Resolution "LOW-BUY" 2015

[shellygrrl]

Saw this, I can't read French though lol I just wanted to know what my little friend was called - idylle!

Some translation, courtesy of my leftover French knowledge from high school and some help from Google Translate...

Lovely Born April 20, 2013 She arrived with her mama Saha. Very joyous, she is excited for a bit of plastic. Suspicious on arrival, she now feels at home. You will see her browse the restaurant with assurance. * * * Pattenrond Born April 1, 2013 This cat was threatened with euthanasia when we found him. Hard to believe when you see all the love he has to give. As pack leader, he inspects the cafe from top to bottom and follows us everywhere to watch what we do. It will sit on your lap to prove that he is at home and he sits where he wants! You will of course be obliged to be laisser faire... * * * Idylle Born December 1, 2012 This small tortoiseshell is the most timid of the group. She took refuge in a cave. The more time passes, the more she feels at ease. She* happens to exercise her talent at the piano. If you see any scratches on the bench, look no further, this is the culprit. * for some reason the article started to refer to Idylle as "he", and not "she", here. I'm assuming it was a typo. * * * Salem Born May 1, 2013 This little [cat] was found in a lobby. He cannot stand solitude and, even less, silence. He is the happiest of cats among us!

Meanwhile, no FOTD from me today. Aunt Flow hates me, especially on day two.

 

[Glitteryvegas]

Glad it's going well. Nice to pass on the empties too!

Whoops! lol! I guessed I mistated - I'm giving away the products, but keeping the empty depots for B2M eventually. Right now I have enough for three products!!!

 

[thefbomb]

Whoops! lol!  I guessed I mistated - I'm giving away the products, but keeping the empty depots for B2M eventually.  Right now I have enough for three products!!! :flower:

Ah gotcha! Still nice!

 

[kerry-jane88]

Went to the Mac store on champs élysées the other day, they had a model with the red collection on she looked amazing! Swatched the give me fire eyeshadow I thought I'd like, to me it didn't seem that pink, more like a beige with like actual chunks of glitter in!? I dunno seemed gritty to me - skip! I actually ran out of my msfn whilst in Paris so that was a purchase I hadn't expected to factor in for my holiday but luckily the charges to use my card abroad aren't too bad - ran out of cash days ago it's so expensive just to breathe the congested air in Paris lol!

 

[Buffy89]

Went to the Mac store on champs élysées the other day, they had a model with the red collection on she looked amazing! Swatched the give me fire eyeshadow I thought I'd like, to me it didn't seem that pink, more like a beige with like actual chunks of glitter in!? I dunno seemed gritty to me - skip! I actually ran out of my msfn whilst in Paris so that was a purchase I hadn't expected to factor in for my holiday but luckily the charges to use my card abroad aren't too bad - ran out of cash days ago it's so expensive just to breathe the congested air in Paris lol!

oh Paris is sooo expensive! I was there in 2013 and back then, I was all about buying Urban Decay stuff (UD hasn't been available here until last summer ). Yay for skipping that eyeshadow! I really enjoyed Paris, especially the Louvre (I'm a history lover so it was like Disneyland for me, lol)... and Laduree Macarons...most delicious dessert on earth! Have fun!

 

[Elba]

Hey ladies, I've been shopping my stash lately and today I rediscovered this little palette:

It was my first mac palette, got it off ebay when I first started to get into makeup. For a long time, my go to look was the beige shade all over the lid, the bronze in crease and the dark brown as liner. I recreated the look today and I still think it's lovely. Easy, no fuss, quick. The shades are really buttery and almost blend themselves. Anyways, there's not really a point to this post, just wanted to share.

 

[treasuremymac]

Anyways, there's not really a point to this post, just wanted to share.

Its always nice to find hidden gems that remind you of your start in makeup. I still have a few of mine from when I was 18 :0 just to remind me of how far I've come! LOL
I used to rock this amazingly rad (or at least I thought so!) silver cream stick eyeshadow by loreal and then use black liner to create a simple line and top it off with mascara and generously apply maybelline wetshine diamonds lipstick in a tacky light pink with silver reflects to my lips. The early 2000s were a great time for bad makeup (Im sure we can thank the JLow, Britney Spears a la "oops I did it again" and Christina Aguilera)

 

[ramarose]

I'm trying to get back into using colored eyeshadow again. In my mind it's just less quick than my go to neutral look, but it's such a waste! I wore some purples today and it took about the same amount of time and is still appropriate for work. Yay to re exploring my collection!

