Have you heard the news? Fancl is coming back into Singapore, and it’s really, really soon! Now I know the exact date, but I can’t mention when – I can give a hint though: It’s no joke. Geddit, geddit, hurhurhur? Anyhoos, I visited Fancl’s regional headquarters in bustling Hong Kong a couple of weekends ago to find out more about the brand that’s well known for having no preservatives. From what I gather, they were previously in Singapore under their Japanese office, but pulled out of our market to reorganise their business structure, and are now re-entering our market under their regional office which is in HK. Here’s what went down during this short whirlwind trip.
DAY 1 – Arrival & briefing
Us waiting to board the plane – my seat buddy for this 4-hour flight would be Yina Goh, (during which we both just concussed like old fogies heh).
And we haz touchdown! Behind me are the other girls, one of whom unfortunately had a near-new Rimowa luggage bumped so massively that there was a huge dent as well as a damaged wheel. sadness 😦
Us being surprisingly chirpy (though bespectacled and puffy) despite waking up at 5-6am. That said, I was dying to just lie down and do a couple of rolls on the bed to relax the back.
Say hello to Marco Polo Hong Kong hotel, located at Tsim Sha Tsui 😀
A pretty big room, complete with a living area.
On the right, there’s even my very own walk-in wardrobe.
Oh hello there, what’s that I see in the toilet?
It’s a welcome pack with Fancl products for me to try – yay! Now I’ve heard many good things about their washing powder, but I’ve never actually tried it (IKR, #onefaceonly, most unfortunately). I gave myself a good wash-up, and then it was time to head on over to Fancl’s office.
At the reception – this was just the start of many, many, many pretty and fresh-faced Fancl employees (seriously guys, there’s no better product endorsement that employees who use the products and look that good. Imma jelly!). And psst – did you notice the signboard above her? It actually says “Fantastic Natural Cosmetics Limited”, which actually could be abbreviated to FANCL hurhurhur. Well done Fancl, I see what you did there.
A waiting area which normally would have a great view of the Hong Kong city, but was unfortunately obscured by the fog that day.
Before commencing the briefing – we haz some goodies to eat. Noms.
Checking out their products – which range from skincare to supplements (and even makeup!) – before the presentation starts proper.
Remember earlier on I mentioned that their Washing Powder is super popular? Their Mild Cleansing Oil is pretty awesome too, because it utilises the theory of Nano Cleansing Particles. In short, it just means that the super refined Nano Cleansing Particles (very, very tiny particles) are able to penetrate into your pores and effectively lift out and remove makeup. What’s more, there’s no need to add water to emulsify the oil – simply rub it gently onto the skin (there’s no skin pull/friction cos the texture is really smooth), and the makeup will just melt and flush out.
Putting their products to the test with other competitors’ cleansing oils.
And voila – as you can see, the lime (which presumably was used because of its similar texture as our noses) that was cleansed by Fancl is the cleanest.
Psst: Did you know that the Mild Cleansing Oil also contains keratotic plug removal oil that helps dissolve the dirt in pores, thus unclogging it and preventing blackheads, acne and a sallow yellow skintone caused by oxidation?
Now although Fancl’s cleansing products are pretty awesome, their skincare range is pretty decent too – based purely on this cute little mask test. Similar amounts of moisturising lotions were poured over expandable sheet masks, and then they were laid out for comparison.
Surprise, surprise! The one by Fancl is the most moist of the four, and even after some time of being left out in the open, Fancl’s mask remained the most moist. I’m rather impressed.
Next up is the whitening demonstration – crushed tablets of their whitening supplement were added to iodine water, and woah, they turned clear! Now yes, I know the body is not made of iodine, but I’m just very wowed by the fact that it really “whitens” the water. It could be a clear case of chemistry at work though, who knows. In any case, it’s pretty amazing to see – will upload the video soon! 😀
One of Fancl’s most popular products are its Tense Up collagen drink. What makes it different are its tri-peptide collagen strings of molecules that are smaller enough to pass through the digestion system into where it matters- your skin!
And on to the skin test – I was looking forward to this, but also somewhat dreading it (you know, cos harsh truth in your faceeeeeee).
A special skin-test machine that will analyze all facets of your skin.
Me and my friendly and extremely youthful-looking therapist
Behold, the gruesome close-up of my skin -eeps-
You see those glowing red spots? No, it’s not an interstellar visual – it’s spots of oil/sebum on my skin. Heh.
Look at me being all smiley when I was actually thinking “omergawd my skin is doomed to eternity and beyonddddd”
You’ll be able to get the same skin test done when Fancl opens in Singapore, so that you can buy stuff that suit your skin 😀
GETTING HANDSY
Fancl’s washing powder may seem a little daunting at first, since you have to work up a foam (as opposed to just squeezing out the usual cleansing foam). There’s a certain technique to it – kinda like working up a hadouken in those mangas and animes. Here’s how you can do it.
A puff of lather so firm that you can even hold it.
And I’m ready for the challenge!
Simply pour a small amount onto your palm (can be dry or damp), wet the foaming ball, roll it around in a circular motion in a rather quick motion, and watch the foam form! Strangely enough, I found it satisfying. Heh.
We ended the rather long day with dinner at one helluva swanky French place called ePure at Harbour City. Like woah – that’s real fine dining at its best (well, to my super unrefined palate anyways heh).
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DAY 2 – Store visits
Now I’m used to the smallish counters we used to have in Singapore, as well as the one store (I think?) at Orchard ION. The stores in Hong Kong are wayyyyy prettier and larger.
A store that sells only supplements located at Harbour City Mall, which we happened to pass by.
Fancl’s Concept store (address to come soon!)
and this is why I don’t do OOTDs hahahaha.
fine, here’s a proper one in front of the pretty store to do it justice
when you enter through this entrance, you’ll find yourself in this Art Zone where visuals are projected onto the LED walls. Veh purdee. Walk in further to reach the retail portion of the store…
…where you’ll be greeted by a plethora of products…
…and there’s even a skin test consultation area here.
Look at the perfect ball of foam from their Washing Powder! My inner OCD very much approves of this. Hah.
We be done with this first store – now on to the second!
On to the second store (address to come soon)
Did you know that Fancl also has makeup? Cos I so did not knowwww.
Not all of its stores in HK carry the makeup range though, and most unfortunately, it won’t be brought into Singapore. Sigh pie.
so many purdee colours!
Some supplements / food stuff that might be brought in though – again, I so did not know that Fancl even has rice. Zomg.
Behold a series of misfortunate photo-bombings by passers-by. First be the lady who’s like “why is this crazy girl taking a photo with the giant bottle?”, followed by the kid whose pants seem to be falling, and the last of me going “omergawd when can I get a decent photo?” muaahaha.
And yassss we haz a proper photo with Fancl’s star product, the Tense Up collagen drink!
And finally, the last store for the day (address to come soon)
Unlike the previous few stores, this store has very nice natural lighting 😀
My current favorite product from the brand – their washing powder.
See what I meant about good lighting in the store? (yes, this is the store! I know it looks like some chi-chi cafe).
And a group shot for memories’ sake 😀 I’ll be reviewing their products soon, so stay tuned!