little white truths

I just did my three month update for my skincare no buy (see here), so I thought I may as well come back and do the same thing for my makeup no buy - except that I've only been on this one for two months so far.

If you're interested in seeing my opening post for my makeup no buy, it's here. Essentially I'm not allowed to buy any non-essential makeup until the beginning of June, at which time I might allow myself a purchase or two (June being my birthday month) before reinstating the no buy until the festive season, when I may or may not buy some of the 2018 holiday releases.

So far I've only made one essential purchase during my makeup no buy, which was a brow pencil that I needed because mine had run out. I've done an update on that purchase here if you're interested, and note that under my no buy rules, that kind of purchase in permitted (ie, I've run out of something and have no back-up for it).

Otherwise I've stuck to the spending ban, and funnily enough, it hasn't been as difficult for me this time as it was last time. I can only imagine this is because we have very real financial incentives to curb spending on all fronts at the moment, which wasn't the case before (we didn't have kids then) - so that in itself has helped me stay focused without struggling too much.

Now I've already talked about this quite a bit in the skincare no buy update I just wrote, but let's assume that not everyone who reads this has read that too - so I'll rehash what I said before here.

In a nutshell, since the beginning of the year we've been curbing spending across the board and not only removing the non-essentials, but also looking at reducing the essentials (eg utilities and groceries). So we're using less water, gas and electricity, and we're getting wiser with our supermarket trips.

On top of this, I've been focusing on decluttering the amount of stuff we have in every room of the house, and the more I do this, the more I want to do it. Because every time I remove toys and things we don't need, this means I've got less to clean, pick up, wash, fold and dust every day. So of course I'm in the 'less junk' frame of mind, and one of the best ways to reduce junk is to stop any more from entering the house.

What I'm saying here is, I think the fact that we've been living more frugally across the board has helped me to not focus on beauty products so much, so I don't feel that I'm missing out on anything: I'm too busy being excited as I watch our credit card bill reducing each month. Added to this, the house is looking less overrun by stuff these days because I've managed to offload so much, and I like the house better like this so I don't want to bring in anything else that we don't need.

So in sum, the makeup no buy is going well and I'm pleased with it so far. Yes of course I occasionally see something I want to buy, but I also know that everything can wait and there'll be plenty of opportunities to buy stuff later on, when we have more disposable cash and when my collection is small enough that I have holes I'm able to fill when they arise.

And yes there are sales happening eyerywhere and yes I've got my eye on that Marc Jacobs bronzer and perhaps the ABH Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette, but the reality is that I don't need any more powders for the moment and I'm too busy panning what I do own, so even if I did buy them, I wouldn't be using them much anytime soon. They would just gather dust.

Anyhoo. Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

Hello and welcome to my three month update for my skincare no buy.

As you may know, I started the no buy back in December 2017 (see intro post here) and we're now at the halfway point so I thought it might be useful to check in and let you know how I'm going.

Do note that I've made two essential purchases since the beginning of my no buy, the first being a lip mask to treat my dry lips (see update here) and the second being a cream that my dermatologist prescribed to treat my contact dermatitis (see update here).

So I've done three months and I've only made two essential purchases, which is pretty good for me because in the past I've made a couple of skincare purchases each month and it got to the point where my stores were getting too large and overwhelming.

My aim is to keep this going until the beginning of June - June being my birthday month - at which point I might allow myself to buy an item or two (I suspect I'll be running out of some things by then), and after that I may well reinstate the ban until the festive season.

Reason being, pennies are tight these days because my daughter is doing more hours at kinder this year than she was doing in childcare last year, so we've needed to cut out non-essential purchases and also look at reducing household bills like utilities and groceries. 

That's put makeup and skincare squarely on the chopping block, and it wasn't a bad idea for me to go on spending bans for both of them anyway because I have a lot of stock that I need to get through. This includes items that I haven't even open yet (I tend to save purchases for a rainy day), so it's not as though I won't have fun new things to play with in the coming months.

The other thing that's worth mentioning is: I'm doing three separate panning projects again this year (these being Project Pan, Pan that Palette and Project Dent), so it's not as though I have a lot of scope to be playing around with new things anyway. Indeed, I find myself reaching for the same things each day as I try to pan them, so there's really no point in bringing new items in that I won't be able to use much anyway.

I think I'm also coming to the point now where I mightn't have to do Project Pan forever, so I would like to keep that trend going and get my collection down to a point where Project Pan is redundant. This won't mean the end of panning for me - I'll still do the other two - but it will be nice if in 2018 I'm able to say that I don't need to pan anymore unless I want to.

