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

[liba]

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with.
Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.

Sweet Pixie, you are strong! I know you will conquer whatever you need to and look great the whole time you are taking care of business!!!

We're all here for you for whenever you need, like you've been here for us with your tons of love, encouragement and positivity!!

 

[Dreaming Dancer]

My thoughts and prayers are with you @pixiedancer.

 

[shellygrrl]

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with. Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.

:hug: Hang in there.

 

[Rainbunny]

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with. Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.

I'm very sorry to hear you are having a tough time, Pixie. Sending all my very best wishes your way.

 

[CrimsonQuill157]

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with. Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.

I'm sorry you're going through a tough time we are here for you! Sending lots of love!

 

[Glitteryvegas]

@PixieDancer - Thinking of you girl. Sending you strength. xo

 

[Ajigglin]

2014 is just not mine or Rob's year. Rob went to the bank to open up an account where he just got a job, and they wouldn't let him open an account. Someone stole his social security number and ran up enough debt that he can't open an account. I am sick to my stomach. I don't know what to do or how this can be cleared up.

Good grief! You guys have really suffered! You've gotten some great advice already, so no need for me to add in.

Goodness me, I'm so very sorry to hear this!  You two have been through so much. You deserve a break!  Identity theft can leave you feeling vulnerable and helpless, it's an awful feeling.  I hope he gets this sorted out soon and his credit restored, etc.  I think you need to contact the authorities to open a file, then call your (national?) credit bureau(s) as they will need to start an investigation too and put a note on his file to not allow any more accounts/credit to be opened up.  Ask for a copy of your credit report to see which accounts are his and which aren't.  I would also try to get a hold of as many statements for his legitimate accounts as he can so that you guys can go through and determine what charges are fraud and which were legit.  His own banking/credit card companies should be contacted immediately to let them know the situation.  He'll need to open up a new bank account, etc. with new account numbers and get new plastic cards.  I'd also recommend changing all of his passwords online on a secure computer for EVERYTHING.     I'm so sorry.  I know the feeling and it's a huge process and it sucks completely.  The hard part is that he has to do most of it himself as it's his accounts, etc. and for security purposes they probably won't let you be involved too much.  But you can still be the wonderful support that you are! Thinking of you guys xoxo big hugs!  PS - He should probably request to open up a new online banking account(s) too, just for security.  In Canada we can purchase an alert system for about $15/month through the credit bureau company to track when accounts/credits are being opened up on our file.  The bureau must notify you (call) if an account is being opened up to verify that you are authorizing the account to be opened.  This prevents further accounts from being opened fraudulently.  HTH! 

Great advice.

Make sure he contacts the Social Security office to look into getting a new SSN if necessary and also contact the credit bureaus to have them put a freeze on his reports. This will prevent anyone from opening any new credit, etc. The bank, if it's one of the larger ones should also be able to implement a password for his accounts so no changes can be made without the password (literally a word not numbers). Whether I go in person or contact them over the phone, my bank asks for my password before they can tell me anything about my account or make any changes. The police report will help convince the creditors to reverse any charges that have been made on any of his credit cards and close any newer fraudulent ones. Sending a copy of the report to the credit bureaus will help with any negative impact this incident may have on his credit score as well. Good luck!

Great advice.

