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

[awickedshape]

June's almost over. Just placed what should be my last orders for now and I am hoping I will be successful in my no-buy until September.

 

[HppyLittleNinja]

Hey girlies. I've spent much of the afternoon catching up on this thread. What I've read has reminded me just how wonderful this Low Buy Community is. There is so much camaraderie here. You care. It's not solely about makeup or beauty; you girls genuinely lift each other up. This is an internet oasis for beauty lovers.

I'm glad to have found my way back here. I've posted twice, starting with a grand epistle on how I was going to transform my beauty stash into "a well-curated collection of loved items only". It's been 5 months since then, and I'm happy to report I've gotten my beauty stash down to mostly "loves". I'm also very happy to report my culling process wasn't as anal/insane/WTH as originally proposed.

[Want to hear me talk like a nutso perfectionist? *shudder* I have issues. I must have been verging on insane when I thought this up: http://www.specktra.net/t/185789/resolution-low-buy-2014-who-wants-to-play/1560#post_2554912]

*wave* It's good to be here again. *wave*

 

[PinayGator]

Which means less lipstick wear. I've been wearing the same three colors pretty much lol boring I know. Maybe I'll start just wearing some around the house lol

I'm a SAHM as well and I can definitely relate to not wearing a lot of makeup. I step outside of the house maybe two to three times a week, not including weekends, so my makeup routine is always over-the-top when I have the time to do so. I'm just lurking here for now with the upcoming collections looming, but I'll return soon once I figure out what type of goals I'd like to set for myself!

 

[HppyLittleNinja]

I know how you feel!! Getting rid of things can be so difficult. I agree with the comments about being in the right mood.. mindset is huge! Here are a few questions that have really helped me:

1. When was the last time you wore it? If it's been over a year (gives you a chance to think about all seasons), it should probably go.
2. Will you use it in the next few weeks? Put things you haven't used in a pile and go through them one by one. If there are things you keep passing over, think about letting them go.
3. Have you tried to make it work? Try the "three strikes" rule - if you've tried it 3 times in different combinations and it's still not your favorite.. let it go.
4. Will you use ______ more? If you have dupes, pick your favorite so you can look your best every time you wear the color rather than using colors that aren't your favorites.
5. Will you miss it? Put your potential rejects in a bag in the back of your closet where you won't see it. Make a note to go back to it in a few months. Can you remember what was in it? If you haven't thought about them during that time, they're probably not worth keeping over other items. This one is great because you can do a "trial run" of purging.. and you can always grab things back out if you miss them!

Hope these help others as much as they have me.. I felt sooo much better about my stash when I did this last year.

Hmm. You've got my attention, @veronikawithak .

#3. and. #5.

I've been mulling over my purchase of MAC Sea Worship. I'm kind of regretting it -- even though I was *that* customer who spent 10 minutes trying on and playing with it. I've it at home for a couple of weeks, and I don't think I love it... maybe not even like-like it. Even the water droplets can't distract me from the "meh" feeling tickling the back of my mind. Grr. I feel like a sucker.

 

[veronikawithak]

[@]HppyLittleNinja[/@] welcome back!! I remember reading that post and loved it! Lol. I had some pretty lofty goals this year too that didn't work out. I ended up loving my makeup again though and I'm happy about that. Plus I did learn a lot and now I can set better ones for the remainder of the year. Glad to hear that you're doing well with your decluttering! Having a stash of only "loves" has been my ultimate goal too and I'm getting pretty close! Sea Worship is probably the one from that collection I've worn the least, but I've still worn it enough that the imprint has rubbed off. It's an interesting shade.. I've worn it with Woodwinked and liked that combo. I think if it's not the main color it looks better on me. If you don't end up loving it, maybe you could return/sell/swap? Life is too short to wear makeup that doesn't make you feel stunning. So glad to see you back!

 

[Beautybuyer]

I'm a SAHM as well and I can definitely relate to not wearing a lot of makeup. I step outside of the house maybe two to three times a week, not including weekends, so my makeup routine is always over-the-top when I have the time to do so. I'm just lurking here for now with the upcoming collections looming, but I'll return soon once I figure out what type of goals I'd like to set for myself! 