As for how I'm going, I honestly thought it would be harder than it has been because I've done no buys before and I found them to be very difficult. I can't say why they haven't felt as hard this time around - perhaps because I've got so much else to focus on - but I do think that having a very real financial incentive has helped.

What's also helped is that we've tried to make living more frugally part of our whole lives, so we're not just cutting out a few things and letting everything else go, but rather we're trying to create better spending habits as a whole. I honestly think that changing an entire pattern of behaviour has helped me not notice the makeup and skincare so much.

And while it's not as though we weren't watching the pennies before, I think that making them a bigger part of our daily focus has slightly changed the way we've been living since the beginning of the year.

I guess what I'm saying is: I'm not only cutting spending from all fronts, but I'm also working on decluttering a lot of junk from the house. Those two things paired together are working in concert to make the no buy process feel easier, because they're bringing two benefits: one, we're better able to meet our bills; and two, we're bringing less things into the house and also removing old things at the same time, which means there's less for me to deal with when I'm cleaning, less toys to put away and also less clutter to look at. All positive things.

So in sum, the skincare no buy is going well and I've stuck to my initial goal - which is to only buy things if I really need to, and I've only needed to buy things twice.

My goals for the skincare no buy also haven't changed, and I still intend to go until the beginning of June and then reassess to work out whether I need to continue it after my birthday month.

And as mentioned above, I think the no buy hasn't been as taxing this time because I haven't just been focused on not buying beauty products: I've also been focused on spending less overall and reducing the amount of clutter in the house.

That's all from me. Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com

I was sitting here scratching my head this morning with the feeling that I'd forgotten something, then I realised that I hadn't done a monthly favourites post for February. 

Oops! It's been rather mad here lately, getting ready for holding a large party on Saturday as we are - while still of course needing to do the cooking, the washing, the usual - so I guess it's no surprise that I might have forgotten a thing or two.

Anyhoo! Unsurprisingly my favourites this month are tried and trusted things that I've been using for a while. Not only have I had contact dermatitis to contend with (and therefore restrictions on what I can put on my face), but I've also been short on time so I haven't been trying many new things.

In no particular order...

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light

Full review here. This could really be in my favourites every month because it's my favourite makeup product of all time. I recently included it in Project Dent, which encouraged me to finally review it, and if I could wear it every day for the rest of my life, I would be happy. I do save it for when we're going out, though, because it's not cheap.

This powder does the unthinkable: it airbrushes my skin, makes me look five years younger and diminishes the look of pores and fine lines. It also adds a subtle sheen that makes me look healthy, and I honestly couldn't live without it. Love.

Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Brilliant Strobe Light

This was also in a recent round of Project Dent and it was a pleasure to use it every day for two weeks. I've reviewed it here.

I own two of these highlighters - this one and Euphoric Strobe Light - and I've always loved how soft and subtle they are on the skin, as well as how smooth and silky they are to the touch. The only problem with the formula is that it contains tiny flecks of noticeable glitter, and while I normally wouldn't wear anything with glitter in it (except on the eyes), I live with it in these because they otherwise look so natural and they don't emphasise texture. Without the glitter, they'd be perfect.

Still, Brilliant Strobe Light is perhaps my favourite shade of all the highlighters I own: there's something special about it and I love it for the colour alone.

Darphin Hydraskin Rich

Full review here. I haven't been able to use many of my normal skincare products for the time I've had contact dermatitis (about one month now), but I have been able to use this cream because it's a simple moisturiser that's free of active ingredients.

What I've always loved about this product is that it's super rich and it delivers intense nourishment to my dry skin. Yes there are times when it's too much for my skin, but there are also always times when I need something heavy duty and this is it. If you have oily skin, steer clear - but if your skin is in need of a drink, this is a great option. Love.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette

I only recently introduced this product to Project Dent, but I've certainly been reaching for it a lot prior to then. I haven't reviewed it yet but I will, so stay tuned for that if you're interested.

What I love about this palette is that the shadows are soft and smooth, and they also blend beautifully. Plus I love that it's very much a neutral palette, so you don't need to be wearing pink and red eyeshadow with this if you don't want to: there's plenty of lower key stuff to reach for if you want.

There's a reason why this palette is so well-loved in the beauty community: it performs well and it doesn't look like every other palette on the market (minus of course the many dupes that came after it). Love.

Skinstitut Firming Eye & Neck Cream

And last, the product I reviewed this morning (see that review here). I initially hadn't intended on including it in my February favourites, but I then decided that it deserves to be here because I've been using it for almost six months now and I've never tired of it. Given how often I tire of most skincare, that says something.

