Saturday, June 29, 2013

Lunch at the Bistro

This is the aftermath of the trend show. A lot of free bags and a lot of purchased bags.

Shopaholics we are!
After the end of the event, my group started getting a little hungry. We choose the nearest eatery.

Off we strove to Nordstrom’s Café Bistro.

Cafe Bistro at Nordstroms
We started off the meal with the crab bisque bowl ($5.95) served with a piece of toasted crostini. The soup was creamy and thick with small chunks of crab soaked in it. The crostini crunchy texture compliments the
soup fairly well.

Crab Bisque with toasted crostini
Crab Bisque with toasted crostini
It was my first time trying out the cilantro lime shrimp salad ($13.95). I was a bit skeptical since it was a salad and I’m really not a big fan of greens and leafy things. But, to my surprise it was delicious. It was served with organic baby greens and romaine lettuce. It had some seared shrimp, tomato, corn, roasted sweet peppers, topped with Monterey jack cheese, tortilla crisps, and cilantro lime vinaigrette.

Cilantro Lime Salad
Cilantro Lime Salad --- Ou La La
Next came the rustic vegetable and three cheese pizza ($10.75). The pizza toppings included roasted artichokes, sautéed organic baby spinach, wild mushrooms, oven-roasted tomatoes, and fresh basil. The three cheeses that they used were mozzarella, aged provolone, and parmesan. The vegetarian-like pizza was good even for a meat-lover like me. It was also a great dish for sampling and sharing.

Rustic Vegetable and Three Cheese Pizza
Rustic Vegetable and Three Cheese Pizza
The main entrée was the sautéed chicken and angel hair pasta ($15.95) consisting of chicken breast, angel hair pasta (of course), roasted garlic tomato sauce, organic baby spinach, oyster mushrooms, and rosemary butter sauce. This was an okay dish to me, not too special.

Sautéed Chicken and Angel Hair Pasta
Sautéed Chicken and Angel Hair Pasta
To satisfy my sweet tooth, I ordered the crème brulee ($5.25) with the vanilla custard and caramelized sugar topping.Yums!
Crème Brulee
Crème Brulee
 They even offered a mint chocolate stick after the bill came. Thumbs up to that!

Makers Mint Chocolate
Makers Mint Chocolate


Thursday, June 27, 2013

2013 Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show: SF Edition Pt. 2

As mentioned in my previous post, I will share my collection of free goodies! I love freebies especially when they are in travel sizes.

Green Tote Bag

  • A very stylish mint green tote bag. Its relatively sturdy and can hold plenty. The tote really brings a brightness to an outfit.
Nordstrom Mint Tote 

Nordstrom Tag 
Nordstrom Mint Tot



















Free goodies inside the tote bag.
*Review provided later on~

  • Estee Lauder Fragrance: Pleasures
  • Laura Mercier: Face Polish
  • Living Proof: Full Thickening Cream
  • Estee Laudee: Night Repair Serum
  • Clinique: High Impact Mascara
  • Trish McEvoy Fragrance: Mandarin & Ginger Lily
  • Estee Lauder: Intensive Lifting Creme 
Goodies came in Ziplock Bag
Voila: Estee Lauder fragrance, Laura mercier face polish, Living Proof  full thickening cream,
Estee Lauder Night Repair Serum,
Clinique high impact mascara, Trish McEvoy fragrance!
Nice! Estee Lauder Intensive Lifting Creme
Goodies from booth walking and appointments!
*Review provided later on~
  • Bobbi Brown: Concealer
  • Hanae Mori Fragrance
  • Giorgio Armani: Luminous Silk Foundation

Bobbi Brown, Hanae Mori, Estee Lauder Goodies

Goodies!
Gift with purchases.
Bought a Philosophy Microdelivery Peel for a discounted price and got bountiful gifts!

Philosophy gifts include:
*Review provided later on~

  • Kiss me color lip gloss
  • Hands of Hope: Hand and Cuticle Cream
  • Full of Promise: Dual-action Restoring Cream
  • Purity: 3-in-1 Cleanser
  • Grace: Firming Body Emulsion
  • Grace: Shampoo, Bath & Shower
  • Philosophy Tote and Makeup Bag

Philosophy Microdelivery Peel
Gifts from purchase
Philosophy Tote Bag 
Philosophy Make-up Bag
After looking at my free collections, have you decided to attend an event yourself. Here's how you can participate and tips on what to expect!

Don't forget to check what we ate afterwards.


2013 Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show: SF Edition Pt.1

Today's talk is all about beauty. There are many beauty gurus out there looking for the latest and trendiest products to try and review. As for me I'm not so much into testing new products; I like to stick to what I know will work. For all the major beauty gurus as well as folks similar to me out there, you cannot miss the Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show. I believe it happens every year in various locations and San Francisco is usually the last location of the season. As fortunate to attend my first trend show, I advise many of my readers to participate in one. Not only is it free, you get a chance to hear about the latest hit products from top notch brands. What most of you will enjoy the most is the free giveaways throughout the show. The show starts in the morning at 8am, which is a bummer considering it is on a weekend, but trust me, it is worth it.

To keep things short, I'll briefly mention my experiences and steps to attend a show yourself.
  1. Before you wait for the day of the trend show, remember to call your local event representative to reserve your spot in an one-on-one consultation in skin, hair, or makeup at various booths (Estee Lauder, Armani, Dior...)
    •  Book as many appointments as you like, keeping in mind of the conflicting times you have between booths.
  2. Booking your tickets to the show. 
    • Despite my purchase of the tickets, nobody checked it. You can redeem your full refund if you did not purchase anything by the end of the show. It cost $20 per person.
  3. Arriving at the show.
    •  This year I received a green tote bag with a bag of goodies. Staff members pass the bags out upon your arrival at the show. Light refreshments are served including coffee, donuts, and fruit platter.
  4. The show
    • Each top brands will have their own representative coming out on stage to talk about a few products that is featured for the season. Dazzling models are accompanied with the speaker. Through out the show, there are raffle winners consisting of must-have prizes. One lucky winner got a free clarisonic set. 
  5. After show
    • Time to attend your appointments or checking out products to buy. Many booths have discounts on specific products and many have gift with purchases. There are also demos on certain products.
Rather than a very long post, I decided to review products on the next post. See all my lovely gifts here.

Brochure with models
Brochure of the Nordstrom Beauty Trend Show 2013



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