Emily's Anthology - a Malaysian beauty blogger living life between KL and Melbourne

Product Review: Adidas Climacool Revolution

2013-06-11T16:32:00.004+10:00

I've been focusing a little more on my health lately, and have been trying to get to the gym as often as possible (which really isn't all that often, sadly) to get in a workout here and there. Jason has taken an interest in the fact that I am now trying to work out more, and in his excitement has proceeded to buy me an army of workout clothes and shoes. Now I'm kind of spoilt, shoe-wise, because I know what a comfortable pair of shoes feels like, and I only want to wear that.

When I heard about the new Adidas Climacool Revolutions, I was pretty curious to find out if they would really work, since being here in Malaysia does have its drawbacks (read: HOT tropical weather and humidity that makes your hair frizz up like that) and I wanted something that might be able to help cool my feet down. I realise that this is not a necessity, but it sure does help when you want to avoid smelly feet and that weird, uncomfortable feeling when you're hot and your feet are hotter and sweaty *ugh*.

I'm huge on aesthetics (shallow, I know), so I was happy to see that the shoes were a lovely striking colour, with complementing neon green accents. Upon first trying them out, I found them to be really comfortable and easy to use, without needing to be broken in or stretched out.
I do a lot of running when I'm at the gym, so I also need shoes to be well-padded because I have weak knees. This pair ticked all these boxes, and I actually did feel a subtle difference in moisture in my feet after my workout.

This range of shoes focuses on 360º ventilation, with 'vents' running throughout the shoes (even underneath!) to make for a much cooler, more comfortable, better-smelling run. The insoles have holes punched in them, and if you remove them, directly underneath is a cage-like sole, allowing air to flow easily through.

If you look closely, the space above the white soles of the shoes show you the 'cage' like structure that allows air to flow through.

More holes underneath the shoes.

I've been using these shoes for about a month now, and I love them. They really are 'cooling' to wear, and if you're not into that sort of thing, these are still a very comfortable, good-looking pair of shoes to consider.

Adidas Climacool Revolutions are already on sale at Adidas stores and retailers nationwide.

Disclaimer: This product was sent for review and consideration purposes in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

How to Avoid Dark, Discoloured Underarms

2013-06-10T20:17:00.001+10:00

A few weeks back, I was invited to a lovely sit down with Dove, where we learned a little bit about caring for your underarms and how to whiten your underarm area, as well as how to keep the underarm area white and avoid discolouration.

It is a strange subject to talk about, and yet most (if not all) of us are self-conscious about our underarms, and are constantly looking for a way to keep the area as sanitary and as clear as possible.

I found the subject particularly fascinating (I myself am a huge advocate of keeping your underarms clean and evenly-coloured, and it pains me when I spot dark, discoloured underarms) and enlightening - you have no idea the kind of beauty treatments and everyday acts that can cause dark underarms!

We were addressed by Associate Professor Dr Irene Lee about underarms and the delicate skin in that area, and I found out (much to my horror, because I've been doing some of these things) that doing these things to your underarms can cause darkness and discolouration:

Plucking - this should only be done in the same direction as hair growth, because otherwise, the skin can get damaged and become discoloured.

Shaving - this actually causes quite a bit of damage to the outer layer of skin, which then causes discolouration.

Waxing - again, this pulls at and damages the skin around the underarms, which then causes discolouration.

Aside from steps implemented in our beauty regimes, the following 'environments' also cause discolouration and darkness in the underarm area:

Dryness - you should always keep your underarms well-moisturised to prevent damage and discolouration.

Wetness - if your underarm area is always sweaty, this causes bacteria and damage to the area as well, which (you guessed it) causes discolouration.

Avoiding the above and keeping your underarms well-moisturised is key to healthy, clean, and even-looking underarms. How does Dove come into the equation?

Their whitening range contains liquorice, which is an effective skin whitening agent, and Vitamins E & F, which help keep the skin moisturised. The three rollerball versions are (from left to right) Silk Dry, Original and Unscented, and they also do an aerosol version of the Original.

Here's a little bit of information about each version:

I spent the last few weeks testing these deodorants out, and these are my favourites:

The aerosol Original Whitening deodorant is perfect for when I want a quick fix before and after the gym, and I love the fact that it doesn't contain any alcohol. The Unscented rollerball is perfect for when I head out and don't want the smell of my deodorant to overpower the smell of my perfume.

As for whitening, I've been avoiding all the above regimes and environments, and I definitely see cleaner, more even underarms. These are already retailing at your local pharmacies and department stores, so go and check them out if you're interested!

Disclaimer: These products were gifted for consideration and review purposes in compliance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Makeup Tutorial: Easy Everyday Day to Night Makeup Tutorial

2013-06-07T12:17:00.000+10:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted a makeup tutorial and I apologise! It's been crazy trying to form a new routine on top of trying to adjust to my new environment and lifestyle, so I haven't had much time to film and edit. I filmed this video a couple of weeks back, but only just found the time to finish the editing.

This is a quick, simple day-to-night makeup that I've been doing a lot since I got back, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

Products mentioned:

Biore Perfect UV Face Milk SPF50+ - read a little more about it here.

NARS Sheer Glow in Ceylan - this is a velvety, slightly matte foundation that still gives your skin a great glow despite its texture. It has a medium to full coverage, so it's great for people with slightly problematic skin, and it sits beautifully on the skin without any cakiness or heaviness.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette - my favourite brow product. Full review here.

Sleek Oh So Special palette - a beautiful palette with plummy tones that is perfect for all skin tones.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trio (this is a mouthful!) - a fantastic trio of eyeliners with arguably the best formula on the drugstore market at the moment. It does not budge on even the most teary, oily lids, so if you're looking for a good quality eyeliner that stays put on your eyes, this is it.

Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On Mascara (another mouthful that almost doesn't make sense) - my favourite mascara to date. Gives you volumnised lashes with definition, and the comb wand makes it very easy to apply. This is also insanely waterproof.

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Neutral Fair - this concealer doesn't look like it does the job when you first apply it - until you take a step back or catch a glimpse of your reflection in the car sideview mirror or a cafe window. Then, you realise your eyebags and dark circles are barely noticeable, if at all. Fantastic product.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2 - this is my HG concealer. It ticks all the right boxes for me - pigmented, easily 'mouldable' and blendable but doesn't move after it's applied, dual colours so you can mix the perfect colour for your skin...the list just goes on. I want to buy it over and over again even though I already have one in my makeup bag.

Clarins Illuminating Cheek Colour in Lovely Rose - this blush is beautifully made, and contains sections of matte blush powder as well as sections of blush containing a lovely subtle shimmer. On the skin it just lights up the face (hence the very fitting name) - it gives you a subtle glow that doesn't look like makeup. I received this blush from ry.com.au. They stock loads of Clarins products as well as other well-known makeup and skincare brands, and haircare and tools as well. They also do some pretty great discounts from time to time, so make sure you check in regularly to score a good deal.

Diorskin Nude Compact Powder Foundation - read my full review of this powder and its accompanying liquid foundation here.

Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss in #2 - a beautiful colour that photographs even more so. One of my absolute favourite daytime lip glosses because I am such a huge fan of nude lips, but full-on nude can be a little much when you have minimal makeup on in the daytime, so this lip gloss brings just that little bit of colour back into your face. #2 is such a flattering colour, I think everyone should own a colour like this!

I hope you enjoyed the video!

Shopping for the Holidays

2013-06-04T14:48:00.002+10:00

Get a Jump on Holiday Shopping with These Early Black Friday Strategies

It’s never too soon to start planning for the holidays. In fact, shopping expert Joe Lupo, the co-author of Life in Color, told Oprah magazine that it’s best to start shopping for gifts as early as possible. Not only does shopping early save a ton of money, it’s also a great way to avoid holiday stress.