What I like about this is that you can buy it for less than $30 AUD if you shop around, it contains a generous 30ml of product and it just does the job well. It's hydrating enough for the overnight spot and for the last six months I've woken up to eyes that feel nourished and comfortable. Given that a lot of eye creams don't do enough for my dry, 37yo eyes, the fact that this one does - and does so at a reasonable price - says a lot. Worth trying.

In sum

That's all from me! I hope you enjoyed this little post and that you found some ideas for new products to try.

Do let me know in the comments if you've tried anything amazing recently: I'd love to hear.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

Long story short, I reckon it's a good product and that you'd be hard-pressed to find a decent eye cream that you can buy for $30 AUD and that contains a generous 30ml of product, as this one does.

Worth noting now is that while it calls itself an eye and neck cream, I've only ever used it on the eyes so I can't tell you what it does for the neck. Probably no more than a good moisturiser would do: I don't advocate for separate neck creams and I really don't think you need one. Perhaps that's just me.

Let's have a look.

Skinstitut claims/product details:

• Not your average eye cream
• Infused with potent peptides and marine collagen, this high-intensity corrector nourishes and hydrates your skin’s most delicate areas, proactively combating ageing
• Reduces fine lines and crow’s feet
• Reduces dark circles
• Improves tone and texture
• Tightens and lifts skin
• Reduces puffiness
• Increases hydration
• Ingredients include the anti-ageing peptide Matrixyl 3000, powerful enough to increase collagen production in the skin by up to 33%, making skin feel softer and look younger
• The skin is nourished from seaweed-derived collagen, a highly moisturising extract that assists in collagen production to soften the skin and reduce fine lines
• Green coffee extract is highly effective at encouraging blood flow around the eye area to dramatically improve dark under-eye circles, not just the appearance of them
• Vitamin e, avocado oil, aloe vera and ginseng work together to reduce puffiness, soothe and nourish, and plump the texture of the skin
• RRP $30 AUD for 30ml, but do shop around

Odacité Skincare Gt+L Radiance Effect, Ba+S Eye Contour and Po+R Hydration

These came from Maslow & Co and I remember struggling when I reviewed them because there wasn't much to say about them - aside from how they smelled and the fact that they were little oils that you add to your regular skincare (eg your moisturiser) to super-charge it. See that review here.

Basically the only one that did something 'extra' for me was the Po+R Hydration: it was very hydrating so it kept my dry skin feeling nourished and comfortable. Yes the other two also helped nourish my skin - of course they did, I was adding oil to non-oily products - but they didn't do enough to leave a mark.

All these are, are expensive and very small products (the full sizes are only 5ml) and they require an extra step because you need to open another bottle and add more product to whatever product you're already using. I personally would rather just buy the right skincare and use that. Purchase? No.

Dazzshop Lasting Eyebrow Pencil

Full review here. I did like this brow pencil and I used it right up until the end, but it wasn't perfect because you have to sharpen it and it was also a little too dark for my already dark and very thick brows.

Also, while it had a decent spoolie on the end, my spoolie came off the pencil when I was only about one-quarter of the way through it, so the spoolie became a nightmare to use after that because it kept falling off. Still, the pencil lasted well and it served its purpose. Purchase? No.

Chantecaille Flower Harmonising Cream

This came in our last Mecca Beauty Loop box, and while I was happy to try it, it didn't do anything special for me so it's not one I would buy.

The full size also retails for a whopping $160 AUD so for that price it would want to be amazing, but it was one of those creams that I barely noticed using because it was neither very good nor very bad. Yes it hydrated ok but not as well as my dry skin needs, so it was better for morning use under makeup - it didn't do enough to be used at night. Purchase? No.

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 Soothing Repairing Balm

Full review here. This was my big skincare discovery of last year and indeed it made my yearly favourites.

Here I was spending all this money on hydrating overnight creams, and this little $16 AUD pharmacy product blew them all out of the park. It's rich, it's soothing and it helps calm down irritated skin. Plus it's cheap. Love. Repurchase? Yes.

In sum

That's all from me! 

I'm super happy to be sending more empties into the recycling, and I'm hoping that I can keep doing this throughout March. I've definitely got my mind on my upcoming makeup and skincare inventories, so I'd like to reduce my stores before then.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

Hello and welcome to February's Project Pan update!

