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

[Glitteryvegas]

@mel33t, @veronikawithak, @Rainbunny, @Maris Crane,
@Ajigglin, @shellygrrl, @burghchick, @charlotte366 -

THANK YOU so much for all of your support and encouragement! I really can't express my appreciation! It helps to come here, talk, vent, relate, and get it all out to ladies who understand the struggle. I have to go through and cull/sell, like some of you mentioned. I think because I really love all colours and finishes it makes it hard to figure out what are 'duds' to me and what are superstars. I have a BU of semi precious rose quartz that I may try to sell here. It's used, but there's still a lot left. Some things I bought BUs of I'm like "WHY OH WHY did you do that?!?" I know you gals can relate to this feeling. Sometimes I think selling is too much work for me - maybe swapping is better. However, swapping doesn't clear out my stash! But it certainly is fun! I guess either way, clearing out unwanted products is the goal.

I will have to do a palette swap out every week to get going on using those. Some days when I'm being lazy I think "Put that dang makeup on girl!!!" I have so much that it literally must be used every day. Most days I'm layering products upon products so that I'm using them up. it's good because it's intensifies colours and uses them up at the same time. By doing my inventory I have seen what colours are problem areas for me. For instance, I LOVE red lip glosses, but rarely wear them because I find them high maintenance and sometimes they make me feel self conscious. So, no more reds for me, one is more than enough!

Yesterday at CCO I bought a mascara, a blot powder, and one lipglass. Today I bought a nail top coat as I'm running out of my fav, and two new polishes for summer. Pretty good I say! I think I'm going to do a no buy for July and see how it feels. I was going to look into Moody Blooms but I'm not now - I have more than enough shadows and liners. Small victories I guess.

Thanks ladies! I will check in more often. This is a great group! xoxo

@Paint&Ink Chick - Congrats on your job girl! Fantastic!

 

[mel33t]

So I was able to finish my "face products" section of my Excel spreadsheet tonight. Here's what the numbers came out to be. One of the figures is... pretty bad. I knew I had a problem in that category...

Base Products:

Primer	4
BB Cream	3
Foundation	9
Concealer	3
Powder	3
Setting Powder	5

One of the setting powder includes the Hourlgass Ambient Lighting Palette, but I included that as one thing...

Additional Face Products

Bronzer	16
Highlighter	31
Blush	113

... the blush includes two x6 NARS palettes and two x4 NARS palettes each counted as one. It does not include palettes that have eyeshadows and blush and bronzer... that's a different ball game.


How in God's name did I accumulate 113 blushes?!?! AND NOT ONE HAS HIT PAN?! No wonder...
I'm definitely going to go hardcore and start going through them and seeing what I don't like, already from this 30 day challenge I can toss/give away two. I can't part with my NARS or Tarte. Those are excellent quality and I love almost all of them. My Excel is sorted by product, brand, love/like/meh. See below for a clip:

Blush	Tarte	Amazonian Clay Blush	Achiote	Love
Blush	Tarte	Amazonian Clay Blush	Blissful	Pending
Blush	The Balm	Blush	Frat Boy	Like
Blush	Tom Ford	Cheek Color	Love Lust	Meh
Blush - Cream	Benefit	Benetint	Benetit - Sample	Like

Anything that is "love" I love and use a lot. Blushes I like are blushes I like. I like using them, but they're not do or die. I have a few "Meh's" in there which means I've tried to make it work and it's just not. Anything that's Pending is either new, unused, or just plain don't remember if I liked it. I've done this for all the base products so far. It's probably going to be harder to do this for single eye shadows but I'm going to do it for palettes.

Okay .. .now I'm ready for bed.