Yes it's probably best to back away so you don't get suckered into buying a bunch of stuff that was never on your list! Lol

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Heya Gals! Sorry if I'm striking up a random convo, but last night I did a full inventory (haven't counted new/BU items into the entire total). I listed each product name and type and brand. It took me about three hours or more.

THREE HOURS OR MORE.

It was kind of awful. I feel awful. I feel annoyed. I showed my spreadsheet to a family member and she was in shock. She said that it was thousands of dollars worth (she's right).

Some colours I don't think I'll use. I don't know what to do. Clearance bin? Give them away? Some are basically brand new. I have BUs of items that I'll never get to. I think Clearance bin is a good start, but I can't expect to recoup what I've spent. Oh ladies. I don't know about myself.

Sometimes I think, how did this happen? The answer is simple. I was so unhappy. I kept trolling ebay and buying tonnes of shadows, glosses....things I just didn't need. Even this year I haven't done well so far. I've spent a lot, especially on AA.

SIGH. I'm so overwhelmed. I was going to go to IMATS but I think I'll skip it. In fact, I think starting July 1st, I'm going to do a NO BUY for the rest of 2014.

Ughhh. Feeling overwhelmed and a bit ashamed.

Still, I'm going to a CCO tomorrow. They don't have them in Canada (THANK YOU LORD!). I hope to pick up a basic item, like mascara.

Ladies, I could really use your encouragement. It feels good to know that I'm not alone. xo

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Also, I miss @PixieDancer

 

[mel33t]

Heya Gals! Sorry if I'm striking up a random convo, but last night I did a full inventory (haven't counted new/BU items into the entire total).  I listed each product name and type and brand.  It took me about three hours or more.  THREE HOURS OR MORE.  It was kind of awful.  I feel awful.  I feel annoyed.  I showed my spreadsheet to a family member and she was in shock. She said that it was thousands of dollars worth (she's right).   Some colours I don't think I'll use.  I don't know what to do.  Clearance bin?  Give them away?  Some are basically brand new.  I have BUs of items that I'll never get to.  I think Clearance bin is a good start, but I can't expect to recoup what I've spent.  Oh ladies.  I don't know about myself.  Sometimes I think, how did this happen?  The answer is simple.  I was so unhappy.  I kept trolling ebay and buying tonnes of shadows, glosses....things I just didn't need.  Even this year I haven't done well so far.  I've spent a lot, especially on AA.   SIGH. I'm so overwhelmed.  I was going to go to IMATS but I think I'll skip it.  In fact, I think starting July 1st, I'm going to do a NO BUY for the rest of 2014. Ughhh.  Feeling overwhelmed and a bit ashamed.   Still, I'm going to a CCO tomorrow.  They don't have them in Canada (THANK YOU LORD!). I hope to pick up a basic item, like mascara.   Ladies, I could really use your encouragement.  It feels good to know that I'm not alone.   xo

You are not alone :support: Take this as a tough love makeup wake up call. I'm working on my spreadsheet and I haven't event gotten to my problem area yet (blushes and I already feel overwhelmed). Just thinking about it makes me sick. I know 110% how you feel. We're not hoarders and we are not bad people. We just love makeup and it's a form of art or a puck me up when you're down. The issue for me at least is learning to control my emotions and not buy new makeup when I'm feeling upset. Emotional shopping is never good. Also I think that MAC limited collections are really hard to pass up and if you find a good deal on eBay its hard to pass up. I would say to try and stay away from those sites as best you can. Unsubscribe to emails and if you watch YouTube stop watching or limit yourself. You won't recoup what you spent. But what you don't use giving away or clearance bin is a good option. Maybe try and put things in a bad you rarely touch and use @veronikawithak three strike system. I actually pick a foundation and eyeshadow palette/singles for the week and I only use that. It gets me to use my stash as well as the 30 lips/cheek challenge. You're incredibly brave for showing your Excel to another person. I really want to share mine with this community when I'm finished (which may be a while since work and CPA studying takes priority). I'm on a no buy for the rest of the summer and its been difficult. I don't think I could go on a no buy for the rest of the year, that would be such a challenge. Maybe if you're feeling overwhelmed instead of going cold turkey, join the no buy July / August and then limit yourself to X number of products for the rest of the year?? Stay positive and don't beat yourself up over your love of something that makes you feel beautiful. You're amazing for admitting the problem and writing everything out. We're here for you :drinks:

 

[veronikawithak]

@Glitteryvegas, you are definitely NOT alone. Taking the step to do an inventory is one of the most difficult and you did it!!! Take a minute to be proud of yourself for that and recognize your accomplishment of facing your issues head on. I would suggest religiously tracking your incoming items with that spreadsheet. I have a separate page just for 2014 purchases where I list every item I've bought this year along with price totals etc. It keeps me in check and I need to keep up with mine too.. I let it go for a while and the results were scary.

