My Workout Story

 
Hi everyone! I started this #healthy2015 earlier this year. I remember during tax season this year, I worked late hours, yet I felt I still had the energy from working out. I went Zumba and sometimes just ran on the treadmill. I  felt energized and good about that. Ever since then, I was committed to make a change of my lifestyle. I loveeeee doing nothing. Believe me. I love being a couch potato watching Youtube videos on my laptop.

San Francisco Lamb Jam 2015

Thanks to my friend, me and my boyfriend got to experience a different culinary adventure on Sunday. She invited us to go with her and her husband to this Lamb Jam event, which is apparently an annual thing hosted by American Lamb. The Lamb Jam is a tasting  event and competition of talented chefs in the city (they have 5 tour cities total) to incorporate their skills and lambs. They have 16 chefs compete, and we got to taste 16 different lamb dishes, plus drinks and desserts. 

We had so many dishes served in small plates, but we were full and satisfied. Not everything was my favorite, but it was overall an exciting experience. I can't remember for the life of me which one is what, but I could show you some of the pictures of the food I tasted. Even though it was supposed to be a tasting event, the portion was pretty generous and filling. 

FOTD: Effortless Summer Glow

I've been loving the summer weather here. It's not too hot. It's just perfect. Last Sunday, as my skin was acting up, I didn't feel like piling up heavy foundation to cover them up. Yet, I still wanted to look put together. I combined two of my most helpful products lately, a tinted moisturizer and a powder foundation. Together, they don't give a heavy makeup look, but they give effortless natural put-together look. Okay, I know it's not really effortless when you actually put on something on your face, but you know what I mean ;).



I used Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer in the shade nude. This is actually a little too light for me. I got it with my Sephora 500-point perk. I then buffed on Tarte Amazonian clay airbrush foundation in the shade light-medium neutral with Real Techniques buffing brush. . It's a mineral powder foundation which has a pretty decent amount of coverage. I used the new RT sculpting brush to contour with NYX H&C palette. I mixed the two middle contour shades. I also mixed the two middle highlight shades on the triangle area under my eyes. They really did a good job in brightening and highlighting the area. They give that pretty glow on my face. For blush, I used my old time favorite, Tarte Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in buff.  For lips, I used my new Burberry lipstick in nude pink, which I forgot to include in the picture.

I can't believe summer is just one month left! I can't imagine parting with this awesome weather! How is summer in your place?

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2015: Burberry Beauty Nude Glow Set

 

Nordstrom is having its anniversary sale right now featuring the new fall collection. The prices will go up on the first week of August. It's my second year getting sucked in to the amazing deal Nordstrom has to offer. One of the things I picked up is this beauty set by Burberry. I've heard Burberry launched its beauty products a while ago, but I haven't really heard a lot of people talking about it. So when I saw this set, I decided to try them out myself.

The set includes:

full size Fresh Glow Luminous fluid base No. 01 nude radiance (retails for $48)

full size Lipstick in No. 05 nude pink (retails for $33)

full size Bold lash mascara No. 01 ebony (retails for $29)

sample size My Burberry perfume

Burberry beauty bag

I would say for $78, it is a very good value. You get all full size products (not counting the perfume sample) and a beautiful beauty bag, which I really adore. It looks fancy and and feels really good quality-wise. After learning more about the beauty line, I find that Burberry goes for a more natural flawless, as we can see on their fashion show looks. It's all about "your skin but better" look. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Makeup

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup shade 2N1 desert beige

I've been wanting to try Estee Lauder foundation for a long time now, but I just hadn't done it yet. Now, that I have, I wonder I hold off so long to try it out! You just need the smallest amount to have amazing coverage. I just needed one layer to even out my complexion and cover the redness.

I'm very impressed with the coverage.It shouldn't be surprising, since it is known for its great cover-up. I do feel like I can't really get natural look out of this foundation because it's relatively thicker and creates a heavier makeup look. I can feel I am wearing makeup when I use this, which is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it's what I'm going for even though I'm more of a natural look kind of gal. 

The scent reminds me of pen ink. Really. I know it's so random, but that's how it smells like to me! I use pen all the time at work, so the ink scent is familiar to me. It's not so strong that makes me don't want to use it, but it's something to keep in mind for people who are sensitive to scents. Then again, maybe it's just me and my weird nose =).

leftt - Estee Double Wear powder shade 2N1 desert beige
middle - NYX stay matte not flat powder foundation shade 07 warm beige
right - MAC mineralize skinfinish natural shade medium plus

I also picked up the powder foundation in the same line. I got the shade 2N1, the same shade as the foundation. It is no doubt a powder with serious coverage. I wouldn't use this as a touch-up product on the go. It feels really smooth and buttery. It helps even out the the skin tone and mask redness when topped on a less-coverage foundation. It reminds me of my old favorite, NYX stay matte but not flat powder foundation which, as you can see from the picture, has even more opaque swatch. The double wear looks a lot like MAC mineralize skinfinish natural. The packaging itself is a little bit thicker than I would prefer allowing a compartment for a sponge, which I personally never use. The powder doesn't have any smell to me. 

Have you tried any product from the line yet? What are your thoughts?

LOTD: Blurred Imperfection - Summer Wedding Look

My good friend got married on Saturday. It was the funnest wedding I've ever been to simply because she is such a fun girl. She was literally the life of the party. She sang "All About That Bass" and danced on the dance floor while encouraging people to dance and sing along with her. It was awesome. She was a rock star. 

Since it was a summer wedding, I thought of a more rosy kind of look. The eye look is basically the my favorite for the past couple of years. I just love incorporating rosy shades with purple eyeliner. The foundation is the star of the makeup look I'm going for here. I fell in love in first try with Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide foundation. It does not only smoothen as the name suggests, but it blurs pores and imperfection. I love love love how this looks onto the skin. 

NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette

Contour and highlighting  have been in season lately. They have always been popular, but lately the hype is on another level. Companies come up with their own contour & highlighting palettes. I use matte bronzer for contouring and a highlighter to highlight. I finally join in the wagon and tried the NYX Highlight & Contour Pro palette. Relatively cheaper than the high-end products out there for $24.50 retail price. I got mine with the $3.50 off coupon at Ulta. 

The palette comes with 4 highlight shades and 4 contour shades. Two of the highlight shades in the middle are relatively matte, The other two on the ends have shimmer but they're not at all glittery. I use the yellow tone (the third one from the left) as setting powder on highlighting concealer around the upper part of the apples of my cheeks, kinda create a little triangle. I then use the shimmery one on top of the apples of my cheeks after blush.