 

[Paint&Ink Chick]

@mel33t, @veronikawithak, @Rainbunny, @Maris Crane,
@Ajigglin, @shellygrrl, @burghchick, @charlotte366 -

THANK YOU so much for all of your support and encouragement! I really can't express my appreciation! It helps to come here, talk, vent, relate, and get it all out to ladies who understand the struggle. I have to go through and cull/sell, like some of you mentioned. I think because I really love all colours and finishes it makes it hard to figure out what are 'duds' to me and what are superstars. I have a BU of semi precious rose quartz that I may try to sell here. It's used, but there's still a lot left. Some things I bought BUs of I'm like "WHY OH WHY did you do that?!?" I know you gals can relate to this feeling. Sometimes I think selling is too much work for me - maybe swapping is better. However, swapping doesn't clear out my stash! But it certainly is fun! I guess either way, clearing out unwanted products is the goal.

I will have to do a palette swap out every week to get going on using those. Some days when I'm being lazy I think "Put that dang makeup on girl!!!" I have so much that it literally must be used every day. Most days I'm layering products upon products so that I'm using them up. it's good because it's intensifies colours and uses them up at the same time. By doing my inventory I have seen what colours are problem areas for me. For instance, I LOVE red lip glosses, but rarely wear them because I find them high maintenance and sometimes they make me feel self conscious. So, no more reds for me, one is more than enough!

Yesterday at CCO I bought a mascara, a blot powder, and one lipglass. Today I bought a nail top coat as I'm running out of my fav, and two new polishes for summer. Pretty good I say! I think I'm going to do a no buy for July and see how it feels. I was going to look into Moody Blooms but I'm not now - I have more than enough shadows and liners. Small victories I guess.

Thanks ladies! I will check in more often. This is a great group! xoxo

@Paint&Ink Chick - Congrats on your job girl! Fantastic!

Aww, thanks doll. I'm liking it so far, and I get to be fancy at work lol Meaning wear my make up! And small victories are good, go head girl lol..

@mel33t great idea, how did you make your spreadsheet? I really need to do one. And I thought I had a lot of blush lol. I can truely say I purge,sell and give away.

 

[PixieDancer]

Hello my Lovies! I have missed you all a ton. Thanks for all the well wishes and kind words!

I am still going to lay low for a bit longer while I sort through some tough emotions. I know myself all too well, and times like these typically send me into "Retail Therapy" mode. So I have to be really careful right now and focus on keeping myself on track while trying to get through this rough patch. Everything I've been sorting through emotionally has really opened my eyes in a lot of ways. To be grateful for every day we are given, to appreciate the loved ones and friends in our lives, to not waste a single day.
In all this Low-Buy chatter please try to remind yourself... at the end of the day this is all just STUFF. We can't take it with us and it doesn't come with a happiness guarantee. Feel beautiful because you ARE! Know you are worth every single happiness in life. Put on your pretty makeup but know you are just as beautiful without it. And if it was all gone tomorrow, know you made your moments count. Every one of you has touched me in a special and unique way. Even though this is the Internet, and we will most likely never meet in person, I have found amazing people on this forum and in this thread in particular. I am grateful for the chances I've had to share with all of you and have you share with me.

Good job on all the successes in here! I'm so proud! I'll be back very soon. I just wanted you all to know you're in my thoughts!

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Hello my Lovies! I have missed you all a ton. Thanks for all the well wishes and kind words!

I am still going to lay low for a bit longer while I sort through some tough emotions. I know myself all too well, and times like these typically send me into "Retail Therapy" mode. So I have to be really careful right now and focus on keeping myself on track while trying to get through this rough patch. Everything I've been sorting through emotionally has really opened my eyes in a lot of ways. To be grateful for every day we are given, to appreciate the loved ones and friends in our lives, to not waste a single day.
In all this Low-Buy chatter please try to remind yourself... at the end of the day this is all just STUFF. We can't take it with us and it doesn't come with a happiness guarantee. Feel beautiful because you ARE! Know you are worth every single happiness in life. Put on your pretty makeup but know you are just as beautiful without it. And if it was all gone tomorrow, know you made your moments count. Every one of you has touched me in a special and unique way. Even though this is the Internet, and we will most likely never meet in person, I have found amazing people on this forum and in this thread in particular. I am grateful for the chances I've had to share with all of you and have you share with me.

