Angie Ng is more than just a pretty face. The Malaysian-Chinese model officially joined the modelling world at 16, talent-scouted while in the UK obtaining her law degree. She’s since appeared in publications like Elle, Prestige and Marie Claire, been the face of Adidas campaigns, and has walked the London runways for designer brands likeRoger Vivier, Ted Baker and Vivienne Westwood. Currently signed with Model One in Hong Kong, Angie is also a professionally trained dancer, a spin instructor for XYZ, and fitness instructor for LIGHTS//OUT Hong Kong boxing gym. Compare Retreats chat with Angie about her favourite beauty products, wellness tips and what real beauty means to her.
What is real beauty, to you? It’s not about looking, being or acting a certain way, but being able to just ‘be’ and feel good. I think real beauty is just being comfortable in your own skin.
When it comes to skin care routine what are some products you love that you use? Right now I’m obsessing over Creme Ancienne: it’s super luxurious, full of nutrition and fat, it’s creamy and it’s almost all handmade. Especially if you have sensitive skin, it boosts the skin barrier and blocks the pollution, dirt, and cosmetics that affect it easily. I’ve been loving Creme Ancienne because I can feel my skin improving over time.
What do you use to boost your skin if it’s looking a little bit lacklustre? I use Kiehl’s clay mask and also I love using the Eve Lom cleanser and cleansing cloth. There’s also a vibrating silicone cleansing: similar to Clarisonic but it’s silicon instead which makes it cleaner and not as rough on your skin. You just use it with a normal cleanser and it really really lifts the makeup up, especially sometimes when you have makeup on for the whole day.
Is there a lip balm that you love? There are a couple of lip balms that I love, I like Dr.PAW PAW, it’s the best. It’s like one of those great-for-everything lip balms: good for your lips, for cuts, along with so many positive properties and enzymes. I like Kiehl’s lip balm as well, it’s one of my favourites.
How do you take care of your body from the inside-out? Every morning I drink lemon water and sometimes I sprinkle a little cayenne powder on top of my lemon water. I have fresh-pressed juice at home, and I have a couple of recipes I rotate: I do my full green juice or my carrot-orange colour juice, and then on Friday I do my beetroot, grape-super juice. Along with that, I have my supplements. One of the supplements I love taking is Triphala. It’s really good for detox, for helping your colon, for cleansing and it’s gentle. I found out about Triphala when I had to take laxatives while having trouble going to the toilet when I was very skinny, but the laxatives are horrible for your body. I also take Ester-C, Vitamin C and a natural ginseng energy pill before starting my day.
How important is sleep for you and your routine? Oh my god, I love to sleep. If I could sleep as long as I can I would—I try and get about six to eight hours daily basis. If I really can’t, then I’m lucky enough to have afternoon breaks where I can actually have a half-hour power nap. I have a little speaker in my bedroom and sometimes I like to play soft jazz and use a Caternap eye mask—the silk on the Caternap mask is interwoven with skincare products, and uses aloe vera and oil to refresh your skin.
When it comes to makeup and doing different looks what are the products you love? Tom Ford is one of my top choices for lipsticks. The lip colour is intense, it’s luscious and there’s just such a variety of colours: you could go matte and strong or sensual, a little funky and metallic and it’s just fun. It works for me, because personally, I don’t like to plan. An hour before going out, however it is I feel, I just go ahead and do it. One day, I want to go out with nude makeup, the next I want something heavier. How we dress and how we portray ourselves should be how we truly feel, and we may feel different at a different time of the day or the week. That’s why I like changing my hair or hair colour.
And sometimes I wear a leather jacket with my sportswear to the gym and people ask me why, but I just like it. I feel funky and I love that. That’s why I love fashion and why I’ve been a model for so long—it inspires me to be me. With fashion, I get to be a different character every time I’m working with clients. I think that kind of seeped into my personal character: I love being able to play a different Angie from time to time.
You mentioned changing your hair: where do you go for your hair, facials and body or beauty treatments? I have my hair cut by Jimmy at his salon, the Attic in Central. He’s been my go-to hair guy for years, and he’s great with short hair because he understands it. He doesn’t just cut it based on trends: he looks at your hair, the hair quality, how it grows and then he tells you, “You really you shouldn’t cut this kind of hair because it doesn’t work for you.”
For facials, I go to The Clinic in Causeway Bay. I use their hydro-facial which is great for cleansing your pores and for sealing nutrients in. I also do spectra laser as it helps with pigmentations and making cells smaller because as we age we lose collagen, and then our pores appear bigger than ever. So, it’s nice to have the hydro-facial to clean out the pores, followed by the spectra a week or two weeks after to tighten up the pores.
What about your fitness routine? When I teach my class at XYZ, I do the spin, but I can’t really exercise when I’m teaching at Lights Out. When I want to exercise though, I go boxing in that same building, and if I don’t have time for that I use the 7-minutes app, which gives you basic seven-minute workouts.