 

[shellygrrl]

Had a little play with my makeup yesterday. Results are on my Instagram (username in signature). It's a slight twist on a tutorial look by Karima from Shameless Fripperies (her "Little Black Dress of Makeup" look, which is pretty much a classic smoky eye). Products used... * Benefit The POREfessional * NARS Sheer Glow Foundation - Siberia * MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer - NW15 * OCC Skin Conceal - Y1 * Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - Transparent * Anastasia Brow Powder Duo - Ash Brown * Maybelline Brow Drama brow gel - Clear * NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base * MAC Paint Pot - Painterly * Victoria's Secret eyeshadow - Bunny (discontinued; all over lid) * MAC Eyeshadow - Copperplate (crease/transition colour) * MAC Eyeshadow - Brun (initial lid colour) * Urban Decay Smoked Palette - Backdoor (switched to this as it's more pigmented than Brun) * Makeup Geek eyeshadows - Corrupt (outer corner) and Rockstar (inner corner) * Urban Decay 24/7 Double-ended Eye Pencil - Zero/Whiskey (Zero on lashlines, Whiskey in lower waterline) * Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil - Perversion (upper waterline) * Marc Jacobs O!Mega Volume mascara - Blaquer * Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Mascara - Black * MAC Blushes - mix of Next to Skin and Taupe (contour) * NARS Blush - Sex Appeal * Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Bootycall (cheek highlight) * MAC Lipstick - Feed the Senses

 

[jennyap]

Quote:Originally Posted by shellygrrl

Had a little play with my makeup yesterday. Results are on my Instagram (username in signature). It's a slight twist on a tutorial look by Karima from Shameless Fripperies (her "Little Black Dress of Makeup" look, which is pretty much a classic smoky eye).

Products used...
* Benefit The POREfessional
* NARS Sheer Glow Foundation - Siberia
* MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer - NW15
* OCC Skin Conceal - Y1
* Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - Transparent
* Anastasia Brow Powder Duo - Ash Brown
* Maybelline Brow Drama brow gel - Clear
* NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base
* MAC Paint Pot - Painterly
* Victoria's Secret eyeshadow - Bunny (discontinued; all over lid)
* MAC Eyeshadow - Copperplate (crease/transition colour)
* MAC Eyeshadow - Brun (initial lid colour)
* Urban Decay Smoked Palette - Backdoor (switched to this as it's more pigmented than Brun)
* Makeup Geek eyeshadows - Corrupt (outer corner) and Rockstar (inner corner)
* Urban Decay 24/7 Double-ended Eye Pencil - Zero/Whiskey (Zero on lashlines, Whiskey in lower waterline)
* Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil - Perversion (upper waterline)
* Marc Jacobs O!Mega Volume mascara - Blaquer
* Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Mascara - Black
* MAC Blushes - mix of Next to Skin and Taupe (contour)
* NARS Blush - Sex Appeal
* Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Bootycall (cheek highlight)
* MAC Lipstick - Feed the Senses


I snuck a peek - gorgeous! I'm always so impressed how many products you manage to use too. I've been on a pigment kick this week - I have quite a few (all minis from holiday collections) and barely ever use them. Some I've still not done more than swatch. I used Tan (for the first time) two days in a row, I liked it that much. My look today: Dior Hydralife BB Creme Nars Light Reflecting Powder - loose Urban Decay Primer Potion MAC Pigment - Just Before Dawn (lid) MAC Eyeshadow - Copperplate (crease/transition) MAC Eyeshadow - Bisque (below brow) MAC Eyeshadow - Shroom (inner corner) By Terry Crayon Khol - Bronze Generation (lower waterline) Lancome Hypnose mascara MAC Blush - Easy Manner Guerlain Rouge G lipstick - Gladys The eyeliner is new to me (gift) and supposedly waterline safe, but I have some mild irritation so I won't be using it there again.

 

[treasuremymac]

Here's the TLR version:

Hopelessly attached to makeup but need to sell it and stop overspending on items I wont end up using. Finds herself buying new stuff even though she committed herself to a low-buy plan. Anyone else struggling?

Long version:

I'm hoping someone on here can give me some advice or moral support even though I've never met anyone off this site but everyone on here seems pretty supportive and cool so here goes!