Good job on all the successes in here! I'm so proud! I'll be back very soon. I just wanted you all to know you're in my thoughts!

Hi Girl, Thank you for checking in with us, we miss you! You have created this safe space for us and I know we all appreciate it.

Thank you also reminding us of the important things in life & to not take a day, our loved ones, or ourselves for granted. You have a powerful message to share and we are listening. Sending you strength. xo

 

[DarylandCarole]

So I was able to finish my "face products" section of my Excel spreadsheet tonight. Here's what the numbers came out to be. One of the figures is... pretty bad. I knew I had a problem in that category... hboy: Base Products:

Primer	4
BB Cream	3
Foundation	9
Concealer	3
Powder	3
Setting Powder	5

One of the setting powder includes the Hourlgass Ambient Lighting Palette, but I included that as one thing...  Additional Face Products

Bronzer	16
Highlighter	31
Blush	113

:thud: ... the blush includes two x6 NARS palettes and two x4 NARS palettes each counted as one. It does not include palettes that have eyeshadows and blush and bronzer... that's a different ball game. How in God's name did I accumulate 113 blushes?!?! AND NOT ONE HAS HIT PAN?! No wonder...  I'm definitely going to go hardcore and start going through them and seeing what I don't like, already from this 30 day challenge I can toss/give away two. I can't part with my NARS or Tarte. Those are excellent quality and I love almost all of them. My Excel is sorted by product, brand, love/like/meh. See below for a clip:

Blush	Tarte	Amazonian Clay Blush	Achiote	Love
Blush	Tarte	Amazonian Clay Blush	Blissful	Pending
Blush	The Balm	Blush	Frat Boy	Like
Blush	Tom Ford	Cheek Color	Love Lust	Meh
Blush - Cream	Benefit	Benetint	Benetit - Sample	Like

Anything that is "love" I love and use a lot. Blushes I like are blushes I like. I like using them, but they're not do or die. I have a few "Meh's" in there which means I've tried to make it work and it's just not. Anything that's Pending is either new, unused, or just plain don't remember if I liked it. I've done this for all the base products so far. It's probably going to be harder to do this for single eye shadows but I'm going to do it for palettes.  Okay .. .now I'm ready for bed.  :thud:

Great job on itemizing everything. I'll be honest, I've wondered before if listing everything was really all that helpful, but I can see now how it could be. I'd bet a lot of us have more of something than we think. When I read your inventory it made me think about how many Blushes I have. I'm not a big blush fanatic so I would have guessed 5 tops. But when I counted I remembered 4 that I have in a palette and often forget about. I'm guessing that a lot of us do that. And we all have our things that we buy the most of. I know my weaknesses are lipstick and eyeshadows. Thanks so much for sharing your inventory process. I think the more people share about their areas of struggle, the more it helps others. You've inspired me to take stock of my things, starting with blushes and MSF s. 10 blushes 8 MSF (I've hit pan on 1 and have a BU of it, I counted both) Just doing that quick count will make me much more careful about buying those things because I have more than I thought. I come from a family where you only had 1 blush, 1 foundation, 1 mascara, so in those areas I haven't been too bad ( until last year I did only have 1 blush and 2 very old MSF S). But I'm guessing that I have more than 100 lipsticks and probably about the same amount of e/s. Just curious, when you all do these inventories, do you categorize by color for lippies and e/s?

 

[DarylandCarole]

Hello my Lovies! I have missed you all a ton. Thanks for all the well wishes and kind words! I am still going to lay low for a bit longer while I sort through some tough emotions. I know myself all too well, and times like these typically send me into "Retail Therapy" mode. So I have to be really careful right now and focus on keeping myself on track while trying to get through this rough patch. Everything I've been sorting through emotionally has really opened my eyes in a lot of ways. To be grateful for every day we are given, to appreciate the loved ones and friends in our lives, to not waste a single day.  In all this Low-Buy chatter please try to remind yourself... at the end of the day this is all just STUFF. We can't take it with us and it doesn't come with a happiness guarantee. Feel beautiful because you ARE! Know you are worth every single happiness in life. Put on your pretty makeup but know you are just as beautiful without it. And if it was all gone tomorrow, know you made your moments count. Every one of you has touched me in a special and unique way. Even though this is the Internet, and we will most likely never meet in person, I have found amazing people on this forum and in this thread in particular. I am grateful for the chances I've had to share with all of you and have you share with me. Good job on all the successes in here! I'm so proud! I'll be back very soon. I just wanted you all to know you're in my thoughts!