But how can a person save really big, when the biggest discount day of the year isn’t until November? Black Friday means huge discounts on valuable electronics and clothes. These discounts aren’t something you can expect to get in June or July.

Make a List and Check it Twice

If you want to start Christmas shopping early, but you don’t want to miss out on any fabulous Black Friday deals, it’s important to strategize. Joe suggests that you avoid being a reactive shopper. Instead, be a proactive shopper.

“Start a list of the people’s names you have to buy for, and write down a gift idea or at least a store that represents them.”

Joe explains that this strategy will make for more thoughtful gifts. We think it will also help with saving money and ensuring that you’re able to start your Black Friday strategy sooner. You’ll always have your list of products and the stores you hope to purchase from. If you see something is marked super low, snag it. If it’s high-end price wise, save buying it for the biggest shopping day of the year.

Subscribe to Mailing Lists

If you want to be in the know about what’s going on sale this Black Friday, you need to be on the mailing list. Sign up for your favorite brand’s mailing lists. Also, sign up at 3^rd party sites, like NerdWallet. This site gives you access to Black Friday sales, long before you’ll find them listed elsewhere.

Strategize

A good strategy is a great way to save money. Search on NerdWallet for Black Friday leaks 2013 in summer in order to find out what’s going to be on sale, long before the sale actually starts. This way, you’ll be first in line for exclusive deals, coupons, and more. If you find that many of the items on your list are going to be on sale on Black Friday, you can save those purchases for November. Everything else on your list can be purchased as soon as you find it on sale.

You’ve already created your list – listing what brands your friends and family members love, as well as what you hope to buy them. If you know certain items and stores don’t participate in Black Friday, or won’t have the item you want, you can look online for coupon codes and deals. For instance, if your Aunt Kristin loves interior design, look at NerdWallet's Crate and Barrel coupons. Do a quick search on Google for free shipping, coupons, or clearance items on items you will want to buy.

Be Patient

It’s important to be patient when it comes to Black Friday. Of course, you want your holiday shopping to be over as quickly as possible, but Black Friday comes just a month before Christmas. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year.

It’s important to recognize that if you’re planning to shop on this day, you’re going to run into traffic. If you’re utmost goal is to save big, without bumping into other patrons, why not do your Black Friday shopping online?

No matter how you plan to holiday shop, the best thing you can do to save time, energy, and money is to plan ahead. This year, get the jump on Christmas by strategizing for Black Friday now. That’s going to ensure you’re the happiest, most stress-free person in the room come Christmas morning.

Product Review: Samsung Galaxy S4 (Picture Heavy)

2013-06-03T20:00:00.000+10:00

This is outside my normal scope of blogging, but I thought you photo fans would like to learn a little bit about the amazing Samsung Galaxy S4 and its even more amazing cameras. I was recently invited to a Samsung event where I was given the opportunity to take home a Samsung S4 to play around with for a couple of weeks!

The Samsung Galaxy S4 packaging and the coincidentally matching tabletop. Image taken at the Samsung S4 event using the phone's dual-camera feature, which utilises the front and the back cameras at the same time.

This phone is jam-packed with features and if I regurgitated them all for you, it would make this a boring brochure, so this blogpost is just a highlight of some of my favourite features on this phone. The rest, you can get from a Samsung salesperson :)

The Display
What struck me immediately upon turning the phone on was the vibrant display - I love strong, vivid colours in both my makeup and my pictures, so it was great to see a huge display coupled with strong colours.

The CAMERA
This is my absolute favourite thing about this phone. It takes the most incredibly crisp and colour-strong photos I have ever seen, and I am blown away each time I compare pictures taken on the Samsung S4 with pictures taken on any other smartphone on the market. The camera is quick, responsive, and captures crisp, sharp images. Here are a couple of sample pictures I took on both the front and back cameras.

Taken with the back-facing camera. This and all pictures in this blogpost were taken using the Samsung S4's cameras, and edited on Photoshop to adjust brightness and contrast.

Image taken in good lighting conditions using the back-facing camera, filter on Instagram applied.

This image was taken in low lighting conditions on the Samsung S4's back-facing camera, unedited.

This was taken with the front-facing camera in low lighting. Unedited.

Taken in good lighting conditions on the front-facing camera. Unedited.

Dual-Camera Function
Another function I am loving on this phone is its camera applications. It can do amazing things like create a little gif with only one area of the picture animated, it takes action shots so that you can have multiple copies of your moving subject in just one picture, and it has this awesome dual camera function where both the front and back cameras are activated so that you can take a picture of yourself and whatever is in front of you all at once. I, of course, chose to camwhore with anyone who would camwhore with me ;)

At the event with Wilee, Anna Bella, and Kelly

The day I picked Jace up from the airport and went through the nightmarish experience of trying to clear Chloe through customs

Testing out the dual-camera function for the very first time.

Air-Gestures
Samsung has also included this neat little nugget of technology in the phone where waving your hand in the air above the phone helps you do a multitude of things without having to touch the phone, like answer a call, check the date and time, read a website, and so on.
Why do I love this feature? How many times have you been caught halfway through doing this:

...with an incessantly ringing phone, scrambling for a towel or a piece of cloth to wipe your hands down before answering your phone? And this happens for me all the time, when I am applying my skincare and my hands are greasy, when I am applying nail polish and the polish hasn't dried - I have had to grease up my phone more times than I can count, so this feature is god-sent for me!

Engagement
If you have friends with S4's too, this is an awesome time to play around. Around the time I was trialling this phone, both my cousin and my sister purchased it, so we were a little gang of S4 users marvelling at the phone and its new features. You can play games over Wi-Fi with this, and compete with one another in the same game using your phones. A feature I particularly like in this Group Play application is the music feature - where one user hosts a song, and every other phone can pick up the same song and play it at the exact same time, creating a surround-sound system that is a blast to play with at a party.

Battery Life
This phone has the same battery life as its predecessor, which is pretty impressive in itself (Please note that whilst Samsung does advertise a larger battery with the S4, nothing is said of extended battery power. I believe that the battery power is the same because all the new features in the new S4 does take up a lot of battery life). This phone lasts from early morning till late at night, which is way more than I can say for its competitors. Battery life is essential for me (I use my phone extensively), and I don't like going through the hassle of searching for a power bank - which, by the way, is considered by a lot of people to be detrimental to your battery life in the long term - to lug around in my handbag for when my phone runs out of juice.

A couple of things that I didn't like about this phone, for integrity and disclosure's sake:

Responsiveness and Speed
Compared to the phone I am currently using, this phone was much less responsive to my touch, and I noticed a little lag in its responsiveness after I started loading it up with apps and photos (mind you, I only had this for two weeks so I had a minimal number of apps running - some photo editors and social media apps were all I downloaded).

Bugs
Both my sister and I experienced bugs with our phones, within the first week of our using these phones. On my phone, the phone would hang for the longest time whenever I tried to open the camera app, and though sometimes it would finally launch the app, most times it would just shut down and restart by itself.
My sister on the other hand, experienced the mother of all lags with her phone - it got so bad that she avoided Whatsapp altogether (and she is an avid chatter on Whatsapp - we all are) because the lag was too much for her to handle. We have tried going back to Samsung 3 times already to fix this issue and so far nothing they have tried has worked. When she arrives home from Singapore at the end of the week, we are going to get her phone exchanged.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is one phone I would love to own, just for its camera and awesome features. Do you think this might be better than your current phone? Will you make the switch? :)

Lien Davies' How to Create Your Ultimate Brow Shape At Home

2013-05-21T13:43:00.002+10:00

At this point in my beauty blogging 'career', it's rare to come across something that drastically alters the way I view myself and my appearance, and the way I look at beauty. But what I'm about to share with you did just that, and completely changed my face!

Lien Davies is eyebrow guru extraordinaire turned ebook author, and 'How to Create Your Ultimate Brow Shape At Home' is her genius first ebook offering, teaching normal people like you and me how to create and shape your eyebrows to perfection all in the comfort of your own home.

