My New Obsession: Cute Japanese Moss Balls : Marimo!

Marimo is a special moss that grows in a spherical shape underwater. They are somewhat popular as a plant pet as they are very low maintenance: Keep it in low light or artificial light, and change their water every week or 2 weeks, and that's pretty much it!

They can only be found in a few spots around the world naturally. Taking good care of Marimo supposedly brings good luck according to Japanese folklore.

They are OH SO cute and unusual!

Marimo in its natural habitat!

Anyway, I ordered 5 Nano Marimo Balls or you can get a Giant Marimo Ball!

I don't have an aquarium... I can't stand having fish or any other animal that pees and poos in a giant tank. It makes me feel dirty. I used to have a big fish tank with guppies when I was in high school, and it always gave me nightmares.

I'll have to give an update when I receive these. I hope they look like smaller versions of what is in the pictures (crosses fingers)!

MUST Have Holy Grail Beauty Items

I wanted to compose a list of my most favorite beauty products. The ones that would make me cry if they got discontinued.

1. NYX Eyeshadow Palette S104

Has the most long lasting power with great pigmentation and a whole plethora of colors to satisfy any eyeshadow look! The quality is really amazing for the price.

2. Wet n Wild Color Icon Collection Eyeshadow Set, Comfort Zone 738, .3 oz I have almost all of the Wet n Wild color icon eyeshadow palettes, but comfort zone is my absolute favorite. This palette with 8 colors could make a multitude of looks! The right side of the palette is my favorite though! The greens on this side just make me glow. It's like the equivalent of finding that perfect coral orange lipstick that lights up the rest of your face!

Pigmentation and lasting power are amazing in this palette just like most of the other Wet n Wild color icon collection.

3. Wet N Wild Ultimate Eyebrow Kit

I don't know why, but the Wet n Wild eyebrow kit makes my eyebrows look 10 times better than any other eyebrow product I've tried, high end and low end! Great natural looking colors and SUPER anti-smudge to last through the day!

4. Retin-A Micro

Ok... so this is a prescription for my acne. But, I had to put it on here. This product has made my face more glowing, smooth and even than anything I could possibly imagine.

5. Monistat Soothing Care Itch Relief Cream 1 oz (28 g)

Though it's an anti-chafing product, this little gel actually acts like the best face and eye shadow primer I've ever tried! Just use a tiny tiny dot for eyelids and your eyeshadow will not fade or budge for the day! Also, makes skin look flawless and poreless when worn under foundation!

6. E.L.F. Studio Contour Brush

I absolutely LOVE E.L.F. brushes; the brushes are super soft, dense and comparable to MAC brushes, but the eye contour brush is my must have. It is the best brush for blending and contouring that I've ever tried. Only $3!

8. Milani Liquif'Eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil, Black and silver

The best eyeliner period. SUPER soft, no tugging, yet does not smudge or fade EVEN on the waterline!

Blogging Has Moved

This site has always been a little beta test. It never truly had any direction. As you can see, the subject matter has been quite random and scattered.

I recently started another blog, but this time the platform is custom instead of blogger, and it's focused on just one topic. Please check out my blog exclusively about Herve Leger, my favorite designer.

In case you do not know what Herve Leger is, it's a design of clothing that's known for its iconic bandage or bodycon style. Maybe after seeing what Herve Leger is all about you may even be interested in buying authentic Herve Leger.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you check out the new site!

Recent Loves: Hello Kitty Panties and Chanel Temporary Tattoos

The other week, I was strolling around in Kohl's and found a pair of Hello Kitty panties on sale. They were pretty cute and were the last one on the sale rack. AND, it was in my size! Later on in the week, when I put them on, I discovered just how CUTE they were.

The Hello Kitty panties (Bikini style) fit a little naughtier than the Victoria Secret cheeky style panty. Sorry... no pics. But, long story short, they make my butt look great, and are kind of fetish sexy being that they are hello kitty over your naughty parts. Honestly, the cut is awesome; it is very comfortable but is quite revealing at the same time. Immediately, after my husband remarked how oddly sexy these panties were, I went online and ordered 2 more at higher prices. My favorites are the Hello Kitty and Friends Pink Bikini Panty for women
and the Hello Kitty and Friends Blue & White Bikini Panty for women. And, when the arrived, they fit just as good as my original! yay!

You got to make sure that they are the Hello Kitty brand. Buying some knock off or other brand will not have the same cut.

The other thing that I really love right now is the Chanel temporary tattoos. I don't have any tattoos myself and have never really had the desire to get one. But, these stick on tattoos from Chanel are so gorgeous! So gorgeous, that I had to share...

Beautiful but too much tattoo for me...

I like how Angelababy (popular half Chinese model) only made a small but sexy tattoo

But, $75 for temporary tattoos (55 pieces in each package) is a little too much for me... I guess I still think that fake tattoos still come from quarter machines or bubblegum wrappers. :P You can get them HERE. I also hear that they tend to last quite a long time on the skin (hard to wash off) which is great considering how beautiful they are.

