WINS: Organic Pharmacy Treats In HK

So here’s the scoop .. the Pharmacy to the stars www.theorganicpharmacy.com has opened its doors in Hong Kong at Harvey Nic’s Admiralty store!! Naturally (pardon the pun) … I am referring to The Organic Pharmacy (from the UK) founded by Margo Marrone, a professional pharmacist and naturopathy therapist whose belief that organic is best inside and out has honed a range of products with wonderful textures, smells and just like organic foods contain the best of nature’s elixirs, extracted, bottled and jarred.

Counting Madonna, Kylie Minogue , Beyonce, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma Watson, Nora Jones, Demi Moore, Liv Tyler, Katie Perry, Tom Hanks, Robbie Williams and even Kanye West as its loyal devotees .. the brand currently offers over 40 different products that cater to skin and personal care, well being, mother and baby products and even make up with organic ingredients. What remains amazing besides the fact that the products work is the realization that their list of who’s who fans are all 100% unsponsored and became converts after personally trying the products for themselves.

I visited the Pharmacy yesterday for a skin consultation, to find out the condition of my skin, what ‘food’ it was lacking and to get a general introduction to the brand’s best sellers. There are about 40 different products currently on sale, each packaged with a neat, clean-lined, apothecary feel and categorised purposefully into groups like Body, Bath etc.

I was introduced to the signatures and then given some suggestions on what would suit me and why. No hardline sell which made me at once comfortable with the brand and the consultant. After trying a few applications, what ultimately wowed me was the product texture and the amazing smells – imagine opening a bottle of the purest aroma oil each time you open one of their jars. The fact that the bottles and jars look small for a relatively high price tag is deceptive as the product does lasts for a long time only because you really only need a relatively small amount to do the job based on the purity and sheer concentration of ingredients in the actual final product. That reads efficacy in my books!

A few very interesting products caught my eye and they were incidentally the brand’s signatures – the Carrot Butter Cleanser, Anti-Oxidant Face Gel and Firming Serum and the Double Rose Face Rejuvenating Cream.

The Carrot Butter Cleanser is far from your strip and wash cleanser. It is a balm cleanser that melts on contact and it not only smells fantastic but is blended with softening shea and cocoa butter to leave skin soft and smooth and contains chamomile, rosemary and lavender to decongest the skin. About HK$590 for a 70ml tub which does last pretty long.

What I call the dynamic duo is used tincture style – ie you only need a drop or two used in combination or separately to see a huge difference. The duo is essentially comprised of the brand’s Antioxidant Face Gel and Antioxidant Face Firming Serum. The face gel is rich in herbal extracts like marine algae, sea minerals, nutrients and collagen boosting herbs and does the job of minimising pores, reducing wrinkles and mopping up the free radicals. The Face Firming Serum is an instant face lift oil that combines rose hip, grapeseed, alphalipolic acid, DMAE, carrot and grapefruit to reduce sun damage and lift and tone the skin. To use mix one drop of face gel with any of the brand’s moisturisers and apply on damp skin in the morning  after you cleanse. In the evening after cleansing and before bed, use two drops of the face gel and one drop of the serum and apply to damp skin after cleansing. HK$890 for a 30ml bottle of Face Gel and HK$1295 for a 30ml bottle of the Serum.

The Double Rose Rejuvenating Face Cream is the brand’s best selling moisturiser and suited to all skin types. Aside from rose hip, it has ginger, gotu kola and marigold to promote cell regeneration, introduce hydration and leaves the skin glowing and fresh. HK$670 for 50ml.

At 40, when your confidence and skin sag at the same rate, the next time I visit the Organic Pharmacy, I would personally pick up a bottle of their Collagen Boost Mask. Readers who follow my beauty column know that I am sucker for masks and I just love a good leave-on overnighter which is exactly what this is. So I strongly recommend this one as it gives your face a delightful instant boost and contains both Aloe and Seaweed that lifts, lightens and brightens if you use it twice a week and especially during Winter. You can even use it under make up if you have had a particularly long night and need that instant lift before you apply your make up.

The brand also has its own make up and premium fragrance range worth checking out. Also as Christmas approaches keep in mind any new mums and babes that you need to pick up pressies for. They have a milk bath for babies that smells and looks like milk powder and an adult milk bath that when you open it has a bouquet of lovely dried roses that will float up in the bath tub. Also their stretch mark creams and gels look mighty effective and smell good compared to the goop that I have seen out there. Their products are by the way, all without artificial preservatives, petrochemicals, colourants and fragrances. The brand also supports organic farming and against animal testing.

SPECIALLY FOR OUR SIMPLYFAB HONG KONG READERS:

To celebrate the brand’s debut at Harvey Nichols Admiralty, we have THREE ORGANIC PHARMACY GIFT PACKS to give away. Just email your NAME, HK ID CARD NO, HK MOBILE PHONE NUMBER to simplyfabulicious@gmail.com and tell us the name of ONE of the SIGNATURE PRODUCTS described above.

Also only for our readers in or visiting Hong Kong,

DO NOT MISS THIS TRIAL PACK OFFER:

please call +852 39682515 before 18 November to BOOK a complimentary 15 minute skin care consultation and pick up a complimentary trial pack of your very own set of an Antioxidant Face Firming Serum and an Antioxidant Face Gel.