As you can see above, I've now finished three more products: my Rimmel Moisture Renew Sheer & Shine Lipstick in 600, my Inika Certified Organic Pure Primer with Hyaluronic Acid and also my Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Perfector in 01 Rose.

While I'm not surprised that I managed to finish the two lip products (I pan those very easily), it was a lovely surprise to pick up my Inika primer yesterday and discover that none was left. Huzzah! I have far too many primers at the moment so it's nice to get through one.

There's my marker sheet for the lip products above. 

Unfortunately I couldn't mark the Inika primer because it comes in a black bottle that you can't open, but it was on my list for a while and I've been trying to finish it for a few months now so I'm not surprised that it's dead.

As for the rest of my list:

I tend to use this to darken any base that's too pale for me, although I occasionally use it for concealing as well. If I wanted to finish it I could probably mix it with some whitening drops and use it as my foundation, so I might start doing that this month to help move things along. I can see this lasting at least another two months, although I would like to finish it sooner rather than later because I've had it too long. We'll see.

First up, Jurlique's Love Balm in Rose. You can use this as a lip balm but I find the rose scent and taste to be far too overpowering to use this on the lips (and I don't like it on the lips anyway because it's so slippery), so what I'll be doing is finding other ways to use it. For example, it might make a good cuticle balm or it might be good for my dry feet.

While I've barely used this, if I'm going to try it for different purposes so that I can review it, it may well vanish reasonably quickly so I'm hoping it will be done within a couple of months.

Last up, my Sportsgirl Pout About It! Lipstick in IT Girl. This is the last Sportsgirl lipstick I own, and while I enjoy the formula, I've learned that I need to pan these early because they tend to go off faster than other formulas.

This one has been open for over six months so it's definitely time to pan it: it's unlikely to last more than a year. It's a darker colour so it will take me a while, but it will be a good shade for Autumn and Winter so I'll happily wear it often over the cooler months.

In sum

That's all from me! I hope you enjoyed this little update and that you're going well with your own panning projects.

While it was a good opening month for me, most of the items on my list are in for the long haul so I can see things slowing down throughout March. Oh well, I've managed to get my makeup collection down to less than one hundred products so I suppose that panning was always going to be slower from now on.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

Hello and welcome to my next round of Project Dent.

I recently dented my Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Brilliant Strobe Light, and I've decided to follow that up by denting this one in Euphoric Strobe Light.

One of the reasons for this is that we've got a lot going on at home at the moment, so I wanted to choose something that I'd already edited most of the photos for. This fit the bill nicely.

I also chose it because I've used it a lot so I already know how I feel about it, which will make things easier when it comes to reviewing it.

On that, I've reviewed Brilliant Strobe Light here if you're interested, and my Project Dent update post for that highlighter is here if you'd like to see that.

Do note that I haven't reviewed Euphoric yet, but I plan to review it over the denting period - so stay tuned for that if you're interested.

I guess it's also worth noting now that while I love both Brilliant and Euphoric Strobe Light, I tend to reach for Brilliant more often.

Reason being, there's something special about that particular gold - I have nothing else like it and I'm not sure I've seen many highlighters in that colour - and while I think Euphoric is a better match for my skintone in theory because it looks more natural (it's a colour you might expect to naturally come from my skin), I still prefer the look of Brilliant so I use that more frequently.

Still, I enjoy Euphoric and I'm looking forward to denting it.

Here's how my highlighter is looking today, 26 February 2018:

Same shot, enhanced:

Same shot, enhanced:

What I plan to do is use this highlighter daily for two weeks and see how much progress I can make during that time. 

While I'm not expecting much progress, I am expecting to be able to make a little dent in the centre - same as I did for Brilliant Strobe Light - so we should hopefully see that when I check in halfway through March.

That's all from me for now. Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

This morning I wound up Project Dent for Hourglass' Dim Light and I'm back now to do it for this highlighter.

Unfortunately, though, it's a rubbish day for photos so I haven't been able to get sunlight shots - meaning we'll just have to deal with the flat-looking natural light ones. At least they're clear enough.

Speaking of photos, I had meant to get some done today for Project Pan since I'm meant to be doing my monthly updates on or around the 25th (being today), but unfortunately the light's so bad that there's no point taking any until that changes. Hopefully tomorrow.

Anyhoo. This highlighter. I love it but it's not perfect: it contains noticeable glitter and that's not what I personally want in my highlighters. I love everything else about it though. See my review here if you're interested.

Let's make this short and sweet.

Here's how my highlighter looked two weeks ago (photo enhanced for clarity):

And here's how it's looking now, after two weeks' daily use (enhanced for clarity):