Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a great Merry Christmas and Holidays!

Rare Total Lunar Eclipse during Winter Solstice Tonight!

Credit: Beautiful picture taken by Jim Fakatselis during a Total Lunar Eclipse

A rare event is happening tonight. The Total Lunar Eclipse during the Winter Solstice begins Monday Night at 10:33pm PST and Tuesday at 1:33am EST. The last Total Lunar Eclipse during the Winter Solstice was in 1638!  A whooping 372 years ago. Wowsers!

This is a unique moment  you don't want to miss. So if you have a chance to checkout this spectacular occasion, do so. Hopefully it will be visible in your part of the world.

Fun Fact:
The Next  Total Lunar Eclipse during a Winter Solstice will be 372 years from now.  The Next Total Lunar Eclipse will occur on April 15, 2014.

What is a Lunar Eclipse?
This event occurs when the Sun, Earth and moon are in an alignment. The Lunar eclipse can only happen during a full moon.  As the total Lunar Eclipse occurs the moon will appear as a red and orange hue.

  (click to see animation)
Credit:Animated picture from Wikipedia December 2010 lunar eclipse

 The picture above shows the moon passing through the earth's shadow called the the umbra and penumbra.  The Sun, Earth, and the Moon is in alignment.

The Umbra is the darkest part of the Earth's shadow, where complete darkness and no radiant light occurs. When you see the moon in the umbra stage it is known as a Total Eclipse.

The Penumbra is Earth's partially lit shadow casting on the moon.  This is also known as a Partial Eclipse.

Review: Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream

Product Description:
I got the  shade: 23- Natural Beige.
It contains 30ml of product.
It has UV protection with spf 42 PA+++
Product made in Korea

This BB Cream expires 12 month after you use or open it.

It is a makeup base foundation that helps to reduce and heal blemishes and scars. It is also a skincare product that helps lightning your skin  with some anti-aging properties  that helps to reduce wrinkles.

Packaging:
I really like the packaging. I love the box design. It looks very slick and modern with its shiny metallic package design. It comes in a plastic tube, making it easy to squeeze out the product.

Product Review: 
This bb cream is pretty emollient with a medium thick consistency. In the summer  it leaves a shiny dewiness on my skin.  Personally, I like to use Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in the fall/winter, when my skin is drier. This formula helps moisturizes my skin. When applied, it feels really smooth, dries quickly and doesn't leave any wet or sticky texture on your skin.  My skin is also moisturized after I take off the BB cream. I really like how I can just wear this BB Cream when I don't feel like wearing a lot of makeup. It is like a tinted moisturizer. For me, I don't need to set it with powder for my skin to look good. It stays on for a really long time and has minimal transfer.

I have combination skin and am prone to break outs, but fortunately this BB Cream didn't cause any negative reactions or irritations on me.  The color  (#23 - natural beige) somewhat matches me in the fall/winter when my skin is lighter.  It gives my skin a lighten, radiant effect, which in my opinion makes my skin slightly lighter than normal. 

How I apply it:
I squeeze a dime size of the product on my finger and rub my fingers together, warming the product. After a few seconds I pat it on my face and gently spread it on my face.

Swatch:

 

Ingredients: (official Missha USA website)
Water(Aqua), Cyclomethicone, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Zinc Oxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Mineral Oil, Phenyl Trimethicone, Talc, Arbutin, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Squalane, Adenosine, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Beeswax(Cera Alba), Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Caviar Extract, Algae Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract, Ceramide 3, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance(Parfum), Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol
MAY CONTAIN[+/-; Titanium Dioxide(CI 77891), Iron Oxides(CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)]

Would I repurchase?
Yes, I would definitely repurchase but in a darker shade #23 is a tad light on me. I really like the formulation, only for the fall. It is too moisturizing for the summer and it makes me too oily in the summer. I also love the baby powder smell of this BB Cream.

Product Rating:
4.5 out of 5

Product Available:  
I purchased the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream online on ebay. But you can also purchase this on the Missha website. 