For decluttering.. I recommend that you go slowly. Start with things that you really don't like or that have expired or maybe are poorer quality. Toss what is not usable, sell new or LE items, and give away to family or friends. Once you've gotten rid of the things that you know you won't use, you can tackle the sheer numbers step by step until you feel comfortable. Take it slowly, because some people who go too fast start feeling panicked and bring more in to compensate. For me personally, one of the realizations I came to is that the money was already spent and I'd never get it back. But these items were sitting there making me feel bad just by their very presence and as a result, I was emotionally shopping even more. It's a vicious cycle.. letting go of some things definitely made my stash much more enjoyable and usable.

Thank you for sharing your experience and good luck with cutting down! We're all here for you!! Feel free to post your thought process as you go. There's no such thing as off topic here and I know I'd love to hear about it and I'm sure others would too! It's okay to feel guilt, disgust etc. Just make sure you turn it into something positive for yourself! <3

July Update:

So I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I could do to improve in the second half of the year and one of my realizations was that I failed because I made a lot of long term goals but I was lacking in concrete short term goals. I'm going to fix that by setting monthly and weekly goals along with planning how to reach them. For each goal I listed 3 negative actions (avoiding temptation) and 3 positive ones (replacing undesirable behaviors with better ones).

July - Buy 0 beauty products.
- Unsubscribe from all collection threads.
- Avoid passing by drugstores while walking home.
- Keep YouTube and blogs to a minimum.
+ Fill spare time with reading, walking, fitness, friends.
+ Wear makeup every day to remind myself how much I already have that I love.
+ Be vigilant about filling out spreadsheets and wish lists to make sure I'm on track.

Tomorrow I'll post my goals for Week 1!

 

[dorni]

...
July Update:

So I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I could do to improve in the second half of the year and one of my realizations was that I failed because I made a lot of long term goals but I was lacking in concrete short term goals. I'm going to fix that by setting monthly and weekly goals along with planning how to reach them. For each goal I listed 3 negative actions (avoiding temptation) and 3 positive ones (replacing undesirable behaviors with better ones).

July - Buy 0 beauty products.
- Unsubscribe from all collection threads.
- Avoid passing by drugstores while walking home.
- Keep YouTube and blogs to a minimum.
+ Fill spare time with reading, walking, fitness, friends.
+ Wear makeup every day to remind myself how much I already have that I love.
+ Be vigilant about filling out spreadsheets and wish lists to make sure I'm on track.

Tomorrow I'll post my goals for Week 1!

That's what I do as well, the only "bad" thing about it is, that I going through foundation and makeup remover way faster than before.

Need to replace the last one and because I have to order that in France, I'll buy it in bulk. So no low-buy in July.

But I've managed to add just 1 MUFE e/s refill to my mothers big Sisley skincare order on sephora.fr. And we had a 25% off code, I was so tempted but now I'm quite proud of myself.

 

[Paint&Ink Chick]

Hey ladies, I've been MIA so just checking in & to see how everyone is doing with their low buys. I've done well I did get 3 items from Moody Blooms, 2 shadows & Wordly wealth. Now remember I said I was only going to get these items IF I GOT THE JOB! Yep, I got it lol, I feel truly Blessed, been there almost 2 wks, so with school trying to get adjusted to back working. ..ugh. And I got a office, so I'm thrilled. I've been spending on getting clothes to work in & have been wearing my make-up lol. Now, I did receive "Peaches & Cream" & "Bad girl, gone good". These were a awesome gift from my sweet friend @walkingdead. She great! I'll try to be on more. Cheers!

