Resolution "LOW-BUY" 2015

[DMcG9]

* NYX Megashine Lip Gloss - Nude Pink

That is really odd. I don't blame you for tossing it especially if you are in the market for an upgrade on a blush brush.

 

[charlotte366]

I am making more progress I think, more is going out than is coming in now and I am renewing more focus on slimming down the stash further. I went through last week and managed to get rid of a carrier bag full of really old or drugstore items that I just don't use any more. That went in the rubbish last week so I am starting a new bag this week, although I suspect that slimming down from now on in will get harder :-( I am adopting an approach similar to @veronikawithak in that I am picking the top items to go back into my stash, then I review the remainder and work out whether they stay or go. Some categorises I am nearly there on, current progress is as follows: I am down to 3 highlighters, 1 radiance primer and 2 bronzers. I have mascara to last me for the whole year so on a no buy with those whilst I work my way through them. Powder I am nearly down to my back up pressed powder and have 1 loose and a Guerlain balls. Foundation, I have seleted my high ends to keep/use up and now trying to work out what to do with my drugstore versions. Eyeliner..... I think I am now getting there, reminding myself how old some of them are is making it easier to part with them, then I am reminding myself that I only ever wear black, brown and a soft taupe so everything else is excess! I am however having significant problems destashing the lipsticks, eyeshadows and blushes, anyone got any suggestions on these ? Planning on tackling my nail polish stash too this week, I wear gels on my fingers so I definately don't need such a stash for my toes, need to go through and select a couple of brights, couple of darks and a nude or too and then destash the rest I think!

 

[veronikawithak]

@charlotte366 great job slimming down your stash!! Sounds like you've accomplished tons! For lipsticks and blushes, have you gone through and checked for dupes? Usually similar colors look almost identical once you put them on. How about formulas? Are they all pigmented enough, smooth, easy to apply? Do all of them suit you and your style? Do you put each of them on and marvel at how stunning you look, or do you have to work at it? If you had to pay retail price for it in store right this second, would you still buy it? If you're struggling, sometimes it helps to take a break too. You'll be able to see how much of a benefit downsizing other areas has had and that will be extra motivation! I often go through long stretches where I don't get rid of anything, and then suddenly I'm ready to let go. Don't force it too much!

A bit of an update for me:

Since I'm moving soon I wanted to get a new bag to fit all of my makeup in one place. None of the ones I had were quite right. I finally found one!: http://shop.herschelsupply.ca/collections/travel/products/chapter-travel-kit-polka-dot-small

I transferred everything to it yesterday and it actually fits ALL of my makeup and ALL of my nail polish. To keep things organized, I have smaller bags inside for lipsticks, lipglosses, blushes, bronzer/contour/highlight, and nail polish. It also fits a little box where I keep my mineral samples. Both of my eyeshadow palettes fit in the mesh pocket on the side. I have a few other items sitting on top of everything, and it's still not stuffed full! My goal for ages has been to be a "one makeup bag woman" and I think I've finally made it! Granted, it's a much bigger bag than most women probably have.. it's more the size of a large men's toiletry bag. But I'm thrilled. Plus the fact that my nail polish fits too and I can probably store my hairbrush on top.. So excited.

I also just booked a grad trip with my SO down south next month! First time I've been on vacation since I was a teenager..

I purchased a few clothing items yesterday: a couple of summer blouses, a skirt that I've been trying to find in my size for weeks, a summer dress (I only have 3 others, had to toss some last year that got worn out or didn't fit), and a bathing suit (I haven't had a bathing suit for years and I desperately needed one for this trip). I also need to get a watch but the one I wanted was out of stock. Hopefully it comes back in soon. I'm finding it a lot easier to shop every few months.. I can really narrow down the list to things I actually need rather than just browsing the stores.

Oh and I used a B2M for Hue. I still have 3 left though.

 

[kerry-jane88]

Give me strength girls! Feeling very stressed out this week, I've spent the while day adding up stuff in shopping carts and nearly buying stuff :/ Managed to resist so far, thought if I aired it out on here it might diffuse the madness!

 

[awickedshape]

Give me strength girls! Feeling very stressed out this week, I've spent the while day adding up stuff in shopping carts and nearly buying stuff :/ Managed to resist so far, thought if I aired it out on here it might diffuse the madness!

Be strong!

 

[treasuremymac]

Managed to resist so far, thought if I aired it out on here it might diffuse the madness!