If you're anything like me, you're probably wary of so-called 'professionals' out there at various beauty salons and outlets, who claim to be experienced in the field, only to pluck your eyebrows down to mini, stick-thin disasters on your face.
Or some of you out there may be walking around thinking you've got the perfect eyebrow shape already, and that you don't need any more help where your eyebrows are concerned.

What a lot of people don't know is that eyebrows can make or break a look, and I'm here to show you exactly how. Exhibit one - a comparison picture of my eyebrows before and after I shaped them using Lien's ebook:

Not convinced? Let's try again...

Before

After

All pictures were taken from my Instagram account. These pictures show that even with minimal skill (I know nothing about eyebrow shaping), you may still achieve much better eyebrows than you currently have. My 'before' pictures looked overly harsh, and quite frankly, a little bit evil, whereas my 'after' pictures show a much younger, more soft look.

Lien's ebook contains simple, easy to follow instructions, and is fully illustrated (and very beautifully so, I might add) so you'll know exactly what you need to do, and how. It is a very easy read, and extremely informative.

If you're interested in getting a copy of this amazing ebook, Lien's website is www.ultimatebrowshape.com. This is $25 (or $15 if you're a fan of their Facebook page) that you will be glad you spent!

What's in My Makeup Bag: My Quick, Everyday Makeup

2013-05-20T15:47:00.000+10:00

Ever since landing in Malaysia, I've had to adapt to many different things. Despite having lived in Malaysia for more than half my life, my time in Melbourne has made me soft. I've had to adjust to the food here (hello, food poisoning!), the weather, and the people.

One of the changes I've made is my makeup. Being exposed to so many Asian brands here, I naturally went a little crazy, but I've whittled it down to a select few products that I now wear on an everyday basis, for a simple, no-fuss, 5-minute makeup.

If, like me, you have very little time in the mornings to prepare for the long work day ahead, try these makeup products :)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette

Brows are my one guilty pleasure - I spend most of the time I allocate for makeup on perfecting my brows. Lien's fabulous ebook has only fuelled my obsession with my eyebrows, and I have been using the Anastasia kit non stop for precise lines and a gorgeous defined finish.

I generally leave the Anastasia brow kit at home after I'm done using it, and these are the actual makeup products that I keep in my bag:

Diorskin Nude Compact in 022

This is a good coverage foundation powder that I absolutely adore using to set my concealer. It provides a little extra coverage so that all your flaws are fully concealed, and stays put like your life depended on it! It even comes with a little brush with one 'high coverage' side and one 'sheer coverage' side, so if you were so inclined, you could adjust the amount of powder you deposit onto your skin.

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in 04 Neutral Fair

This is by far the best illuminating undereye concealer I have come across. It is not too high in coverage, but is buildable and disguises dark undereye circles well. I like that it is so quick and easy to apply, and always manages to immediately brighten my eyes no matter how little I apply.

Physicians Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trio

This set of 3 eyeliners has great value, and (including Australis, which I also carry interchangeably with this eyeliner) has one of the best drugstore eyeliners I have ever come across. It is creamy (just make sure never to lose the cap on this!), glides on like a dream, and has just the right amount of pigment for a defined, natural, everyday look. I am currently using the brown (because I've run out of my favourite black), and I really wish Physicians Formula would sell these in singles, so I could buy up all the blacks and hoard them here in Malaysia!

Biore UV Perfect Face Milk

The number one selling sunscreen brand in Japan does not disappoint! There are many versions of this sunscreen, and I purchased a brightening version - the SPF 50+ PA+++ Perfect Face Milk. This sunscreen is incredibly lightweight, glides smoothly onto the skin, and immediately dries down to a velvety matte finish. And when I say matte, I mean bone-dry matte! This is the only sunscreen I know of that has such an incredibly velvety finish - it's like I didn't apply anything onto my skin at all! Though it sounds drying, it actually isn't, and sits comfortably on my Mom's dry skin as well.

Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On Mascara

Majolica Majorca mascaras have always been a favourite of mine, and this one will continue to make its rotations in my makeup bag (I've gone through 3 tubes of this already), but I've also discovered a new love - the Kiss Me Volume & Curl Mascara (reviewed in full here).

This mascara gives me much more volume than the Majolica Majorca (which I love) and though it can get a little clumpy if not applied carefully, it is fast becoming my favourite mascara. I am not a big fan of brown mascaras, so when I run out of this I am definitely repurchasing this in Black.

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Cherub

It's no secret how much I love this blush, as I have continuously raved about it in many a blogpost and YouTube video. One of the reasons why I love it so much is because it is easy to mix in with my concealer to create a cheek colour that's perfect for concealing blemishes (see my blemish concealing video tutorial here). Another reason is that it is incredibly easy to blend (just use fingers). Yet another reason? It lasts. Enough said.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC2

This is my holy grail acne concealer. And this time I can say it with conviction. I've tried many other concealers out there, and though some come close (one that comes to mind is the Vichy-Dermablend Foundation stick), this is still my absolute favourite. It is pigmented, waxy, and very easy to blend on top of a blemish. Once set with a powder, this lasts a pretty long time, too!

My new favourite everyday lip product is the Lanolips Lip Ointment in Rose Pink. It contains SPF (always a plus), and nudes my lips out a little (another big plus), plus, it's very moisturising and has helped me combat my dry winter-ragged lips.

You may have noticed that I didn't include foundation in my list - I haven't been using foundation simply because my skin hasn't needed it (don't get me wrong, I still need concealer to conceal my acne, but my acne is pretty concentrated in a couple of areas and the rest of my face doesn't need much evening out), which is great, because this hot Malaysian weather can really make you sweat!

So that's my makeup overall - I hope you all enjoyed this post, and found a little something that might help you in some way. If you have any questions, let me know in whichever way you prefer. Thanks for reading! x

Product Review & Event News: Kiss Me Mascara

2013-05-15T16:15:00.000+10:00

Hello readers! I am back in sunny (humid!) Malaysia, and if you follow my updates on Instagram and Facebook, you may already know that I had the pleasure of attending a couple of events, including an amazing Kiss Me event just over the weekend.

Kiss Me are in the midst of organising fabulous road shows throughout the country, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the one they organised at Sungei Wang, Kuala Lumpur recently. These road shows feature an amazing Kiss Me Makeup Station, pictured below, and was organised in conjunction with the release of their Brown Long & Curl and Volume & Curl mascaras, as well as the brand's expansion into new areas of Malaysia (you'll now be able to purchase Kiss Me mascaras at Watsons outlets in places like Penang and Ipoh). We were treated to go-go dancers, a makeup lesson, and a couple of hunky models!

The Kiss Me Makeup Station.

I was lucky enough to receive both these mascaras for review, and so here are my thoughts:

Packaging

Both products feature the typical colourful, illustrated Kiss Me packaging, and the mascaras themselves have a curved wand (Volume & Curl) and a slightly diamond shaped wand (Long & Curl). Both wands are small enough to fit in the little corners of Asian eyes (score one for Asian makeup), and therefore pick your lashes up beautifully, even in the innermost and outermost corners of the eyes.

Product
I'm not one for brown mascaras, but I figured I'd give these a shot. I am a total convert now, especially when I pair this with my much-loved Naked Palette. The pink highlight tones of the Naked palette on my mobile lid compliment this mascara beautifully! It also looks a lot more natural, and let me let you in on a little secret - brown coloured mascaras make your lashes look thicker!

Performance
My benchmark for fabulous mascara, as you all already know, is the Majolica Majorca line of mascaras. I tested these out and have come to realise that I love Kiss Me almost as much as Majolica Majorca, but in different ways. For nighttime and dramatic looks, I would definitely still choose my Majolica Majorca, but for a more natural, defined, separated lash look with no clumps, the Kiss Me mascaras win hands down.