So, I'm not on a strict low buy, but I'm getting to the point with my collection where it's time to be very smart about what to get going forward. MAC's been improving certain products lately, like light colored standard blush, that I used to easily avoid, because I never liked the texture. Well, now the texture issues I had have been fixed and I can see myself wanting to buy new blushes that I already have similar ones in other formulas. For example, I always loved Mineralize blushes for the way they sat on my skin, but now that the standard blushes are starting to do the same thing, plus last longer - do I ditch all my MBs and buy dupes in the new formulas, just skip the new ones for a while (there's so little chance I'll ever hit pan on a lot of my MBs - they last forever.  Up to now, I've just mostly been resisting. Sharon's blush was better than Lovecloud, but I skipped it, because I DO have Lovecloud and others and don't even wear them very frequently of late. Same thing for the new hot pink blush from Moody Blooms. It's seriously gorgeous and applies like a dream, but I have a couple of hot pinks and I only wear them in the summer and certain evening looks, so SKIP (I'll be thinking about it, though. lol)  There are only 3 blushes I'm interested in in the fall collections (the beige one from AW and the two from ANR) but hey, it's not like I don't already have a few really nice neutral blushes - Bareness and At Dusk are closer to hitting pan than pretty much any of my other blushes, since my heavily used MBs still are going strong.  So what do you all think? Get rid of perfectly nice MBs because new, improved formulas are on the way? Resist similar but better ones? Keep everything and worry about it another day? I don't have as many blushes as I do lipsticks, that's for sure, but I really don't need the pile to grow bigger right now. Even still, I do love my "new & improved" - I've been wearing Pleasure Model EDB lately and it's been PERFECT (it wasn't this perfect when I first got it when I was paler). I had similar, but none of the others look as good and that is the god's honest truth. dilemmas, dilemmas - looking forward to everyone's feedback! :specktrarocks:

I'd do a 1 in, 1 out situation. Maybe put the older versions of blushes in the swap thread to trade for the newer ones, or sell them off if it's not a hassle. If you don't want to do that, I'd just wait til you hit pan on the old stuff and then replace them with the new stuff. I'm giving Liba advice, so I know the apocalypse is coming.

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with. Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.

Pixie! We love you and we're here if you need to talk. xoxoxo

 

[Ajigglin]

Oh, and [@]veronikawithak[/@], I loved that long post! It's helpful to read through the thought process.

 

[DarylandCarole]

  You're lucky to have a store nearby so it's easy to try things on first. That's seriously the best way. I always buy in-store, and have gone only to the same store for years and that really pays off…everyone knows me and takes really great care of me and getting LE products is never a problem, since they know they can count on me to buy everything I say I want and will do stuff like wait to get my things until after the release, if it'd help the store's sales figures for an event instead. I've made some great personal friends too, who I hang out with socially and that's been the best part, 100%.  Try Icon in person - it's been a long time since I've seen it in person, but if I recall correctly, it has more depth of color to it compared to Tanarama - you see more contrast between the rich base color and the paler highlight of the frost, so it makes the lips look more volumetric. Tanarama is more all of one color, between the base and the frost, so it's a bit flatter looking. It's also a bit cooler too, if my memory serves me. I always like Tanarama in the tube, but never cared for it enough on my lips to buy it. Icon is a stronger look, if the color works for you. I used to borrow Icon from a friend a zillion years ago, but it was during my era of not wearing much makeup.

So helpful, thank you! If I can pull off Icon I'll be glad because it sounds like a great shade. Only recently have I started getting into frosts so they're all very new to me. New, and slightly terrifying lol. Also, it's awesome that you've been able to build those relationships. My store has had pretty high turnover over the years but I'm glad to be able to recognize some faces. Maybe one day I'll have my own MAC bff. 

I'm curious, why do frosts scare you? I've always liked them. I love shiny sparkly things, though. And I've always been one to push the envelope with make up and clothes. In fall I tend to like more matte colors but when you combine a frost/metallic with dark hues (like they did in Nudes and Metallics last August), I think it's a very cool look.

 

[DarylandCarole]

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with. Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.

I'm sorry to hear that, Pixie! You are such a nice person that I hate to hear you got bad news. Remember to lean on others if you need to. It's good to be strong but also good to let it out if you need to. Like everyone has said, we're here for you! If there is anything that I can do to help, let me know.

