Emily's Anthology - a Malaysian beauty blog: Luview

, by Emily Quak

Makeup Tutorial: Christmas/Party Makeup Look

, by Emily Quak

Summer Handbag Essentials

Are you the kind of person who changes out her makeup or skincare routine with the change of weather? Some people don't realise that they need to do this in order to keep their skin in tip top condition.

I know beauty needs change from person to person, but here are some fail-proof recommendations for almost all skin types. If you tote these around in your handbag, I guarantee you a fabulous summer, beauty-wise anyway ;)

Sunglasses

A lot of people don't realise this, but shade can eliminate a majority of UV rays, and it is always recommended that you find shade from the sun as often as you can. Larger shades are ideal because they cover more of your face. Another great thing about sunglasses is that when you wear them, you tend to squint a lot less, which means less frown lines!

Mini Perfumes

These are an absolute must in the summer! Whether you just need to freshen your fragrance or you really need to mask certain smells (C'mon, walking around in that summer heat? You know what I'm talking about!), mini fragrance bottles are perfect. Some I'm really loving? The Lancôme Poême fragrance - very strong and long-lasting. All you need is a couple of dots on your décolletage and you're set.

The Balenciaga Paris fragrance is a little lighter and more breezy compared to the Poême, so if you want a slightly younger, more edgy-smelling scent, this is the one for you.

The House of Chloé also has the purse-sized perfume department locked down! A while back, they released the famous Love, Chloé fragrance in a rose-gold covered purse spray, pictured below. You can buy refills for this, so you won't have to repurchase the whole canister. So pretty :)

And as if that wasn't genius enough, Chloé also released a brand new Chloé Solid Perfume fragrance. It is a gorgeous locket filled with solid perfume, silver on one side, and a pretty magnolia yellow on the other. This would make such a fabulous Christmas gift, but move fast, because it is limited edition.

BB Cream

If you're looking for a lighter, less skin-clogging version of your foundation, look no farther than BB creams. They are so easy to apply - no need for brushes, just dab the product onto your face and smooth out with your clean fingers - and almost always come in handy squeezy tubes so that they are easy to transport. For a lightweight, quite watery version, I highly recommend the Luview Aqua Essence Whitening BB Cream. It is light and quite sheer, and gives you the most insanely dewy complexion.

If you want something more readily available (and super affordable - only AUD 12.95), look no further than the Rimmel BB Cream. Containing SPF25, this is a multi-tasker so you don't have to cake another product onto your probably already-melting face. This has fabulous coverage and has pretty decent oil control, so the finished result is a kind of silky matte, perfect skin. I should warn you that the colours run a little dark (I am a MAC NW20 and the 'Light' shade is a tad too dark for me) but if you're anywhere between a light-medium to dark coloured skin, this BB cream will match.

Hand Cream

I love repeating this - the backs of your hands and your neck are the first places to show signs of ageing. Always protect these areas by applying plenty of sunscreen as well as locking in moisture. These hand creams are both moisturising and non-greasy, and one reason why I love them so much is that they smell absolutely amazing!

The Urban Rituelle Hibiscus and Cranberry hand cream comes in a beautiful gift-packed trio that you can gift for Christmas, and the L'Occitane Cherry Princess hand cream comes from an entire range of Cherry Princess products, which undoubtedly will also be included in some beautiful gift packs for the holiday season.

Lip Balms

Lips are sensitive and need constant protection and hydration - they become dry and chapped in almost any kind of weather, and at the slightest sign of dehydration. Some of my favourites are:

Simplicité Angelica Lip Care Balm - by far the most effective of the three. It gets rid of chapped lips and helps plump the lips without that overly creamy feeling, so it almost feels like there's nothing on your lips.

L'Occitane Pivoine Delicate Lip Balm - Great if you want a non-greasy texture and a little tint to your lips. This tints your lips a light, rosy pink colour. Beware though, if you lean too warm in your skin tone then this colour might look a little unnatural on you.

Kiehl's Lip Balm - this is another star product that really gets rid of chapped lips and helps lock in the moisture, but has a little bit more of a creamy texture than the Simplicité lip balm. The great thing about this is that it comes in a number of different flavours and you can get one that contains SPF.

Spritz

When it comes to face spritzes, be careful which one you pick. If you get one that isn't formulated properly, it can actually lead to more moisture being sucked from your skin. The Uriage thermal water is formulated in such a way that it actually encourages the absorption of the moisture into your skin when spritzed on, which is absoultely perfect for the summer. In addition, it makes your makeup settle into your skin and helps it look more natural, as well as a little bit more comfortable to wear. PLUS, I mean, a little spritz or two is always so refreshing in that summer heat.

