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

[veronikawithak]

July No Buy - 1 Week Update

Today is the last day of my Week 1 challenge so here's a little update!

"Anyone can do anything for a week."

Week 1 Goals: Completed!

Goal 1: Purchase 0 material items
Goal 2: Use up a lipstick
Goal 3: Get rid of 3 nail polishes
Goal 4: Get rid of 3 eyeshadows
Goal 5: Try a new eyeshadow look

I was expecting the weekend to be pretty difficult.. but it was actually so much easier than I thought once I got through my mall trip on Friday! On Saturday and Sunday I went out with friends for most of the day so there was no temptation there. Really stoked about how well things went, and I can already see such a positive impact from having weekly goals. Since they're short term I can see results right away, I stay motivated and productive, and I don't get overwhelmed or frustrated because I know there's an end in sight!

On to next week!

Week 2 Goals:

Goal 1: Purchase 0 material items - no beauty products, no clothes or accessories. Basically nothing non-consumable. Allowable expenses include food and drinks, monthly bills, experiences like movie tickets. - This is a repeat from last week.. will be doing this one all month!

Goal 2: Use up a lipstick - This is also a repeat from last week. I'll be working on Peach Blossom now since it's the closest to being finished. I know I probably won't finish it completely this week but I want to use as much as I can.

Goal 3: Use an eyeshadow every day for a week - I'm going to use MAC's All That Glitters every day this week and try to use it in a variety of different looks. I thought this would be a good way to rotate through my eyeshadows but also work on using some of them up.

Goal 4: Makeup purgatory - Use one neglected item every day. I'm going to try and think of the item I used the least recently, generally the "I can't remember the last time I used this" item and use it that day.

Goal 5: Minimalist challenge - Every day I'm going to find items in my apartment to donate or trash. On Day 1, I'll let go of one item.. Day 2, two items.. etc. By the end of the week I will have let go of 28 items! They can be anything: makeup, beauty products, clothes or shoes, kitchen utensils, books, etc.

This week will be a little more challenging than the last I think! But I know I'm ready!

Trying to build some positive momentum in preparation for the upcoming collections.

 

[veronikawithak]

@kerry-jane88 Great job on letting go of your primers.. it can be really freeing to realize you don't like or use a whole category of products and just get rid of them! I LOVE the 1 in, 2 out rule.. I'm going to have to do that more myself, although I am almost down to where I'd like to be with my stash.

I also have to say that everyone's posts the last few days have been so inspiring to me.. you've all accomplished so much! Reading your thoughts and progress really keeps me on track with my goals too.

 

[shellygrrl]

I used to LOVE the Benefit They're Real mascara.. like obsession level. I got one recently and I can't stand it.. I hate the brush, the formula, the way it clumps together.. and I'm sitting there thinking "I must have piled this stuff on until I had tarantula lashes.. why didn't any of my friends say anything to me?" lol. I do love their Bad Gal though.

@veronikawothak They're Real is They're Worst. I hate everything about that mascara.

I bought a small size of They're Real! about a year or two ago. The wand is pretty good (IMO), but that's about it. I found the formula too wet and, yeah, clumpy. Actually, most of my experiences with high-end mascaras have been horrible (apart from my BareMinerals one; that one's a keeper for me). The high-end mascara that still makes me rage is original Diorshow. Ugh. So much loathing. At least that was a small size I got with a code. Meanwhile. Anyone know of a good dupe for UD Sidecar that doesn't have the horrible glittery fallout? I've seen MAC All That Glitters mentioned as a dupe in quite a few places but I just want to be sure.

 

[kerry-jane88]

Feeling inspired thanks to the past few days discussion on here! I played with my monsters bride palette, turns out I dont really like having my brows dark anymore so I'd probably put a lighter colour through them. Bit of an intense look for yoga but whatever My fone is so broke it only lets me take selfies, hmm...!

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Hey girl! I still have to go through the posts and play catch up, but I just wanted to say you're so beautiful!

 

[kerry-jane88]

Hey girl! I still have to go through the posts and play catch up, but I just wanted to say you're so beautiful! :bigthumb:   

Ty that's so nice of you to say

 

[NaomiH]

You look beautiful!

 

[kerry-jane88]

You look beautiful!

Ty for the compliment

 

[mel33t]

Had an "almost" slip up today. Walked into Sephora, but ended up walking right out just now. Its really tempting that two Sephora stores are with a five block radius and a MAC store is within a ten block radius. I clearly didn't need anything. But I've been stressed and usually a little treat will make me feel better. But the feeling never lasts.

 

[veronikawithak]

Had an "almost" slip up today. Walked into Sephora, but ended up walking right out just now. Its really tempting that two Sephora stores are with a five block radius and a MAC store is within a ten block radius. I clearly didn't need anything. But I've been stressed and usually a little treat will make me feel better. But the feeling never lasts.

