If you’re a Taiwanese TV fan, you’ll certainly be familiar with Meteor Garden star Barbie Hsu and her equally stunning sister Dee Hsu. The duo has been in the showbiz for almost 30 years and even though they’re in their 40s, their radiant and youthful-looking skin don’t look it at all.
Ever wondered their secrets to “freezing their age”? Read on for the top 14 tips we can learn from the Taiwanese sisters.
Beauty secrets of Barbie Hsu
Barbie Hsu may be best known for her acting roles, but did you know that she is also the author of beauty books such as the bestselling Mei Rong Da Wang (Beauty Queen: Secrets of Beauty Treatment)?
This is probably why her beauty tips are going to be pretty legit.
Remove all your makeup
The 45 year-old preaches the importance of proper cleansing in your skincare routine. Barbie stressed how having a clean diet isn’t enough to ensure your skin is clear, and that you must absolutely remove every single ounce of makeup before washing your face so that your skin doesn’t get damaged easily.
Be gentle
According to a 2008 interview she did with South China Morning Post, Barbie said she was always gentle with her skin, whether she was cleansing or applying products.
“Treat your skin gently, as if it were about to break” is her mantra.
Go cold
We know that cold therapy can have benefits to our skin. But the actress isn’t recommending washing your face with ice-cold water, as it may damage your facial capillaries and lead to redness and flushing.
Instead, she recommends putting your sheet masks in the fridge before using them to help tighten your pores.
Include an essence
In a 2018 Instagram post, Barbie strongly advocated for this su:m37’s Secret Essence. She says that she depended on this essence to “save her skin” when she went back to work right after a holiday. The Secret Essence is lightweight, and helps to improve your skin’s moisture, texture, elasticity, firmness, tone, and radiance.
sum:37 Secret Essence retails for RM357 at Hermo.
Facial massages
Barbie expressed her love for facial massages, and revealed to Elle Taiwan that she does it regularly to help improve her skin’s microcirculation and allow her products absorb into her skin better.
The Taiwanese actress has a specific way to massage her face. She begins with the Yang Bai acupoint (the point on the forehead and above the eyebrows) to improve blood circulation, oxygenation, and metabolism.
Next, she massages the Ying Xiang acupoint (located on the sides of the nostrils) with repeated circular motions in order to reduce facial swelling.
Finally, complete the massage with the Zan Zhu acupoint (located at the tip of the eyebrows, above the nose) to promote blood circulation to the eyes, reduce fine lines around the eyes, and reduce swelling of the eyes.
Barbie does this facial massage routine for five minutes at each point.
Rose oil benefits
Rose oil has amazing skincare benefits, smell amazing, and can also help to relax the mind and body. Barbie uses rose oil in her facial massage to exfoliate dead skin cells while enjoying its benefits of skin moisturisation, combating pigmentation, and improving metabolism.
Protection against the sun
All skincare enthusiasts know that sunscreen is perhaps the most important step in any routine. Harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun can contribute to signs of ageing, and so it is important to wear sunscreen all the time. Barbie always applies plenty of sunscreen and layers foundation above it to cancel out the white cast from the sunscreen.
For additional protection, she also uses an umbrella or parasol to shield herself from the sun, and wears long-sleeved clothing and hats when she goes out.
Proper diet
Barbie goes for a healthy and clean diet for better skin, as she feels in the “you are what you eat” concept.
She takes excellent care to consume nutritious foods, and takes vitamin C, E, and D3, calcium, grape seed extract supplements, as well as Chinese herbal drinks of angelica root, wolf berry, and red dates to boost her complexion.
She also consumes bird’s nest for its radiance-boosting qualities, and drinks snow fungus soup thrice a week for its collagen replenishing and anti-ageing qualities. Barbie also credits her lack of dark eye circles to vitamin C-rich foods, and makes sure that she has three balanced meals a day.
Get plenty of sleep
Getting sufficient rest will make a big impact on your skin as well. Barbie believes in sleeping before midnight as it is the optimal period for skin rejuvenation and repair.
She will attempt to fall asleep before 11 pm, and aims to stay up no later than 1 am if she needs to. She says these sleeping habits are very effective for preventing dark eye circles.
Combine aerobic and anaerobic exercises
In order to maintain her physique and youthful appearance, Barbie does both aerobic and anaerobic exercises thrice and once a week respectively. She chooses to do zumba for her aerobic exercises, and weight training, pilates, and yoga for her anaerobic exercises.
Beauty secrets of Dee Hsu
Of course, Barbie’s sister, Dee Hsu or otherwise known as “Little S”, also has some of her own beauty tricks up her sleeve. As stunning as her older sister, Dee is an acclaimed Taiwanese TV host, actress, and singer, and is well-known for her witty humour.
Her youthful appearance is the envy of many, so let’s take a look at some beauty tricks the mother-of-three had shared.
Mascara routine
To apply mascara to her eyelashes, she first curls them, before applying a coat of volumising mascara. If she feels like having more volume, she will repeat the process.
For work, she prefers using false eyelashes, and specifically individual lashes as she feels they look more natural. If she isn’t working, she prefers to just stick to mascara.
Makeup must-dos
The Taiwanese star always does her eyebrows, particularly when they are looking rather pale or sparse. She uses concealer for any pimples or dark eye circles if she looks tired, and also cannot live without some trusty lip balm.
Fitness routine
In order to keep fit, Dee attends a dance class every Tuesday, as well as a core-strengthening class every Thursday. She also heads to the gym with her husband on her days off, and runs on the treadmill for 20 minutes each time, before stretching and doing some yoga for another 20 minutes.
Facial yoga
Other than working to keep her body fit, Dee also likes to work out her face to maintain her chiselled visage and youthful appearance. Facial exercises have been known for their ability to stretch out facial muscles, which help tone and lift them, as well as boost their volume.
All photos taken from @hsushiyuan / Instagram and @elephantdee / Instagram
