Resolution "LOW-BUY" 2014! Who wants to play?

[PixieDancer]

I just realized I forgot to use ebates again ^^; need to keep that site opened right next to sephora tab lol

There is an ebates bar you can load on your browser so it will pop up on every site it's valid on. That usually helps me remember.

Ugh! I forgot too! The "hurry up before it's sold out" rush got to my brain! But that bar is a good idea! Thanks!! I'll do that ASAP!

 

[Ajigglin]

Okay, chicas-I've catalogued my glosses. I have three lipgelees! Wow. I've been hoarding from waaaaaay back. Lol. Anywho, I've got a ton of pink glosses. There really is no reason I should get any cremesheens from FoF. I also don't need any mauve glosses, either. I'm going to stick with other colors. I'm eyeing that yellow from Playland.

 

[elkaknits]

I've been enjoying this thread and reading about all of your progress ladies!

Today I bought Riri Viva Glam - so pretty. However, I'm wondering.....if I only have 22 items left (purchased 8 this year) and we're only in January...how am I going to last on a low buy?!

I mean it seems simple right - just don't buy. But honestly, I keep thinking about increasing my limit to like 40-50purchases this year...but that's cheating! There's so many pretties still to come out this year, and we're not even out of the first month! Maybe I shouldn't have included staples (primers, mascara, setting spray, powder, etc)?.... I will be attending IMATS in August, and while it's nothing like LA or NYC here, there's still lots of temptation (apparently not great temptation - I bought 2 Naked pigment sets last year and I'm not really pleased with them - pretty colours, not great wear)....

Talk some sense into me ladies! SOME SENSE!

I am not sure how much sense this will be... in fact I think it is anti-sense.

there are certain things we all need. There are of course the general toiletries items like shampoo and soap and lotion and shaving cream and razors etc. We Could drop a minor fortune on the latest miracle cream and you know if you are the type by how many different conditioners or lotions etc you have sitting about. So going low buy on stuff you actually need for the sake of hygiene and stuff is different than going low buy on make-up. But even with make-up, if you are a make-up wearer {and we all are so....} there are things that we need. Be it mascara and liner because you focus on your eyes and can go with some chap stick for all you care as long as your eyes are done or foundation and concealer with powder because you want the perfect skin look and otherwise you can be all low key or the red lip for statement and your skin is fab on its own and you don't need a ton of eye stuff since your look is lips. So I think it is important to determine what is absolutely necessary for you to feel decent. I mean if you had to hop out of bed and take the kid to school and you didn't have time for make-up job but you knew other parents would see you what would you put on in 10 mins time? That is what is Staple For You and whatever that is shouldn't count against you in a low buy. So if you have to have mascara then replenishing it isn't buying make-up which is generally for fantasy and or fun it is practically like underwear or a bra or heck whatever underpinnings there is to everything else you might put on your face to doll up if you had the time. Does that make sense?

Now if you happen to be a red lipstick gal and own 100 red lipsticks then obviously you got enough underpinnings but if you ran out of red lipstick over the course of year hella ya buy it guilt free.

FWIW I started doing this regularly with stuff. I have eczema so use bath oil like crazy. And so I have several bottles of scented bath oil and I started just using one bottle until it was done. I have now emptied 2 bottles. I also do this with body lotion and hair things {my hair is beyond waist length so...} Sometimes I am miss crazy pants and pick the scent or lotion Iike the least to work through and after a week I am effff and throw it out. It is one way to pare down the collex for sure. I certainly noticed some lotions just didn't moisturize and were not worth clogging up my under sink area. You might find the same thing true if you pick out one lipstick to wear for a month or one perfume to wear or what not {I have been doing this with perfume lately and since I own over 607 scented items {many of them samples but also bath oils and hair glosses} you realize you really don't like it that much after several days. I say this knowing that sometimes we want this rose scent over that rose scent or this red lipstick over that red lipstick because of our mood or the weather or what not but certainly if you have a wintertime rose scent/ red lipstick then it can be worn for a while right?

am I miss crazy pants?

 

[lilinah]

I never was into skin care beyond washing my face and occasionally using herbal astringents on my T-zone when i was in my 20s. I was fortunate to have good skin and no acne, just the occasional zit due to stress or menstrual cycle.