Compact Powder

Compact powders are great for a quick touch-up to keep your skin matte. For something with more coverage, try the Dior Diorskin Nude Compact. It comes with a dual-sided brush depending on what coverage you are going for, and the compact is lovely, luxe, and comes with a handy mirror.

Another great powder is the Luview Crystal Mineral Pact, which has a little sponge that is in a separate compartment. This also provides great coverage, but is quite light, so it will only suit more fair skins.

So that about sums up my handbag essentials for summer! Do you have any handbag must-haves for summer?

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In Acne, Bourjois

Concealing Acne: My Favourite Concealers and Setting Powders

So acne. A total eyesore, and sometimes it takes ages for a spot to go away. After the acne spot comes the acne scarring or pigmentation, even though you didn't do anything to aggravate the spot before it went away. Everyone hates it, and I have a couple of products to show you that may help you conceal them so that you never have to be caught in in daylight with those ugly suckers ever again.

Disclaimer: This post only shows you how to conceal the redness and discolouration that you get with acne and post-acne scars. There isn't much you can do to conceal the bumps on your face except ice them a little before you head out, so you will have to be patient and treat the area until the bump reduces in size.

First up are (obviously!) the concealers.

When you conceal acne, you want to keep the coverage on your entire face moderate, and only spot-conceal where you need it. Spot concealing is when you use a small concealing brush to dot concealer on top of the pimple, and blend it out. This technique disguises blemishes without you having to cake a large amount of foundation onto your face. The end result is a much more natural-looking finish, whilst still being able to cover the spots you need covered.

You need a concealer with good coverage and staying power to cover a spot. Anything that is too sheer will only end up dulling down the colour of the spot, which still leaves you with a weird purplish spot on your face.

The above concealers are some of the best I concealers I have come across in terms of acne concealing. The Vicy Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Cream Stick and the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer have the highest coverage, but if you have spots that are aggravated (where the skin around the spot is dry and shrivelled), then you want to use something that is very moisturising - the MAC Select Moisturecover is perfect for that.

The most important thing when it comes to concealing acne is that your concealer should match your skin shade exactly. When you are concealing acne, you want to be able to spot conceal with a thick layer of concealer, and the only way you can do that is if piling on the concealer doesn't make you end up with a white dot on your face where the spot used to be. I find the Bourjois and NVEY Eco concealers both great matches for my skin, and they are easy to blend and stay put, which is always important when you are concealing!

There are also great foundations that offer moderate coverage for more severe cases of acne. When you are looking for a foundation with good coverage, the important thing is to make sure that these products don't look cakey on the skin.

The Clinique Anti-Blemish foundation is great for oily skins, as its velvety texture keeps the oil at bay whilst still keeping the skin looking healthy and not dried-out.

The Luview Crystal Cover BB Cream is gorgeous, has very good coverage, and keeps the skin looking plump and healthy. If you are using m skincare products that cause your skin to dry out and peel, this is a great option. Just top it off with some mattifying powder where needed to keep the oiliness away.

Clinique Even Better also offers amazing coverage, and has a gorgeous semi-matte finish. This foundation gives you a gorgeous glow, and doesn't look at all cakey on the skin. This is my favourite foundation to use on my sister, who has a lot of redness. She looks amazing, and the product doesn't irritate her skin.

It is also extremely important to set the concealer with a powder so that the product stays on the skin and doesn't smudge or melt off easily.

I prefer finely-milled compact powders over loose powders, because compact powders are much easier to use and are much more purse-friendly.

My personal favourite is the Tom Ford Illuminating Powder, because it is very finely milled (which means that it will do a superb job at setting your concealer and won't look cakey or flash back on camera) and has a very subtle illuminating shimmer running through it, which brightens the face.

If you are looking for a cheaper option, the Sleek Luminous Pressed Powder is also great. It comes in a number of different colours as well, so the range caters to almost all skin tones.

Your makeup tools are also very important when it comes to concealing acne! Here are my favourite brushes to use:

For spot concealing, I love using the Real Techniques Accent Brush, or the Hakuhodo Eyeliner Brush. Both these brushes were made to serve other functions, but I find them perfect for spot concealing. I just pick up some concealer with either brush, and dot the concealer onto my spot, then blend it out with my finger. I like the Hakuhodo brush for the more creamy concealers like the Kevyn Aucoin and the Bourjois, and the Real Techniques I use for the more solid concealers, like the Vichy Dermablend and the NVEY Eco.

For setting the concealer, I look for brushes that are extremely soft, so that they don't disturb or move around the concealer. The Real Techniques blush brush is the most plush, soft-as-a-baby's-bottom brush I have ever tried, and it doesn't brush away all the work I did with the concealer.

That's about it for my favourite concealing products! I hope you found this useful, and if you have any tips for concealing, please let me know!