Emily's Anthology - a Malaysian beauty blog: Valentine's Day

, by Emily Quak

Men and Skincare: Do They Need It?

Men are notoriously difficult when it comes to convincing them that skincare works in their favour. Some men who have to live with difficult skin have learned the importance of skincare through personal struggle, but some others (like my fiancé) who are blessed with acne-free skin, never come to realise exactly how much skincare can do for them in the long run.

We all know that genetically blessed people can get away with not using any skincare through their twenties, but once they hit their thirties, the changes that happen to their skin finally starts to scare them. I have seen the deterioration in the quality and health of the skin personally, watching my fiancé's skin slowly change before my eyes. The elasticity is the first to go, followed by smoothness and clarity. Sun spots and fine lines start to develop after that, and it just goes downhill from there.

With the use of skincare, all this can be avoided. Products like the SK-II Men's Facial Treatment Essence can inject moisture into the skin and slow down the aging process, reducing and slowing any wrinkles and fine lines, flakiness, and dullness in the skin that happens as the skin ages.

Thankfully, I caught on early (as did the fiancé's family, whose slight jabs here and there really helped me convince J to start using skincare), and managed to get my hands on a gorgeous men's Pitera Essence Set from SK-II to gift to J for Valentine's Day! I realise that part of the reason why men don't want to use skincare is because skincare is associated with femininity, so having a skincare range specifically targeted towards men really does help. He was actually surprisingly pleased with the set, which contains a full-sized bottle of Men's Facial Treatment Essence and sample sizes of their men's cleanser and moisturiser.

So J has been using his new skincare religiously for about a week and a half now, and his skin has taken to it much better than mine initially did [link to SK-II Jan post]. He didn't experience any breakouts at all, and the regimen is simple enough that he doesn't feel like it's too much trouble to go through twice a day.

What I've seen so far:

Moisturised skin. A big problem that J had was flaky, dull skin, because he never uses any moisturiser or exfoliator. His new SK-II regime has changed that - his skin is still rough, but the flakiness is gone and his skin feels more plump.

Overall, we are extremely happy with the results and J is happy to continue using his skincare (WIN!). I am excited to see further results!

To learn more about the SK-II Men's skincare range, head over to their website and Facebook page.

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, by Emily Quak

In Anastasia Beverly Hills, Daniel Sandler

Makeup Tutorial: Purple Smoky Valentine's Day Makeup

Valentine's Day is only a couple of days away, so I've rushed the edit and upload of this Valentine's Day makeup tutorial - and this is one that is perfect for a night out with your girlfriends or with your special someone.

Here's the video. I hope you like it! x

Products mentioned:

Kiehl's Ultra Hydrating Cream

The latest offering in moisturiser from Kiehl's, this is an ultra-hydrating moisturiser that is ultra-lightweight in texture. It is the lightest moisturiser that I have ever tried, but it still does feel a tiny bit slick on the skin, so I would recommend it for dry skin types. I like to use it to prep my skin before I use a powder-based foundation, because I find that it helps make my skin a little bit tacky so that it helps the powder stick, and also gives it a more glowy finish.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Seas of Illumination Highlighter

I've been a fan of Rouge Bunny Rouge ever since I spotted the brand on some of my favourite blogs, and finally got a chance to try it without the hefty shipping price tag when I discovered that Luxola carries the brand on their website (free shipping with orders above RM40 in Malaysia). This highlighter is pink-toned with multi-coloured shimmer, and gives the skin a lovely glow. It is pigmented enough that you don't need to 'wet' your skin and ruin the rest of your makeup - only a little bit is more than enough to give your skin a soft, luminous glow.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette

This is my favourite brow product, not because of the texture or formulation of the powder, but because of the brush. Anastasia knows her brows, and this is one of the best brow brushes I have come across by far. It has just the right amount of stiffness to help me shape my brows properly, particularly at the bottom edges.