My First Dermatologist Visit and What I Learned

Last week, I went to the dermatologist for the very first time and wanted to share what I learned about anti-aging. As a teenager, I had HORRIBLE acne, but some Asian parents don't feel that bad skin is a medical situation.

Anyway, I figured that I'm getting older and that starting on a more serious skin regiment earlier rather than too late is always best. :)

My skin is in fairly good shape now. I have some slight discoloration on the sides of my face from acne and sun exposure, and also have the occasional break out. It would also be considered as oily.

So, my main concerns were acne and anti-aging.

For anti-aging, he told me there were three products that made a huge difference.

1. Sunscreen everyday- preferable 35 SPF or higher with Helioplex like Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF 45, 3 Ounces

2. Retin A- good for acne, glowing skin and anti- wrinkle

3. SkinMedica TNS Essential Serum

The sunscreen part is super easy because there a lot of options that you can pick up at the drugstore, and it's fairly inexpensive.

Retin-A is a bit harder to acquire; you have to have a prescription for it. But, if you do, I want to share a great coupon with you HERE. One of my co-workers told me she pays $120 after insurance pays part of it! That's a lot! With this manufacturer's coupon I showed her, she can get it for only $20! She had no idea. :D

The TNS Essential Serum was $250 if I bought it from the doctor's office. Needless to say, I didn't... You can get it at a deep discount -->SkinMedica TNS Essential Serum, but it's still pretty expensive. I think I'll wait until I'm a little older before I start spending that kind of money... but great reviews on the product!

The dermatologist also let me know that spending lots of money on facial cleanser is a waste. Facial cleansers are not as important as a good cream, serum or moisturizer.

Lastly, if you have dry skin on your body, look for lotions with the ingredient Urea in it or even Urea creams. It is the best at locking in moisture!

Some of My Favorite eBay Buys Under $1 SHIPPED

I wanted to do a little post on some of my favorite things on eBay that you can purchase for just a dollar SHIPPED!

It sure takes a long time to get arrive, but for only a dollar, who can complain?

First thing is crystal necklace charms. These little charms dazzle and sparkle so much in real life. They look VERY MUCH like Swarovski, but at a minimal cost. At just a dollar each, you can collect a multitude of these in different colors and shapes. If you get one, and see how gorgeous they are, you'll want MORE.

HERE is the real Swarovski heart pendant for $100! I think not! I love designer stuff too but not when the cheaper version looks better!

Next up is false lashes. You can get 10 (TEN!) pairs shipped for just 99 cents! They are nice too. I've gotten a bunch of these, and I think they are wonderful. Just don't get the extremely dense ones like these:

I just find these too thick to be natural looking...

Over knee socks or thigh socks! I love these. They are pretty popular in Asia but very hard to find here in the US, ESPECIALLY for such a great price!

Phone covers. Whether your thing is cutesy like Hello Kitty or artistic, they've got one for you and at super cheap! Mine are from eBay and they are nicer than the more expensive ones that I've seen at the mall.

Finally, I just find these sleep masks to be so cute and funny. I've got a husband who loves to stay up really late next to me reading, and eye masks make such a difference for me in getting a good night's sleep.

NYX Eye Shadow Palette vs. Coastal Scents Eye Shadow Palette

So, recently, I've been on this eye shadow craze. Based on online reviews and bloggers, the two lower cost eye shadows with great quality are NYX and Coastal Scents.

Some people love NYX so much that they buy tons of single NYX eyeshadows. Seeing how addictive this was, I decided to buy a palette to save money and not have that never ending lust for more eye shadow singles.

The crazy thing is you can get NYX Eyeshadow Palette S104 78 colors for $25.00 with free shipping! <--This was the best price I was able to get it for. You can also get it HERE sometimes on sale. I liked the NYX Eyeshadow Palette S104, because it had 78 colors including a huge array of fantastic vivid colors like purple, orange, yellow, etc, but the majority were commonly used neutrals.

Coastal Scents was reputed to have even higher pigmentation than NYX, so I purchased this as well. For Coastal Scents, after much research, I picked Coastal Scents 78 Piece Makeup Palette. <--- This is only $16.11 (free shipping) with subscribe and save. It has 78 pieces, mostly eyeshadow, but also 6 beautiful blush shades. I chose this palette once again because while it consisted mostly of everyday neutrals, it also had many choices of bright vivid colors.

Now, both of them arrived to me safe and sound and I can do the review! :)

Not that this matters all that much, but the packaging from NYX looked A LOT more professional. It was glossy and the design was very pretty.

Cardboard box aside, the NYX S104 palette was very well built. It was extremely professional looking and the hinges were nice quality. The Coastal Scents was just a plastic flap. Applicators from both products were not that great, but I've never come across a great foam eye shadow applicator. Most people use separate brushes with these palettes anyway.