Kiss Me has managed to formulate their mascaras so that they deliver natural looking volume to the lash, without any clumpiness whatsoever. The result is defined, fluttery, girly eyelashes. LOVE.
As far as curling goes, both mascaras give my lashes great curl without needing the use of an eyelash curler. If you're worried about overusing eyelash curlers and damaging your eyelashes, you might want to look into these mascaras. They don't weigh the lashes down at all, which means more lift that lasts almost all day.

Before Kiss Me mascara.

After Kiss Me mascara

Both mascaras seem to perform almost exactly the same (both deliver beautiful fluttery lashes), so if they run out of one kind at your local store, you're probably fine picking up the other. The one (minute) difference that I should point out is that the lengthening mascara (Long & Curl) does lengthen the lashes just a tiny bit more. If you're desperate for length, the Long & Curl is the better choice.

Here's a final picture of the before and after mascara lashes:

If you have any questions about this mascara at all, you can leave a comment below or (as many of you have shown is your preferred method of contact ;)) contact me on my Facebook page.

The Kiss Me Heroine Make Long & Curl and Volume & Curl mascaras are available at select SASA and Watsons stores Malaysia-wide. The Kiss Me Makeup Station roadshows will be running till the 10th of June, so visit the Kiss Me Facebook page to find out when they'll be at a location near you.

The products featured in this article were gifted for the purposes of review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Red Lips: Orange Undertones

2013-04-29T13:12:00.000+10:00

A lot of people have asked me how to tell what undertones a colour contains. To be perfectly honest, there's no mathematical way to determine what undertone a lipstick's colour contains - you just have to look at it and try to determine which way the colour pulls.

In today's post, I've put together a few lipsticks to show you how to determine when a red lipstick pulls orange - which basically means that it has an orange undertone. In some lipsticks, the colour is quite strong and therefore the lipstick looks strongly orange, but in some, the orange undertone is very slight, but these colours flatter warm and olive skin tones immensely.

This first lipstick is the CoverGirl Blast Flipstick in the number 840, 'Stunner'.

This lipstick barely makes it into the 'red' category, because of its obvious, strong orange pull. In a lipstick like this, it is easy to tell that this colour flatters warm and olive skin tones beautifully. It would also flatter extremely fair skin tones with auburn/orange hair tones.

In case you're interested in this beautiful orange lipstick, it is sold in a duo, with one matte side (pictured above), and a beautiful shimmer side as well, which you can layer on top of the original colour, to create more depth and fullness to the lip (pictured below). It is a little bit dry on the lips, but lasts all day with minimal fading.

In this next lipstick, the orange undertones are a lot less obvious, so the lipstick looks a bit redder than the CoverGirl lipstick above. If you look closely, however, you can still see the orange undertones in the colour.
A way I find quite easy to determine the undertones in a colour, is to imagine a true red paint blob, and try to imagine what colour you would add into that colour to turn it into the lipstick colour that you see.

This lipstick colour is L'Oreal Shine Caresse in #300 'Juliet'. The L'Oreal Shine Caresse lip stains are long-lasting, and feel quite light on the lips. The feel of them on the lips is unlike any other lip product I've tried - they feel very light and yet have a bit of tackiness to them. Though they dry up a little, they still manage to give your lips a little bit of slip so that when you rub your lips together, you don't feel that uncomfortable, overly matte dryness.
They do stain the lips quite a bit, and last forever, even through eating and drinking. Most of the lip stains in this range are extremely sheer, with the #300 being one of the few exceptions. In the picture below, I layered the lip stain on twice to achieve this opacity.

Finally, to help you see what a red lipstick with an orange undertone looks like compared to another colour, below I've attached a beautiful true red lipstick with a slightly bluish undertone. You can hardly see any orange in this lipstick colour, and you might be able to see the difference this colour makes to my skin. In the above pictures, when I wear an orange lipstick, my skin tone looks warm and orangey. In the picture below, my skin looks a lot pinker, and paler.

This gorgeous lip colour is an Australis Pout Paste. These are a very thick gloss/lipstick hybrid, and are intensely pigmented and feel like a thick lipgloss on the lips. They do dry down to a stain after a few hours, and don't dry the lips out very much. When I say pigmented, I do mean pigmented! The picture below shows my lips only after one swipe of the doe-foot applicator that comes with this tube, and it stays that way for hours.

I hope you found this post helpful, and if you have a warm skin tone, you might want to check these lipsticks out!

YouTube Video: Trial & Error Part 1

2013-04-26T12:54:00.001+10:00

So instead of listing my favourites each month, I thought I'd do a new kind of video, titled (rather un-originally) "Trial and Error", in which I list products that I've received and purchased each month (or every other month) and giving you my honest opinions on which products I liked and which I didn't, and telling you why. I really hope that you find these videos helpful, and thank you so much for watching!

Products mentioned:

muk spa Argan Oil Repair Shampoo & Conditioner
muk spa Argan Oil Treatment
muk Style Stick
Uriage Nourishing and Cleansing Cream
Uriage Gentle Total Exfoliant (review here)
How to Get Your Ultimate Brow Shape at Home by Lien Davies (http://ultimatebrowshape.com/)
Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream
Benefit The Porefessional
Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Concealer
Koji Dollywink Liquid Eyeliner
Daniel Sandler Long Lasting Waterproof Eyeliner (available at feelunique.com)

I hope you enjoy the video. Happy Friday, everyone! xx

Eye Define: The Hooded Lid's Answer to Crease Cut Makeup Looks?

2013-04-24T12:32:00.002+10:00

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

A few weeks ago, I was sent this box of eyelid tape from a PR, which really intrigued me because eyelid tape has been around for ages on the Asian market, but this was the first I'd heard of something similar being marketed in Western countries. I was very interested to try it out and see how it compared to other kinds of eyelid tape that I'd tried before, and spent the last couple of weeks trialling it and trying to get the hang of it so that I could share what I thought here on the blog.

Eye Define is sold in boxes of 64 strips, and retails at AUD 29.95 per box. Along with the strips, the box also contains an instruction booklet, and a little tub of gel, all packed in a little plastic blister case so that the contents of the box don't move about when you shake the box.

The shape of the eyelid tape is exactly similar to Asian eyelid tapes, a crescent moon shape with the tiniest curve. According to the instructions, you need to apply the gel in the tub to the eyelid tape before applying it to your eye, to help with reapplication (in case you get it wrong on the first try, which, trust me, you will probably do) and to help the strip last all day. This is where it has a one-up on Asian eyelid tapes, because most Asian eyelid tapes only have enough stickiness for one application. If you get it wrong, it's into the bin and on to the next piece of tape.

Now let me preface this review by saying that eyelid tape is very difficult to get the hang of. It is very difficult to place it correctly on your eye - too low and it sticks out onto your lashline; too high and it looks like you took an entire months' worth of caffeine in one morning - so you have to practice a few times before you figure it out, since each eye shape is different, and the placement of the strip on your eyes could be very different from mine.

So here's how I fared:

Above is a picture of the tape placed on my lids after about 3 tries (and I've done this before!). It looks quite natural when placed correctly, and because the tape has a pretty smooth texture, it doesn't stand out too much when I close my eyes. Up close though, it's pretty obvious that I have something stuck to my lids.

I wanted to try this with a natural makeup look that looks best with a large mobile lid, so I chose a simple winged liner with a bright, shimmery eyeshadow, and a little contour run into the crease. Here's what the makeup looks like without eyelid tape:

And once I applied the makeup, I tried applying the eyelid tape. It was a little bit more tricky doing this (which is why I'm thankful that I practised on my eyelid without makeup before I did this) because the tape becomes a lot less sticky once you've applied it to makeup, and it can be quite difficult to remove it and reapply if you placed it wrong. However, I wouldn't recommend trying to apply the tape first, and then apply makeup on top of it, because the tape doesn't hold on to much, and makeup looks strange when it sits on top of the tape. Makeup remover does not work on the tapes either (meaning if you made a mistake and want to clean makeup off of the tape, it doesn't come off).

