Rebecca Chung On Empowering Women Through Beauty and Self-Care
Female empowerment can take many forms. But for Rebecca Chung, it’s about confidence. That’s why she created Princess Brows and High Society Skin Clinic, two salon concepts that specialise in treatments that address a wealth of aesthetic concerns and encourage women to become their best selves.
A pioneer of semi-permanent makeup in Hong Kong, Rebecca has created a robust range of products and techniques that women can use to achieve aesthetic results—and get that accompanying confidence boost. Her proprietary nano-pigments can cater to a wide range of skin tones, while her carefully developed application techniques offer a natural look that works with the skin and lasts for up to five years.
Rebecca has also developed non-invasive treatments that bridge the gap between beauty and medical services so that women can indulge in self-care and feel more comfortable in their own skin. Her unique services can be used to minimise vitiligo, stretch marks, and Caesarean scars, while her highly specialised 3D technique has been used to reconstruct areolas after mastectomies.
We speak to self-care advocate and makeup guru about the importance of taking time for yourself and why confidence is so important for women.
Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?
Not exactly. I started off as a musician, but eventually made the move into beauty. I made the pivotal career shift after having my first baby. I’d always had an interest in beauty and I felt that if I didn’t pursue my ambitions and challenge myself at the age of 30, I never would.
Initially, I learnt semi-permanent makeup as a hobby. But I quickly realised that there was a lack of specialists in Hong Kong and decided to create Princess Brows. To ensure high standards, I also established a tools and pigment company, House of PMU. Through the brands, I championed semi-permanent makeup in Hong Kong and developed my own application techniques, including Stretch Mark Camouflage, Vitiligo Camouflage, Areola Tattooing and Under Eye Concealer.
What defines a modern woman in 2021?
A modern woman is a strong individual that is inherently comfortable and confident in their own skin. She knows that sometimes, life doesn’t allow balance—but it always offers flexibility, and she works with this, guilt-free.
What makes Princess Brows and High Society Skin Clinic different from other beauty salons?
High Society Skin Clinic and Princess Brows strive to help individuals feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Whether it’s the fitness support we offer with body-sculpting treatments (EmSculpt), using our semi-permanent makeup to camouflage scars and conceal dark circles to help clients go make-up free with confidence, or recreating areolas after a difficult surgery, all our services are designed to transform the way you look, but more importantly, the way you feel.
It was also important for me to create environments at our salons that focused solely on the client and their purpose—self-care. That’s High Society Skin Clinic and Princess Brows are spaces individuals love spending time in—we don’t ever upsell products and packages.
What does your self-care routine look like?
I’m a strong believer in self-care. Without taking the time to care for yourself, you won’t be able to be the best version of yourself for the other facets of your life.
I strive for perfection when it comes to the treatments on offer at High Society Skin Clinic and Princess Brows, so I test all of our treatments myself—I’m lucky these treatments encourage self-care! I also use EmSculpt sessions and facials as part of my routine. I take the Glowagen Supreme NAD+ supplement everyday, as it supports my overall energy levels, helps with my sleep quality and protects my skin from photoageing. It supports my glow from the inside out!
Your brands are all about empowering women. What does female empowerment look like for you?
For me, female empowerment is about feeling confident and comfortable in your own skin, and sometimes that requires a little self-care. We’ve all experienced moments where we don’t love a particular aspect of ourselves or want to make one small tweak to feel better and more confident. As a semi-permanent makeup artist, I’m able to help people feel more confident about themselves, and that’s empowering for myself and my clients.
I’ve worked with individuals who have lip discolourations and want to neutralise this with semi-permanent makeup, women who have lost hairs from their eyebrows and want to recreate their brows, and individuals who have gone through difficult surgeries, such as a mastectomy, and want to recreate their areolas. In all of these cases, the treatments weren’t an exercise in vanity, but a much-needed method of addressing significant concerns that couldn’t properly be handled any other way. After the treatments, all of these clients felt far more confident and comfortable with themselves—that’s empowering!
What's the one thing you would recommend to all women for a quick confidence boost?
I don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer to this. But I do believe that choosing to take time out for yourself is a sure-shot way of regaining your confidence. In short, I would say you need to take the time to identify what will bring you that confidence and making that appointment in order to do so.
What are your favourite female-owned brands at the moment?
I would have to say Coffee Lam’s brand, CoffeeSweat. Her goal is to make individuals feel more confident in their bodies by providing the tools they need to do so—specifically, her workout programs and her activewear brand.
Another brand I love is Kylie Cosmetics, by Kylie Jenner. I love the aesthetic of her brand and how driven she is. She’s built an empire at such a young age and made lipstick ‘cool’ again—it’s inspiring.
Who's your Chika?
My mother-in-law! She’s absolutely incredible and extremely charismatic. She climbed the career ladder purely through hard work. She didn’t have a formal degree, but today she manages over 3,000 employees! I’ve learnt—and continue to learn—so much from her.