WOW!! I'm so impressed right now.. I don't know what I'd do with all those stores around me. I didn't even know there were Sephora stores that close to each other. You are a champion girl! Keep at it!! You're right, the feeling never lasts.. but you can feel proud about how well you're doing and that will last!

 

[Jaymuhlee]

I clearly didn't need anything. But I've been stressed and usually a little treat will make me feel better. But the feeling never lasts.

Awesome job! It's that bad here in Chicago, too. On my way home from work I pass a MAC pro store, Sephora, and Ulta all practically across the street from one another lol. I did give in today though, at Ulta. I bought four Freeman masks that I've been wanting to try. They're normally $3.99 each but they were on sale for BOGO 50% off, I had their usual $3.50 off $10 coupon plus $9 in points to apply. My total came to 50 CENTS! I hope they're as awesome as I've heard/read.

 

[mel33t]

Awesome job! It's that bad here in Chicago, too. On my way home from work I pass a MAC pro store, Sephora, and Ulta all practically across the street from one another lol. I did give in today though, at Ulta. I bought four Freeman masks that I've been wanting to try. They're normally $3.99 each but they were on sale for BOGO 50% off, I had their usual $3.50 off $10 coupon plus $9 in points to apply. My total came to 50 CENTS! I hope they're as awesome as I've heard/read.

Okay now that's awesome!!, that's smart and savy shopping. I used the Pineapple one a year or so ago and I thought it worked pretty well. They're really affordable and I think they do the basic job. Its not Glam Glow, but I like that you get a lot more and that its in a tube.

 

[PixieDancer]

So RE sales and discounts being a big trigger for me,
I'll just explore here what I've realised:
If a retailer has a sale, more often than not i'll go into the store or onto the website of course looking for a bargain
but more often than the sale ends up dictating what im buying rather than what i would actually buy off of my general wishlist.
this has always made no sense to me really, why buy 2 or 3 of something because it's cheaper when it's not what you really want?

I've had great success with making a MAC collections wishlist and making myself whittle it down too,
I've bought hardly any LE mac this year and i know that staying strong through the launches with my wishlist has helped a lot

so i'm thinking i should apply this structure to other areas of my beauty stash
like skincare, bodycare and other brands i like like bobbi brown and estee lauder.

i think that's how we all end up with massive stashes isn't it really,
we see a product and think ooh that could work for me!
but like a lot of you are saying, i want to be using stuff that's my favourite and stuff that works for me and not against me

So i did an enexpected purge yesterday,
i got rid of most of the things i had that were 'old' mostly over 5 years and such
i gave up on using my mac nude rose and vg cyndi lippies as they were freaking me out coz theyd gone a bit funky so they went in the b2m pile
i made myself bin shadows ive pretty much never used or havent used in a long time

some items, like my bobbi brown nude on nude palette, used to be staples for me and the thought of ever getting rid of it seemed ridiculous
then i thought about how many times ive used it in teh past year? not so much
just because something used to be a staple doesnt mean i owe it anything now
even after i cleaned it up, the palette was still looking a little manky
so i went on a dupe discovery
i use the dark brown shade mahogany for my eyebrows: well mac brun and showstopper will do just as well, plus ive not been using my monsters bride palette containing brun at all
taupe shade cement had no exact dupes but i have so mny shades similar im not going to notice when theyre actually on my eye
the heather mauve shade i dont really wear unless im doing a full makeup, plus i have similar in my marc jacobs palette
and id used up the navajo shade anyway so the palette was missing a light shade

to make sure i dont miss it ive done the 'put it away in a box' thing
i can always fish it out if i miss it
i also boxed five blushes and i gave away two palettes

GO ME!
Yes... GO YOU! Proud mama moment! Hooray for your progress and moments of clarity!

You look beautiful! LOVE the full brows!

Quote: Originally Posted by mel33t

Had an "almost" slip up today. Walked into Sephora, but ended up walking right out just now. Its really tempting that two Sephora stores are with a five block radius and a MAC store is within a ten block radius.

I clearly didn't need anything. But I've been stressed and usually a little treat will make me feel better. But the feeling never lasts.

BRAVO! That's the way to practice a little self-control! Can we borrow this page from your playbook missy!? Good Job!

 

[kerry-jane88]

Haha thanks [@]PixieDancer[/@] Im gunna try different colours through my brows see what I like best,.

 

[lyseD]

Any suggestions for a drug store primer? I don't usually need one but this summer my face is melting.

Thank you.