For me, I had to change the placement of the sticker when I had makeup on, because the sticker made my lid jut out a little over my eyeliner, which made me look a bit like I'd been crying all night. I had to raise the sticker a little bit higher, but not so high that it looked unnatural. It took me a good many tries, and 3 wasted sets of eyelid strips, before I finally managed this:

The eyeliner is still a little bit off, because my mobile lid is so tiny that I couldn't raise the tape very much higher, which meant that the tape still made my lid jut out a little right above my eyeliner on my lashline. It looks a little bit more natural in real life, I think, and only feels slightly strange the first couple of hours after your very first application, but then you get used to it.

As for lasting power, these tapes did a pretty good job. A set of strips lasts an entire day (that's 5-6 hours for me) without budging or lifting at the corners as some tapes are wont to do.

Overall, I actually really enjoy the effect that the eyelid tape has on my lids. It gives me a larger mobile lid, which makes my eyes look bigger and more defined. From a makeup lover's point of view, I can finally show off the eyeshadow on my mobile lid without having to close my eyes, and without that pesky hood covering all my effort!
Note though, that this only works for natural looks like the one I did above, and cut crease looks. If you like smoky eyes and wear them all the time, there's no need for this tape because it wouldn't make much of a difference unless you have extremely hooded eyes.

What I didn't like about this tape was that it wasn't natural-looking enough for me, and caused my lid to jut out in places that made my eyes look a little bit strange, especially below the eyelid tape where my lid met my eyeliner and lashline. It was also obvious when I closed my eyes that there was something on my lids.

What do you think? Should I keep wearing eyelid tape, or are my natural lids good enough? :)

Beauty Enhancing Procedures and Treatments

2013-04-23T11:38:00.000+10:00

In this day and age, everything is possible, and anything can be done. I am all for treatments and add-ons that enhance your natural beauty, and that you yourself have carefully researched and contemplated before actually undergoing them.

Some things that I would definitely get done:

Eyelash Lift

Image source: lisaeldridge.com

I remember watching Lisa Eldridge's post on her eyelash lift and wondering when it would arrive in Australia or Malaysia where I would finally be able to try it for myself. The difference between this new technology and old eyelash perming, is that this new technique actually lifts the lashes at the very root, giving you a much more dramatic lift to your lashes compared to the curl of the eyelash perm, which shortens the lashes because of the curving effect that it gives. The technology has, in fact, arrived on Malaysian shores, in the form of a Japanese technology called the Japanese 'wawa' eyelash curl, which literally means 'doll' eyelash curl. I am heading back to Malaysia in about a month and can't wait to try it on my stick-straight, downward pointing eyelashes.

Eyebrow Embroidery

Image source: empro.com.my

Opinions are very divided when it comes to eyebrow embroidery. Some are all for it (particularly Asians with sparse hair) and have had marvellous experiences, and some have had the most horrendous experiences, including bad shaping of the brow, unnatural-looking colour, and the fading out of colour that ends up with an ugly red or green tint. I recently read about a new technique in Malaysia called the Bonbrow, and after following up with some bloggers and checking their experiences a few years post-Bonbrow, I have come to the conclusion that I would very much like to try it. So wish me luck! I will, of course, report back with the details once I've had the procedure done.

Hair Extensions

Image source: chiquel.com.au

I have seen many a lady-friend get hair extensions, and they have always looked glamorous, healthy, and quite natural. I am a huge fan of playing around with my hair, and am not opposed to have it chopped off on a whim, so I am definitely open to finding hair extensions or wigs in Melbourne that can help me extend the length of my hair, whether it be for a few months, or just for the night.

Are there any procedures or treatments that you are thinking of having done? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Disclaimer: This post contains a sponsored link, and is written in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Fabulous Oils for Fabulous Skin and Hair

2013-04-22T12:01:00.000+10:00

A lot of people probably already know this, but oils are fabulous. Even when you have oily skin. They are great for balancing your sebum production, and delivering hydration to your skin. They are a great anti-ageing product, and they also do wonders for you when you take them orally.

In the summer months and especially now that it's approaching winter here in Australia, I have been really enjoying a few products that I thought I'd share with you all:

From left to right: muk spa Argan oil Treatment, Jojoba Natural Oil, Kosmea Radiance 24/7 Youth Boost, Simplicite Sage Face Oil

1. muk spa Argan Oil Treatment (AUD 34.95 per 100mL)
This first oil is actually a treatment for your tresses, and a really good one at that! It contains argan oil, and utilises a kind of technology that helps deliver that argan oil into your hair, instead of just having it sit on top of it, meaning your hair won't be weighed down, nor will it feel greasy. This makes it the perfect product for any kind of hair, from thin, flat hair to thick, coarse hair. It works beautifully on both non-treated and treated hair. Simply pump a few drops into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, and disperse the product all over your hair. To help disperse the oil more evenly, brush your hair through after. It has been working absolute wonders on my newly coloured hair, and I bet it will on yours, too.

2. Jojoba Company Oil (AUD 19.95 per 30mL)
Jojoba oil is special, in that the jojoba plant is the only plant that can produce wax esters similar to those found in our skin (sebum). Our skin's natural wax esters are responsible for keeping the skin hydrated, plump and most importantly, firm. Our production of these esters starts to decrease as we progress into our 20s, and that is where the Jojoba Company's oil comes in. I like it because it absorbs into my skin almost instantly, without leaving that greasy feeling behind on the skin. It has been doing a great job at hydrating my skin too, no grease but plenty of smoothness and plumpness to my skin.

3. Kosmea Radiance 24/7 Youth Boost (AUD 39.95 per 20mL)
Kosmea is well known for their rose hip oil, which is high in antioxidants, vitamin A, and essential fatty acids. This means that it helps your skin cells regenerate faster, prevents premature ageing caused by exposure to the sun, and helps to reduce the appearance of burns, scars and wrinkles, among other things. This new offering from Kosmea adds the antioxidant benefits of berry oils, and is great when applied to your skin when you're fresh out of the shower (this oil works best when applied to damp skin). Honestly, I am very tempted to start slathering this onto the skin on my arms and legs as well, and I think I just might!

3. Simplicite Sage Face Oil (AUD 41.80 per 55mL)
You all know that I am a huge fan of Simplicite products, and this Sage Face Oil is one of my favourites. It is quite heavy and does feel greasy on the skin*, but I am more than willing to leave my skin feeling a little bit greasy for all the benefits that this one face oil offers. It helps to prevent the formation of blackheads and pimples because of its antibacterial qualities, and helps the sebum on your skin 'move around' so that it doesn't clog your pores. The fantastic thing about this oil is that it is also formulated to help reduce the appearance of hyper-pigmentation, so it is absolutely fabulous for acne-prone skin.

* Robin from Simplicite has come back to me about this, and has told me that your skin is not meant to feel greasy when you apply the Simplicite Sage Face Oil. To avoid feeling greasy, apply the oil on top of Simplicite's Floral Toning Spray, or mix the spray and the oil together in your palms before applying to your skin, and it shouldn't feel greasy.

Have you tried face/hair oils? Do you have any favourites that I should keep an eye out for? :)

Makeup Tutorial: Easy, Flattering Everyday Makeup

2013-04-20T12:04:00.000+10:00

A brand new makeup tutorial is up for your viewing pleasure! :)

Products mentioned:

Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation in Ivory (I'm Pure 4 Sure) (review here)
Lien Davies "How to Create Your Ultimate Brow Shape at Home" (review to come)
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Chanel Ombres Contraste Duo in Sable-Emouvant

Daniel Sandler Long Lasting Waterproof Eyeliner in Brown Velvet (available at feelunique.com)
This fabulous product is a mechanical, wind-up eyeliner that is intense and long-lasting. It doesn't budge on my oily lids and it is also very creamy and easy to use as it just glides onto the skin without tugging, and with strong colour. I find myself reaching for it more and more because it really helps create a beautiful smoky eye and I find that it is a lot easier to use than a gel eyeliner, but with the exact same budge proof attributes of a gel liner.

Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On Mascara
This is fast becoming my absolute favourite mascara. It stays on, holds a curl well, and defines and coats my lashes beautifully, the way no other mascara can.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Concealer in Light Medium
I love this concealer for its lasting power and its pigment. It coats almost any imperfection on my skin extremely well, is great to use with its doe-foot applicator, and is very easy to blend. I wouldn't recommend it to use for the undereye area though, because it is quite dry and may settle into fine lines.

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Spice (available at feelunique.com) (read a little bit about the Watercolour Blushes here)

Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee

Thank you so much for watching!

Nude Lip Series: Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss in #2 Beige Rose

2013-04-17T10:16:00.001+10:00

My Nude Lip Series has been going on for a while now, and I am loving every minute of being able to swatch nude lipsticks and share my favourites with you. Most of my nude lip colours are pretty close to nude, and tend to wash you out if you're not careful.

I'm happy to report that this nude lipstick will do no such thing, as it is infused with the most beautiful rosy, almost peachy tone. The Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss in #2 Beige Rose has made its way into the very exclusive list of my favourite nude lip products, and here's why:

Packaging
I love products with good packaging. I admit, that this has nothing at all to do with how well the product will perform, but I like spending my money on something that has both function and aesthetics. The packaging on this product is solid, and feels good in my hands. The brush applicator is lovely and doesn't splay out after a couple of uses the way some other brushes do, and I love the glossy cap.

Product
The gloss is quite thick, but not so much that it feels uncomfortable on the lips. This balance is often difficult to get right - too watery and the lip gloss barely stays on for an hour; too thick and it feels goopy and uncomfortable on the lips. This lip gloss feels comfortable, and has a little bit of slip to it, so I don't feel annoyed when I try to rub my lips together.

The colour, as I mentioned earlier is a mix between a mauve-y rose and a peach, and looks absolutely lovely on. The swatch on my arm is a little bit more true to colour than the swatch on my lips, so the product comes out slightly dark and doesn't nude out the lips too much. For me, it's very much a my lips, but better, type of shade.

Performance
Without eating or drinking, this lip gloss lasts for a good 2-3 hours on my lips, average wear time for a lip gloss. I absolutely love the colour, and so do a lot of people, because I get a lot of compliments and questions about my lip colour every time I wear this.

If you'd like to see how this product looks in motion, watch my Sparkly, Cut Crease Makeup Tutorial below (skip to the end to see the product applied):

Overall, this is a fabulous product, even if it is a little pricey! A tube of this lip gloss costs AUD 60, and is now available and Sisley counters nationwide.

Disclaimer: This product was sent to this site for the purposes of review and consideration, in accordance with our Disclosure Policy.

My Balayage Experience at Oscar Oscar Salon

2013-04-16T12:31:00.000+10:00

Most of you would have seen my Instagram updates of my brand new hair colour, and a lot of you have emailed me already, asking about the process and price.

I've put together a little video of the process, and my overall experience with Oscar Oscar Salons, at their brand new salon in Highpoint Shopping Centre. It looks absolutely gorgeous, glossy, and so chic!

The fabulous ladies (all so gorgeous!) who helped flouf and style my hair to perfection

Most of the process is explained to you in my video (embedded below), so here are just a couple of pictures to show you the overall process and look of the salon.

I must say that the overall experience being at Oscar Oscar was an extremely pleasant one. Everyone was incredibly professional, and my hairstylist did a bang up job at Balayage-ing my hair.

I did a little bit of research on the Balayage technique, and it takes quite a bit of skill if you want to get it done right, because you have to pick out the pieces of hair that you think would catch the light more, and be able to graduate the colour well from the roots to the tip, because otherwise you get that very stark dividing line between the darker and lighter colours in the hair.

I am glad to report (and you will see in the pictures) that my hair suffered no such fate, and I am so incredibly happy with the results of the Balayage!

Hand massage! So good :)

No obvious colour lines! #win

Getting my hair curled

By the time I was done, I was a whole different person! I felt really good about the end result, and the curls they gave me were so glamorous I couldn't bear to wash my hair after.

I still have dreams about these curls...

For a slightly more comprehensive overview of my experience, check my video out here! You even get to watch a little bonus clip of my lovely hairstylist curling my hair with the ghd styler, just in case you wanted to try and recreate these gorgeous curls:

Thank you so much to the team at Oscar Oscar for giving me the best hair colouring experience I have had in a very long time, and if you're interested in getting your Balayage on at an Oscar Oscar salon, check their salon locations out here.

Also, I have a little bonus for all Emily's Anthology Readers!
Get a free style cut with your next colour at Oscar Oscar if you are a Highpoint or Southland customer! Just print this voucher and present it at your next appointment.

I hope you guys found this video helpful! x

Face of Australia Limited Edition Nail Polish: Glitterati

2013-04-15T12:35:00.000+10:00

On Friday, I was sent a number of gorgeous, jaw-dropping glitter polishes, courtesy of Face of Australia. If you follow my Instagram, Twitter or Facebook accounts, you'll know that Face of Australia releases some absolutely fantastic limited edition nail polishes, and this one just tops the cake.

The collection comes in 8 beautiful shades. From the right, top and bottom:

Studio 54 and Lookin' For Some Hot Stuff - multi-sized glitter suspended in a clear coat of polish. These are beautiful on their own or over a darker polish.

Dancing Queen, Disco Inferno and Saturday Night Fever - uniformly sized, multi-coloured glitter suspended in a clear polish. These would look absolutely amazing over black nail polish.

Boogie Wonderland, Funky Town, and Heart of Glass - glitter with different shapes and sizes, suspended in creamy pastel polish. So pretty on their own.

Overall, I found these glitter polishes to be easy to apply, and they dry very smoothly as well. I didn't apply a top coat over my nails but I still found the surface of my nails to be relatively smooth, with minimal snagging.

Here are swatches. All swatches were done with 3 coats:

From left to right:

Saturday Night Fever
Disco Inferno (only slightly more turquoise than SNF, but both are almost similar)
Heart of Glass (very pretty pink pastel with lavender toned glitter)
Lookin' For Some Hot Stuff
Boogie Wonderland (pretty lavender pastel with purple and blue toned glitter)
Funky Town (a darker purple pastel, with blue pieces of glitter that come out looking very subtle)
Studio 54 (by far, my favourite of this collection)
Dancing Queen (lime green and black glitter)

Remember that with glitter nail polishes, you will need to be patient when it comes to removal. It can be difficult and time consuming, but for me it's worth it!

Disclaimer: These products were sent to this blog for the purposes of review and consideration, in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Why Exfoliate The Skin on Your Body?

2013-04-08T14:34:00.000+10:00

If you know me, you'll know that even though I love beauty, I hate high-maintenance beauty routines. I don't like to apply body lotion after I take a shower or before I go to bed, I don't like having to draw my eyebrows in every single day, and I wish I had naturally curly lashes.

So naturally, when it came to adding another step in my beauty routine, I was hesitant, and a little skeptical as to whether or not I even needed to.

Exfoliating the skin on your body seems like a redundant task. Some of you may be thinking, 'My skin looks fine, why should I fix something that isn't broken?' and I'll be the first to say that I thought the exact same thing!

Here's the thing. Your body sheds dead skin cells each minute, thousands and thousands of them too! These dead skin cells don't just flake away. Instead, they stay on top of your skin, building and building up until they clog your pores and cause rough skin.

Here's what exfoliating your body can do for you:

It helps to prevent body acne.

It clears out your body's hair follicles, so that you can avoid ingrown hairs.

It can help even out your skin tone.