So right after convincing myself that I was going on a low-buy plan and limiting myself to TWO items per MAC release (and other items in general), I "relapsed." I caved into the Toledo collection and bought four of the lipsticks and two lipglasses. And the worst part is they are sitting there in my makeup drawer...havent tried them yet. I have every intention but I have so much makeup (a drawer full of stuff in addition to whats on my vanity) and Im struggling to figure out how it got this way. I've never been a makeup hoarder and love love love makeup...Id much rather spend a friday night playing with makeup and giving make-overs to friends but what I own now seems a bit much for me. Ive always been pretty conservative with how much makeup I own and never excessive so I dont know how to explain this change. Im not by any means excessive like some ppl in those youtube videos that have full drawers full of stuff (not that its bad...just not my thing).

Ive always gotten by with no more than two small makeup bags full of items. Maybe one of each product and a few extra lipstick colors for variety. Now I find myself with multiples of certain palettes (backups bc you know ...its SOOO easy to use up an eyeshadow palette, lol!), some collectors items (I blame MAC for this!), things I bought on sale bc sale prices are very rare! (lol, thanks Sephora!)..anyway you can probably sense my sarcasm from a mile away...the point is I somehow convinced myself I needed all of this and most of it hasnt been used at all or regularly.

Its also a struggle because Im planning a move (dont like the area I live in and need a change of pace) so Im furiously de-stashing but find myself still looking at new makeup online or on IG and longing to have more. I also feel a since of "attachment" to some of my makeup and am struggling to sell it even though its just a material possession...

Sorry for the rant...Im hoping someone can identify with this problem and give me some guidance. It helps to know there are others going through this now or perhaps before. If you have or are currently dealing with this problem, how did you "cope" lol!

Thanks everyone!

 

[shellygrrl]

When do you think this change in your beauty buying habits started? If you can work that out, you can determine what your triggers are and how to proceed from there.

 

[mel33t]

Here's the TLR version: Hopelessly attached to makeup but need to sell it and stop overspending on items I wont end up using. Finds herself buying new stuff even though she committed herself to a low-buy plan. Anyone else struggling? Long version: I'm hoping someone on here can give me some advice or moral support even though I've never met anyone off this site but everyone on here seems pretty supportive and cool so here goes! So right after convincing myself that I was going on a low-buy plan and limiting myself to TWO items per MAC release (and other items in general), I "relapsed." I caved into the Toledo collection and bought four of the lipsticks and two lipglasses. And the worst part is they are sitting there in my makeup drawer...havent tried them yet. I have every intention but I have so much makeup (a drawer full of stuff in addition to whats on my vanity) and Im struggling to figure out how it got this way. I've never been a makeup hoarder and love love love makeup...Id much rather spend a friday night playing with makeup and giving make-overs to friends but what I own now seems a bit much for me. Ive always been pretty conservative with how much makeup I own and never excessive so I dont know how to explain this change. Im not by any means excessive like some ppl in those youtube videos that have full drawers full of stuff (not that its bad...just not my thing). Ive always gotten by with no more than two small makeup bags full of items. Maybe one of each product and a few extra lipstick colors for variety. Now I find myself with multiples of certain palettes (backups bc you know ...its SOOO easy to use up an eyeshadow palette, lol!), some collectors items (I blame MAC for this!), things I bought on sale bc sale prices are very rare! (lol, thanks Sephora!)..anyway you can probably sense my sarcasm from a mile away...the point is I somehow convinced myself I needed all of this and most of it hasnt been used at all or regularly. Its also a struggle because Im planning a move (dont like the area I live in and need a change of pace) so Im furiously de-stashing but find myself still looking at new makeup online or on IG and longing to have more. I also feel a since of "attachment" to some of my makeup and am struggling to sell it even though its just a material possession... Sorry for the rant...Im hoping someone can identify with this problem and give me some guidance. It helps to know there are others going through this now or perhaps before. If you have or are currently dealing with this problem, how did you "cope" lol! Thanks everyone!

