Once in a Lifetime: New Year's Eve with NIVEA

Well, another year has come to an almost close, and this year, I'll be celebrating in a way I had never expected - in Times Square(!), with my friend Amber of Beauty Blogging Junkie and her campadres at NIVEA (they're one of the official sponsors of the evening, in case you didn't know.)

We're holed up at the Westin Times Square, as coming and going tomorrow will "present some issues" but this evening, we had a ONCE IN A LIFETIME experience and met...The Ball. Yes, the Waterford Crystal Ball - complete with  dropped each year on New York City from 1 Times Square. As is often the case, things appear a bit larger and a tad more grand on television, but regardless, I was pretty psyched. Here are a few fun facts I learned from the Times Square Alliance:

• The Ball is a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter, weighing 11,875 pounds.
• The Ball is covered with a total of 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that vary in size, and range in length from 4 3/4 inches to 5 3/4 inches per side.
• The Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.

Tomorrow night, Amber and I will be joining NIVEA for the official NYE bash at the iconic Hard Rock Cafe - and we'll also get up close and personal to the evening's performances, including Taylor Swift and Psy!

For more from the New Year's Eve festivities from Times Square tomorrow night, follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Happy almost-2013!