 

[dorni]

Hey ladies, I've been MIA so just checking in & to see how everyone is doing with their low buys. I've done well I did get 3 items from Moody Blooms, 2 shadows & Wordly wealth. Now remember I said I was only going to get these items IF I GOT THE JOB! Yep, I got it lol, I feel truly Blessed, been there almost 2 wks, so with school trying to get adjusted to back working. ..ugh. And I got a office, so I'm thrilled. I've been spending on getting clothes to work in & have been wearing my make-up lol. Now, I did receive "Peaches & Cream" & "Bad girl, gone good". These were a awesome gift from my sweet friend @walkingdead. She great! I'll try to be on more. Cheers!

 

[awickedshape]

Hey ladies, I've been MIA so just checking in & to see how everyone is doing with their low buys. I've done well I did get 3 items from Moody Blooms, 2 shadows & Wordly wealth. Now remember I said I was only going to get these items IF I GOT THE JOB! Yep, I got it lol, I feel truly Blessed, been there almost 2 wks, so with school trying to get adjusted to back working. ..ugh. And I got a office, so I'm thrilled. I've been spending on getting clothes to work in & have been wearing my make-up lol. Now, I did receive "Peaches & Cream" & "Bad girl, gone good". These were a awesome gift from my sweet friend @walkingdead. She great! I'll try to be on more. Cheers!

Great news!

 

[veronikawithak]

That's what I do as well, the only "bad" thing about it is, that I going through foundation and makeup remover way faster than before. Need to replace the last one and because I have to order that in France, I'll buy it in bulk. So no low-buy in July. But I've managed to add just 1 MUFE e/s refill to my mothers big Sisley skincare order on sephora.fr. And we had a 25% off code, I was so tempted but now I'm quite proud of myself. :happydance:

Yeah I tend to go through staples faster too! But I really want to start using up these beautiful products. Good for you for resisting overspending with that code! That can be tough but you did it.. fantastic!

Hey ladies, I've been MIA so just checking in & to see how everyone is doing with their low buys. I've done well I did get 3 items from Moody Blooms, 2 shadows & Wordly wealth. Now remember I said I was only going to get these items IF I GOT THE JOB! Yep, I got it lol, I feel truly Blessed, been there almost 2 wks, so with school trying to get adjusted to back working. ..ugh. And I got a office, so I'm thrilled. I've been spending on getting clothes to work in & have been wearing my make-up lol. Now, I did receive "Peaches & Cream" & "Bad girl, gone good". These were a awesome gift from my sweet friend @walkingdead. She great! I'll try to be on more. Cheers!

CONGRATS on the new job! And on your planned MB haul. Sounds like you're doing great! That's awesome.

 

[Paint&Ink Chick]

Thank you ladies! I am really liking the job so far, well I'm learning everything, as I have a lot of responiblities

but I got this. It's good to be out the house, have adult convo's and dress up lol. I think I'll start posting my list of items I wear tomorrow.

 

[kait0]

Hey ladies, I've been MIA so just checking in & to see how everyone is doing with their low buys. I've done well I did get 3 items from Moody Blooms, 2 shadows & Wordly wealth. Now remember I said I was only going to get these items IF I GOT THE JOB! Yep, I got it lol, I feel truly Blessed, been there almost 2 wks, so with school trying to get adjusted to back working. ..ugh. And I got a office, so I'm thrilled. I've been spending on getting clothes to work in & have been wearing my make-up lol. Now, I did receive "Peaches & Cream" & "Bad girl, gone good". These were a awesome gift from my sweet friend @walkingdead. She great! I'll try to be on more. Cheers!

Congrats!:urock:

