain harmful substance like DBP, Formaldehyde, or Toluene. Their 2012 Spring/Summer collection, the Spring Palette, is a beautiful set that is well worth investing in. The volatile economy should not be the determining factor to the way we dress, so bring on these bright colours for a good mood on the rainy days! Their six pastel colour pieces in this season's collection don't just reflect the goodness of spring, but also brightens up our skin colour, practically making our hands glow.
This mint green Navigate Her reminds me of Chanel's previous take on green, only this one is a shade lighter. Ole Caliente, on the other hand, is for those who love the sexy bright Latin American red. The light peach colour in A Crewed Interest will make the perfect base colour for a French manicure, while Orange, It’s Obvious! is a wild wild shade that words can't describe. To Buy Or Not To Buy is a pale lavender that you will instantly fall for, while the shocking pink in Tour de Finance will hijack your style. These colours are available in February 2012, so watch out for its arrival!
Cher 2
Telephone: 2810 0171
Email: help@cher2.com
Website: http://www.cher2.com/