I totally understand!! I did the same the other day when the new heatwave made an appearance on sephora and I ended up buying it along with a MUFE powder. If youre gonna do it, at least limit yourself to one or two items but try not to go through with it. Hang in there!!!

If you think you cant resist, try and leave the computer for a bit, take a walk or call a friend. Youll get distracted enough that youll have forgotten about the need to buy those items

Also, if youre outdoorsy at all, try and take advantage of that and join a sports league, take up a new sports hobby or meet up with friends for a walk. I did that this weekend instead of shopping and I felt so good. I ended up going on a long hike and even went to the archery range It was so nice to get away from the mall and resist the urge to buy things I dont truly need. I will admit Ive caved a few times last week thanks to macs newest releases but not as badly as i initially thought i would

You can do it!

 

[treasuremymac]

That is funny about the AA Shadows! I lemminged for them so much and I have like five of them and I don't use the greens very much. Ughhh I need to make an effort this summer with them. I love my Loreil one and the purple is pretty good but I could've done without as many greens. *SIGH* oh well. I told hubs the other day now that I've stemmed the flow I can focus on using up and giving away/throwing out. It's getting easier as I weed things out that I've put away for 'one day' etc once I realize that one day is probably far away and I need to either use it or lose it! lol. I've also been using up a lot of bath products lately, like random soaps and body butters. My SIL is hairstylist, so I've got hair product covered and it's awesome. She always gets me the nicest products for Xmas and my birthday. She got me a mini OPI Hawaii set for my birthday last month and the colours are awesome. The lasting power is great!

I don't even bother checking any threads to see what I'm missing - although I did look into this BBW thread to see the green polish. Yes it's gorgeous, but easy to recreate with another brand if people are interested. I'm sure there's a million dupes.

I just counted the products that I've used up or sold or given away since July 2014 and my total is 144! (leaving like a million products in my stash...but....lol). For me that's pretty amazing because I never thought I would be able to give away or use up that many products. I'm wondering if I should set a goal this year to use up a certain amount of products or specific ones? What do ya'll think works best?

Im struggling with the same issue. I have sold and given away many items and have more to go. Im afraid of taking a picture of ALL my items from my vanity and whats in my "backup" drawers. Drawer 1 is overflowing and Drawer 2 is getting there. I am thinking of taking EVERYTHING out this weekend, taking a picture of it all and selling or giving away items I havent used in the past 3 months and keep what I have used. If you look at what you use on a regular basis then you can limit yourself to that and get rid of what you have hiding in your drawers. Setting a numerical limit may be hard bc it may be too high or low of a number unless you have a specific routine you have in place that will let you predict how many of each item youll need.

Im not sure what other method I can suggest since it varies for everyone.

I have a few items I havent touched (MAC Brook Shields palette used once, Lorac 1 and 2 never used, Maya Mia never used, over 20 MUFE eyeshadows I havent touched yet and so much more). I feel guilt for owning all this....I want to be able to get rid of it without regret...sigh. We will get there soon enough!

 

[shellygrrl]

Give me strength girls! Feeling very stressed out this week, I've spent the while day adding up stuff in shopping carts and nearly buying stuff :/ Managed to resist so far, thought if I aired it out on here it might diffuse the madness!

Stay strong!

 

[Maris Crane]

Everytime I use one of my cream eyshadows (I keep them all in a container, so I have to dig in to get the colour want) I remind myself I need to cull and get rid of the ones I don't use. But then I remember that that random orange one looks great Amber Lights and I put off going through them all. I need motivation!

But I did use Maybelline Rich Mahogany today as a base.

 

[Buffy89]

Give me strength girls! Feeling very stressed out this week, I've spent the while day adding up stuff in shopping carts and nearly buying stuff :/ Managed to resist so far, thought if I aired it out on here it might diffuse the madness!

