Twins members Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung look so young but they are almost 40! Here are their beauty tips

It seems like only yesterday when we would rush home from school to turn on the radio and listen to the Cantopop group called Twins, made up of Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung.

We were so heartbroken when they temporarily split up in 2008 but are so glad they reunited again in 2010.

We’ve kept a close eye on them over the years. Yet, we were still shocked to learn that Jillian’s 41 and Charlene’s almost 40!

We could hardly believe our eyes because they still look so youthful. So, we decided to find out what they do to maintain their beauty.

Charlene Choi’s beauty tips

She has an intensive skincare routine

To treat her naturally dry skin, Charlene has an intensive skincare routine with an emphasis on moisturising ingredients.

She also uses nourishing facial masks on nights when she needs to film the next day, and reaches for them up to three times a week.

She believes in persistent skincare habits

Instead of using expensive skincare products, Charlene wholeheartedly believes in persistent skincare habits. She always makes sure to cleanse her face thoroughly.

She also believes in quality over quantity when it comes to skincare. She thinks that applying too many skincare products is non-effective and can clog the pores.

She drinks as much water as possible

Although it is generally recommended to drink at least eight glasses of water a day to maintain good health, Charlene admits she often does not meet the minimum eight a day.

Still, she tries hard to drink as much water as possible throughout the day to keep her skin nice, hydrated, and supple.

She applies sunscreen and visits beauty salons regularly

This singer always slathers on the sunscreen even if she is going to be spending most of her time indoors at home.

She also visits beauty salons regularly for deep cleaning such as blackhead removal and exfoliation.

In a video interview showing the beauty products in her purse, Charlene also mentioned that she gets tan easily, and uses the Galénic [N°1] Brightening, radiance, energy serum which is a 20% pure Vitamin C concentrated serum.

“It helps to protect me from the sun, and works good as an essence. After applying it, there’s a visible brightening effect,” she said.

The singer also found a second use for the product, saying that she will mix it in with her body lotion and that it helps keep her skin moisturised.

Her favourite cosmetics products are foundation, concealer, and powder

Charlene is fond of youthful makeup looks that take years off her age, with her favourite cosmetic products being foundation, concealer, and powder.

As for the specific powder foundation she uses, the Burberry Matte Glow cushion is one of her favourites, which she has also introduced to group mate Gillian and other friends over the years. According to her, the foundation has an impressive lasting power, provides good coverage for blemishes, and feels light on the skin.

Another one of her base makeup go-tos is the Clé de Peau Beauté Radiant Powder Foundation, which the singer has been using for over 10 years.

“I just put it on and it doesn’t melt throughout the day,” she said in a previous interview.

She also warns that you should be careful and avoid low-quality makeup, as it may cause terrible effects that cannot be reversed easily.

She is a ‘sleep expert’

A self-proclaimed ‘sleep expert’, she believes that sleep is helpful for taking care of your skin.

There is some truth to this. During sleep, skin regeneration is accelerated and blood vessel circulation increases.

She exercises at least 15 minutes a day

No matter how packed Charlene’s schedule is, she always allocates at least 15 minutes a day to exercise.

She loves exercise, particularly Zumba, which can improve metabolism and complexion, help perspiration, and promote detoxification.

She pays attention to her gut health

Whenever she develops acne around her mouth, she takes it as a sign that her gastrointestinal function has been compromised.

In response, she detoxifies carefully and reduces her sugar intake so as to not make her condition worse.

Her must-have product is a 24K Gold Beauty Bar

Charlene presses a golden beauty stick to her face at the beginning of her morning routine. This is to help her eyes from sagging.

To promote better blood circulation, she also uses this beauty device to press the acupuncture points around the face.

She drinks black wolfberry rose tea and pear soup

Black wolfberry rose tea is said to be rich in antioxidants, which conditions the liver and stomach as well as promotes better complexion.

The pear soup doesn’t just have pears – it contains apricots, figs, and dried tangerine peel too. All these ingredients help to moisten the lungs, clear dryness, and relieve cough – perfect for dryer climates.

Gillian Chung’s beauty tips

She slathers on the sun protection

Gillian is not one to slack off with her sun protection as she applies sunscreen indoors. It is also normal for her to use up a 60ml tube of sunscreen within only a month.

She also goes the extra mile and always makes sure to apply a lip balm with sun protection too to avoid dull and peeling lips.

She cleanses her skin with warm water and cold water

Instead of using hot water when cleansing her face, Gillian switches back and forth between room temperature water and cold water to help to achieve a firming effect.

She does not clean her face more than three times a day, as it can lead to over-exfoliation, which is detrimental to the skin.

She never squeezes her blackheads

While it is very tempting to squeeze our blackheads, Gillian does not do so as it can cause skin irritation and inflammation.

To prevent the development of blackheads, she uses a retinoid cream with a concentration of 0.025%. This reduces the blockage of hair follicles, making it difficult for acne to generate.

She has a ‘water drinking schedule’

She sticks to a water drinking schedule to ensure she drinks the optimal amount of water every day:

• 7am after waking up
• 9am after breakfast
• 11.30am before lunch
• 1pm after lunch
• 3pm during teatime
• 5pm before dinner
• 8pm after dinner

She does not get thirsty with this schedule, and has also shed a few stubborn kilograms just by sticking to this timeline.

She applies a sheet mask every day

Gillian has a thing for sheet masks, using one almost every day. She applies them either before bed, during baths, or before her makeup routine.

After peeling off the mask from her face, she massages the product for a couple of minutes until her skin is no longer sticky, and the product has been completely absorbed.

She uses the remaining essence in the face mask

In order to reduce waste, Gillian saves the remaining essence from the sheet mask sachet.

However, she doesn’t apply the essence on her face after her 20-minute face mask routine, as too much product can also lead to the formation of acne.

She chills her sheet mask before applying

In the summer, it can be soothing to put on a chilled face mask after a long day. However, you cannot go too low in temperature as it can hurt your skin.

The ideal cold temperature for Gillian is about 15 degrees, as skincare ingredients can still work their magic at that temperature.

She reminds herself to blink more

This does sound like a pretty strange tip but it does make sense. As we’re always staring at screens, it can be easy to forget to blink, leading to fatigued eyes.

Blinking can help produce tears to moisten your eyes. This results in eyes that are less dry, and can help your eyes look less tired in the long run.

She uses both cheap to expensive skincare brands

Among Gillian’s holy grail skincare products is the Clindalin Gel, which is an acne-treating gel from Thailand that only costs S$10!

We were surprised to hear that she does not use beauty instruments and is not one to frequent beauty salons. Instead, she relies solely on her skincare routine.

Featured image credit: q_gill