Gigi Lai and Charmaine Sheh are in both dramas. The plots are not the same at all: War and Beauty is a palace drama while Heaven Sword & Dragon Sabre is wuxia. However, both dramas make you think. There's plenty of mind-manipulation and psychological warfare in both. There's a strong female lead in both dramas, but not necessarily acted by the same actress. Also tragic love, but I won't go into more detail for fear of spoilers! I watched both with my mom as I wouldn't have watched either on my own (they're kinda old and not my typically kind of drama) but they both pleasantly surprised me!
