My first post in FOREVER

OK, I know..you probably either didn't notice I had disappeared or decided that I had falled off a large cliff seeing as I haven't posted since last year! There's a few reasons for this but firstly let me say a big sorry!! I definitely didn't mean to not write any posts but one week turned into one month, which turned into 4! Eek! Those on BeautyHeaven would have noticed I was still on there so here's why I have been MIA and some of the posts that will be up today, tomorrow and later this week!

1. I went on a Project Pan
Yes so in the hope of saving money for my trip this year (which btw is in 82 days!) I put myself on a beauty spending ban. My goal was to reach 30 products before buying anything apart from necessities. I have actually been really good with it, so good that I have not had much to review!

2. I got promoted at work
You're now looking at the head junior coach at my swimming club which means I am a lot more busy. I am planning sessions, coaching more hours and assisting at more competitions.

3. I've been planning my trip!
Only 82 days to go unti America!! I've been researching like a crazy lady!

So what can you look forward to reading soon?
1. My empties post :) lots of full size and sample products!
2. My freebies posts- being on a spending ban doesn't have to mean no products at all!
3. My America wishlists
4. My favourite products at the moment

So this are in the pipeline as we speak and underway! Also I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, New Year and Christmas (yep I've been gone that long!)

Recent Haul

I managed to restrain myself to only two purchases for myself this month which I count as a win so far. I got a few other products as freebies and prizes so I have a decent haul to post still.

Sorry for the rotated picture. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pass to the Estee Lauder Corporate store and went to buy Christmas presents for my mum, sisters and my bf's mum and sister. I bought perfumes and makeup for them and then these two for myself.

Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes & Lips ($21 but retails at $35)
I haven't used Clinique before so am excited to try this out. I have always thought Clinique is a bit too expensive for me but recently I have been using better quality skin care, even if it is a bit more expensive.

Estee Lauder Signature Silky Powder Blush in Plum Nuance ($15, retails at $58)
When I saw this I got it straight away as I saw another blogger do a review on it and fell in love. And I couldn't believe it was only $15!! I bought my sisters a blush each too in different shades. I have attached a picture of the colour below.

I had to go to hospital earlier in October for a procedure and my mum bought me a magazine to read while waiting. I had to get the one with the beauty product of course! This is a deluxe sample of the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant. I've never used Dermalogica but have read rave reviews about this so was very excited to get my hands on it!

I also won a wonderful prize pack from Beauty Heaven to celebrate their 5th Birthday. I got a big pack of Philosophy products including a perfume, hand cream, face wash and their famous Hope In A Jar moisturiser.

Sorry about the wonky pictures, I am going to try my best to sort them out!

October Empties

This was the first month on my project pan and I think it is going to take me a while to reach my 30 items goal (which is good and bad :P). I did buy two things for myself this month but I am saving them for December as Christmas presents to myself.

Four items for the month so 4/30!

1. Biore Daily Deep Pore Cleansing Wipes (approx $7)
I didn't love this but I guess they worked. They are quite wet wipes and would leave a fair bit of residue on my skin after removing makeup. They are a good quick solution for taking off makeup at the end of a big night.
Would I buy these again? No, there are better wipes out there.

2. Simple Kind To Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes (a pack of 7 I got as a freebie)
These wipes had the right amount of wetness for a refreshing clean. They weren't the best makeup removing wipes but I did like them more than the Biore ones. One thing I found odd was on the package it advertised "vitamin goodness' but didn't really explain what vitamin.
Would I buy these again? No, they aren't my favourite.

3. Montagne Jeunesse Cucumber Peel-Off Masque (retail for $3.95)
I 'purchased' this masque on Beauty Heaven when they had their first Beautorium. This has a refreshing cucumber scent and is green/opaque when applied. It dries clear and is then peeled off the skin. It is quite an interesting concept and one I hadn't tried before. This was nice to use when I needed 15 minutes to just relax. It left my skin super smooth but didn't really clear up imperfections.
Would I buy this again? Maybe

4. Calvin Klein Eternity Purple Orchid
My dad bought me this small version of the perfume when he went overseas a few years ago. I have heaps of perfumes so it did take me a while to finish it off! I loved the scent of this. It is perfect for when I would get dressed up to go out for dinner. I'm not actually sure if this scent is still for sale but if it is I would suggest you check it out.
Would I buy this again? Yes

It's time for a shopping ban! / Project pan

Recently I have been busy buying so many products that I haven't realised just how many products I still have that I haven't used. I've been meaning to get to them but to be honest buying new products is much more fun. So when my bf decided we should go to the travel agent to get quotes for a trip to America next year I started feeling a bit worried. You see, I only work part time and it comes to a total of 13 hours of work each week. Eek! You do the maths! Luckily I earn an alright salary but I don't have work during the holidays as it is just when the kids are at school. Now with Christmas holidays coming up I realised I may be in a bit of strife for this holiday!

I got another 3 hours at work each week to add some money but I decided that I still need to reel in the shopping if I have any hope of having a good holiday. So this is where the shopping ban comes in :( no fun!
I've decided to use this to do a Project Pan. Most of you will be familiar with this. The theory is that you need to finish a certain number of items before you can buy again. I've decided my number is 30 (I'm feeling a bit crazy just writing that!)

The rules:
I have to finish 30 full sized or deluxe sample products before I can buy any non-essentials.