It helps bring your new skin to the surface, so that your skin is soft and smooth.

I tested out three body exfoliators that I had in my beauty cupboard, and here's what I thought:

1. The Body Shop Vanilla Bliss Body Polish
This scrub contains multi-sized scrub particles, and moisturises your body beautifully with Community Fair Trade honey. This is by far the most moisturising scrub of the three. It contains vanilla extract, and smells very strongly of vanilla. If you're a fan of vanilla-scented products, this is the perfect body scrub for you. I, on the other hand, am not a big fan of vanilla, so this isn't my favourite product.

2. Uriage Gentle Total Exfoliant
This scrub is unique in that it was formulated for both the face and body. This is perfect if you have slightly sensitive skin, as it is soap and paraben free. It utilises micro-spheres and botanical AHAs to exfoliate, and has a lovely smell similar to ocean-themed soap scents. This is what I have in my shower stall at the moment, because I absolutely love the scent, and the exfoliating spheres are quite pleasant to use on my skin.

3. L'Occitane Magical Leaves Exfoliating Shower Gel
It's no secret that L'Occitane products are some of my favourites (read about my all-time favourite lavender perfume). The Magical Leaves range was limited edition and is no longer available, but L'Occitane regularly releases new exciting fragrance ranges, with the same moisturising, beautifully-scented properties. If you love being able to select from body scrubs with a wide range of scents, all of which are equally moisturising and smoothing on the skin, then check out your nearest L'Occitane boutique or stockist.

I hope you found this post helpful! I will leave you with this last little tip: If you live in a country with a warm climate, or have oily skin, you need to exfoliate a little more! Oil and sweat helps speed up the accumulation of dead skin cells, so scrub at least 3 times a week. Do not exert too much pressure when you exfoliate - be patient and you will see amazing results!

My Haircare Routine

2013-04-05T18:21:00.000+11:00

Ever since starting my blog and YouTube channel, I've gotten countless requests to write a haircare post or film a haircare tutorial, especially when I started growing out my hair.

I've held off filming this because I personally didn't feel like I should, since I wasn't yet happy with the condition of my hair. Recently, however, I have started noticing a big improvement in my hair's health and appearance, and I thought this would be the perfect time to film this!

My hair isn't quite perfect yet, but I am still pretty happy with it, so here is the tutorial!

Products mentioned:

Kérastase Cristalliste haircare range (read the full review here)
Yuko Phiten Lock-in Color range (read full review here)

Batiste Dry Shampoo - I've reviewed the Batiste Dry shampoo many times, both on my blog and on my YouTube channel. It is a gorgeous dry shampoo that works wonders on even the most greasy roots. It also helps create a little bit of volume whenever I spritz it onto my roots, which is a big plus (Batiste also have a volumnising range, just in case anyone is interested!).

Macadamia Natural Oil Leave-in Cream - a thick leave-in cream that works beautifully at creating frizz-free, glossy locks. This does weigh the hair down a little, so I recommend this for coarser, or thicker hair. I applying this to damp hair because it creates a lovely textured, beach-waves kind of effect. This is what my hair looks like when I apply this to my damp hair:

Mar 9, 2013 | Stuck at home this weekend! 😞 #home #alone #me #bored by emilyquak on Keek.com

David Babaii Miracle Elixir Nourishing Spray - a gorgeous oil spray that has been kept pleasantly (and surprisingly) lightweight, whilst still delivering moisture and shine to my hair. I love how light it is, and how glossy my hair looks after its been spritzed on. You can also spritz it on heavily and leave it overnight, and after you wash your hair the next morning, it feels so much softer and smoother!

Macadamia Natural Oil No Tangle Leave-in Spray - another one of my favourite products. I absolutely love the MNO range and this product is no exception! This is much lighter than the leave-in cream, and also prevents tangling and provides heat protection for styling.

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque - an amazing hair masque that provides much needed moisture to my dry, damaged ends. It smells heavenly, and does exactly what it sets out to do. I have softer, smoother, more glossy hair, and it lasts for days and days!

ghd anti static comb - an effective hair detangler that is sleek, lightweight, and sturdy.

I hope you enjoyed this video, and that you found it helpful! x

How to Prep Fine, Layered or Straight Hair for Easy Styling

2013-04-04T12:02:00.000+11:00

If you have fine, straight hair, yes, you get compliments all the time on how lovely and silky your hair is, but one thing most people don't realise is that it is a total b*tch trying to get your hair in an updo.

My hair isn't fine or silky, but it is quite difficult to work with, and quite layered at the ends. It's not easy when I want to create an updo, but with the help of these products, I've been managing quite well.

The key to easy styling is to first prep your hair, so that it holds in place more easily, and moves when and where you want it to. Pictured above are some of my favourite products for creating textured, style-friendly hair.

Toni&Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe Sea Salt Texturising Spray
Most hairstyles nowadays are quite undone, and chignons and buns are now styled with loose, wavy curls that create volume and frame the face beautifully (unlike sleek do's, which can be quite harsh). If you have naturally wavy or curly hair, spritz this all over your damp hair, then blowdry with a diffuser head, or scrunch your curls in as you blowdry. This will give you beautifully textured hair to work with.

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Tousling Spray Gel
This product has slightly more hold compared to the Toni&Guy spray, and would be more appropriate for people with finer, more difficult to manage hair. It tousles the hair beautifully, and even someone like me who barely has any wave to my hair, can see a little texture going on. This spray can be worked into either damp or dry hair, but if your hair is more straight than curly, I suggest spraying it onto damp hair and scrunching it, as with the Toni&Guy spray above.

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Hairspray
Once you're done adding texture (and a little bit of hold) to your hair, you want to add more hold. This way, your hair won't fall out of place before you get the chance to pin it into position. The Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Hairspray has just the right amount of hold, so that you don't get that irritating, sticky, pulling effect when you're trying to style your hair, but your hair still manages to stay where you need it to stay.

Remember that these products are only for prepping your hair to make it easy to style, so don't forget to use your heat protectant before styling if you're going to be using tools, and remember to finish everything off with a shine spray and a hairspray to keep your locks shiny, and your hairdo in place.

I hope this post helped anyone who has a little bit of difficulty styling their hair. Thanks for reading! x

My Top 3 Undereye Concealers

2013-04-03T12:38:00.000+11:00

Concealers are a difficult product to get right, particularly undereye concealers. They need to:

- Keep the undereye area hydrated
- NOT settle into the fine lines under the eyes
- Be lightweight and thin so there is no caking
- Neutralise the purple/green undertones in dark circles

After trialling countless concealers, I have narrowed my favourites down to three fabulous products. Here they are:

1. Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch
This is probably my absolute favourite out of the three - an extremely lightweight, light reflecting concealer that does wonders for the undereye area.
Because of its light texture, it neither cakes nor settles into fine lines underneath the eyes. But despite its lightness, it is still extremely pigmented and a little bit goes a long way. This concealer contains a small amount of light-reflecting pigments, so make sure not to over-apply it, especially if you're going to be under the sun or in flash photography.

Something I don't like about this concealer is the packaging - Giorgio Armani hasn't engineered it quite right - because the concealer keeps leaking into the edges of the screw top cover, making a mess every time I open it up. The applicator also irks me a little - I'm not sure why they've done it this way, but the applicator is extremely thin (quite like a fine eyeliner brush), making it difficult to disperse the product appropriately across my undereye area.

2. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer
Coming in a close second is the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer - well known for its wide range of colours and creamy, hydrating texture. I originally purchased this for the rest of my face, which is why I didn't purchase it in a different undertone. What is so fabulous about this range of concealers is that they have the precise undertones that you need to counteract the dark circles underneath your eyes.

A little tip when it comes to looking for an appropriate undereye concealer for your dark circles: if you have purple dark circles, wear a yellow-toned concealer. If you have bluish circles, look for a peachy toned concealer. And finally, if you have green circles, look for a pink-toned concealer.

