Clean Beauty Monthly: Where To Find The Best Hong Kong-Owned Natural Beauty Brands

Over the past few weeks Hong Kong has come into the global spotlight. The spirit of the city has been palpable and I certainly feel proud of the city I call home. In light of this, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate some amazing local natural beauty brand founders. These brands are all Hong Kong-owned and -run and the founders are all pioneers of the clean beauty movement in our beautiful city.

Coconut Matter 

Coconut Matter is a locally made, owned & managed Hong Kong brand headquartered in Wong Chuk Hang. Founder Diane Tan Van Zwanenberg is very mindful about how she sources her ingredients and packaging, the brand’s core philosophy is to leave a healthier plant for our children. As you can probably tell from the name a key ingredient in all her products is 100% virgin coconut oil, which she sources from the Solomon Islands. Coconut oil has many super benefits including anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal functions.

The Products

The lip products are really fun. Packaged in sustainable cardboard. There are three different types of formats – something for everyone!

The Lipsticks have the strongest pigmentation and last ability. They come in 5 shades.

The Lip Tints work well for a more subtle hint of colour, also 5 shades. The texture is very user friendly as it glides right on.

The Lip Balms have no colour, they are just very lip nourishing. They come in 3 different scents: grapefruit, lavender and peppermint.

GLOHS

GLOHS is a local Hong Kong brand with ingredients sourced from all over the world founded by Giselle Lee, a Hong Kong native whose breast cancer diagnosis led her to discover and learn about the world of natural skincare. She then went a step further and started her own brand. GLOHS is a fully natural line and she uses organic ingredients wherever possible.

The Products

Glohs has a broad range of products designed around different skin needs. I’ve tried a lot of the products and two that I want to highlight are:

The Facial Cleanser: It is mild, the core ingredient being Manuka honey which has moisturising, soothing and anti-bacterial properties.

The second product I really like is the Muscle Relief Oil, it is recommended for those who have muscle pain from lots of exercise…in my case at the moment it’s probably lack of exercise, but feels equally needed!

The core ingredient is naturally-derived methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) which has been proven to help reduce even chronic pain.

OSCO

OSCO is a skincare brand owned by Coyran Cheung, a Hong Kong native who became interested in natural skincare from an early age due to chronic issues with hormonal imbalance resulting in severe acne. Fast forward a decade and a career as a nurse forward, she decided to take the leap to start her own skincare brand. She studied at the well known natural skincare school in the UK Formula Botanica to become a certified skincare formulator.

The Product

OSCO is very focused- the brand has one very impressive product, an Anti-Pollution Serum. We can certainly all do with some pollution protection in our beautiful but fairly polluted city of ours. The serum has a very light texture that quickly absorbs into the skin. It is packed with antioxidants, which are important as they neutralise free radicals to stop cellular damage which can lead to problem skin and premature ageing.

Vitruvian Man

Vitruvian Man is a Hong Kong owned male skincare line. The founder Vivian Lau has a background in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. She started the brand in 2017 just in time for the male skincare boom that is currently happening in Asia! The premise of her formulations is about how different male skin actually is to female skin– in some ways tougher than women’s but still delicate. This could also be a metaphor for personality too…?! Certainly feels true for the key men in my life 😉

The Products

Vitruvian man is also a streamlined assortment. There are my two favorite products, both of which my husband has tried and tested!

The Anti-Pollution Cleanser & Toner – I love the simplicity of the 2-in-1 and the realisation that most men will want to minimise the steps in their routine. This product also smells divine.

The Resurrection Cream, a light moisturiser with SPF 20, uses mineral blockers zinc oxide and pongamia seed oil to deflect the sun. It also has anti-bacterial and soothing ingredients, which minimise skin rashes from shaving.

Final thoughts

Hong Kong is a wonderful city with people from so many different backgrounds. Above are my pick of Hong Kong’s best locally owned natural beauty brands. Many of the brands’ founders were driven to change their beauty regimes and create a line of product due to health issues. However, by launching their own brands they are also pioneering this exciting category and hopefully inspiring more of you to switch to natural products. 

All images courtesy of each brand, lead photo courtesy of Osco Skincare.