My essentials are:
- Shampoo & Conditioner (but only once I'm through with the other ones)
- 1 foundation if I run out of my current two
- Nail polish remover (if I'm going to be going through my stash I need a way to remove them!)

Other than that I'm thinking it's fair game! I have many moisturisers, face washes, scrubs, mascaras and lip balms. I really don't NEED to buy more (even if I WANT more).

At the end of each month I will update my number and go through them in my monthly empties post.

And my motivation? All the wonderful products I will "have" to buy in America because I'll have nothing left!!

Recent Haul

This post is a bit late but I've been lazy posting this haul and more busy with using the products! I recently went to the city and had some time to pass by so I went shopping!! I went to Myer, David Jones and Lush. I've never been in Lush before because it always smells too overpowering but I have been wanting to try something so went in.

I heard about the Sweet Lips Lip Scrub and had to at least check it out. Well as soon as I smelt it I knew I had to buy it! It smells sugary, and like chocolate and vanilla. Perfect for the dessertaholic that is me! It is super easy to use and I love using it. It was just under $10. I also bought the Ickle Baby Bot bath fizz bomb. Now I'm clearly not a baby and I don't have kids, but truth be I needed to hit $10 to be able to pay on card so I bought the cheapest item hehe. I have been having trouble getting to sleep so soon I will have a bath with this and see if it relaxes me. It cost me $3.95.

I then went to Myer and checked out the Illamasqua range. I've been looking for a white nail polish and they had one so I decided to try it. The ladies there were very helpful and nice. The polish itself needs probably three coats to get a beautiful white. I've posted a picture below of my nails with two coats. I also went to David Jones and bought some O.P.I nail polishes. They had a buy 2 get 1 free offer that I just had to use. The Pink of Hearts set cost around $25 so a bargain for two O.P.I nail polishes and then I just paid for one of the others at $19.95. I have also posted a picture below of a recent NOTD using the nude O.P.I.

I also got some freebies delivered in the past week that made me super excited.

For taking part in a forum thread about dark spots and pigmentation, the lovely ladies at BeautyHeaven sent a Garnier Dark Spot Corrector. This is a full sized product and I've been using it almost every day. I have some acne scars and pigmentation and I'm interested to see if this product helps them. I also got sent a deluxe sample of both the Pantene Aqua Light Shampoo and Conditioner. This I think was from Rouge online but it didn't say on the box. I've been considering buying this to try so was happy for these to arrive first! I'll have some reviews once I have used them for at least a week.

Now I'm thinking a shopping ban is on order for me!

September Empties

Only three empties to report for September! I'm always amazed when I see some girls with so many empties but then I remember I don't wear makeup every day so there's only so quickly I can use my products!

Did not want to upload normally!

Clearly not my day for uploads!
1. Biore Daily Cleansing Wipes
I didn't love these products but I didn't hate them either. They remove every bit of makeup which is great but I also found them to be a bit too wet. I've got another pack of these I'm almost through. Unsure if I will buy them again-maybe if they are on special.

2. MOR Basil & Grape Hand Cream
I received this as a present from someone I make cakes for. I didn't think I would end up loving this as much as I did! It is a nice thick hand cream that I used every night before bed and it left my hands so moisturised. The scent wasn't too overpowering. It was a nice change to my normal floral hand creams. I will most likely buy this.

3. Kiehl's Amino Acid Conditioner Deluxe Sample Size
I got this when the David Jones beauty book first came out. It is a decent size sample that I got at least five washes out of. I loved the coconut smell but other than that it didn't do too much for my hair. I won't bother buying this, only because I need a conditioner that really smooths out my hair.

How many empties did you product during September?

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Review

I'm quite a newbie when it comes to colouring my hair-as in the only time I have done it my mum did it for me! I was lucky enough to go to the BH open day in Melbourne and received a box of the John Frieda Precision Foam Colour to try out. I picked Dark Natural Brown as I'm not wanting to do anything to crazy with my hair just yet! I was worried I would completely stuff this up somehow, but I managed!! I'm thinking this might be because this hair colour is so easy to use!

First, this is the colour of my hair before dyeing.

As you can see it isn't one block colour but a bit lighter in different areas.
So to the box!

Inside the box is three bottles. 1. Developer 2. Colourant 3. Conditioner. It also came with a foamer and a pair of black gloves to protect your hands.
Firstly you add the colourant to the developer and tilt it upside down five times with the lid on. After this you replace the lid with the foamer and it is ready to go! I used the whole bottle to saturate my dry hair in foam and it was more than enough. It was a little awkward at first to get my hair to stay damp but I figured it out! Once all the product is in you leave it for 20-30 minutes. The foam doesn't drip at all which is great.

During this time I gave myself a mini facial using my cleanser, exfoliater and a mask. This ended up being about 20 minutes so was a good time filler!

You then rinse out the foam in warm water until the water runs clear. I did this in the shower and I felt like I was showering in chocolate milk it was so brown!! Once clean you use the conditioner all over your hair and leave for 3-5 minutes. I loved this conditioner-I will probably go and find a John Frieda one to use now as it was amazing on my hair. I let my hair air dry and it was the softest it has been in ages!

The final result is below!

As you can see it is all one colour now! Not too dark but just enough for me. Since colouring I have gone for a swim and washed my hair three times. It is lasting everywhere except for the tips of my hair and I think that is only because it was previously so light.

This pack retails for $22.99. I was pretty happy with how easy it was to use and the mess-free application. I would give this product a 8/10.