Missha USA

Review: Balancing Cucumber face Mist (dry / sensitive skin) 7 Fl. Oz

Product Description:
This is a natural soothing skin toner with herbal extract that helps refreshes and calm the skin.  This toner has special ingredients, such as chamomile, citrus biofla vonoids, cucumber essence, Korean ginseng, and witch hazel that helps rejuvenate the complexion.

Where I purchased it:
I got this a couple months ago in a  Ole Henriksen Skin Care Set on hsn.com.
It retailed for about a $50, but I got it for $30 from a coupon discount.

Amount: $21

Product Size: 7 fl. oz.

Packaging:
The toner comes in a convenient spray bottle, that's great to dispense the product.

Product Review:
This toner is really cooling, nice and refreshing.
It has a great smell and does remove the remaining dirt and residue after you wash your face.

How I apply it:
I usually pump 2-3 spray of the toner on a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face after I wash my face.  Then let it dry before you apply your lotion.

Ingredients:
Purified Water, Witch Hazel Distillate, Cucumber Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Chamomile Flower Extract, Apricot Kernel Oil, Ginseng Root Extract, Citrus Bioflavanoids, Polysorbate, Panthenol, Allantoin, Glycerin, Benzophenone-4, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Blue #1, Yellow #5.

Would I repurchase?
I really like this product, but it is quiet pricey.  I would only repurchase this, on sale but not at the retail price. I am still on the hunt for a comparable toner for at a better price.

Product Rating:
4 out of 5

Product Available:

Stores:  Sephora,

Online Stores:
http://www.olehenriksen.com/

http://www.sephora.com/

http://www.hsn.com/

Eki is Having a Christmas Giveaway! :O)

Hey everyone! Wow the holidays are here again. eheh I am still dizzy from the tryptophan Turkey dinner at Thanksgiving. :O)

May it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or the Winter Solstice that you celebrate I wanted to wish everyone a great holiday. :O)

I wanted to share with you  guys a great Christmas giveaway from Eki. Eki is a wonderful blogger and kawaii designer. She handcrafts the cutest jewelry, bags, and hair pieces in her online store EkiLove. I love all her creations! You should definitely check out the store.

She is giving away a Melliesh lip gloss & a Coach wristlet. The giveaway ends on  12/19/2010. To win you have to follow her on youtube and her blog channel. For an extra entry follow her on twitter and share the giveaway on your blog. You can read in detail the rules and criteria and Enter Here.

Happy Holidays and good luck you guys! :O)

Review: Milani Black Magic Liner & Eye Glimmer

Product Description:
A double ended pencil with a black and glitter eye liner. It is available in 6 shades ; Sterling, Blue, Green, Teal, Pink, Gold.  A two in one pencil, used to create different looks. Made in Italy

Where I purchased it: CVS (drugstore)

Amount:  $7.49 (US dollars) -prices vary from location.

Product Size:  Net Weight 0.10 oz or 3.10g

 Product Review:
I was so excited to try this. To my disappointment this eye liner is not very impressive.  The black liner, which has an undertone of a greenish gold, smudges badly. What made me get this liner was the glitter liner side. I saw the Milani Model wear the glitter gold liner and it looked beautiful. This convinced me to snatched it up at the drugstore, but upon application is was so disappointing.  When I tried to create a line with the golden glimmer liner the glitter glided everywhere. I couldn't make a glitter line, it just dispensed glitter sparsely when applied.  As shown in the picture below I had to swatch it 10 times for the glitter line to appear and 20 times for the glitter line to clearly appear. Also, the glitter didn't stay on my skin, it came off when I did a swipe test.  I don't really like this product and I returned it to the drugstore. 
Swatches:

How I apply it:
Apply it on your eye lid, above your lashes line, creating a line.

Would I repurchase?
NO, I would not repurchase this.
Both the black and glitter liner smudges. While the product is smooth it does not stay on for a long time. It is also hard to create a solid glitter line, glitter dispense sparsely.


Products Available:
At drugstore: CVS, (some)Walgreens, (some) Target.

Online:
Milani Cosmetics
Cherry Culture