But in the 1990s, i noticed my under eye area was dry and sometimes painful when i rubbed it (i have allergies) and when it was cold out my cheeks were sometimes a bit raw. So for the first time in my life i got a moisturizer. Then when i turned 60 i decided maybe i should take more care of my skin.

First i got drugstore stuff, mostly Olay. I HATED the ATROCIOUS perfumes! Then i discovered sephora - 1 mile from my house! I rocketed up to VIB pretty quickly, mostly because of expensive skin care products. But i know a little about some of the ingredients and began to question what was in those containers and how good they really were.

I discovered http://beautypedia.com - run by Paula Begoun - which reviews skin care products. I think the reviews make a lot of sense, based on what i know of chemistry. Some people complain that she promotes her products, but she rates all levels of stuff and i think the reviews are not prejudiced by brand or price, but based on ingredients, packaging (products in a jar will oxidize - and many ingredients lose their efficacy when they oxidize), and she does mention price, that is, why buy an $80 product when there's a $20 one hat's just as good? Her ratings are Best - Good - Average - Poor.

I pretty much ignore her makeup reviews because i am not into an all-neutral colors, all-matte eye shadow look. As far as makeup goes, I only read her mascara reviews, since i have a history of problems with mascara making my eyes burn.

I have gradually switched over to her products almost exclusively because they eliminate irritating perfume ingredients, have a lot of good skin care ingredients, and are reasonably priced. I'm saving a lot of money, but, well, i'm still a sephora VIB. I now have a skin care regimen i'm not giving up, but the products are reasonable priced, so i'm not cutting back on them.

I highly recommend reading the beautypedia reviews, although i find a few of them to be a bit snarky. I'm not pushing her products, just her reviews. I think they are very helpful for chosing skin care. Also, they can help you understand what all those ingredients are and what they do.

 

[Lisianthus]

I've been enjoying this thread and reading about all of your progress ladies!

Today I bought Riri Viva Glam - so pretty. However, I'm wondering.....if I only have 22 items left (purchased 8 this year) and we're only in January...how am I going to last on a low buy?!

I mean it seems simple right - just don't buy. But honestly, I keep thinking about increasing my limit to like 40-50purchases this year...but that's cheating! There's so many pretties still to come out this year, and we're not even out of the first month! Maybe I shouldn't have included staples (primers, mascara, setting spray, powder, etc)?.... I will be attending IMATS in August, and while it's nothing like LA or NYC here, there's still lots of temptation (apparently not great temptation - I bought 2 Naked pigment sets last year and I'm not really pleased with them - pretty colours, not great wear)....

Talk some sense into me ladies! SOME SENSE!

Perhaps you could set your self a challenge or goal and then allow yourself a bonus buy. Eg finish x number of mascaras, allow yourself to buy another. It could be makeup related or to do with other areas of your life.

On second thought, I'm going to take my own advice. If I finish 6 lip products, then I'll allow myself an extra purchase.

 

[PixieDancer]

I agree with [@]elkaknits[/@] for the most part [@]Glitteryvegas[/@]... I don't know that I would count staples & products I know I will regularly replenish in my low buy. Obviously there are exceptions... If you have like 10 foundations to go through, when you run out of your current bottle... You shouldn't run out and buy more. In a case like that, go through your current stash first. But don't deprive yourself of necessities. Just don't hoard. There are no rules here. If you set rules & goals for yourself (as you should) you're only accountable to yourself. We are here to support your efforts. Not make anyone feel like a failure. That's why it's TEAM Low Buy... And not YOURE ON YOUR OWN Low Buy!

 

[lilinah]

Quote: Originally Posted by Glitteryvegas I've been enjoying this thread and reading about all of your progress ladies!

Today I bought Riri Viva Glam - so pretty. However, I'm wondering.....if I only have 22 items left (purchased 8 this year) and we're only in January...how am I going to last on a low buy?!

I mean it seems simple right - just don't buy. But honestly, I keep thinking about increasing my limit to like 40-50 purchases this year...but that's cheating! There's so many pretties still to come out this year, and we're not even out of the first month! Maybe I shouldn't have included staples (primers, mascara, setting spray, powder, etc)?.... I will be attending IMATS in August, and while it's nothing like LA or NYC here, there's still lots of temptation (apparently not great temptation - I bought 2 Naked pigment sets last year and I'm not really pleased with them - pretty colours, not great wear)....

Talk some sense into me ladies! SOME SENSE!