Sleek Contour Kit in Medium

One of my favourite contour products just because it is easy to use, doesn't have any shimmer in it at all, and is a great match for my skin tone. I don't like contour powders that are too orange, because they don't look natural at all, and this is one of the few drugstore products that gets it right.

Sigma Paris Palette

I am late to the party on this one, I admit, but only because it was so difficult to get my hands on Sigma before this! I know they ship worldwide, but unless you're doing a group order, their shipping increases with each product you add to your cart, and usually once I add a few products to my cart, I end up getting depressed by the shipping cost and close the whole window. This one was another shipment from Luxola, and my gosh it is beautiful! Some of the colours are absolutely amazing, particularly the purples, which is why I chose to use them in this tutorial.

Smashbox Limitless Eyeliner in Onyx

This is a great eyeliner to use when you're doing a smoky eye, because it is quite smudge proof once it sets. Don't use it if you have particularly oily lids or watery eyes, because it isn't 100% smudge proof, but if you're neither, it's a great smoky liner to have.

Lavie Lashes

Lavie is a brand of lashes released by a friend of mine, and I am immensely flattered that she chose to send me a selection of her lashes to trial and show you guys here on the blog and my channel. I am wearing the Lolas, and what I love about her line of lashes is that they are so wearable! They are just right for my eyes, and that is difficult to find because most lashes are too long or too large for my eyes. These fit just right, so I urge anyone of Asian descent to try these if you've been looking for a more natural but still striking look!

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Spicey

I honestly didn't even think to buy this colour - I just knew I wanted a new Watercolour Blush because I have the colour Cherub and absolutely adore it. I only bought this colour because it was so highly recommended online, and when it arrived I was slightly underwhelmed by the brick red colour. But once I applied it, I fell head over heels in love! The colour just lit my entire face up, and brought such a beautiful warmth to my cheeks. I highly recommend this for warm skin tones - you won't regret it!

Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lipstick in Nude Beach

Fast becoming one of my favourite lipsticks because of its lovely mauve-y nude colour. It is really flattering against my skin and I love the creamy texture. I wish it was a tiny bit more pigmented, but still love it to death anyway.

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, by Emily Quak

In Allegra Rhodes, Bobbi Brown

Pampering Pink Valentine's Goodies

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and I'm sure you ladies out there want to get your spa on to relax and prepare yourselves! Just to get into the spirit, I've put together a selection of pink-themed products that I thought might be of interest, either for Valentine's Day or just to pamper yourselves in general :)

Quite obviously, the theme of this post is PINK! I hope you find something that you like ♥

1. L'Oreal Paris Infallible Eyeshadow in Naughty Strawberry

L'Oreal Paris' Infallible eyeshadows are the absolute best cream-formula eyeshadows in the drugstore market. They stay put without budging through sweat and rain, and are extremely richly pigmented. Naughty Strawberry is a pretty pink shade from their Miss Candy collection, and contains flecks of pink and silver shimmer running through it. For added dimension, layer this over a black eyeshadow base, and you have an amazing, unique smoky eye for Valentine's Day.

2. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Wild Rose

Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Bricks are known throughout the beauty world as being the ultimate pick-me-up blush for a big night out. They provide an absolute shimmer-bomb on the cheeks, whilst still somehow managing to keep you looking classy and polished. The key to this look is the extremely finely milled, warm-toned shimmer in the blush - shimmer formulated any other way is just a little too tacky. Wild Rose is a limited edition colour, but Bobbi Brown has a large selection of Shimmer Bricks to choose from, depending on the effect you want and the colour and tone of your skin.

3. Daniel Sandler Watercolour Crème Rouge Blusher Soft Peach

Daniel Sandler's cosmetics are a huge hit throughout the UK, and his products have just become more easily accessible here in Australia! Beauty website feelunique.com have launched in Australia, and they are bringing with them amazing UK brands like Daniel Sandler to our shores! This cream blush is from Daniel Sandler's famous Watercolour range, and is a cream-to-powder formula that is long lasting, water resistant, and extremely easy to blend onto the skin. I am a huge fan of his Watercolor Blushes, so I am extremely excited to try this blush, and I will report back with a full review when I have tested it out!