@Glitteryvegas , you are definitely NOT alone. Taking the step to do an inventory is one of the most difficult and you did it!!! Take a minute to be proud of yourself for that and recognize your accomplishment of facing your issues head on. I would suggest religiously tracking your incoming items with that spreadsheet. I have a separate page just for 2014 purchases where I list every item I've bought this year along with price totals etc. It keeps me in check and I need to keep up with mine too.. I let it go for a while and the results were scary. For decluttering.. I recommend that you go slowly. Start with things that you really don't like or that have expired or maybe are poorer quality. Toss what is not usable, sell new or LE items, and give away to family or friends. Once you've gotten rid of the things that you know you won't use, you can tackle the sheer numbers step by step until you feel comfortable. Take it slowly, because some people who go too fast start feeling panicked and bring more in to compensate. For me personally, one of the realizations I came to is that the money was already spent and I'd never get it back. But these items were sitting there making me feel bad just by their very presence and as a result, I was emotionally shopping even more. It's a vicious cycle.. letting go of some things definitely made my stash much more enjoyable and usable. Thank you for sharing your experience and good luck with cutting down! We're all here for you!! Feel free to post your thought process as you go. There's no such thing as off topic here and I know I'd love to hear about it and I'm sure others would too! It's okay to feel guilt, disgust etc. Just make sure you turn it into something positive for yourself!

 

[veronikawithak]

Congrats!:urock: So true. I tell myself that selling/swapping/giving away isn't a waste because buying it in the first place was a waste. I don't tell myself that to try to make myself feel guilty, it just makes it easier to part with and I try to learn from it and do better in the future. Like researching products and avoid impulse buys, don't buy simply because it's a hyped up product or because I've heard someone on YouTube raving about it. Take the time to think if I actually like the product and if it's something I will get good use out of.

Absolutely! I know exactly that feeling. I've found that purging things was a great way to reinforce not buying similar products in the future too. I got rid of my Naked palette, a few Smashbox palettes, and even a Dior quint. Painful and expensive but necessary lesson. Since then? Haven't purchased a single palette! Even though I've wanted to a few times this year. My rule is I have to love every shade in the palette for me to get it. I'm going to stick with making my own MAC palettes and buying singles or duos if there are shades that I want. I also haven't bought a single product this year that I've used a couple times and then stashed away. Everything gets rotated. I still feel a little overwhelmed but I enjoy everything that I have so nothing else is leaving quite yet. I have a couple cream products that will be expiring in January and other than that I'm trying to focus on using things up.

 

[Rainbunny]

@GlitteryVegas, don't beat yourself up about past expenditures! Look at doing your inventory as a tool for improving future behavior, not to make yourself feel bad. If you tracked anything else over a period of time, it would add up to a lot, too., e.g. going out to dinner or buying lattes at Starbucks. If your family member tracked one of her or his similar expenditures, that figure would be shocking, too, no doubt. That's not to say to give up on doing better, but awareness is part of the process of deciding how you ideally would be making better day to day financial choices in the future. So pat yourself on the back for the great job you did of carrying through with the goal doing your inventory! Great job!

 

[Maris Crane]

Quote:Originally Posted by Glitteryvegas

Heya Gals! Sorry if I'm striking up a random convo, but last night I did a full inventory (haven't counted new/BU items into the entire total). I listed each product name and type and brand. It took me about three hours or more.

THREE HOURS OR MORE.

It was kind of awful. I feel awful. I feel annoyed. I showed my spreadsheet to a family member and she was in shock. She said that it was thousands of dollars worth (she's right).

Some colours I don't think I'll use. I don't know what to do. Clearance bin? Give them away? Some are basically brand new. I have BUs of items that I'll never get to. I think Clearance bin is a good start, but I can't expect to recoup what I've spent. Oh ladies. I don't know about myself.

Sometimes I think, how did this happen? The answer is simple. I was so unhappy. I kept trolling ebay and buying tonnes of shadows, glosses....things I just didn't need. Even this year I haven't done well so far. I've spent a lot, especially on AA.

SIGH. I'm so overwhelmed. I was going to go to IMATS but I think I'll skip it. In fact, I think starting July 1st, I'm going to do a NO BUY for the rest of 2014.

Ughhh. Feeling overwhelmed and a bit ashamed.

Still, I'm going to a CCO tomorrow. They don't have them in Canada (THANK YOU LORD!). I hope to pick up a basic item, like mascara.

Ladies, I could really use your encouragement. It feels good to know that I'm not alone. xo



Best of luck of course, on your no buy! I've read this post about 6 times in a row and I feel like I could've written this out myself! Don't beat yourself up, though - once you see everything laid out in front of you, whether it be a spreadsheet, an itemized bill with all the makeup one might've bought, instagram hauls, it's easier to remember to stay on track! Sending good vibes!