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

[Naughtyp]

I'm having the same debate with myself at the moment - whether or not to depot my blushes. I have an empty double palette with blush inserts, so space for 12 pans. I'm allowed to buy 6 Mac blushes this year, and of the 11 I already have, 6 are powder blushes i.e. depottable. That would nicely fill my palette. Plus - it will be easier to see my options when they're all in one palette Minus - much less convenient for travel particularly. Then again I will still have my EDBs in pots so could take one of those (At Dusk, my most used blush!) or even just switch out one side with a shadow insert and that's all I would need for a longer trip. I dunno, still contemplating. Funny how I have no qualms at all about depotting shadows but am not at all sure about blush. I guess it's maybe because I use multiple shadows in a look but usually only one blush at a time, so seeing them together is less important. Wow! That's what you call a collection! (If you want to downsize and offload a few of these on me when you come to London, feel free hehe!!) How many of those are new permanent products? I have a list of about 18 things I'm interested in from all the forthcoming collections we have colour stories for, but a third of those are permanent so I am in no rush to get them. I also expect the list to reduce with swatches.

none! Lol I took the mineral lip collection off my list but now that ive seen the color story I want all the lipsticks! But they 're perm so I dont have to stress off them. I want all the playland lipsticks and a couple glosses. I want the by request lipsticks, some of the csg from fantasy of flowers and maybe a few lipsticks, some of the Proenza lipsticks and blushes. Interested in the patent pencils maleficent and Osbourne collections. Too much lol oh plus viva glam riri and I still need flat out fabulous!!

 

[Naughtyp]

That's it, after T's review I'm defnitely getting the Clinique blushes, well, one or two out of the four. Resistance is futile. To compensate for that haul I decided to let go of Coygirl. Never reach for it, but it's d/c so I always thought it's somewhat rare and special. I've also sold a lipstick and I'm about to put some other things on evilbay. And I've decided to look through my Chanel polishes, I think it's time to let go of some of the ones I just swatched & never use too. It will be tough, though... it's Chanel and LE.    Baby steps.

I want one too!! Will only allow.myself ONE am I have to wait until BONUS time All of my face makeup is clinique so these should work well for me.

 

[nazih09]

Funny how "need" works.

I have had my hair dye removed from dark brown to a light brown/blonde and have thus created the "need" for different colours for my blush, and eyes. I am going for a very waspy look. lolol. A latina looking waspy is a bit of a stretch but maybe a waspy with sex appeal

I have purchased a few new blushes -- Clinique, CD Coral, and a new Carnation from Shiseido. Lippies are almost on a total ban -- I have enough to use and mix for forever. I did get two huggables (blame Mrs. Elegant and Liba!).. but honestly am looking for that change which will reflect a newer me, not improved (can I get better?) rofl.. but fresher and yes less dark.

I need lightness and bright in my life now. I prefer to spend it on some new products/textures/colours than pay a shrink to dope me up

and that says Forest Gump ... is that.

The new clinique blushes are calling my name!

 

[KrystalAnne]

Buy less. Enjoy more. That's our motto. To realize what we actually have, what we may truly need (not just want). To purchase less and enjoy what we have... If you want to join us, we'd love to have you!!

Thanks, Pixie. You're right...

I swatched many of my blushes on my arm today and I just realized how many beautiful things I already have that are being neglected because I'm always using something new. I enjoy new things, but it's not like I always need them. It will teach me to be more appreciative of what I am blessed to already have.

I was also looking through my lipsticks and I pulled out Flamingo and remembered how excited I was to get my hands on it, how much I just LOVED using it, and I don't so much anymore because my collection has blown up and I have so many to use now. I just think that feeling of having some special ones is better than feeling the need to get all and have no real LOVE for them the way that I loved Flamingo. Lol, I sound like Flamingo was my first boyfriend that I fell in love with. Not really, but it was probably one of the lipsticks I was most excited to get along with Watch Me Simmer. I think they were the first of that color family for me (and those are some of my favorite colors).

So, I will be making an effort to buy less and enjoy more now!

 

[Audrey C]

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

For anything that's thicker than an envelope, it costs about $8 to ship within my province. So, return one lipstick to MAC and it's $8. There are small package rates for US, international and (maybe) out of province. It's stupid.

I sent four pairs of 2010 Vancouver olympic mittens to my friend in Germany (insured!) and I know it wasn't more than $9, and that was a lot bigger than a padded envelope. That makes absolutely no sense. I've sent a small item to a UK friend for about $3-4. It shouldn't cost less to send something across the ocean than it does to send it across the street.

 

[kerry-jane88]

For anything that's thicker than an envelope, it costs about $8 to ship within my province. So, return one lipstick to MAC and it's $8. There are small package rates for US, international and (maybe) out of province. It's stupid.  I sent four pairs of 2010 Vancouver olympic mittens to my friend in Germany (insured!) and I know it wasn't more than $9, and that was a lot bigger than a padded envelope. That makes absolutely no sense. I've sent a small item to a UK friend for about $3-4. It shouldn't cost less to send something across the ocean than it does to send it across the street.

