Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hongkongers freshen up with lipstick, spa days after axing Covid mask mandate

Hongkongers freshen up with lipstick, spa days after axing Covid mask mandate

Cosmetic retail leader says popular lipstick shades flying off shelves, with industry-wide sales during first quarter expected to rise 20 per cent from year before.
Lipstick has emerged as a much sought-after commodity after Hong Kong lifted its indoor and outdoor mask-wearing restrictions, while some residents have opted to freshen up with some time at the city’s spas and beauty salons.

The uptick in cosmetic products and treatments occurred as official figures released on Thursday showed the city’s retail sales in January had rebounded to pre-Covid levels.

The Post also observed a higher proportion of shoppers forgoing face coverings in Causeway Bay, a major shopping district, on the second day without the city’s sweeping mask mandate.

A traveller from Tianjin surnamed Liu said she was out shopping there to buy more cosmetic products in light of the policy change.

“I’ve saved a lot of energy and money by wearing a mask, but now it’s time to take care of my appearance,” she said.

One of Thursday’s hot retail items was lipstick, with Cosmetic and Perfumery Association of Hong Kong chief supervisor Joseph Ho Shiu-chung saying shoppers might struggle to find popular shades, as well as foundation creams and powder blushes.

Ho said he expected industry-wide sales during the first quarter to increase by around 20 per cent from a year ago, but added it would take time to return to pre-pandemic levels since there were fewer cosmetic outlets in operation.

The policy change also marked an end to the last of Hong Kong’s major restrictions to combat the pandemic, contributing to a loss of businesses over the past three years for the city’s retail and services industries.

But provisional data from the Census and Statistics Department showed the value of total retail sales had grown by 7 per cent from a year ago to HK$36.2 billion (US$4.6 billion). The figure was also the highest recorded for that month since 2020, when it reached HK$37.7 billion while the pandemic got under way.

A department spokesman on Thursday said the value of total retail sales had risen further in January from a year earlier due to an improvement in consumer sentiment.

The start of this year also featured a winding down of travel restrictions along the border between Hong Kong and mainland China, a first after three years of Covid-19 entry curbs, while Lunar New Year took place on January 22, he said.

Over in Causeway Bay, shoppers on Thursday seemed unable to get enough of their favourite cosmetic products. A staffer at a Shiseido store there said some lipstick shades had run out of stock with the increase in demand.

Another shopkeeper at the Charlotte Tilbury store also said business appeared to have improved.

“As the mask mandate has been dropped, I can clearly see a lot of local and mainland consumers looking for lipsticks and foundations,” the shopkeeper said.

Carmen Pang Yuk-ling, founding president of the International Beauty and Health General Union, said beauty salons were also benefiting from the positive consumer sentiments.

The number of treatment bookings had doubled in recent weeks, including a notable rise in sessions for elderly patrons who were previously hesitant to sign up during the pandemic, she added.

But Pang also said the growing demand and the departure of beauticians from both the industry and city had prompted intense competition for manpower, as a “30 per cent raise wouldn’t make them stay”.

Wendy Wong Hung-ying, a manager at Windsor SPA in Fortress Hill, said she had noticed a 20 per cent increase in customers a day after the mask mandate was scrapped.

“The number of guests is definitely way more than last Thursday at the same time in the afternoon. We saw customers coming in without masks on, but our staff will maintain their face coverings and ensure they feel comfortable,” she said.

Amy Chow Mei-fung, owner of a massage parlour Happy Valley in North Point, said more elderly patrons had dropped by for foot and body massages.

“Senior customers are finally going outside and coming back. I haven’t seen those familiar faces for a long time,” she said.

Meanwhile, travel booking platform Klook on Tuesday, when the policy change was first announced, logged a 75 per cent increase in activity bookings by Hong Kong-based users compared with the day before. Its most popular items were dining and staycation packages.

But the city’s wider rollback of restrictions had not benefited all industries equally, with Licensed Bar and Club Association of Hong Kong charter president Ben Leung Lap-yan saying business had plunged by 30 per cent over the last two months in comparison with December, when revellers celebrated the scrapping of the city’s vaccine pass.

“After the lifting of other pandemic restrictions, people prefer travelling abroad instead of staying in Hong Kong, which is understandable,” he said.

He added that the axing of the mask mandate would have a limited impact on the city’s bars, since patrons always took their face coverings off to drink.

Lemon Mok, the founder of party room business CampFire Hong Kong, said he had observed a similar pattern, noting bookings had fallen by more than 30 per cent at the start of the year after a very busy December.

“But I feel like once people are done travelling, they will be willing to spend more in Hong Kong. I made it through the pandemic so I’m quite confident about the future,” the 29-year-old said.

But stand-up comedian Timothy To said he had received a steady stream of bookings and could not wait to perform for a maskless audience.

“Shows will definitely be even better because we can see the smiles and hear unmuffled laughter,” the 36-year-old said.

“Hopefully it helps contribute to giving the city some much needed positive vibes coming out from Covid-19.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×