gym digest vol.1

As many of y’all may know, I’ve been trying to lose a few LB’s.  With regular exercise(4+ X’s/wk), I feel as though my days have become rejuvenated, and it’s a great liberating feeling.  Even on days when the workouts leave me tired and a bit droopy for sleep, I approach the day with a better reserve knowing that I did something healthy and good.  It really does make me FEEL better.

While I used to measure my progress in lbs, I noticed a pattern of decreased weight BUT the variation from day to day really irked me.  So, while I still weigh myself from time to time, I like to gauge my progress with inches lost.  When I started in December, I was at a 28 1/2 inch waist- pretty much the biggest I’ve ever been.  Today, I measured at 26 1/2 inches.  Which is 1/2 inch smaller than my “good waist” measurements!   Needless to say, I’m very happy with my workouts both physically and mentally!

I realize that, at the gym, people look at other people.  I do it too, and confess to it eagerly, because I see it as a great form of motivation for me… to see a great looking girl, fit-as-a-fiddle, shining and happy, it’s a great motivator for me.  Not so with all girls.  Some girls see it as sheer competition, sizing up other girls with a flick of their eyes- turning into a half-glare/half-dare if the girls sees something she doesn’t have.  I’ve seen it, I almost feel sorry for these poor fit girls.
After my bout of cardio this morning, I settle in to my nook in the sauna, where I like to read magazines and relax my muscles as I “imagine” my heart rate going up, further amping up my metabolism to lose more weight through the sauna sweats.  I get comfortably “into” my magazine and start smiling at the pics (like a goob) when this strange woman begins to talk to me…

Hi, are you Korean? Japanese? Chinese?

I shake my head at the slight interruption and at being labeled Korean– again.. 

No, I’m Chinese, 

I told her with a slight frown, not knowing what it had to do with anything.  I fix my head to look down because I really wasn’t ready for conversation… and it always irks me when people try to determine races… it makes me wonder why they do it?  What is the ulterior motive?

Oh, she says, and proceeded to speak mandarin to me from this point forward.  Do you always use the sauna after your swim?  I shake my head- no, and wondered at her question as I was sitting there in a sports bra and shorts and NOT a swimsuit, so I really don’t know what she was getting at… 

I never swim, I told her, as I tried to look down at my magazine… the peaceful quiet escape with the celebrities in US Weekly staring innocently back at me…


Oh, yeah, what do you do, then?  She asked.  Ok, I made a mental note that this woman wanted to talk… put the mag down and to the side. 

I usually just to cardio, then sauna, I told her, smiling.  It wasn’t good enough she wanted more answers. 

No weights? 

Oh, I do arms about once a week.

That’s it?? Nothing else?  I see a girl who looks like you, upstairs doing weights. (Enter really strange condescending laugh) Is it you?  I don’t know, maybe.

Are you married? (wow really?? are you serious?) Ummm no.

Do you have any kids?  (whoa, lady, easyyyy.)  No.

She then comments on how it’s easier to lose weight BEFORE you have kids.. yada yada, I smiled and said I know… she then started talking about her daughter… ok… interesting.

Here comes the kicker. 

You know I saw a girl downstairs who weighs herself before she workouts, then finishes her workouts and weighs herself AGAIN!  She looks like you… is it you?  Hyena-condescending laugh.  I really don’t know what to say at this point and secretly wonder if I’m being PUNK’D but, no jumping Ashton… bah.  

Yeah, I answered, it probably WAS me!  I used to weigh myself a lot when I started working out to see if I was making a dent at my weight and found it interesting to see how much sweat loss equals to loss in weight… But I think that weight loss should be gauged in inches lost over pounds lost…  I found myself explaining myself to her… ugh… I fell into her trap. 

I only ask because you look good.

Ummm ok… thanks.  I fall into the rabbit hole and need to agree with the chelshire cat.  You look great too!  You don’t look like you need to work on Anything!  I complimented back.  Oh… she smirked… she smiles… 

That’s because I’m MAINTAINING.

Oh… Shnaaaap.  This woman has asked me my secrets, compared herself to me, used me to make herself feel better (no kids-easier to lose weight) used me to fish for compliments then came at me with that!  *sigh*  really…..

Speaking of Alice in Wonderland… I kinda really would like to get this…

Examples of the Color Wheel in Action

photo courtesy of marieclaire

This look above is gorgeous, dramatic, and not for the faint-of-heart.  See how the deep purples, maroons and blues (which are next to each other on the color wheel) blends seamlessly because the color families are so similar!

photo courtesy of marieclaire

Same goes for the Green, the Teal and the blue... they are next to each other on the color wheel and thus, can be blended seamlessly though vibrantly for that punch of flamingo color.

image courtesy of fashionmagazine-best.com

This is a beautiful eye-opening look involving colors that are quite opposite on the color wheel.  The yellow then orange and green are both tertiary colors.  This opposite color block, softened by a bit of orange in the middle creates a spark of attention where one color starts and the other color ends.  This type of look emphasizes the beauty of the eye makeup a bit differently than the previous two looks. 

Whether it's using one color family (colors next to each other on the color wheel) or using opposite colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel) it's absolutely encouraged to play around.  Do use a boring dark matte brown with a fuscia hot pink highlight!  Do rock a smudgy purply blue for a night out!  Makeup is what you make it and learning the rules about how and why's will only help you Break IT BETTER!

Understanding Color

For our simple makeup purposes, we only need to understand the basics of the color wheel.

Primary colors: as we should remember from dipping our hands into messy pots of paints as kids, are the most basic colors from which all other colors are created: red, yellow, blue.