Im so glad to "see" you, Pixie! I was thinking of you last night. So sorry to hear that you're dealing with such a big thing. But I know that you are using the difficulty in the best way possible. You strike me as a person who looks for the worthwhile lessons even in bad situations. Your thread here has had such a positive influence on me. It has made me want to tackle a problem that I've had for a very long time (buying things to make myself feel better about love that I didn't have, the family that I wished I had but didn't, trying to fit in with people who made twice the money that I did... I could go on...). Thanks to this thread I'm sorting through everything I have, not just make-up. I don't want to hold onto things that I never use or look at. At the same time, I'm finding things that I had forgotten I had which are precious. You have helped me do this, what a great thing to have given. Hugs and love sent your way!

 

[DarylandCarole]

@mel33t , @veronikawithak , @Rainbunny , @Maris Crane , @Ajigglin, @shellygrrl, @burghchick, @charlotte366 -  THANK YOU so much for all of your support and encouragement!  I really can't express my appreciation!  It helps to come here, talk, vent, relate, and get it all out to ladies who understand the struggle.  I have to go through and cull/sell, like some of you mentioned.  I think because I really love all colours and finishes it makes it hard to figure out what are 'duds' to me and what are superstars.  I have a BU of semi precious rose quartz that I may try to sell here.  It's used, but there's still a lot left.  Some things I bought BUs of I'm like "WHY OH WHY did you do that?!?"  I know you gals can relate to this feeling.  Sometimes I think selling is too much work for me - maybe swapping is better.  However, swapping doesn't clear out my stash!  But it certainly is fun!  I guess either way, clearing out unwanted products is the goal.     I will have to do a palette swap out every week to get going on using those.  Some days when I'm being lazy I think "Put that dang makeup on girl!!!"  I have so much that it literally must be used every day.  Most days I'm layering products upon products so that I'm using them up.  it's good because it's intensifies colours and uses them up at the same time.  By doing my inventory I have seen what colours are problem areas for me.  For instance, I LOVE red lip glosses, but rarely wear them because I find them high maintenance and sometimes they make me feel self conscious.  So, no more reds for me, one is more than enough!      Yesterday at CCO I bought a mascara, a blot powder, and one lipglass.  Today I bought a nail top coat as I'm running out of my fav, and two new polishes for summer.  Pretty good I say!  I think I'm going to do a no buy for July and see how it feels.  I was going to look into Moody Blooms but I'm not now - I have more than enough shadows and liners.  Small victories I guess.     Thanks ladies! I will check in more often.  This is a great group! xoxo @Paint&Ink Chick  - Congrats on your job girl!  Fantastic! 

So glad to hear that we helped in some way. You are certainly not alone in how you feel. I for one appreciate what you've shared. We can tell ourselves not to buy things, and probably succeed in many cases. But I believe that if I don't understand why I bought it, I'll do it again. Or I'll buy something else. This way maybe we can enjoy what we have without guilt. That's my ultimate goal. Being balanced.