I agree with Shelly. Find your triggers that make you want to spend the money. For me it can be having a rough day at work, having a fight with friends or family, anything that makes me upset basically. For me, personally, it is a daily struggle to not buy things I don't need. I am doing a lot better, but it takes time. We all slide sometimes. I would also recommend putting down all of your makeup into an inventory so you can really see how much you have. That was a huge wakeup call for me and really helped me to think before purchasing. You can do this. :frenz:

 

[Buffy89]

I agree with Shelly. Find your triggers that make you want to spend the money. For me it can be having a rough day at work, having a fight with friends or family, anything that makes me upset basically. For me, personally, it is a daily struggle to not buy things I don't need. I am doing a lot better, but it takes time. We all slide sometimes. I would also recommend putting down all of your makeup into an inventory so you can really see how much you have. That was a huge wakeup call for me and really helped me to think before purchasing. You can do this. :frenz:

I also agree. But most of us here have been in simular situations, so I'm sure you can do this, too! Yestetday I went to my Mac counter to buy the new VG lipglass. Still unsure about the lipstick, though. It's really pretty but I still kept two hot pink lipsticks (purged the others) so I think I'll see how often I wear them. If I used them more often, I'd justify purchasing the VG lippie. Luckily, there's no need to hurry. I also got Twig lipstick bringing my empties B2M. Also tried Kinda Sexy because it's supposed to be similar to Oxblood from the current collection. Well, it was looking good, but quite unusual in comparison to lip colors I normally wear. So maybe I won't really be able to rock this kinda color. It did not look totally off, but neither amazing. Might skip Oxblood then!*yay*

 

[veronikawithak]

Hi @treasuremymac! Welcome!!

We have ALL been there! Kudos to you for recognizing that your purchasing is no longer making you happy. That's a big step in itself, and even just being open to change is a start. It's a long road back up.. but I can say from experience that with some dedication and commitment you WILL get to a point you're happy with. It just takes time and being truly honest with yourself!

I personally try to keep all of these things in mind about my makeup purchasing habits:

• Be ready to change. This is #1! If you're not truly ready to commit to a lifestyle shift, you'll end up making up all kinds of excuses for yourself. Been there.
• Set concrete goals, and maybe an item limit or beauty budget. Stick to it! Pretty self-explanatory, and doing some of the other things below will help with the motivation to stay on track.
• Forgive yourself for slipping up, but then re-commit to your goals. Mistakes happen.. MAC's summer collection last year I just went absolutely crazy and bought waaay too many items. But after that I re-evaluated what I was doing (and WHY it didn't work - this is key!), made the necessary changes, and really made some great progress after that.
• Think about your motivation. Why do you want to do this? Every time you shop for makeup, think about whether buying that item will bring you closer to your goals.. or further away.
• Confront your feelings, don't self-medicate with shopping. This was HUGE for me.. once I stopped using purchasing things as a crutch to deal with stress or sadness or loneliness, I was able to actually feel the emotions I was trying to avoid. We're pressured by social media and advertising to feel positive things all of the time.. but the reality is that humans are emotional and when we accept that we can just go with it! Once you deal with the underlying feelings, you can work on those instead of delaying the problem with spending.
• Remember makeup is a consumable, NOT a collectible. Most contain antibacterial agents and preservatives but those eventually start to break down - leaving your products open to all kinds of bacterial colonies. Makeup is not worth the health of your eyes or skin. No matter how much companies try to dress up the packaging to make it look like a collector's item, as soon as you purchase that item it starts to lose its value and eventually expires. Don't rely on the idea of being able to sell something later, you often end up losing money on makeup items.
• Your material possessions are not an extension of your personality. They're just inanimate objects. Advertising does an amazing job of subtly making us feel inadequate so we buy the product to fulfill some idealized version of ourselves. That new pink lipstick will not make your lips any fuller or more luscious than the last pink lipstick you just bought. Nor will it make you better at applying makeup. Practice will make you better at applying makeup. Think about what you're getting out of buying makeup, then try to create that feeling in a more healthy way!
• Get rid of the temptation. Willpower is a muscle, and eventually it will get tired. Unsubscribe from mailing lists, collection threads.. avoid walking past stores. Don't set yourself up for failure by exposing yourself to all of these opportunities to buy. Once you're really solid in your low buy and have made progress, you can slowly add these back in and see how you do.
• Add in inspirational content - instead of watching hauls on YouTube, search for Project Pan or declutter videos. Watch channels that have a realistic amount of makeup instead of drawers and drawers and drawers full. Shift your focus to tutorials and try to create looks using items you already own.
• Make yourself accountable. Find a friend to go on a low buy with, post updates in this thread, keep track of how you're doing so you can stay motivated.
• Watch out for dupes. Nobody will notice the specific shade of blush you're wearing. There's only so many shades and once they're on your skin the differences tend to be even more minimal.
• Wear your favorite things every day instead of saving them for special occasions. Get rid of the sub-par formulas and focus on things that you really love so you can get as much joy out of your stash as you can. This will help you feel like you have everything you need, rather than pushing you to go out and purchase more.
• Find other coping mechanisms. Do things to help yourself feel good that don't involve purchasing anything. Take baths, read a book, learn how to do something new, talk to a friend. Whatever works for you. Hobbies are great. I love taking classes that get me doing something physical because they're challenging, social, and they make me feel good about myself in a natural way - endorphins and confidence!
• Spend money on experiences rather than possessions. A vacation and the memories of it will bring you much more joy overall than a piece of makeup sitting in a drawer. If you add up all of those $20 purchases you might be surprised to learn that you could have taken a couple of great trips instead. I enjoyed the book The Myths of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky which explains why a lot of people are ultimately disappointed by our purchases of even big items like houses or vehicles.
• Be realistic with yourself about how much you own and how much it cost. This might not be for everyone, but I keep an updated inventory of exactly how many products I own and how much everything cost. It's one of those things where you look at everything organized in a drawer and it doesn't seem like much but it's really hundreds of items or thousands of dollars. It can help to know the numbers so that in a store you can remember that you already have multiple lipsticks in a certain color and don't need any more. Maybe create an ideal inventory of the numbers you'd like to have, and work towards it.
• Similar to the last point, be realistic about how long makeup takes to use up. One lipstick can last you a few months even if you reapply every day.. Multiply that by how many you have and you easily could have stock for 5, 10, 20 years. I watch a YouTuber named Amber F and she used her Naked palette for an entire year and just barely finished it using it pretty much every day.. Which means backups are usually a bad idea! By the time you actually finish something, there will definitely be a bunch of new things that are even better. Formulas get better all the time, so you don't want to feel stuck using older products. Now add in the part about expiration.. It never feels good to be throwing out a bunch of barely used makeup that smells off or doesn't perform well anymore, just because you had so much to use that you never got to it.
• HAVE FUN with it.. you're never going to fully stick to something until you're ready, committed, motivated, and excited! Figure out a way to challenge yourself and still have fun with makeup as a hobby but not as an unhealthy obsession.

