Your Best Valentine's Day Yet (Date Ideas + Makeup)

I call Valentine's Day the Christmas for couples. Gift-giving, dates, flowers, truffles, the extra-thoughtfulness...indeed, love is in the air! Granting you celebrate V-day, I have few tips to make it your best yet!

1) Do something unique and skip the restaurant. An antithesis to what you may have already planned, dining out on Feb 14 is passé. Don't get me wrong, if you find that a sweet gesture then proceed as you wish. But how's the idea of tackling outdoor adventure this time? Try ATV, go-kart, zipline, or play tourists in your locale. Unlike the sit-and-talk vibe inside a fancy restaurant, these activities make you and your partner engage in real conversation, develop camaraderie, and possibly discover new things about each other. 

Some of our fave hangouts in Oahu, Hawaii:
Go-Kart at GrooveHawaii; ATV at Kualoa Ranch
Byodo-in Temple; Ko'olina Beach

2) Fine dining at home. If you can't squash the idea of dining but still want it extra special, why not do it at home? For one, you don't have to deal with traffic, slow service, irate customers and whatnot. Less stress means you get to spend more quality time with your loved one. Light candles, serve food in nice plates, play your favorite songs softly, the ideas are endless.

Try my mango salad recipe! Toss spring greens, cherry tomatoes, almonds and diced mango together. Add Oriental Sesame dressing (optional: replace sesame dressing with balsamic vinaigrette).

For main course, serve baked cheese salmon. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Place salmon fillets in baking dish, season with salt, pepper, dried basil, top with cheddar, italian or mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for one hour. Serve with buttered asparagus on the side.

Vegetarian like me? Try teriyaki portobello mushroom burger (full recipe here).

Still have room for dessert? chocolate fondue it is! Melt dark chocolate or truffle in a microwave-safe bowl and 1 tbsp butter for two minutes. Transfer to a fondue pot with flame underneath. Serve with strawberries, marshmallow or biscotti.

3) Pamper, bubble bath, massage, bring intimacy to the next level! Honestly, when was the last time you cuddled up? I say get un-ready together zilla!  In time for Hearts Day, Lush brings whimsical and romantic products to amp up your tub time! I received Unicorn Horn Bubble Bar ($7.95) and Floating Flower Bomb ($6.95), can we just stop for a sec and admire their cuteness? Both smell so good I don't even want to use 'em.

So while in the tub together, reminisce fun times. Laugh at each other's naiveté. Whenever I tell hub I used to be shy and conservative, he would laugh in disbelief because he doesn't see an ounce. At the risk of revealing too much info, my point is to revisit that stage in your relationship when you talk about each other, what makes you happy, not your job or how much you hate your colleague. Of course you know where this will lead to so I'll just leave it to the deepest recesses of your imagination.

Now for the makeup part! I seriously had fun with these Lush goodies so I thought of using them as inspiration for my makeup: purple-lined eyes and two-toned (orange/pink) puckers. #theydoexist

The photos below are very straight-forward, how I did my eye makeup and lips. Before those, I applied black|up CC cream on my face, NARS eye concealer to camouflage dark circles (custard medium 1), set with Tarte Smooth Operator Tinted Pressed Powder (medium), finished with Guerlain Meterorites Compact (medium).

1. After priming my eyes, I applied Diorshow Fusion Mono 821 Chimere on my eyelids.
2. With small angled brush, I lined (and subtly flicked) my upper lash line with Givenchy Ombre Couture 8 Prune Taffetas then set with purple eyeshadow (MAC Mineralize Pretty and Prim).
3. To define my eyes more, I tightlined using Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Blacquer.
4. After curling my eyelashes, I applied Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara.
5. For my cheek color, I applied and buffed Diorblush Mimi Bronze.
6. For smoother lip color application, I exfoliated and moisturized my lips first using Teadora Nourishing Lip Butter.
7. Next step is optional but I used Marc Jacobs lip liner (Nude)ist to line and fill-in my lips.
8. With a lip brush, I applied hot pink lipstick from the corners of my mouth mid-way (MAC Girl About Town)
9. For transition color, I applied matte orange lipstick (MAC So Chaud).

*Lush goodies provided for feature consideration*

This is a collaborative post with select members of The Beauty Council, check out my blogger friends and spread the lurveeee!