I'm totally in the same situation, seems like nothing's going right at the moment for me and I'm majorly stressing out...hope I'll feel better after my exam. Although I won't buy makeup, I'm planning to treat myself with a pair of spring shoes or so (purged a lot of my sneakers because they don't really match the clothes I'm wearing, so it is time for some leather flats). Stay strong and treat yourself with some Othmar nice things, like going to a restaurant or to the cinema, or you could do some spring cleaning to get back on track and to remember you don't want all that superfluous stuff

 

[Buffy89]

I'm totally in the same situation, seems like nothing's going right at the moment for me and I'm majorly stressing out...hope I'll feel better after my exam. Although I won't buy makeup, I'm planning to treat myself with a pair of spring shoes or so (purged a lot of my sneakers because they don't really match the clothes I'm wearing, so it is time for some leather flats). Stay strong and treat yourself with some Othmar nice things, like going to a restaurant or to the cinema, or you could do some spring cleaning to get back on track and to remember you don't want all that superfluous stuff

Haha autocorrect..."other" not "Othmar"!

 

[veronikawithak]

Give me strength girls! Feeling very stressed out this week, I've spent the while day adding up stuff in shopping carts and nearly buying stuff :/ Managed to resist so far, thought if I aired it out on here it might diffuse the madness!

Just remember that shopping to relieve stress often has the opposite effect. You don't want to be adding guilt and buyer's remorse to those already negative feelings! Do something that actually either reduces the source of your stress or helps you cope in a positive way instead. Hang in there!

 

[VAL4M]

@fakecake We're so glad to have you! Thanks for jumping on board! I hear you on hiding things away.. when everything is organized in boxes and tucked out of sight it can be so easy to forget how much you have. You might find an inventory helpful! Maybe do a before and after once you've gotten rid of all of those 5-10 year old products? That could be really motivating in itself, depending on how you feel about it. I know some people feel wasteful, but for me I find it really encouraging that all of that stuff I wasn't using is no longer taking up space in my life or my thoughts! If going through your collection feels like too much of a burden, you can always split it up into categories and do it over a few days or weeks. Going gradually makes it seem way less overwhelming.

YouTube videos are a great resource! Here are a few of my favorite YouTube channels if you're interested (you might have seen them already):

• pinksofoxy aka the Queen of Decluttering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXTAgSto1ws This particular video is her 2014 inventory, after 2 years of downsizing you'd be amazed at what she accomplished. For example, she went from 120 lipsticks to 22! Just goes to show you how much you can achieve when you steadily work at it over time.
• prettypistol86 aka the Queen of Project Pan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu-u4EzQMek This is her most recent Project 20 Pan final update. I'm always amazed by how much she gets through, especially lip products!
• Amber F aka the Queen of Pan That Palette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnlPztZXoyk This is my favorite video of hers.. she shows her progress after 1 year of using up a Naked palette! Just amazing.

For how long it takes to use up products, I recommend this blog: http://www.brightestbulbinthebox.com/2013/03/how-many-swipes-are-in-tube-of-lipstick.html. She's got posts for blushes and eyeshadows as well. I calculated how long it would take to use up my collection based on grams per application and I have 7 powder blushes which would take me 5.5 years to use up, 21 eyeshadows which would take 4.5 years, and 16 lipsticks which would take me 5 years based on how often I reapply. Obviously your actual experience may differ based on how much you apply and whether you re-touch during the day.. but for me (I don't wear makeup daily, I use a light hand, and lipsticks are the only thing I reapply) clearly some things will expire before I get a chance to use them completely, even if I don't buy a single thing in those categories for 5 years! Time to get to it, lol.

@Glitteryvegas love your post on trashing/giving/selling! I've done a little bit of everything and I agree with what you've said. I always felt a little uncomfortable giving things away because most of my friends aren't into makeup the way I am, and I personally don't really like giving away products that have been used. With selling, you kind of have to be realistic that you might be selling a product for 25% of what you paid for it, if that. If it's used, it's especially difficult. Stemming the incoming flow of items and taking things slowly is absolutely key!

Good luck on the rest of your declutter process! I'm mostly done my makeup purging for now.. I'm down to 62 items, and at this point I'm just focusing on using things up that I probably won't replace. I've decided I'm satisfied with using an eyeshadow for my brows so I won't be replacing my pencil or gel when they're finished, plus a couple of LE lipsticks and glosses I won't be able to replace even if I did want to. In a few months I might re-evaluate.. I still feel like for my personal use I have a bit too much. I'm holding onto my dream of being a one makeup bag woman who regularly uses up products! Someday!

@burghchick When I sold a couple of my pigments, I kept a sample of each in a little ziploc baggie in case I wanted to use them. It was more than enough for a few applications and in 6 months I didn't even use those so I trashed them. I second Glitteryvegas' point about thinking of what else you deserve (peace of mind, etc.) instead of makeup!


