Cover Carina Lau and Carol Cheng in conversation at SK-II’s “A Dialogue with Carina—A Golden Journey Forward” event at The Upper House (Image provided by the brand)
Carina Lau and Carol Cheng in conversation at SK-II’s “A Dialogue with Carina—A Golden Journey Forward” event at The Upper House (Image provided by the brand)
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There is something quietly powerful about a woman who has made peace with time. On May 18, Carina Lau embodied that philosophy with effortless conviction at an intimate gathering hosted by SK-II at The Upper House.
The event marked 30 years of partnership between Hong Kong actress Carina Lau and the Japanese skincare label. Titled “A Dialogue with Carina—A Golden Journey Forward” and centred on the brand’s LXP Ultimate Revival series, it brought together legendary television host Carol Cheng—popularly known as “Do Do”—and Lau for an in-depth conversation that was equal parts beauty masterclass and life philosophy. Guests including Kathy Chow, Janet Ma, Amanda Strang, Feiping Chang and Elva Ni were also in attendance, making for an evening that felt more like a gathering among friends.
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Above Carina Lau speaking candidly at the SK-II gathering (Image provided by the brand)
Carina Lau speaking candidly at the SK-II gathering (Image provided by the brand)
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Carina Lau opened the evening by speaking candidly about working with filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, describing his relentless pursuit of the perfect shot—a process that demanded endless repetition until the image lived up to his vision. Among the most colourful disclosures: actor Jacky Cheung getting through 72 plates of pasta during a single scene, while Lau herself needed more than 20 takes simply to pick up a cigarette lighter convincingly during the filming of his 1990 work Days of Being Wild. “Wong Kar-wai wanted us to live in the film, not act in it,” she said. “That changed my understanding of the craft entirely.”
Above Carina Lau in Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild (1990) (Image courtesy of IMDB)
Carina Lau in Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild (1990) (Image courtesy of IMDB)
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Her 58-show stage run in the 2010 play The Truth About Lying alongside Dayo Wong drew equally thoughtful reflection. Far from settling into routine, Lau returned home after every performance to quietly dissect her own work before heading out the following morning to run while rehearsing lines in her head. “Every day was a refinement,” she said. “Even with the smallest adjustment, Wong would feel it. Each show was better than the last.”
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Above Carol Cheng, known fondly as “Do Do”, moderating the conversation with Carina Lau (Image provided by the brand)
Above Carina Lau speaking candidly about beauty, confidence and the art of ageing well (Image provided by the brand)
Carol Cheng, known fondly as “Do Do”, moderating the conversation with Carina Lau (Image provided by the brand)
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SK-II’s LXP Ultimate Revival series is, likewise, a study in the obsessive, incremental refinement of something already very good. The product is the result of more than 40 years of research, over 300 formula iterations, and the extraction of a rare 1.2 per cent of PITERA™ from millions of yeast cells to arrive at an eight-fold concentration of its signature ingredient.
Above The SK-II LXP Ultimate Revival series on display at the event (Image provided by the brand)
The SK-II LXP Ultimate Revival series on display at the event (Image provided by the brand)
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Cheng then pressed Carina Lau on something more personal: beauty anxiety. The actress, who regularly shares make-up-free hiking photographs on social media, answered with characteristic candour. “Of course I have had it,” she said. “More so when I was younger. Less so now.” Her magnetism today comes from somewhere deeper—a confidence refined by age. “I want to live as the healthiest, most beautiful version of myself at every age,” she added, encouraging the room to do the same. “Every woman is like a unique flower. Find what is distinctly yours, let it bloom—that is the most irreplaceable kind of beauty.”
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Above The SK-II “A Dialogue with Carina—A Golden Journey Forward” event at The Upper House, Hong Kong (Image provided by the brand)
Above The event space adorned with images of Carina Lau across the decades (Image provided by the brand)
The SK-II “A Dialogue with Carina—A Golden Journey Forward” event at The Upper House, Hong Kong (Image provided by the brand)
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The evening closed on a lighter note, with Lau recounting how her husband, Hong Kong screen legend Tony Leung Chiu-wai, was apparently far less composed than usual upon hearing she'd gone skydiving. “I told him, ‘You’re really overthinking this!” she laughed.
A self-confessed thrill-seeker, Lau still remembers the jump vividly. “I was so terrified during those seconds of freefall,” she recalled—until the parachute opened and the vast landscape finally spread before her—“I felt like a bird. Completely free.” She smiled. “I hope to embrace the world with that same spirit—and I hope every woman does too. Live with an open heart, and let that be your most beautiful self.”
(From left to right) Anna Kamiyama, Carina Lau, Carol Cheng and Kathy Chow at the SK-II event (Image provided by the brand)
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Cathy Huang is the fashion editor of Tatler Hong Kong, overseeing fashion and lifestyle coverage in both English and Traditional Chinese.