Secondary colors: are derived from mixing the primary colors together: orange, green and purple.

Tertiary colors: are the colors you get from mixing the primary and the tertiary colors (next to each other) on the color wheel...

In looking at the outermost circle containing all colors, we can choose one color and go across the midpoint of the circle to the other side, where we can find it's color opposite and complementary color. For example, green and red, purple and yellow. These colors tell can often bring out other colors simply by being its striking opposite.. * think how awesome the color green looks on a redhead and you'll catch my drift...

Taking the information from these color wheels, we can learn about a variety of other clues including our *undertones and how to balance them, *what it means to be cool or warm hued, * what shadows look great together.

Now we can try to tackle these questions with the help of the color wheel.



Now you've all seen these strange color coded things whether they are in a tube, paste or powder form, our faces aren't lilac colored so what are these candy inspired creations for?? Well, you don't have lilac skin, but have you breakouts, ruddy skin, and dark under eye areas?

-Acne, breakouts and other blemishes are usually a shade of red... therefor the green concealor will work to cancel out the red to a neutral.

-Dark eye circles are usually a shade of blue or purple, choose the yellow tinged concealor to cancel out the violet undertone.

** Always match concealors to skintone not the color of discoloration.



Ever wonder if you were a cool tone vs. a warm tone person?? Simply strap on a siver and gold necklace and see which precious metal looks the best with your skin. Usually the silver tone indicate cool tone which means you look wonderful in
colors (both makeup and clothing)that exist on the right side of the color wheel. For the gold: warm tone lovelies you look best in warm tones or colors on the left side of the color wheel. For the red lipstick test: try wearing red lipstick in shades that flatter either the cool/warm undertone I guarantee you'll look awesome!!



Wearing eyeshadow can get pretty tricky given the myriad of colors available to us... using the color wheel as a hint, a general rule (that was made to be broken, as there ARE NO rules in makeup)can be created: colors next to each other on the color wheel fade nicely from one to the next. I like to place darker colors on the bottom and trick the eyes into seeing lighter and lighter as you go up. For example, choose a dark purple hue close to the lash line a mid purple or lilac as a mid color and blend upwards into a pale baby pink. so pretty!!

Until next time, have fun with makeup!

Makeup: getting started

What every good artist needs, a set of brushes, palette knife, and colors.  A good brush rinse and alcohol sprays are good for sanitizing... but this is for those of you whom want to learn makeup to practice on yourself, rather than make it a vocation... a makeup artist by trade spends a ton of time sanitizing btw... safety's always first!

Brushes: implements for placement and blending of colors.  This is kind of a no-brainer.  Brushes differ with the fibers (hair) used whether it is animal hair or synthetic plastic bristles.

 photo courtesy of buycheapmakeupandtips

Generally, if you're buying a powder, blush, eyebrow, eyeshadow, angled eyeliners etc... it is good to go with a decent quality animal hair brush.  When using flat foundation brushes or even fine eyeliner brushes, synthetic may be a better choice.  The reason is that the synthetic bristles impede bacteria growth so while using things that are more "wet" or have more slip, such as liquid foundation and liquid eye liner, it is better to go with using a synthetic, or else get used to washing brushes everyday!

Palette Knife:  is an actual knife that scrapes off color.

photo courtesy of ffcrafts

I'm showing a picture of the many types of artists' palette knifes however, you only need one.  What is this good for?  My favorite palette knife has lasted me years and enables me to blend all sorts of lipcolors together as well as stick foundations to suit a perfect shade.   You use the sharp end to scrape or cut off some makeup and the flat edge to mix and mash the colors until you have one unique color that's especially YOU!

Colors: Are the most fun part of all!  A plethora of eyeshadows, bases, foundations, powders, eyeliners, lipsticks ... what is makeup if not a wide array of colors with what we use to color our lives?

photo courtesy of alceevents

You thought diamonds are a girls' best friend? I'm here to tell you that the real best friend is color!  They have the ability to brighten, to widen, to POP!, to encourage, to motivate, and to brave the world... nothing is as fierce as a woman who entrances the world with a bright red lipstick!

Armed with these tools we are ready to move full throttle forward!

Does the world really need yet another beauty blogger?

An Asian one, at that??

Photo courtesy of Bamboonation

The answer, hopefully, is YES. 


You see I'm not just another Asian girl that loves all things Juicy and princessy, the color pink or its derivatives, loves playing with makeup and looks 18. 

I'm 32.

That's sort of mature, no?  I am definitely old enough to appreciate beauty, despite seeing the changes that come with age.  I am also a licensed Esthetician and a have Make-Up Artist certification from a respected makeup school, M.U.D (Makeup Designory, Burbank, CA).  While it is true that I've only held a few makeup related odd jobs throughout the years, the love of enhancement never quite leaves my soul.  

I am here to share with you my knowledge (by the books) as well as what I've picked up on "the streets" of life.  I will hopefully be doing almost a school of sorts, that tackles everything from skincare to lipstick.  I will add quick "how to-s" and maybe even some tutorials, depending on where this blog takes me...

While beauty is definitely more than skin deep, it is the means for us to enhance our favorite features so that when we are out in the world we can present the best version of ourselves possible.  Simply Superficial is born of the mentality that makeup should be: accessible, easy, adaptable, fun, and expressive.  Just like the how the latest fashion isn't necessarily suited to all shapes and sizes, we can pick and choose from the latest to select the looks we believe best fit our face, skin, coloring, and personality!

Have fun with colors everyone!!!