This is why i did not set myself a specific number of products. I am cutting back on products i already have too many of and throwing out old stuff i don't wear. Then i'm setting myself a budget - it isn't exactly how much to spend on each collection, for example, because one collection i only want one or two things, but another i want 4 or 5.

To me the main thing is self-control - not beating myself down - just don't go with hype. If you have 10 things in that color already, hang on and ask yourself if you really need another. I wouldn't include staples - if you gotta have face powder and you use up what you have, then buying a replacement is not extravagant.

If you set unrealistic limits they will be harder to stick to and will make you feel bad and want to break your rules. Consider how much you were spending and how much you can more rationally spend. Every year there are more pretties. Think about what you really like and what you really use, and it might be easier to reign in impulsive purchases.

 

[PixieDancer]

[@]lilinah[/@] I like to refer to beautypedia for reviews. But like T, I take them w a grain of salt. Paula is very knowledgable, but she is lacking in some areas of "expertise." I won't go into specifics... But she doesn't get it right all the time. She disregards a lot of products for reasons that are unfounded in some cases. One small example, I agree for the most part about products being in jars is not the best packaging in general... But when a formula is too thick to effectively dispense from a different packaging and is in quantity that should be used up before the ingredients go "bad" the product shouldn't be immediately disregarded for the jar packaging aspect alone. Just my opinion. I do like some of her products. But have also had amazing results from products that she rated poorly for really silly reasons. So use the info along w your own education and experience.

 

[Naynadine]

Good news, ladies: we can start the Clearance Bin swap thread!

(I have a feeling there won't be much swapping going on for me, most people in the CB don't want to ship overseas

)

 

[PixieDancer]

[@]lilinah[/@] I couldn't agree more about setting realistic goals! It's not going to be helpful to your long term goals if your constantly feeling shame & like you can't meet some unrealistic goal for you!

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Perhaps you could set your self a challenge or goal and then allow yourself a bonus buy. Eg finish x number of mascaras, allow yourself to buy another. It could be makeup related or to do with other areas of your life.

On second thought, I'm going to take my own advice. If I finish 6 lip products, then I'll allow myself an extra purchase.

I like this idea a lot. Like - having the set limits, but then rewarding yourself as a bonus for anything you've used up, miles run, books read, etc. This is an awesome idea and I think I will implement it ASAP! Now to decide on what goals to set

 

[ma146rina]

I never was into skin care beyond washing my face and occasionally using herbal astringents on my T-zone when i was in my 20s. I was fortunate to have good skin and no acne, just the occasional zit due to stress or menstrual cycle.

But in the 1990s, i noticed my under eye area was dry and sometimes painful when i rubbed it (i have allergies) and when it was cold out my cheeks were sometimes a bit raw. So for the first time in my life i got a moisturizer. Then when i turned 60 i decided maybe i should take more care of my skin.

First i got drugstore stuff, mostly Olay. I HATED the ATROCIOUS perfumes! Then i discovered sephora - 1 mile from my house! I rocketed up to VIB pretty quickly, mostly because of expensive skin care products. But i know a little about some of the ingredients and began to question what was in those containers and how good they really were.

I discovered http://beautypedia.com - run by Paula Begoun - which reviews skin care products. I think the reviews make a lot of sense, based on what i know of chemistry. Some people complain that she promotes her products, but she rates all levels of stuff and i think the reviews are not prejudiced by brand or price, but based on ingredients, packaging (products in a jar will oxidize - and many ingredients lose their efficacy when they oxidize), and she does mention price, that is, why buy an $80 product when there's a $20 one hat's just as good? Her ratings are Best - Good - Average - Poor.

I pretty much ignore her makeup reviews because i am not into an all-neutral colors, all-matte eye shadow look. As far as makeup goes, I only read her mascara reviews, since i have a history of problems with mascara making my eyes burn.

I have gradually switched over to her products almost exclusively because they eliminate irritating perfume ingredients, have a lot of good skin care ingredients, and are reasonably priced. I'm saving a lot of money, but, well, i'm still a sephora VIB. I now have a skin care regimen i'm not giving up, but the products are reasonable priced, so i'm not cutting back on them.

I highly recommend reading the beautypedia reviews, although i find a few of them to be a bit snarky. I'm not pushing her products, just her reviews. I think they are very helpful for chosing skin care. Also, they can help you understand what all those ingredients are and what they do.

it's funny she gave a poor rate to glamglow youthmud but it's actually the best mask i have ever used! (and i've used many,mostly all natural ones).i suppose it doesn't work for everyone...

