The first time I saw Niu Er on television (can’t remember whether it was a local beauty programme or “Ladies First” on Channel 317), I was amazed. The man was demonstrating the best way to apply toner and he recommended patting it on to skin innumerable times.

There’s no doubt this is a man who has spent a large part of his life dedicated to discovering the best of beauty and sharing his beauty tips. Although there are plenty of books on beauty in large book stores like MPH and Kinokuniya, such books are generally divided into skincare or makeup books. Most of these books are written by Western authors and the models in these books are also Western women with the odd Asian model whenever there is a chapter on “Makeup For Asian Women.”

Asian women have different face structures than our Western counterparts, most of us have flatter faces and features. Our eye sockets can never be as deep as Western women no matter how many eye cosmetic surgeries we undergo and our skin has different needs and concerns.

Along comes “Beauty Studio”, co-authored by the Asian maestro of skincare, Niu Er and Liu Yen, another renowned Taiwanese beauty guru as well as Brian whose specialty is makeup. All three gurus appear regularly on “Ladies First”.

 

The skincare section is impressive, so detailed and comprehensive. It contains instructions on how to take care of different types of skins. As you browse through, it seems like nothing is left out. There’s a step-by-step guide on massage techniques.

This isn’t just a book for beginners to skincare and makeup. There are so many useful tips in this book for everyone. I appreciate the simplicity of each chapter, nothing complicated even though the details are minute.

The makeup section is equally excellent as it has such easy-to-follow instruction to look flawlessly gorgeous for any occasion. The best thing about this book is that it obviously caters to Asian women and it’s rare to find a book that is so packed full of every bit of information an Asian woman would need with regard to skincare and makeup.

It’s hard to believe that Niu Er ever had a bad skin day but in his younger years, he did have blemishes, acne and large open pores. Now his smooth and porcelain-like skin is testament to his beauty regimen. This is one book which is well worth its RM42 price tag.