little white truths

I've just done my one-month update for my makeup no buy and I thought I'd follow that up with a skincare low buy update.

As you may know, I did a six-month skincare no buy at the beginning of the year, then I lifted it during my birthday month in June before switching to a low buy from the beginning of July.

I'm not sure how long I will keep this going, but it may be until the end of the year. We'll see how my stores are looking as the months pass.

If you've seen my original low buy post (see here), then you'll know that my monthly budget is $100. While that might sound like a lot to eg people in the US, if you're from Australia like I am then you'll know that $100 doesn't get you very far! Also, skincare is all I'm buying at the moment (I don't spend money on clothes etc), so it's nice to have enough to play with - rather than be too restrictive.

So, let's see where my budget went this month.

* Image courtesy of mecca.com.au

Ren Clean Skincare Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic (RRP $49 AUD for 250ml)

This is described as a highly effective exfoliating toner that visibly brightens, evens skintone, smooths and minimises pore size while being gentle enough for daily use. The formula includes lactic acid and willowbark extract, which should work to smooth and tone the skin while also tightening pores.

This is a relatively new product and I've been wanting to try it because it's had some great reviews, plus I thought it would be nice to give my HG Alpha-H Liquid Gold a rest for a while so I can try another AHA toner.

I haven't opened it yet but I will soon. I like that you get a good amount of product so it's not too badly priced when you consider how much you're getting. Looking forward.

* Image courtesy of activeskin.com.au

Pelactiv Essential Clarifying Toner (RRP $36 AUD for 150ml; I paid approx $20 AUD)

Full of conditioning antioxidants, the antibacterial action of milk extracts, and the toning and firming action of native wild passionfruit, this toner will leave your skin feeling refreshed and hydrated. Aloe vera soothes, calms and hydrates the skin while witch hazel tones and refines pores.

I bought this and the product below because I had a $20 gift voucher to spend at one of the online retailers and I'd just run out of my standard toner so I needed to buy one anyway. I've been using it now for a couple of weeks and so far I'm not that impressed, but I'll certainly try it for longer before I review it.

At least it didn't cost me that much, considering I found it for less than $30 and had $20 to put towards this and the toner below (so I got $10 off each).

* Image courtesy of activeskin.com.au

emerginC Pomegranate Toner (RRP $42 AUD for 240ml; I paid around $22 AUD)

This is described as an active toner with pomegranate and natural fruit acids. It claims to remove dead skin cells to reveal a brighter complexion, and it's apparently suitable for all skin types.

When I made my order, I ended up choosing two toners because I didn't have any at that stage and I wanted to have a back-up so I had one up my sleeve for when I finished the first product (I tend to go through toners quite quickly).

I haven't used this yet but I'm looking forward to trying it because it's had some good reviews, and since I was able to find it online for around $32, my $10 off brought the price down even further. I didn't pay shipping either so the whole lot was a pretty good deal.

In sum

My skincare purchase total for July was $91, which is within my $100 budget - and I've even got that extra $9 up my sleeve for next month if I want to use it.

Having said this, I did buy a couple of presents in July and also some body care, so I ended up spending more than I normally would on 'extras' and I would prefer to see a smaller total in August.

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

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com unless otherwise indicated

I realised this morning that it's time to update you on my makeup no buy, which I reinstated after I had a month off in June (my birthday month) - so we're now moving into month six after a little break in the middle.

I've done ok so far however I have had a few things enter my collection, but note that they've come in within my no buy 'rules' because I didn't pay for them so we're still looking good.

Here's what I've acquired over the past month:

* Image courtesy of mecca.com

Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara

I bought this because I had a $100 Mecca gift card to spend in July (I got that for my birthday) and I made an online order for some skincare that cost me $80 - so rather than be left with $20 on the gift card that would have required me to spend another $55 at some point to get free shipping, I decided instead to add the travel-size of this product to my order.

That way I used the entire gift card in one hit and didn't have to pay shipping. There wasn't any skincare in this price-bracket that I wanted so I wasn't going to pick something for the sake of it, plus I've been wanting to try this mascara for ages since everyone has been raving about it - and I'm not currently drowning in mascaras, so it made sense to use the leftover on my gift card to cover it.

I don't regret it and I'm looking forward to trying it!

* Image courtesy of nyxcosmetics.com

NYX Butter Glosses x 4

There's a bit of a story behind this one. What happened was that Priceline stuffed up its Pink Diamonds rewards recently and the rewards were never delivered to my local Priceline store (although they kept telling us they were coming so others like myself kept checking the same store and didn't bother to travel to another Priceline, because we were told that the delay was Victoria-wide even though we later discovered that it wasn't).

In the end we didn't get our rewards, so as compensation Priceline sent out $20 vouchers to the Pink Diamond members in my local area. Given there's a 50% off makeup sale on foot at the moment, I decided to use my voucher to buy four of these at less than $5 a pop (and I added a bottle of water for $1 to use the whole voucher).

The reason why I did this was not only because they were half-price and I was getting them for free anyway, but also because there's no skincare, body care or haircare that I need at the moment, though I am running low on lip products (I only have three lipsticks left!) so it made sense for me to grab some of my HG glosses for free - and of course I could get four instead of two because they were half price.

Again, I don't regret it!

In sum

My makeup no buy is still going well and so far I haven't spent any 'real' money on makeup. I'm hoping this continues for the next two months, and I'm still planning to lift my ban in October when the festive releases start coming out.

Mind you, at this point I haven't seen any festive releases that I want - even the Hourglass edit isn't one that I need because I already own two-thirds of the products in it - so I may well extend my spending ban past then, depending on how much I've managed to reduce my makeup collection by the end of the year.

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

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com unless otherwise indicated