Resolution "LOW-BUY" 2015

[Maris Crane]

I admit, I have quite a list for VIB:

Armani Eyes to Kill mascara, Eyes to Kill in 6 Khaki Pulse, & Master Corrector No. 1 (HG status, though)
NARS St-Paul-de-vence Duo & RCC in Chantilly
Surratt eyeshadow - one to try out
UD Sheer Revolution lipstick in Streak

I almost ordered another foundation, but I think I'll wait until I'm in the mood to go to a counter n_n

 

[veronikawithak]

Hey everyone! Haven't been on lately. Just been crazy busy with the end of the academic year. I was pretty much dead set on getting the Bite lip gloss set after my No Buy was over (Jan-April).. but the urge has left me. On vacation now and when I get back the VIB sale will be over. Not like 15% is so amazing anyway because it's just barely the tax for me. So I'll be skipping that business. Nothing else exciting going on in the makeup world for me. Today was the first day I put on anything in weeks. Just mascara and bronzer because we're down south. I do need a few basic things. Mostly full sizes of samples I've almost used up (face makeup - not color). I'm also planning on adding a few brushes because mine don't work as well as I'd like with the mineral makeup I've been wearing. Hope everyone's doing well! I'll try to catch up more next week.

 

[veronikawithak]

Tumbleweeds blowing through here.. (Sephora sale?) How's everyone's goals coming along?

 

[Audrey C]

I'm not buying a lot of makeup right now; I'll pick staples up here and there if I need them or indulge in the odd item I love but the frenzy is gone. I bought the KVD Shade & Light Eye Contour palette yesterday with my 15% discount at Sephora. I wear Monarch a lot. I recently gave away my coloured Inglot palette and have decided to pass on my neutral one to my daughter's friend. I like it but never reach for it.

I love eyeshadows but already have plenty, particularly in the neutral shades. I don't want to hoard, but I still enjoy buying items I really like. My solution is to keep my collection about the same size (although I'm definitely shrinking the number of blush and highlighters I own) by passing on items I'm neutral about to someone who will use them more.


I ended up returning the palette yesterday; it was ok but didn't blow me away the way Monarch did. I wish they'd had a tester on the floor but since they got one our of the back for me I couldn't try it out. If I'm going to add a palette at this point, it really has to be great. I tried it over four days (each of the quads plus a mix) and didn't find it anything special or particularly unique. On the last day, I pulled out the Inglot palette and tried that again. Although i don't use it as often as I probably should, it performed very well. A full work day later it looked like I'd just done my makeup. So the KVD palette went back and I kept the one I had. I'll have to try to put it in rotation more often.

Originally Posted by veronikawithak

Tumbleweeds blowing through here.. (Sephora sale?) How's everyone's goals coming along?

I exchanged the KVD palette for my standard Bobbi Brown BB cream. The tube I'm working on is about half empty and now that the sun is actually coming out, it becomes my daily foundation (SPF35). I mostly use the MUFE HD in the winter and pretty consistently go through one of each in a year. I also bought a replacement full size Bumble and Bumble oil primer because I know the bottle I'm using won't see me to the VIB sale in the fall.

I ended up with staples only and that's fine. I really don't need anything beyond that but often buy ahead a bit while things are on sale.

 

[mel33t]

Tumbleweeds blowing through here.. (Sephora sale?) How's everyone's goals coming along?

I bought a little more than I had planned, but I have been using everything I've purchased since I've purchased it. And I'm loving everything so that's even better I knew I was going to buy a good amount with tax season ending. I think for the next three months I really want to focus on my collection and start paring down again. I know there are blushes I'm not using and palettes I haven't touched. I'm moving in with my SO and I need to be space conscious. Right now my makeup sits on my dresser/vanity and takes up a drawer. I'm going to either DIY a vanity or find a better way to store it.

 

[kerry-jane88]

Ugh, having a bad low buy atm :/ I need to just stop now! I'm sure I could coast by with what I already have for a very long time.

 

[Buffy89]

Good to hear how everybody's doing! At the moment, I'm okay, but I'm afraid I'll fail in May. Mac's Wash&Dry is already up on the German site, so I ordered Hipness. (I'm not at home, so I don't know if somebody has received it for me or if it's at the post office) But I'm kinda craving for moooore just because of the packaging, although the only other reasonable item to purchase would be one of the brow products, to have one that really matches my brows (the collection will be at counters here in the beginning of May). I also really, really want two lipsticks from Chanel's summer collection (still to be released here) and several Huggable lippies from Mac.