Wow that's ridiculous!

 

[Lisianthus]

In the new Low Buy swap thread, would it be possible for you ladies to note whether you're only accepting swaps, or are also open to PayPal payment?

That's a good idea. Will make a note on my swap post. Thanks!

 

[veronikawithak]

I added my 5 new purchases to my stash spreadsheet today.. I have to say I felt a little sad increasing the number on the blush/highlighter page to 18 from 16 after I worked so hard to get the numbers down. More motivation to really think about what I add in.

 

[Rainbunny]

[@]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.

I find her reviews are pretty helpful because of how she educates you about the ingredients and she's pretty clear about the reasons for her ratings. So if she rates something poorly, you can assess if the problem she identifies is important for YOU. E.g., sometimes it's just that there's too much fragrance, and that usually isn't a problem for me but could be for someone else. So I think it's more important to read the review than just rely solely on the rating, since the info she provides is useful even if you don't necessarily agree with the rating. One thing that's really helpful is that she tells you, yes, such and such a product does have a good ingredient, but not in enough quantity to be helpful. Or the SPF is not what it should be, in which case again you can assess whether that's important (e.g., SPF in a foundation may not be important to you if you already use a good sunscreen underneath). I would never buy expensive skincare without checking her reviews first since it's an area where it's pretty common to rip off consumers. Makeup is easy to assess for yourself--you like how it looks/ wears or you don't. But you could easily pay top dollar for completely ineffective or mediocre skincare and you wouldn't know it really isn't doing anything special. Personally, I have used her skincare for over 15 years, and have been really pleased with it. She is transparent about what's in it, it's reasonably priced, and I would rather pay for good ingredients in effective amounts and not for hype. NOTE: Not associated with Paula Begoun in any way!

 

[Glitteryvegas]

This Paula woman is the same one who wrote that "Don't go to the cosmetics counter without me" book?

If so, I borrowed her book from the library, saw her refer to UD eye makeup colours as 'Clownlike' or something to that effect and closed the book immediately. Never again! Makeup is fun, inspiring and should be free from judgement. I think it's great that you ladies can get something out of her stuff - I didn't try after that one incident. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but I thought it was pretty unprofessional of her to write something like that.

 

[veronikawithak]

Honestly, this Paula woman is the same one who wrote that "Don't go to the cosmetics counter without me" book?

If so, I borrowed her book from the library, saw her refer to UD some eye makeup colours as 'Clownlike' or something to that effect and closed the book immediately. Never again! Makeup is fun, inspiring and should be free from judgement. I think it's great that you ladies can get something out of her stuff - I didn't try after that once incident. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but I thought it was pretty unprofessional of her to write something like that.

Agreed! I find the most critical people are often the ones who don't have the confidence to pull something off themselves.

 

[Rainbunny]

Ladies, I would like some help deciding if I NEED to get Perfect Topping from the upcoming MAC collection! I've heard so many raves about PT, but don't want to just fall for the hype. I don't have many highlighters. I think I have two, actually, one being in the NARS Guy Bourdin palette. What's so special about PT? I'm NW 10/15 if that helps. I'm thinking of skipping the entire FOF collection and picking up an Hourglass blush... Any input would be much appreciated!

Like you, I have been interested in PT, in my case, mostly due to all the hype in the FOF thread. So I asked somebody to swatch it against Lightscapade, which is perm, and the verdict is that they are very close, except PT is more pink. Maybe someone in that thread can swatch PT against the Guy bourdin highlighter you already have. That's why I find Temptalia's swatches are so helpful to compare products against what you already have. 9 times out of 10, the difference is so small that I conclude it's not worth it. Even if her swatches are not 100% accurate, they are good enough to see that you already have something pretty similar already. If the difference between PT and Lightscapade is not significant to you, you can get Lightscapade any time. In contrast, I did pick up 4 Mac Huggables total because I loved the formula so much after I purchased just one, and now I wear them all the time. That's what is hard to tell from reviews since it's so personal. That means I will have to be very choosy now with future collections but that's okay because I got something LE that I am really using a lot.

 

[Kaori]

Honestly, this Paula woman is the same one who wrote that "Don't go to the cosmetics counter without me" book?

If so, I borrowed her book from the library, saw her refer to UD some eye makeup colours as 'Clownlike' or something to that effect and closed the book immediately. Never again! Makeup is fun, inspiring and should be free from judgement. I think it's great that you ladies can get something out of her stuff - I didn't try after that once incident. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but I thought it was pretty unprofessional of her to write something like that.