 

[Beautybuyer]

Hello my Lovies! I have missed you all a ton. Thanks for all the well wishes and kind words! I am still going to lay low for a bit longer while I sort through some tough emotions. I know myself all too well, and times like these typically send me into "Retail Therapy" mode. So I have to be really careful right now and focus on keeping myself on track while trying to get through this rough patch. Everything I've been sorting through emotionally has really opened my eyes in a lot of ways. To be grateful for every day we are given, to appreciate the loved ones and friends in our lives, to not waste a single day.  In all this Low-Buy chatter please try to remind yourself... at the end of the day this is all just STUFF. We can't take it with us and it doesn't come with a happiness guarantee. Feel beautiful because you ARE! Know you are worth every single happiness in life. Put on your pretty makeup but know you are just as beautiful without it. And if it was all gone tomorrow, know you made your moments count. Every one of you has touched me in a special and unique way. Even though this is the Internet, and we will most likely never meet in person, I have found amazing people on this forum and in this thread in particular. I am grateful for the chances I've had to share with all of you and have you share with me. Good job on all the successes in here! I'm so proud! I'll be back very soon. I just wanted you all to know you're in my thoughts!

I had been out of this thread for soooo long, (and haven't caught up yet) so I don't know what happened. But I hope what ever is going on gets better You are so loving, kind and strong, you'll get through it. Sending thoughts&prayer your way

 

[mel33t]

Aww, thanks doll. I'm liking it so far, and I get to be fancy at work lol Meaning wear my make up! And small victories are good, go head girl lol..

@mel33t great idea, how did you make your spreadsheet? I really need to do one. And I thought I had a lot of blush lol. I can truely say I purge,sell and give away.

I can share it with you. I saved it on Google Drive. I'm not finished, I still have lip and eye products to do. So far I have a blush tab (obviously), a base product tab, and a bronzer and highlight tab. I wanted to include the "like/love/meh" part because I want to actually know if it's something's worth keeping if it's under meh. If I don't like something, there's no reason it should take up room in my collection.
Quote: Originally Posted by burghchick


Great job on itemizing everything. I'll be honest, I've wondered before if listing everything was really all that helpful, but I can see now how it could be. I'd bet a lot of us have more of something than we think. When I read your inventory it made me think about how many Blushes I have. I'm not a big blush fanatic so I would have guessed 5 tops. But when I counted I remembered 4 that I have in a palette and often forget about. I'm guessing that a lot of us do that. And we all have our things that we buy the most of. I know my weaknesses are lipstick and eyeshadows.
Thanks so much for sharing your inventory process. I think the more people share about their areas of struggle, the more it helps others. You've inspired me to take stock of my things, starting with blushes and MSF s.

10 blushes
8 MSF (I've hit pan on 1 and have a BU of it, I counted both)

Just doing that quick count will make me much more careful about buying those things because I have more than I thought. I come from a family where you only had 1 blush, 1 foundation, 1 mascara, so in those areas I haven't been too bad ( until last year I did only have 1 blush and 2 very old MSF S). But I'm guessing that I have more than 100 lipsticks and probably about the same amount of e/s. Just curious, when you all do these inventories, do you categorize by color for lippies and e/s?

You're welcome

I haven't done lipstick or e/s yet, I might try to put a category in for color. I didn't do that with the blushes because honestly I didn't even think about it lol. But it might be a good idea to see how many coral blushes I have. I am going to be a little more cautious about blushes in the future. I knew I had a problem with this particular category. I've always liked blush and it's just how it is. I would really like to hit pan on a few of my old ones (anything 2 years +) - might start working on that.

I think counting it out is a good way to see what you have and to not overbuy something. I know I have doubles of certain things because I'm not thinking about it. The reason I have three concealers is because one is for my face and the other two are both the Maybeline instant age rewind concealer because I thought I didn't have it when I bought the other one. So this one is still in packaging.

Thank you guys for your support and most importantly the non-judgement. I was nervous sharing this info. I'm so thankful for a great community like this to be able to share everything. You guys are awesome!!

 

[NaomiH]

Hello my Lovies! I have missed you all a ton. Thanks for all the well wishes and kind words!