I think just realizing that you're so well stocked can be really eye-opening. It's a major step to go from buying everything to limiting your spending for each collection, so be proud of your progress! As soon as I started a realistic limit that's when things became so much easier for me. At first I limited myself to 5 makeup items per month, then I slowly added in other things until I got to where I am now which is 5 non-essential material items per month (I still let myself purchase food, drinks, fitness classes, the occasional craft project - mostly consumable things). I feel comfortable with my current goals and it's still slightly challenging sometimes, but maybe in the future I'll be ready to work on more. Keep making those small, incremental changes and you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish!

That's too bad that you've been experiencing breakouts! I get so frustrated with my skin sometimes too, mostly hormonal issues.. I need to keep reminding myself about the pillows and sheets thing though! I know I don't wash mine nearly enough. What really stuck with me too is that as soon as you touch a brush to your eyes or face it's already got oils, skin cells, product residue, etc. on it. If you were to then dip that brush back in the product to apply more to the other side of your face.. it's already contaminating your makeup! Washing your brushes and sanitizing your items regularly definitely helps, but eventually the preservatives age and deteriorate to the point that they can't keep bacteria from growing. My mantra is that using expired makeup is not worth the health of my skin or eyes, so I will make the effort to buy quality, buy less, and replace more often. Even with tossing powder items after 2-3 years I'll be spending way less than I used to, and the amount of variety is probably close to the same since I tended to buy dupes or wear the same colors anyway! Plus I have a better chance of actually using things up because I'm regularly using everything I own.

YAY! I think I've only EVER hit pan on one blush in my entire life, Benefit Dandelion, and I ended up tossing it before I finished it. That was years of hoarding ago though and now I'm nowhere close on any of my powder products. Congrats! Hitting pan is such an oddly satisfying feeling isn't it?

OMG Thank you for those youtube links, I've been watching those video like crazy and really inspired me to finish a couple a thing before baby #2. Just need to focus!!!

 

[BunnyBunnyBunny]

I love hearing about you guys and your downscaled/controlled stashes! Makes me realize even more that I have way too much stuff. These days, I really only wear makeup for drag looks every once and a while, and while I love it all, I really don't need to purchase anymore. That's not even including my freelance stuff! And on top of that I got rid of probably 25% of my whole stash a few years ago when I moved. Just gave a huge bin of MAC stuff to a friend and left! I can't even remember half the shades I gave away other than nail polish and loooooooots of limited Mineralize eyeshadows.

My guilty pleasure is to collect MAC but I know I don't need anymore! I'm much more of a lurker these days, but I love the commitment to saving in this thread. I'm gonna work on more self control with new limited life products this year.

 

[kerry-jane88]

My friends taking me out to the Trafford centre today (closest thing to a mall in the UK!) so I think I'll let myself get a lush face mask for £6.50, as I could do with a perk up for my skin! I need to remind myself of all the things I'm going to run out of soon to keep my spending focused, as now I have less I'm getting through staples a lot quicker.

 

[awickedshape]

Dec

Well, I have maintaining my list and have been able to allocate more funds for facials, so I'm happy! Which is not to say that temptation is not around every corner (or beauty blog link).

Also, after trying two HE foundations and HE powders with unsatisfactory results, I have decided not to go that route anymore.

I am still looking for a high spf moisturizer without silicones.

Let's see how things go, LB2015

 

[kerry-jane88]

I think my biggest challenge for my low buy this year is realising that I ended up with like six of everything last year because i didn't wait to repurchase until i'd finished or nearly finished a product.

So i've given myself a guideline; not to repurchase until the near empty product is literally near empty!

But it's been hard! I think the lure of sales and discount codes is still strong, but i see now that that way of shopping made me buy too much and not at the right time.

I try to think: do i need it RIGHT NOW? and the answer is usually no.

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of numbers I'd like for each area of my beauty stash, but for now, staying away from bulk beauty buying orders is keeping my stash down.

Sure, it may cost a bit more in the long run by buying a product literally when i need it, but were talking like a few pounds difference right?

As i recognise that premptively buying products or repurchases didn't work so well for me last year, as most of the time by the time i got to my backup id be sick of using it or would have found someting more suitable!

 

[Buffy89]

Catching up again! The stress phase I recently had to go through has ended (my final exam on Friday went quite well) and now it's time for me to do something! I hope that everyone's doing well!