She is biased against colorful eyeshadows, she even wrote a book called Blue eyeshadow should be illegal. lol I agree that when done wrong it looks like clown makeup, but when done right you can wear blue eyeshadows no problem.
I only read her reviews for skincare, I'm sensitive to many things, especially fragrance so I found it helpful when she mentioned to avoid lavender oil, because I had no clue that was what was irritating me =)

 

[Glitteryvegas]

She is biased against colorful eyeshadows, she even wrote a book called Blue eyeshadow should be illegal. lol I agree that when done wrong it looks like clown makeup, but when done right you can wear blue eyeshadows no problem.
I only read her reviews for skincare, I'm sensitive to many things, especially fragrance so I found it helpful when she mentioned to avoid lavender oil, because I had no clue that was what was irritating me =)

That's awesome that she helped you uncover that - it seems like she has such a huge knowledge base and has helped a lot of people!

 

[veronikawithak]

Quote: Originally Posted by Glitteryvegas
I completely agree with you! I rock all colours and I'm almost 30 - I think it's more about attitude, confidence, and skill rather than anything else! And honestly, if you don't have those things, don't put down those products that cater to people who have those things! Lol. Hope that makes sense!


It absolutely makes sense.. If you don't think you can pull off blue eyeshadow for whatever reason, that's fine. Even if you think most people can't pull it off, that's your opinion. Still, there's no need to call it clown makeup! I know some people that look amazing in blue eyeshadow because they use shades that complement their skintone and eye color and they blend blend blend. And even if other people think it doesn't work, it's your own face and your opinion that matters. I personally will never be able to pull off anything bright or neon.. and I know that. But I don't hate on other people who can.

 

[kerry-jane88]

I completely agree with you!  I rock all colours and I'm almost 30 - I think it's more about attitude, confidence, and skill rather than anything else!  And honestly, if you don't have those things, don't put down those products that cater to people who have those things!  Lol. Hope that makes sense!  

Im sure we've all had that at some point, snidey comments like 'my bf/gf loves me without makeup', 'why have you got all that makeup on?' or even just a simple: 'why are you wearing lipstick?' Me and my sister have friends that don't wear much other than foundation & mascara most days, so couldn't understand why we would need 15 odd mins in the morning to do our makeup for the day! Even if we're team low buy, we're still specktra girls, so we LOVE makeup! Lets wear whatever makeup we want with pride!

 

[Rainbunny]

Well, makeup is pretty aesthetic so everyone's personal taste is going to be different. Really, someone with great application skills could make the cheapest, worst quality drugstore makeup look super on anybody. I think of Paula Begoun as a consumer advocate, not a makeup artist, so I don't care about her aesthetic judgements. Like I said, that's easy to assess for yourself. But as a consumer, I don't want to pay top dollar for a high-end skincare product that is no better--and often, even worse-- than something reasonably priced at the drugstore. Women are often taken advantage of as consumers, and I like to be informed. On her site, she even gives you cites for journal articles about various skincare ingredients, so again that's very useful. I was at a high-end counter recently--I won't say which brand-- and the person there was telling me absolute nonsense that I'm pretty sure she didn't make up herself on the fly but was a script from the brand.

 

[kerry-jane88]

Well, makeup is pretty aesthetic so everyone's personal taste is going to be different. Really, someone with great application skills could make the cheapest, worst quality drugstore makeup look super on anybody. I think of Paula Begoun as a consumer advocate, not a makeup artist, so I don't care about her aesthetic judgements. Like I said, that's easy to assess for yourself. But as a consumer, I don't want to pay top dollar for a high-end skincare product that is no better--and often, even worse-- than something reasonably priced at the drugstore. Women are often taken advantage of as consumers, and I like to be informed. On her site, she even gives you cites for journal articles about various skincare ingredients, so again that's very useful. I was at a high-end counter recently--I won't say which brand-- and the person there was telling me absolute nonsense that I'm pretty sure she didn't make up herself on the fly but was a script from the brand.

Always good to be informed! And to do whats best for you, even if that means going against the general consensus (I have acne but I love using lavender oil!) I've heard some absolute crap advice off of counter SAs in my time!

 

[SleepingBeauty]

Wow, that sucks It's understandable that you'd rather not ship international if you had bad experiences like this before. Fortunately I've never had any problems with international shipping. I've send packages overseas and received many more from around the world, nothing ever got lost.


We can always swap with each other.

I think it's fine to post used items, and it doesn't have to be hard to find LE stuff either. I think you should just post your list, it's worth a try. I will put a list together later as well.

You're right; it's worth a try. I won't die if nobody finds something they're interested in.

 

[veronikawithak]

I've heard some absolute crap advice off of counter SAs in my time!

Same! I once heard a SA at a nail salon tell a customer to add nail polish remover to a bottle of nail polish to make it usable again! I jumped right in and told the customer to buy thinner instead.. the SA wasn't too happy with me..