I am still going to lay low for a bit longer while I sort through some tough emotions. I know myself all too well, and times like these typically send me into "Retail Therapy" mode. So I have to be really careful right now and focus on keeping myself on track while trying to get through this rough patch. Everything I've been sorting through emotionally has really opened my eyes in a lot of ways. To be grateful for every day we are given, to appreciate the loved ones and friends in our lives, to not waste a single day.
In all this Low-Buy chatter please try to remind yourself... at the end of the day this is all just STUFF. We can't take it with us and it doesn't come with a happiness guarantee. Feel beautiful because you ARE! Know you are worth every single happiness in life. Put on your pretty makeup but know you are just as beautiful without it. And if it was all gone tomorrow, know you made your moments count. Every one of you has touched me in a special and unique way. Even though this is the Internet, and we will most likely never meet in person, I have found amazing people on this forum and in this thread in particular. I am grateful for the chances I've had to share with all of you and have you share with me.

Good job on all the successes in here! I'm so proud! I'll be back very soon. I just wanted you all to know you're in my thoughts!

I love you Pixie, and hope that you're doing okay. You are such a ray of sunlight in this forum with your wit, humor, incredible sweetness and willingness to help others. I hope that whatever you're going through rights itself for you soon. Huge hugs and lots of love.

 

[Glitteryvegas]

So glad to hear that we helped in some way. You are certainly not alone in how you feel. I for one appreciate what you've shared. We can tell ourselves not to buy things, and probably succeed in many cases. But I believe that if I don't understand why I bought it, I'll do it again. Or I'll buy something else. This way maybe we can enjoy what we have without guilt. That's my ultimate goal. Being balanced.

Thanks lady! I really appreciate what you said above regarding looking for acceptance, etc. and filling the void through makeup. For me I think a big problem is that I buy when I'm sad or happy. Buying seems to make every emotion better, but it doesn't. It just makes me poor and I eventually forget about all of the lovely things that I bought.

I'm determined to put my money into more exciting ventures, like quality time with my loved ones. You can't buy the time back once it's gone.

I know other women who are maybe more obsessed with finding a good deal/shopping than I am. They have incredible potential but look like they are going around in circles accumulating. I don't want to be 60 and still running around in circles with my life. It's time to get a grip and take control. I have a lot to do and life is precious!

The other day I was describing my collection to an woman who is good with her money. As I was talking to her, I came to this very obvious realization. Paying off debt means you are constantly living in the past. Paying for things that you can't afford (or, paying for things that you can afford but have a lot of) means that you can't move forward with your life as quickly and go in the right direction. You remain tethered to your history (through debt and old bad habits).

Every day I make new realizations and I get closer to my best self. (Sorry for the Louise Hay/Oprah moment...haha..actually I'm not sorry - OPRAHH!!!!!! I love her!!!)

@mel33t - Your collection sounds dreamy (not to encourage you or anything!) - I applaud your strategic tactics here with your spreadsheets, organizing and your rating system (love it!). I think the rating system will be especially helpful! You are making great strides towards success! Thanks for sharing your story. xo

 

[Maris Crane]

@Glitteryvegas, I feel like I could've written that. Has anyone noticed when they've been on a sucsessful makeup no buy, all they've managed to do, is buy say... more clothes and shoes? I did so well as far as buying almost no makeup for a good 4 months, but I don't know how proud I can be when I watched my handbag collection grow so much, I managed to add some long-time fashion lems to my list, but it still didn't help me save - I just switched one addiction for another. The time is nigh, really. I want to do so much travelling (I have Mauritius in December, but I still eventually want to reach Russia, Egypt, Italy and crazily North Korea - though that one I may just have to learn about from The Interview and documentaries) and I have no dependants. Stuff is nice, but stuff kind of sucks when you have no real memories. And on the low-buy topic: I think I'm going to purge Clinique Black Honey cream liner. The texture is beautiful, but it's so, so sheer - I feel like all I get is the glitter and not the rich, red brown it looks in the pot. It looks BETTER when I put on mascara, but it's still not something I'll really use. I think I've used this maybe 5x at most since I bought it last fall... eek.

