October Favorites 2013

Helloooo, November!

This year is flying by. Thanksgiving, I cannot wait to meet again.

Here's a rundown of my absolute favorite products from the last month of October.

• Tigi Bed Head Masterpiece Massive Shine Hairspray (temporary Target sale for $15.59!)
• This smells amazing, makes my hair feel so soft and it does help with shine!
• Freeman Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask, Mint & Lemon ($3.99)
• I love using this mask on Mask Mondays! I also use this as a spot treatment when I feel a big pimple coming. I put this on for 20 minutes on what felt like a potential pimple, and it never came to the surface. AMAZING! (Full review in a previous post.)
• Freeman Feeling Beautiful Facial Polishing Mask, Charcoal & Black Sugar ($3.99)
• My skin feels baby soft after using this. Check out my full review of this in a previous post.
• Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush ($21)
• Lately, it's my go-to foundation brush. Dense and super soft! To get 10% off Sigma products until Nov. 30, 2013, use the online code "NOV2013".
• Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector ($36)
• It keeps my foundation in place all day. However, it does not make me look "poreless." I still love it, though, since it does keep my face matte longer than without it. And it doesn't break me out!!
• Wet N Wild Color Icon Bronzer, Ticket to Brazil ($3.99)
• Like I've mentioned in my last video, this stuff rockssss. There's slight shimmer in the pan, but it's not evident on my skin.
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel ($22)
• I'm one of Anastasia's newest, biggest fans. Her Brow Wiz in Caramel is a MUST for me, and now I have to follow it up with this brow gel. My brows are strange and don't stay put that well, but this brow gel has helped a TON!
• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter, Sorbet ($5.84)
• It's so pretty and bright. I like blending it out with my finger to make it look more like I've been eating a popsicle. I love Lip Butters.
• L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm, Caramel Comfort ($5.99)
• A great nude lippie for fall! It has some shimmer but it's not gritty on my lips. 
• China Glaze nail lacquer, First Mate (sale right now at Sally Beauty for $5.49!)
• My favorite out of my "Fall Polish Picks" series. Check out the review in a previous blog post!

What have you been loving lately? Let me know in the comments! And please subscribe to my new YouTube channel. I'm planning to post regularly, most likely twice a week!

Thanks so much for reading/watching! xo

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo.

Halloween nails: Candy corn mani

Happy Halloween!

I picked a very simple, yet fun nail design to celebrate the day.

If you're needing a last-minute mani, decorate your nails like candy corn!

I used NYC Lexington Yellow ($1.99), Sinful Colors Big Daddy ($1.99) and China Glaze White on White ($7.50).

Just paint your whole nail yellow and then wait a few minutes to make sure it's relatively dry.

Start the orange two-thirds of the way up. Wait again.

And then finish it off with white for the last third of your nail.

I decided to go free hand instead of using tape because candy corn is never perfect.

I'm a righty, so my right hand (done by my left) does not look that great. (!!)

Oh well. It's a one-day mani for me :)

No costume this year, but I'm looking forward to a Halloween potluck at work.

Hope you have a wonderful, safe day!

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo.

Review: Sally Hansen "Gold Roses" rose gold nail polish

Happy Sunday, lovelies!

I'm back with my Fall 2013 nail polish pick #5 -- a beautiful ROSE GOLD!

Rose gold has been my thing lately. I think it's the perfect fall staple, a great way to wear pink in the fall without going the pastel/spring route.

The Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Fall 2013 collection includes a beautiful polish called Gold Roses ($8 at CVS, I believe). I had a coupon and CVS Extra Bucks, so the polish was $2-ish!

I've been searching for the perfect rose gold polish for a while now, and this one nailed it!

It's a chrome polish, which gives it a slightly edgy look, yet it's still subtle and classy because of the nude/rose gold hue.

I only needed ONE coat for it to be opaque.

As for the brush, I do love big polish brushes, but Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure brushes may be TOO large for some. I had to tilt the brush a bit to get the edges of my nails. Just a heads up if you've never tried this line!

Otherwise, this polish is perfect. What do you think of the rose gold? Have you picked this up or any others from the fall collection? Let me know in the comments.

And if you're interested, I've linked my last 4 fall picks below.
Fall pick #1 | Fall pick #2 | Fall pick #3 | Fall pick #4

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo. Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

Review + swatch: China Glaze First Mate - Fall 2013 nail polish pick #4

Hello lovelies! I finally have Round 4 of my Fall 2013 Nail Polish Picks on this beautiful Sunday. (I'll link my other picks at the bottom.)

First Mate from China Glaze is a gorgeous mid-toned navy with gray undertones. I've been looking for this kind of polish for a while, and I ended up getting it at Sally's Beauty Supply for $6.99 (slightly better deal than ULTA's $7.50).

This polish is actually from the China Glaze Anchors Away Collection, which I believe was for Spring 2011. But to me, navy is a great pick for the colder months. And none of the China Glaze Fall 2013 Collection stood out to me.

I think First Mate is a very sophisticated way to rock dark polish in the fall.

It also shot up toward the top of my list of favorite polishes because of the way it applied!

It's a cream, no sparkle and opaque in just ONE coat! Yes, just one. Not streaky at all -- just perfection.

I then topped it off with my newly restored Seche Vite. (I posted about using nail polish thinner in my Saturday blog, if you want to check that out.)

After giving it 5 out of 5 stars, I highly recommend First Mate!

What polish are you rocking right now? Let me know in the comments :) Hope you enjoy your day!

Fall pick #1 | Fall pick #2 | Fall pick #3

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo. Thanks for reading!