I hope you found a couple of these points helpful. Remember that this is YOUR journey and only you can decide what your goals are and how you can best reach them. This is such a personal thing, and what works for some people might not work for you. So choose which tips from everyone speak to you the most, and try to keep those in mind. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress this year! Wishing you all the best! Make sure you keep us updated on how you're doing.

 

[Buffy89]

@veronikawithak oh wow, what a brilliant summary of this whole thread (and the 2014 one). I'm gonna save/print this post so I got a motivational text at hand in moments of weakness. I'm on my phone so I cannot create those cool desktop version emojis at the moment, just imagine me inserting a lot of cheering/thanks emojis now.

 

[veronikawithak]

I'm on my phone so I cannot create those cool desktop version emojis at the moment, just imagine me inserting a lot of cheering/thanks emojis now.

@Buffy89 Thank you!

You're such a sweetheart.

I think it's important to keep in mind all of the little steps we've taken to get here. I remember really getting into purchasing makeup in the summer of 2012 and in less than a year I'd accumulated way too much and just felt guilty and sick about everything I'd wasted my money on. The last 8 months of 2013 I pretty much stopped altogether and thought I had kicked the habit. But then I got back into Specktra and the MAC collections and new things coming out at Sephora pulled me back in all over again! That was so disappointing and frustrating. In 2014 I got to Rouge at Sephora and I don't even want to know what I spent at MAC but it was probably at least as much. The last 6 months of 2014 were a lot better for me.. but I still spent more than I would have liked trying out some new natural brands.