 

[mel33t]

@GlierttyVegas I know exactly what you mean by the paying off debts and going in a vicious circle. I have to say that I learned my lesson about a year ago. And while I am still paying down some credit card debit, not much left, I NEVER buy any beauty products or unnecessary items on my credit card. Period. I don't want to be paying a loan for my lipsticks. Thank you for your comment I have a hard time giving things away because I honestly do like almost everything. But I think that in order to downsize and get use out of my spending I'm going to have to come up with something!! @Maris Crane I get you completely. Today I saw Zara had a sale and I almost went in but didn't. My ultimate goal is to trim my spending across the board, makeup is just my problem area. Is there something you could do in your spare time to get rid of that need? Maybe try reorganizing your closet. That always helps me. I have my CPA exam so luckily that keeps me from being out too much. But before when I was trying not to spend I would go exercise. And by exercising I mean either walking or swimming because I can't run for my life but I can swim like a mermaid.

 

[Maris Crane]

@Maris Crane I get you completely. Today I saw Zara had a sale and I almost went in but didn't. My ultimate goal is to trim my spending across the board, makeup is just my problem area. Is there something you could do in your spare time to get rid of that need? Maybe try reorganizing your closet. That always helps me. I have my CPA exam so luckily that keeps me from being out too much. But before when I was trying not to spend I would go exercise. And by exercising I mean either walking or swimming because I can't run for my life but I can swim like a mermaid.

Oh gawd no. The Zara sale has started? Must. Resist. I find even with a hobby during spare time, at work it's kind of difficult as I'm sitting at a computer, and it's impossible not to have all my favourite sites up to browse on. Not to mention, these websites are very good at emailing you when there's a coupon code or a sale starting.

 

[CrimsonQuill157]

Hey ladies! Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately! I've been mostly browing via mobile and it's a royal pain.

I'm seeing lots of good progress from you ladies! Good work and keep it up!

I've been pretty good myself - I skipped Moody Blooms and I haven't bought makeup in probably two weeks. Huge step for me.

 

[shellygrrl]

Has anyone noticed when they've been on a sucsessful makeup no buy, all they've managed to do, is buy say... more clothes and shoes? I did so well as far as buying almost no makeup for a good 4 months, but I don't know how proud I can be when I watched my handbag collection grow so much, I managed to add some long-time fashion lems to my list, but it still didn't help me save - I just switched one addiction for another.

I did buy some new clothes in the first half of the year, in lieu of makeup, along with a pair of boots. This after I got rid of a lot of clothes, shoes, and handbags last year. I haven't brought in as much as I purged, though. (And I think I'm due for a routine purge soon anyway. )

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Hey Gals!

Just going through makeup bags and I have so many! How do you decide when you like them all? Do you pick a number that you think is okay and then choose your favs?

I guess this could apply to really anything that I have too much of.

Today I went through sample sizes, etc. Going to give away a bunch. How many mini shampoos do you really need? Probably just one, or an empty container that you fill up when you travel (IE: None).

I also started a sale in the clearance bin and have already sold some stuff! YAY!

Hope everyone is having a good day

 

[Glitteryvegas]

And yes ladies! If I'm not shopping for makeup I usually transfer it to books, candles, bags. So really, the challenge is to stop shopping all together. I unsubscribed from MAC emails and Body Shop too.

I basically could open my own makeup counter, bookstore, and candle/lotion store with my items. When I feel the need to go shopping I need to go to my closet instead of to the mall!

 

[Yazmin]

I've fallen behind almost 1000 posts in this thread. Between work and travel, I haven't been on the boards as much.

I hope things are going well for everyone, and for those going through rough patches, hope you come through them soon.

As far as personal spending, I've been good lately. I only hauled two things from the Osbournes, and five items from Moody Blooms, though one of those may be getting the boot here soon. I did take advantage of a few deals at PHAMExpo over the weekend. I've become obsessed with false lashes lately now that I've gotten better at applying them and seeing how they can take a look from 0 to 100, so that made up the bulk of my purchases.

I'm hoping to take some time over this holiday weekend, not only to finally dive into my household clutter and whittle it down, but also to go through my collection and see what else I can part with.