This concealer blends beautifully into the skin. I use it with a fluffy blending brush, and then pat it in with my fingers to warm the product up and help it blend into my skin. It is so pigmented and doesn't settle into fine lines, either. It is much thicker than the other concealers in this list, but it somehow works really well.

The downside to this concealer is that it can be a little rich for some people. Though your undereye area should be well-hydrated when you apply concealer, if you have very oily skin, it might be best to get a sample of this and try it out set with a powder before you buy.

3. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer
I have actually reviewed this concealer in a previous post, and it is still one of my favourites. It is equally as lightweight as the Giorgio Armani concealer, only slightly less pigmented. Don't get me wrong, though! Most light-reflecting concealers are quite sheer and don't quite cover dark circles, but the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind does. It looks very natural on the skin, and does not cake or settle into fine lines.

I use the colour 02 Light. There is a 'brightener' version of this concealer, but I wouldn't recommend it because it is a lot less pigmented than the normal concealers, and doesn't counteract the undertones in dark circles.

The sponge applicator is less than ideal because it does raise some hygiene issues, but other than that, I love what you get for the price!

I will be reviewing these concealers and many more in more detail on my blog, but I hope you enjoyed this post!

Makeup Tutorial: Easy Sparkly, Subtle Cut Crease Smoky Eye

2013-03-29T18:38:00.002+11:00

Hi guys! As promised, here is my smoky eye tutorial utilising a bit of colour instead of your regular browns and blacks. I hope you enjoy watching it! x

Products mentioned:

L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique CC Cream (review here)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette (review here)
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Sisley Paris Phyto Ombre Eclat in Stardust (review and swatch here)
Urban Decay Single Eyeshadow in Asphyxia
Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Black (review here)

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Fantasme - this is a fabulous cream eyeshadow that is so easy to use. I just pick it up with my clean fingers and press it onto my eyeshadow. The colour 'Fantasme' is a plain white with gorgeous glitter, so it adds a beautiful glitter effect to any eyeshadow you have on, particularly darker colours.

ck one liquid eyeliner in black - this is a foolproof liquid eyeliner with a felt tip/brush hybrid applicator. It is very easy to control and use, so it is perfect for first timers who haven't quite gotten the hang of applying liquid eyeliner. As someone who uses liquid eyeliner a lot, I still really enjoy using this because it just makes applying my makeup so much quicker.

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Fair - one of the few light-reflecting pens that I own, just because light-reflecting pens usually don't have a lot of pigment in them. However, this Clinique one has a pretty decent amount of pigment in it, so you don't have to apply a light-reflective pen and top it off with another concealer. As you all know, I love my multi-purpose products!

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Cherub (review here)

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC2 - my absolute favourite concealer for the face! It covers so well because it has a good concentration of pigment in it, and it is also budge-proof and so easy to blend because of its waxy texture. A major bonus is that with this concealer, you get to mix in the two colours to get your perfect colour match, which is great because most areas of your face are shadowy and light at the same time!

L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder - This is an amazing powder that covers your skin beautifully without covering its natural glow too much. If you have oily skin but still want that youthful, natural glow when you use foundation, this is the product for you. It comes in a couple of different shades - I wear 'Light' and my sister wears 'Medium'. We're both big fans of this powder.

Burberry Lip Cover in Nude Beige

Sisley Paris Phyto Lip Shine in 2 - full review here.

Makeup Basics: How To Apply Pencil Eyeling to Avoid Smudging

2013-03-27T12:34:00.002+11:00

Eyeliner is big. Almost everyone, even people who barely use any makeup at all, owns an eyeliner pencil. Unfortunately, most people aren't sure how to make their eyeliner last and avoid smudging, and trust me when I say this is a big issue.

I'm here to attempt to tackle these issues in this post, so hopefully this is of some help. So here we go:

If you have very oily eyelids, start with a primed eye. Make sure to get that primer all the way along your lashline as well.

Apply your pencil eyeliner in the shape that you desire. No need to be too neat at this point - just get the overall shape right. Here I am using the Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner in Black.

Now this part is important - with a pencil brush, smudge the eyeliner. This will create that smoky effect that everyone wants with pencil eyeliners (and if you don't want that smoky effect, you really shouldn't be using pencil eyeliners, because they are notoriously smudge-prone. Instead, try a liquid or gel eyeliner) and also help to set the pencil, so that you don't get any stray pigment falling down later.

I am using the Boots No7 Smokey Eyeliner Brush.

Next, apply concealer to your undereye area. This actually helps create a 'barrier' to prevent the eyeliner from smudging downwards underneath the eye. I am using my favourite Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory.

This step is just as important as the concealer - you need to then apply a finely milled powder on top of the concealer and the eyeliner to set both these products and help them stay budge-proof. I used the L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder in Light.

At this point, you have three choices. You can leave it as it is and move on to do the rest of your makeup, or if you want to make your eyeliner more intense, you can do the following:

Pick up a brown eyeshadow with your smoky liner brush, and apply it directly on top of your eyeliner. Smudge it upwards as well to increase the smokiness. This is a great technique if you are mono-lidded, and don't want to take your eyeliner all the way up into your crease, because this still gives you that dimension and shows up above the eye when it's open, but without the need to take your eyeliner all the way up.

Or, if you want a more intense, less smoky eye, you can also apply a liquid eyeliner on top of the pencil liner. Make sure you stay within the edge of the pencil liner, so that you still have that soft finish, without needing to blend further. Here, I am using the ck one liquid eyeliner.

And that is the finished look! I also have a little video that I posted on Keek that I thought you might like to see. I am wearing this eyeliner and just wanted to film it to show you what it looks like in motion.

Mar 26, 2013 | What the finished result of my latest eyeliner post looks like! http://k.to/1t7v by emilyquak on Keek.com

Thanks so much for reading! x

Foundation Review Series: Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

2013-03-25T14:35:00.002+11:00

There has been an insurgence of a brand new formulation of foundations - light, watery in texture, and generously glowy on the skin. Today, I bring you a review of one such foundation, and one that has been fast gaining a strong market presence worldwide - the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup.

Packaging
Sturdy, semi-opaque plastic, with a hygienic pump-applicator. The bottle actually looks a little bit like frosted glass, which is cute. One bottle carries 30mL of product.

Product
As mentioned earlier, this foundation is quite watery and light, and feels almost weightless on the skin. It is oil-free, so very well-suited to my fellow oily-skinned beauties. If you have dry skin, I recommend moisturising well before applying this foundation.
I am using the shade Ivory (I'm Pure 4 Sure), and this is a tiny bit light for my NW20 skin in the summer, but because it is so sheer, I can get away with it easily.

Performance
If you're looking for a foundation that gives you a lovely glow, and brightens and evens out your skin tone, then this is perfect.

Applied with fingers

Applied with a foundation brush

As you can see in the photos above, there is a definite brightness and a glow about the skin, but without making it look greasy or oily. Oil control is decent, though if you are particularly oily, I would suggest powdering your T-zone.

The coverage on this foundation is buildable - I have some acne spots around my cheeks and added an extra layer of foundation easily. It blends so beautifully and easily into the skin, especially when applied with fingers (my favourite way of applying this foundation)

I did find that when my skin was a little dry, and in areas that were a little bumpy on my skin, that this foundation tended to highlight these flaws. Therefore, I would suggest applying a primer before using this foundation if you have bumpy skin, and to moisturise if you have dry skin.

Overall, I think this is a great everyday foundation. It provides good coverage, and yet is so light that you feel almost nothing on the skin, and is so comfortable to wear. It is also a great pick-me-up in the mornings because it brings a beautiful radiance to your skin. If you're a fan of this type of foundation (think Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua or Estee Lauder Double Wear Light), then definitely drop by your nearest Benefit counter to check these out.

This product was sent for the purposes of review and consideration in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.