Fall 2013 nail color idea: OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know

Hi there! More fall nail picks... I've been looking for a great milk chocolate brown polish for fall.

OPI's Wooden Shoe Like to Know ($9) is a nice brown, but it's not what I've been searching for. It's more of a dark chocolate with a purple tone.

Either way, it's still pretty so I wanted to blog about it.

It has very, VERY subtle gold shimmer. It's not really evident on my nails, actually.

Wooden Shoe Like to Know went opaque in 2 coats, and it wasn't streaky at all.

I topped it off with Seche Vite.

Ulta has a 2 for $15 sale this week for OPI, so I may try out a couple more.

Please let me know what polish you're loving lately. I'd love some recommendations. Thanks for reading!

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo.

Fall 2013 nail color idea: OPI's Berlin There Done That

Welcome to Fall Nail Picks 2013!

I took a week-long break from polish to give my nails a breather.

So to get back into fall nail color picks (my last one was OPI's Lost on Lombard), I have to go with OPI's Berlin There Done That ($9).

It's a lovely taupe from OPI's Germany Collection with slightly purple undertones in natural light.

It's a beautiful everyday "nude" for fall, instead of my lighter go-to nude nails in the summer, such as OPI's Bubble Bath.

The formula for Berlin There Done That is a bit watery, but it wasn't streaky at all.

There are no shimmers - just a beautiful, creamy finish.

It took two coats to get it opaque, and I topped it off with Seche Vite, my ultimate top coat.

Sorry my hand looks so red in the indoor photo - don't know why!

Anyway, I'll post more fall nail colors in the coming weeks.

Let me know in the comments what sort of polishes you love in the fall. Thanks for reading!

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo.

Pumpkin Cupcake Bath & Body Works review: Candle, soap and wallflower

Mmmmmm... I lit my first fall candle of 2013!

This is a good day.

As a lover of pumpkin scents (and cupcakes in general!), I was immediately drawn to Pumpkin Cupcake at Bath & Body Works.

I... kind of went pumpkin crazy.

After checking out the store's website, I purchased 12 items, which is pretty easy to do with Bath & Body Works because of their good deals.

I ordered six Pumpkin Cupcake wallflowers and six Pumpkin Cupcake anti-bacterial deep cleansing soaps.

Then I figured 12 wasn't enough (ha!) so I got six more Pumpkin Cupcake wallflowers and two 3-wick Pumpkin Cupcake candles. I luckily had some good coupons. I highly recommend looking for them before purchasing.

WALLFLOWER FRAGRANCE BULB ($6 but currently 4 for $20 or 6 for $24)

We have three wallflower plug-ins in our apartment: one in the dining area, bathroom and bedroom.

After plugging one in the dining room, I quickly decided this is a scent I only want in the kitchen/dining area. It's quite strong and... foodie?

It's just not something I want to wake up to in the bedroom. But I think it's a great fall/winter scent!

I exchanged six of the 12 wallflowers for Heirloom Pear. I'll use the other six Pumpkin Cupcake wallflowers in the dining area.

As I mentioned in my August Favorites post, Heirloom Pear smells just like Pure Seduction from Victoria's Secret!! So good.

DEEP CLEANSING SOAP ($5.50 but currently 5 for $15 or 7 for $20)

Pumpkin Cupcake as a soap is another story. I realized I don't like this scent as a soap. It doesn't smell totally like the candle or wallflower. It's a strange, soapy fake aroma. Blah.

My boyfriend doesn't mind it, so it's being used in the kitchen. I am planning to return the other five soaps and exchange them for something else.

My favorite Bath & Body Works scent EVER is Peach Bellini, but I believe that's only available in the warmer months.

I may pick up the Heirloom Pear soaps... Yes, great idea.

THREE-WICK CANDLE ($20 but often 2 for $20 or $22)

These are divine! I'm happy I picked this one up. Another pumpkin scent that I bet I'll love is Creamy Pumpkin. Wow, if I smelled that BEFORE getting Pumpkin Cupcake, I may have picked that instead!

Do they have it in a candle? I haven't seen it, but they should.

The throw on the Pumpkin Cupcake 3-wick candle is great! I have one candle going in the kitchen and it makes the whole living room/kitchen/dining area smell AMAZING.

We had to run out for dinner earlier, so we put it out for a bit. When we came back, the apartment smelled like we had baked pumpkin cupcakes.

I really have baked pumpkin cupcakes before, so I know how lovely it is. *swoon*

I highly recommend Pumpkin Cupcake as a candle more than anything. I'm looking forward to trying out other fall fragrances!

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo.

OPI Lost on Lombard: Review + photos (San Francisco Collection)

It's not quite fall yet, especially in Phoenix with the 110+ degree heat, but I'm ready for the next season to arrive!

To get in the mood, I've been thinking about fall nail colors. I'll review some in the coming weeks, so hopefully, it can give you ideas for your next polish purchases.

My first dark polish of the season is OPI's Lost on Lombard ($9) from the San Francisco Collection, the brand's 2013 fall and winter lineup.

This polish is beautiful and easy to apply. Not streaky at all, and this is why OPI is my favorite.

With just one coat, it was opaque. But to make sure it was nice and rich, I added another coat. (I wait several minutes between coats to make sure I don't end up with bubbles.)

There's no shimmer. It's just a deep, deep red/burgundy, which I love for the cooler months. (My favorite summer red is OPI's Cajun Shrimp.)

Then I topped it off with my usual Seche Vite.

I highly recommend this polish to get you in the fall mood!

Score: 5 out of 5

For more beauty and lifestyle posts, please subscribe or "follow by email" on the top right hand corner of the page. I'm also on Instagram @erisaxo.