 

[Deneb]

Hello everybody !
I have been away from Spectra for a long time to avoid the temptation and the frustration... I have lost my job and am struggling to find a new one, going through hard times... so I prefer to stay away from the make up news. The positive point is that I can play with all my stash ! My low-buy became a total no-buy but I think I'm ok with that.
I am happy to see this post becoming so huge ! I send to those who need love and strength

 

[NaomiH]

Oh man [@]Crimsonquill157[/@], I really hope things get better for you guys soon. :hug:

 

[jennyap]

Quote:Originally Posted by PixieDancer

Sorry I've been MIA a little. Had some tough news delivered that I'm having a difficult time dealing with.
Please know I'm reading all your posts. I am truly happy to see everyone doing so well. Good Luck to you all.



Oh sweet Pixie, I am so sorry you are hurting. Life is just so unfair and incomprehensible sometimes, but I know you will be okay. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but you are a strong woman and you will get through this. ((((hugs)))) to you

 

[jennyap]

Quote:Originally Posted by Deneb

Hello everybody !
I have been away from Spectra for a long time to avoid the temptation and the frustration... I have lost my job and am struggling to find a new one, going through hard times... so I prefer to stay away from the make up news. The positive point is that I can play with all my stash ! My low-buy became a total no-buy but I think I'm ok with that.
I am happy to see this post becoming so huge ! I send to those who need love and strength



Oh gosh, so much bad news lately, I am really sorry for your job loss So great that you are seeing a positive in it, proud of you! I really hope you find something even better soon.

 

[mel33t]

I just saw that Moody Blooms is on Nordstrom and Macy's... The temptation for Deep Fixation and Bred for Beauty is real. But I do not need anything. Period.

 

[veronikawithak]

Hello everybody !
I have been away from Spectra for a long time to avoid the temptation and the frustration... I have lost my job and am struggling to find a new one, going through hard times... so I prefer to stay away from the make up news. The positive point is that I can play with all my stash ! My low-buy became a total no-buy but I think I'm ok with that.
I am happy to see this post becoming so huge ! I send to those who need love and strength

So sorry to hear about your job loss.. Avoiding the news is the best for a no buy, good for you! I'm glad to hear that you've been able to play with your stash more too.. Hope something comes your way soon!

Quote: Originally Posted by mel33t

I just saw that Moody Blooms is on Nordstrom and Macy's... The temptation for Deep Fixation and Bred for Beauty is real. But I do not need anything. Period.

Stay strong! Open your drawers and look at all of the other things you have, maybe switch in some items you haven't used in a while. You got this!!

 

[DarylandCarole]

If anyone here wants swatches of some Moody Blooms things to help you avoid it or decide, I got a few things and they should be here Thurs or Fri. They shipped yesterday. I stuck to my list and got Black Ivy Fluidline, green room e/s, Phosphorescent l/s, Bred for Beauty blush,and Copperthorne f/l. For me this was good. If I had not been on Specktra, particularly this thread, I would have gotten MAC's email and bought almost everything. I love color, so this would have made me go crazy. But I realized that I already had all of the e/s colors, and probably all of the lipstick ones, too. That helped me a lot towards only getting items/colors that I don't already have. And now NO new beauty items until ANR in mid-August! I will replace essentials like skin cream, but that's all. Help me stick with it, ladies!

 

[mel33t]

Skipping Moody Blooms. I have something similar to Deep Fixation and God knows I do not need another blush right now. #nowbuytillANR

 

[veronikawithak]

#nowbuytillANR

After MB I think I'm going on a no buy until ANR too. We'll have to support each other through it!

 

[NaomiH]

After my incredibly small MB haul of 1, maybe 3, maybe 0 things I will be on a no-buy until September 4th. I'm thinking I might grab a thing or two from The Simpsons (blushes) and possibly the other two collections that launch that day pending swatches and reviews. If I end up skipping the launches on the 4th, then my no buy will go until October 2nd and I will then be back on it from there until probably after the holidays.


*EDIT* I forgot ANR on August 21st! I do think I'll probably land a few things from that, so after my possible MB haul, my no buy will be until August 21st.