You get a good quantity of eye shadows that should last you a VERY long time! Even though the eye shadow pots are small, the colors are super pigmented so not a whole lot is needed. Going through one small pot would take me a very long time! The NYX S104 palette has some more product holding 3.13 oz. The Coastal Scents 78 palette holds 2.45 oz.

Now, on to the stuff that matters! quality of the eye shadows! Top row is NYX; bottom is Coastal Scents. As you can see, both palettes have some very pigmented shades. While most of the eye shadows in each of the palettes are highly pigmented, a few of the eye shadows are not.

The crazy thing is that I wore NYX eye shadows for over an hour working out sweating, and the NYX stayed on FLAWLESSLY. And, I have very oily eyelids to begin with!

NYX S104 Palette Ratings (Remember, I'm a tough critic) :

Packaging- 7.5

Pigmentation- 8.5

Lasting Power- 9

Blendability- 8.5

Smoothness- 9

Coastal Scents 78 Palette Ratings:

Packaging- 3

Pigmentation- 7.5

Lasting Power- 8

Blendability- 8

Smoothness- 9

Both palettes are great buys and perform VERY well. However, doing this over again, I'd definitely only purchase the NYX Eyeshadow Palette S104!

Wet and Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Trios Plus Abercrombie Outfit

So, recently, I've been doing a lot of research on eye shadow. I've always been a strictly eyeliner girl. But, I finally realized that eye shadow does wonders in enlarging the eyes and adding a look of softness. So, I read the heck out of eye shadows. Come to find out, the most popular low cost eye shadows online by bloggers and reviewers are:

1. Wet and Wild Color Icon- Walmart, Kmart, Walgreens and Sears

2. NYX Eyeshadow Palette S104 Can also be found HERE

3. Coastal Scents 78 Piece Makeup Palette <-- best price. I did subscribe and save and got this 78 piece set for $16.11 with free shipping! After the item was shipped, I unsubscribed.

I purchased all three... reviews of NYX and Coastal Scents will follow. :) This post focuses on Wet and Wild Color Icon.

Of the Wet and Wild Color Icon, I purchased 6 trio palettes. They include: I'm Feeling Retro, I Dream of Greenie, Spoiled Brat, Walking on Eggshells, Sweet as Candy, and Don't Steal My Thunder.

Swatches:

I only swiped once in the color and applied. No multiple swipes to increase pigmentation.

I got I'm Feeling Retro, I Dream of Greenie and Spoiled Brat for $1.99 each! The others were $2.97 each. You can only get that price from Kmart. Other places, the trios all run about $3. Don't bother running to Rite Aid, CVS, and Target; they don't carry Color Icon.

So, why is Wet and Wild Color Icon eyeshadows so popular???

Well, the pigmentation is great. I have VERY oily eyelids, and they withstood much longer than anything I've tried before. I used THIS as a primer (not meant as a primer, but amazing as one), a very well known comparable substitute to the infamous Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Original (nude dries invisibly) .34 fl oz (10 ml).

It is also EXTREMELY SMOOTH and SUPER blendable! This is very hard to find amongst cheaper eye shadows. Plus the color trios work so well together, takes the brainwork out of eye shadow application! :D

Finally, the W&W Color Icons consist of many MAC dupes for a ridiculously cheaper price. It is well known that many of the Color Icons are very VERY close in quality to expensive MAC eye shadows. They also have a duo-chrome effect which is very hard to find once again in eye shadows.

It is so surprising that Wet and Wild came out with such a well respected makeup product and at an unbelievable price. I remember buying this W&W as a teeny bopper, and the quality was SO bad, but it was all my teeny bopper wallet could handle. :D DEFINITELY better than the other drugstore brand eye shadows I've tried in the past!

My favorite trio was Sweet as Candy. Though it's definitely very natural but oh so sweet and flattering combo!

Here I am with Spoiled Brat:

I don't put a whole lot of eye shadow unless I'm going out at night... so sorry that it's not too visible... and I need to learn how to smile. :P

Products used:

Foundation: EverydayMinerals.com

Bronzer: EverydayMinerals.com

Lips: Blistex Lip Tone

Eye Inner Corners: L'Oreal HiP Color Chrome eyeliner in Lightning Flash

Eye Shadow: Wet and Wild Color Icon Trio in Spoiled Brat

Eyelashes: Self constructed falsies made from $0.99 for 10 pair eyelashes. See PREVIOUS POST about this.

Rating of Color Icon: (I'm a tough critic)

Pigmentation- 8 out of 10

Duo Chrome Effect- 9 out of 10

Lasting Power- 6.5 out of 10

Blendability- 8 out of 10

Buy again? - YES

And, here is a pic of my outfit that day. I just LOVE flouncy low-waisted mini skirts like THIS one!