 

[Audrey C]

Good news, ladies: we can start the Clearance Bin swap thread!

(I have a feeling there won't be much swapping going on for me, most people in the CB don't want to ship overseas

)

That is good news!

I think you'd be surprised about the shipping. I'd ship to you - as I was telling Pixie earlier it actually costs less to ship an item overseas from Canada than it does to ship it within my province. It's ridiculous - we don't have a local small package rate.

I have a bunch of items that I'd be willing to put in to swap. How should we do this? Each list our own items in a post within the thread?

 

[Kaori]

it's funny she gave a poor rate to glamglow youthmud but it's actually the best mask i have ever used! (and i've used many,mostly all natural ones).i suppose it doesn't work for everyone...

She said somewhere that they don't test the products they review, because everybody's skin is different, they just go by the ingredient list and packaging.

 

[Kaori]

That is good news!

I think you'd be surprised about the shipping. I'd ship to you - as I was telling Pixie earlier it actually costs less to ship an item overseas from Canada than it does to ship it within my province. It's ridiculous - we don't have a local small package rate.

I have a bunch of items that I'd be willing to put in to swap. How should we do this? Each list our own items in a post within the thread?

Are there any cheap package rates to send items abroad? D: I wanted to send some xmass gifts to my family in europe but shipping with usps was ridiculous

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Good news, ladies: we can start the Clearance Bin swap thread!

(I have a feeling there won't be much swapping going on for me, most people in the CB don't want to ship overseas

)

Thanks Naynadine for checking that out for us!

 

[PixieDancer]

it's funny she gave a poor rate to glamglow youthmud but it's actually the best mask i have ever used! (and i've used many,mostly all natural ones).i suppose it doesn't work for everyone...

Hence my response... She probably rated it badly because of a fragrance that "could" cause sensitivity. She does that a lot. She's very anti-lavender and it's a great essential oil! That's why I always recommend putting your good thought into any review. No blog or rating system is without it's flaws. She actually used to also be really vocal about mineral oils... Then she went on blast for having it in some of her own products... So use your best knowledge in addition to reviews! Good example you listed!

 

[Naynadine]

That is good news!

I think you'd be surprised about the shipping. I'd ship to you - as I was telling Pixie earlier it actually costs less to ship an item overseas from Canada than it does to ship it within my province. It's ridiculous - we don't have a local small package rate.

I have a bunch of items that I'd be willing to put in to swap. How should we do this? Each list our own items in a post within the thread?

That's crazy... I'm surprised shipping from here to the US is relatively cheap.

I guess so, yes.

 

[elkaknits]

I totally agree on not replacing something you have a decent sized stash on just because you emptied one... which is why I said if you have 100 red lipsticks you have plenty

actually the funny thing about my working on a single product at a time is that I have really grown to appreciate somethings. There were 2 lotions I purchased and I ditched both of them because I realized they had this funky under odor that smelled sour {plus they didn't really moisturize enough to put up with warping my perfumes} but then there was the meh bath oil that I grew to love for its clean soothing scent that really relaxed me at night.... or the blaring bold red that I thought was tacky when my husband bought it for me but now I have worn it for so long {almost 2 yrs but honestly every couple of months I need something different for a week or two} that I love it... or the perfume that was languishing in my drawer that is really complex and beautiful and I have worn it faithfully for almost 3 months now and don't even think of anything else --eep! bottle half empty.

I think we can lose appreciation for what we have chasing for the something new or worse not like it because it gets buried in a pile of similar stuff. It is kinda like hoarders {sorry!} where somebody says I love X and X is actually kinda nice in and of itself but unfortunately they have 2 million of them rotting in a heap to the ceiling in what would be a living room except you can barely tunnel your way through it. Yeah. That is me and my reds and perfumes.... Good news is since I decided to limit what was in use I have developed a new love for stuff that just wasn't good enough while I was chasing that monkey. I have the basic daytime staples out and I know where the hey invited out party stuff is at.

 

[Naynadine]

http://www.specktra.net/t/186362/team-low-buy-swap-thread
OK, I created a thread. Let me know if I should add/edit anything. My English is not up to par at this time of the day.

So I guess everyone who like can post a list and we'll go from there.