After many trials and tribulations, my 2015-2016 Erin Condren Life Planner is finally here! I’m super excited about this for two reasons: HORIZONTAL LAYOUT and it means a fresh start! Now, I’m not just here to talk about why I’m excited about the new planners, I’m also here (as always) to give y’all an unboxing and overview of the new launch…as well as do a giveaway again! That’s right – once you finish psyching yourself up about the prettiness of the planners, you can enter to win a Vertical Layout Rose Gold Life Planner! So without further adieu, let’s take a look at both the Vertical and Horizontal Erin Condren Life Planners…along with a quick comparison of last year’s! Check out the video to see the planners in more detail and read on for some photos and descriptive terms. 😉
As a refresher, you can check out my previous unboxing of the 2014-2015 Erin Condren Life Planners and then my 6 month update! Now, let’s start with the Horizontal layout, shall we?
Not going to lie, I reeeeeally like the horizontal layout except for one thing: it lacks some of the cute touches that the vertical has. However it’s not lacking in it’s own special touches and I’m head over heels for the coloring!
Hello, gorgeous.
A goals page!
The month colorings are coordinated (sorry about the contrast in these two photos) and cute. Just like the new notebooks there is a note page prior to the start of the month with a quote on the opposite page. I love the extra room for notes and have started using it for budget items I know we’ll need that month and some other general things! The “Goals” section on the monthly view used to be “Notes” – which I honestly preferred.
I LOVE YOU HORIZONTAL LAYOUT.
Here are the sadly uninteresting graph and unlined horizontal note pages. Prior to these, the note pages are pretty cute (themed like the monthly designs) but nowhere near as fancy as the vertical planner design that you’ll see later 
They also reduced the number of pages in the back. It saves space but it makes me much more hesitant to use the pages!
The Keep It Together folder is somewhat plain in the horizontal, but still contains the (ever unused) Perpetual Calendar! Plus hello cute (but also ever unused) stickers. There are a total of 4 pages of stickers: 2 already printed and 2 without any printing.
I adore the new pocket! Previously, it just had a red line across the top under the seal; the dots are a vast improvement! These are the items that came in the Ready to Ship planner: some compliment cards, do it all dots, referral cards (you can add your referral link on the back), and a coil clip!
Vertical time! Just like in the horizontal planner, there’s now a note page prior to the month with the quote on the page before the full month.
I LOVE the changes they’ve made in the vertical. No more things telling you what to do along the bottom area, a cute flag area on the sidebar, and I like/don’t like that they’ve removed the calendar! When I used the vertical last year I would put a peppy sticker in the morning section of every Monday – this little square will be perfect for saving space but keeping the cute! I do miss the cute dots that used to line the sidebar though. RIP dots
Adorable patterns in the note pages for vertical!
Again, I adore the more subdued color palette of the horizontal but I really miss some of these cute touches that are only in the vertical. The chevron pattern and brightness of the Keep It Together folder are so happy!
In case you don’t want to compare photos in this post to the other posts, you can see some comparisons here between the 2014 vertical and the new 2015 vertical and horizontal.
More comparisons!
So the coil situation is a little less than spectacular. You can see in the photo above how much bigger the new coil is compared to last year. I miss the smallness! I would attempt recoiling but a) I’m terrified and b) rose gold
I bought the Classic Sticker Book and the stickers are SO cute! The only downside is that there are quite a number of “tag” stickers (like Happy Birthday and For You) and I’d rather there just be stickers for the planner!
The updated Party Pop Markers are so great! I’ve had an issue with the paint on the pens smudging though, which is a little odd.
Overall I am SO excited to be using the horizontal planner and I really like the updates that have been made to the vertical planner. I’m excited to see what’s in store going forward, but honestly, after the issues from this launch and ones I’ve had previously I may not be ordering again. Check out the video (way up at the top) for more information on some of the troubles I’ve had with Customer Service at Erin Condren (because it’s too long to type).
Now for what you’ve all been waiting for: the giveaway! The winner will receive:
• 2015-2016 18 month Erin Condren Life Planner in Rose Gold Vertical
• A set of the Elastic Bands
• A code for a free personalized cover
• The sticker, postcard, and fancy box (plus, sealed with Hello Kitty tape)
This giveaway will only be open to US entries. Enter below using the Rafflecopter form!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Have you received your new planner yet? Let me know how you like it in the comments!
Wishing you all the entries,
Shantelle
PS – You can save $10 off your first order if you sign up for Erin Condren using my referral link! Yay savings!
My dude even took that photo on the left – he’s slowly working on getting better with a camera. You don’t want to see the other 50 shots he tried!
to use with my Erin Condren Life Planner. I was also so happy to receive a survey to complete on the 2015-2016 planners – I’m crossing my fingers for a smaller version! Not too much longer now!
to what I purchased) if you’ll be using stickers for things like birthdays, vacations, doctor appointments, whatever. I used mine to make cute stickers for each Monday.
(for everything). Another, slightly pricier, option is the awesome 
! You can have multiple inks in the same barrel and there are so many cute options for the barrel as well. Downside: the ink tends to run out pretty quickly. My personal barrels: 
and 
.