For the next weeks, I'm planning to take a look at my nail polish stash and either toss or give some polishes to my friends (used polish is not as weird to give to others as lip stick and such, I think). I also wanna clean out my wardrobe (trying to find someone to join me selling stuff at a flea market this sping/summer) and start to eat more healthy stuff and to work out. Since I did eat quite a lot of chocolate in the last weeks, I clearly need to.
This weekend, I went on a shopping spree (well...to reward myself for that exam) and did buy quite a lot of things. I got two new pairs of shoes (flat leather shoes which will look really cute with black tights and dresses...I mostly own sneakers but I don't really like them any more and prefer more grown-up shoes now and needed something else for spring than my winter boots), one t-shirt, and two dresses. I also bought two vintage silver rings at a flea market yesterday (2 euros each...yay!!!). I'm aware that my shopping should not get out of hand, so I'm slowing it down now.

Today it came to my mind that I haven't bought any nail polish for almost half a year

The last ones I bought were from Mac's A Novel Romance collection in September. Although I did not stay away from other cosmetics, that nail polish no buy wasn't as hard as I expected. I feel as if I owned every color under the sun and I kinda got tired and oversaturated with buying more. I either wear coral, burgundy or berry pink polishes, sometimes cherry red, and I do own more than five of each color...DEFINITELY won't need even more of each. Any other color, e.g. purple or green, feels kinda weird (although it can look fab on others) and I'm not really comfortable wearing these. Although I like testing one's comfort zone sometimes, I think wearing nail polishes I honestly dislike is the wrong approach, so I'll try to minimize my stash. It's been really helpful for me to calculate how much one application does cost when I own, like, 50 polishes, all of them rather pricey. I own some Chanel polishes I've worn myabe two or three times, and this thought makes me rather sick. Basically, the fact that this makes me sick is quite an achievement for me in my low buy career, if you get what I mean.

 

[Sandalskt]

I am just joining the 2015 low buy. I know I need nothing, but when I see a good buy I can't help myself. I am noting to limit myself to two items a month to start.

 

[kerry-jane88]

It's all so quiet... Shh...shh! Back in to reassess my mac collection wish list! I just got a few items from Julia Petit: Boca lipstick, Linda blush and wet road liquid last liner. I'd stayed out of the Jp thread for ages as I didn't want to get whipped up into a need it all frenzy, so I suppose I kind of forgot about the collection launching over here, so this small haul took me by surprise a bit as I hadn't been expecting to buy anymore Mac until the April collections, though I suppose Aprils not that far away now - where does the time go!? So as this collection came back into my focus these past few days, I've been watching Julia petit YouTube videos, and I'm thinking Boca is going to be a shade I like as its closest to the colours I've liked on her in her grwm vids like faux and brave etc. Linda blush was the thing that grabbed my attention the most as its seems like the kind of blush I'll be able to throw on easily. I find that 8/10 I put on a bronze/brown blush like Mac alpine bronze mb, rms beauty buriti bronzer or Tom ford shade and illuminate, so it will be nice to have something a bit more colourful but in a similar warming vein ya know Wet road liquid last liner : not gunna lie, didn't know of its existence until two days ago, so I suppose that makes it an impulse buy of sorts as I hadn't planned on getting it initially. I don't have a liquid liner in my stash atm as most drugstore ones I buy end up disappointing me, so I hope this ones fairly good. I love the name and I was drawn in by the shimmer of it like the bird I am! So I fully hold my hands up with this one and I'm calling it my frivolous purchase , which WOULD have been the Cinderella eye gloss, despite all rational reason not to get it, but thankfully it's completely sold out everywhere so I couldn't go back to find it after my initial restrained purchase of just the beauty powder. SO to combat my ever growing dent into my beauty budget for the year, I've left the Mac Is Beauty thread, as I can't be bothered chasing that one, for nudes lustres that I'll probably end up not loving on me anyway, I've found applying my nude satin so lightly over my heavily lip balmed lips gives the same effect. As the Mia moretti Pictures surfaced the yesterday, I've had to think harder about scaling. Back my purchases in other areas, as the collection really appeals to me, so I do think I'll be getting a fair bit from the Mia moretti collection. If I'm hauling MM then I'm going to skip the Amber and burgundy times nine palettes that I would have been getting next month. I'm sat trying to balance the scales of enjoying makeup and being sensible with my hobby!