Emily's Anthology - a Malaysian beauty blog: MAC

, by Emily Quak

In Celebrity Inspired, Fall

Makeup Tutorial: RiRi Hearts MAC Fall 2013 Dark Berry Look

3Comments

, by Emily Quak

In Alpha-H, Batiste

July/August Favourites 2012

1Comments

, by Emily Quak

In Australis, Beauty Secrets

Makeup Basics: How to Apply Long-Lasting Red Lipstick

Hello everyone! This post is a little late, because I've had quite a few things to deal with, but it is finally up and I hope you guys enjoy it!

So as promised, here's my step-by-step guide to a long-wearing, shaped red lipstick.

Before you start, apply a lip balm and leave it in for 2-3 minutes. I love the Simplicité Angelica Lip Care Balm. It is gorgeous and very moisturising. Then, grab a cotton bud and rub it along your lips to remove any dry, loose skin.

Now you're ready to apply your lipstick.

First, apply your favourite red lipstick. Stay within your lip lines.

Next, use a lip liner to line your lips. At this point, you can shape your lips and draw them as you like. You can draw the line slightly outside your natural lip line to make your lips appear fuller.

Then, using a lip brush, apply another coat of lipstick to your lips. A lip brush will help you control the application of the lipstick and help you create smooth, perfect lines.

Blot the lipstick once you've applied it. This filters it down to a thin layer that you can then build up on. Building up thin layer upon thin layer helps the lipstick last longer than applying one thick coat of lipstick.

Reapply a coat of lipstick, then blot again, then apply again.

Next, using a small concealer brush, apply concealer to the outside of your lip, especially around the outer corners. This will perfect and also lighten the line around your lips, which will make them look more perfect and full. Try to use a moisturising concealer, because the area around your lips is most likely dry and may have some fine lines. A moisturising concealer will help disguise any of these imperfections.

Finally, apply some lipgloss to the centre of your lips. This creates the illusion of fuller lips.

And that's it! Here are a couple of products that I used to create this tutorial.

Some great lipstick shades that match a myriad of skin tones are, as shown from left to right:

Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in True Coral - this is a lipstick with an orange undertone which matches both very fair skins as well as warmer skin tones.

ck one color Pure Color Lipstick in Loudmouth - this is a dark red with a plummy undertone. Plummy undertones suit both warm and cool undertones in the skin.

Lancome Rouge in Love in 163M - this is a red with a bluish base which suits more neutral skins as well as cool skin tones

NYX Round Lipstick in Snow White - this is the most blood-red lipstick I have ever seen! This kind of blood-red colour suits every skin tone and is very flattering on the skin. It really stands out on the skin though, so if you're a first time wearer, be warned!

Australis Show Stopper Gloss Stick in Fireworks - this is for people less experienced with red lipsticks. It is more sheer, and also very easy to apply because of its stick form.

I have posted swatches of these lipsticks below:

L-R: Australis 'Fireworks', ck one 'Loudmouth', Lancome 163M, NYX 'Snow White', Tom Ford 'True Coral'

As I mentioned earlier, the concealers used around the lip need to be moisturising. My favourites are the MAC Select Moisturecover and the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.

I hope this post helped you! x

6Comments

, by Emily Quak

In Becca, Benefit

Makeup Tutorial: Dark Smoky K-pop Inspired Makeup

4Comments

, by Emily Quak

In Arbonne, Daniel Sandler

Makeup Tutorial: Easy Smoky Eye to Lift and Define Monolids and Hooded Lids

0Comments

, by Emily Quak

In Chanel, Contouring

Makeup Tutorial: How to Contour and Highlight

3Comments

, by Emily Quak

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!