 

[ChosenOne]

So RE sales and discounts being a big trigger for me,
I'll just explore here what I've realised:
If a retailer has a sale, more often than not i'll go into the store or onto the website of course looking for a bargain
but more often than the sale ends up dictating what im buying rather than what i would actually buy off of my general wishlist.
this has always made no sense to me really, why buy 2 or 3 of something because it's cheaper when it's not what you really want?

I didn't like Better Than Sex either, but it didn't flake on me. I just wasn't a fan. As for They're Real - loathe lol. That wand is a torture device! I had sore eyelids for days!

Flaking and clumping my lashes together are the two things I'm worried about with BTS mascara based on reviews and the shape of the wand. Guess I'll find out if it works for me once my perk arrives in the mail though, which will probably be tomorrow.

Quote: Originally Posted by shellygrrl



I bought a small size of They're Real! about a year or two ago. The wand is pretty good (IMO), but that's about it. I found the formula too wet and, yeah, clumpy.

Actually, most of my experiences with high-end mascaras have been horrible (apart from my BareMinerals one; that one's a keeper for me). The high-end mascara that still makes me rage is original Diorshow. Ugh. So much loathing. At least that was a small size I got with a code.

Meanwhile. Anyone know of a good dupe for UD Sidecar that doesn't have the horrible glittery fallout? I've seen MAC All That Glitters mentioned as a dupe in quite a few places but I just want to be sure.

AGREED on Diorshow mascara. It's the only product I've hated so much that I actually returned it. Actually, I would've returned the YSL mascara I got once too, but I foolishly threw the box away before realizing it burned the hell out of my eyes. Oh well...live and learn, right? Glad to hear I'm not the only one who hated Diorshow though!

 

[Alysse011]

@ChosenOne and Kerry-Jane: I'm right there with y'all. I unsubscribed to almost all emails and it has been so helpful. Those "specials" and "sales" can really sucker you in! With that being said, I saw that Anastasia came out with a new eyeshadow palette. I really want it :thdevil:

 

[veronikawithak]

Oh no! I just got a 100-points sample size of this mascara. Oh well, guess this is why I got the sample and didn't just bite the bullet and purchase it, right? Maybe I'll end up liking it though. I find it interesting that you used to love They're Real and now you don't. I wonder what changed? They're Real is currently the best mascara I've found. Still not quite perfect, but closer than anything else I've tried. I think mascaras and skincare are the two biggest things that are SO different from person to person for what works for them and what doesn't. It always fascinates me!

Flaking and clumping my lashes together are the two things I'm worried about with BTS mascara based on reviews and the shape of the wand. Guess I'll find out if it works for me once my perk arrives in the mail though, which will probably be tomorrow.

AGREED on Diorshow mascara. It's the only product I've hated so much that I actually returned it. Actually, I would've returned the YSL mascara I got once too, but I foolishly threw the box away before realizing it burned the hell out of my eyes. Oh well...live and learn, right? Glad to hear I'm not the only one who hated Diorshow though!

I'm loving mascara samples lately. I got the one from Sephora with 5 mascara samples for $30 and then you get to pick one of them to get the full size of. I also like that you can buy minis now for like $12.. they usually last me the 3 months before I toss them anyway.

Not sure what happened with They're Real.. I guess I went through a phase where I really liked to build it up to an excessively dramatic falsies look without actually having to apply falsies. I'm pretty sure I used to apply, then comb through, then apply, etc. But I'd rather have a mascara I can layer without having it clump so much.

 

[mel33t]

@ChosenOne and Kerry-Jane: I'm right there with y'all. I unsubscribed to almost all emails and it has been so helpful. Those "specials" and "sales" can really sucker you in! With that being said, I saw that Anastasia came out with a new eyeshadow palette. I really want it :thdevil:

Have you tried the Anastasia Lavish Palette? I've been interested for a while.

 

[PixieDancer]

Any suggestions for a drug store primer? I don't usually need one but this summer my face is melting.

Thank you.
Maybe a good setting spray would be a better product to pick up. I use my UD setting spray when it's hot or I'm doing stage performances where I might sweat due to the heat from the lights. A good setting spray should give you a nice seal to your makeup and keep it from breaking down. A good primer/ setting spray combo is ideal, but probably not necessary.


Quote: Originally Posted by mel33t


Have you tried the Anastasia Lavish Palette? I've been interested for a while.

I have and love my Lavish Palette. I find it a to be a perfect travel palette that yields many different looks in one sleek palette. However, if traveling isn't an issue for you, I'd have to say that most of the shades are very dupable. I think there may only be 2 shades in it that I feel are standouts on their own merit. I think she is supposed to come out with eyeshadow singles, so maybe waiting to get just a couple of the more unique colors would be a better option than commiting to a whole palette where you probably already have a lot of the shades. HTH