In 2015 I've really made progress so far. I've only purchased two pieces of makeup ($95 total): a Buxom High Pigment Lip Pencil and the Hourglass Exposure eyeshadow palette. I haven't bought any cosmetics for almost 5 weeks now. I still have some areas of spending that I'm working on - I spent $200 on perfume oils in January-February and $150 on other products for hair, home, and bath & body. I usually place larger orders every few months or so to save on shipping and I used Christmas and birthday $ to cover some of it so I didn't go over my monthly 5 item limit. However, I still want to make sure I'm being careful about my purchases so I don't get obsessed with something new and give myself another setback! I just have to keep in mind everything that we've all learned over the past couple of years and put it to good use. It's easy to think about the most recent slip and get discouraged, but overall we've come so far together and this year will be a testament to that. Since 2012 I've completely changed my buying habits towards clothing, accessories, shoes and I think I've also finally got cosmetics under control. This year I'm going to work on staying stable with cosmetics and start focusing on fragrances (BPAL and BPTP have been a blessing and a curse since September!) and food. I'd really like to start making more lunches at home and spending less on snacks.

 

[jennyap]

I'm still at two makeup purchases for the year as well. I've got a few other bits - I get a really cute subscription box currently which is a mix of beauty and other items. It's been a really fun way of getting a regular parcel of new goodies without spending much money. No guilt if I try the products a couple of times then decide I don't like them either. The next one will be my sixth and I think that will be my last, else I'll start to accumulate too much (and with beauty stuff, I can see it getting repetitive after a while). Went shopping for a few things today, bought 3 items of clothing and a pair of headphones. Got a spring coat - my current one doesn't have a hood, and this does, so a nice upgrade. Also a pair of trousers and a cardigan for work - both will replace current items that are looking a bit worn or just not my favourite, so 3 in 3 out. The headphones I bought are also a replacement, I'd been using the ones that came with my phone for years, but they barely work any more. With not having bought much else this year, I was able to spend the money to buy a much better quality pair. I use them pretty much every day, so it's a worthwhile investment. All told, I'm really happy with how this year has started out

 

[Lipstickwh0re]

No new purchases yet. I think this has to do with my weight loss. I have to get all new clothes so all my money that's left over is being eaten up by clothing. I did almost spend some money on NARS products but I decided to wait till my birthday to buy new beauty items. I've never done huge haul before so I want to do one this year if I can.

 

[Buffy89]

@Buffy89 Thank you! :frenz: You're such a sweetheart. :bouquet: I think it's important to keep in mind all of the little steps we've taken to get here. I remember really getting into purchasing makeup in the summer of 2012 and in less than a year I'd accumulated way too much and just felt guilty and sick about everything I'd wasted my money on. The last 8 months of 2013 I pretty much stopped altogether and thought I had kicked the habit. But then I got back into Specktra and the MAC collections and new things coming out at Sephora pulled me back in all over again! That was so disappointing and frustrating. In 2014 I got to Rouge at Sephora and I don't even want to know what I spent at MAC but it was probably at least as much. The last 6 months of 2014 were a lot better for me.. but I still spent more than I would have liked trying out some new natural brands. In 2015 I've really made progress so far. I've only purchased two pieces of makeup ($95 total): a Buxom High Pigment Lip Pencil and the Hourglass Exposure eyeshadow palette. I haven't bought any cosmetics for almost 5 weeks now. I still have some areas of spending that I'm working on - I spent $200 on perfume oils in January-February and $150 on other products for hair, home, and bath & body. I usually place larger orders every few months or so to save on shipping and I used Christmas and birthday $ to cover some of it so I didn't go over my monthly 5 item limit. However, I still want to make sure I'm being careful about my purchases so I don't get obsessed with something new and give myself another setback! I just have to keep in mind everything that we've all learned over the past couple of years and put it to good use. It's easy to think about the most recent slip and get discouraged, but overall we've come so far together and this year will be a testament to that. Since 2012 I've completely changed my buying habits towards clothing, accessories, shoes and I think I've also finally got cosmetics under control. This year I'm going to work on staying stable with cosmetics and start focusing on fragrances (BPAL and BPTP have been a blessing and a curse since September!) and food. I'd really like to start making more lunches at home and spending less on snacks.

Awww, you're welcome Well, my worst phase was around spring to fall 2014, and at the moment I think I'm doing all right, but there's always a need for even more improvement. Just as you say, one could prepare lunch at home (I'm still spending too much on coffee). I recently purchased a cappuccino creamer kinda thing so I can make lattes at home and enjoy them and take some time/have a break instead of having those takeaway ones in a hurry while walking somewhere. My clothes shopping habits have also improved. On my shopping spree this week which had been planned for a long time, I only purchased two blouses, a top and a cardigan, plus two pj pants. I had imagined to buy way more stuff, but I'm not dissatisfied about this (in contrast to former times). Still need to purge some old items, though.