1. essie Tour de Finance

This fabulous, hot pink colour from essie's Spring Collection 2012 contains an almost holo-like purple micro-shimmer shot through it, which adds a subtle yet beautiful dimension to the nail. Not your average pink!

2. L'Oreal Paris Color Riche in Milk Shake in LA

Also from the Miss Candy collection is this beautiful baby pink shade that makes for the perfect, sweet manicure. I love that the bottles are small and affordable with this range of nail polishes - they are so practical especially for a nail polish hoarder like me!

3. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Back to the Fuchsia

You all know my love for Sally Hansen. It has come back tripled in intensity because Sally Hansen have released a whole bunch of brand new colours to their Complete Salon Manicure range, a range of premium nail polishes with built in top and base coats, as well as a long lasting colour. The new shades are absolutely gorgeous, and I cannot wait to try some more!

Pictured above are the eau de toilette and body cream from the L'Occitane Marvellous Flowers collection, but I really wanted to share with you their new releases, all based around the beautiful scent of cherries. L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom and Spring Cherry collections are now out in stores, and they smell heavenly! What's more, L'Occitane have also released little Valentine's Petit Sets, just in case you wanted to drop a couple of Valentine's Day gift hints around :)

1. Jeanne en Provence Plaisirs d'été Shower Gel

This amazingly affordable shower gel is an absolute favourite in my apartment at the moment! It has such a refreshing, fruity peach-and-apricot scent, and J absolutely loves the scent on me. It comes in a 250mL bottle, and retails for only AUD 8.95. No one would've guessed it though, because the packaging is so chic! LOVE.

2. Kérastase Cristalliste range

Kérastase has been around for a long, long time, and yet I have never tried their shampoos. I have always been overwhelmed by the number of products they offer, their prices, and my need to try every single one of them coupled with the fact that I would never be able to afford all those products. One day though, the Cristalliste range caught my eye, and I was ready to splash my cash on this amazing-sounding range! Paypal account at the ready, I made my purchase, only to be blocked at checkout because the product wasn't available to be sent to Australia :( A few months later, I was lucky enough to be sent this range to trial, and I must say that I am a convert! This Cristalliste range is targeted at young women with long hair and extreme routines. For me, I heat-style my hair frequently, and wash it almost everyday because I am now working out daily. I was really surprised when this shampoo managed to reduce my hair fall despite the fact that I was washing everyday. Full review to come, but suffice it for now to say that I highly recommend this!

3. David Babaii Miracle Elixir Nourishing Oil Spray

I have been a fan of David Babaii haircare ever since I found out that he was Kate Hudson's hairdresser. The David Babaii range has undergone a makeover and is now as chic and sleek as ever! This oil called out to me because it is so easy to apply (score one for spray applicators!) and so extremely light on the hair despite the fact that it is an oil! It contains a mixture of Immortelle Essential, Acai, Brazilian Nut and Sweet Almond oils to really condition the hair and smooth flyaways. Plus, it's so easy to apply! Just spritz, comb through, and you're ready to go. I love low-maintenance products so this is an A+ in my books!

Allegra Rhodes Bath & Body range

This brand new, Australian range of eau de parfum based products is so beautifully packaged, it hurts me to think that I will have to throw away the boxes to save space once I'm done filming and photographing them. These products are conveniently available online at allegrarhodes.com.au, and are 100% paraben and sulphate free. These products are infused with a big ol' dose of eau de parfum so that the scent lasts longer on your body. I love anything that leaves a scent on your body for a long time, because how awesome would it be to walk around the house and smell good, all the time?! Prices range from AUD 28.95 - 32.95, and the brand offers body washes, body lotions, hand washes, body mists and hand and nail creams, all available for purchase online.