I hope (and know) that I'll probably choose well and won't go overboard, but it feels weird at the moment. Just like IWANTALLTHOSETHINGS, but it's not really good for me, I know. Besides, I got a lot of stuff to do for uni so the three things that keep me running are coffee, carbs and lipstick.
At least clotheswise, I've done well. In April, I've only bought one top (didn't "need" it but it's oh so flattering) and a pair of jeans (definitely needed them because my old ones are almost falling apart). Planning to buy nothing but summer essentials (a pair of sandals or ballerina flats, one top that matches a pair of flowery-patterned trousers I already own, one new pair of summer trousers) and save my money, going to Paris in late August and I'll totally do some shopping there! And, most importantly, I'm wearing sweatpants most of the time, studying in front of my computer at home, so I don't "need" a huge variety of clothes (nor makeup!...).
Yesterday, I did a B2M for Captive, so I kinda got my regular lippie fix without spending money. I purged three lip products from my stash (all of them looked silly on me, either like Barbie's lipstick with my blonde hair or super vampy/really like a vampire because I'm really pale.....so rather like a halloween costume, not like "real" makeup), so I eventually had 6 items to exchange for a color I'm super comfortable with.

well, hard times, huh? But together we are strong!

 

[dodotheextinct]

Did okay for the Sephora Sale no makeup products but I picked up enough skincare to tide me over until the VIB sale in November. I wasn't expecting my order to be so high in price but then I was reminded that I also purchased skincare for my sister and mother (and they like expensive stuff).

On the eye shadow front I have been working my way through my loose pigment stash and have put almost half of the stash in a "to go" pile. While I love the unique finishes of loose eye shadows it's definitely a pain to apply in the morning half-asleep. I want to reduce the loose eye shadows down to about a quarter of what I used to have and after that is done I'll be doing the same testing procedure on my single shadows and then culling the dupes.

I have used up a few makeup products this month and a few are on their last legs so this month's empties will be super exciting for me.

 

[shellygrrl]

Tumbleweeds blowing through here.. (Sephora sale?) How's everyone's goals coming along?

I didn't buy anything in the sale, since I bought everything I needed already.

 

[veronikawithak]

I made a couple of purchases today. Was looking for a few things in particular but only ended up finding a shirt. I also caved and bought the Bite set that I said I wasn't going to buy.

Sigh. I shouldn't have gone in to look at it. At least I got rid of a few other things this morning - 3 lipsticks and 2 glosses that were almost finished got thrown in the B2M bag. I had enough recyclables for 3 lipsticks. So really I ended up with more makeup than I purged and it kind of feels like I'm on a treadmill.. but it's nice to be rid of all of that packaging. Plus I was down to 2 glosses - one shimmery/frosty one and one sheer minty one, so I guess it was time for a restock anyway. I still need to purchase some face makeup basics so I might do that tomorrow. I also really need some new bras and a good pair of black heels.. but the shopping here isn't great so I might just wait a few weeks until my next trip.

@Audrey C Sounds like a good choice swapping that palette for a staple!

@mel33t Glad you're enjoying everything! Moving is definitely a motivating factor for me in paring down too.

@kerry-jane88 Oh no! Direct that frustration to figuring out where things went wrong and try to shift yourself back on course! You can do it!

@Buffy89 Maybe it would help to write down a concrete plan for summer collections? I found writing out wishlists here helped me stay accountable. I hear you about uni and sweatpants! Looking forward to the end of that chapter of my life. Good luck with exams!!

@dodotheextinct Great job on the Sephora sale and working through your stash! It's always so satisfying when you finish a makeup item.
@shellygrrl

 

[jennyap]

I'm doing pretty well I think, I stuck to my 3 item limit in April - Hollywood Cerise and Blue Peep from Philip Treacy, and Catharina from the Ultimate collection, which is LE here but has recently restocked.

I knew I'd love HC, and I got Catharina (which is a very similar colour) instead of buying a BU of HC. Turns out that I really love both. HC is proper HG status, and I'm feeling a bit like I wouldn't mind if those were the only two lip products in my stash, so actually wishing I'd BU'd both!

I'm doing ok at purging - I reviewed my inventory, and my target for the year (all makeup, skincare, bath & body items) is a net reduction of 150. Crazy numbers - I won't even tell you how many that will still leave me with! I'm a bit behind where I should be for the year so far, but picking up speed. Will probably list a bunch of MAC stuff on the CB here pretty soon, and I've found a women's shelter to donate usable items to which will help - I don't really have anyone to pass stuff on to, so always felt horribly guilty throwing good stuff away if I just didn't want it any more.

I also put together a 'hit list' - the top 2 items in each category that I want to focus on using up. As soon as I finish one, I decide what is going to move into its place on the list. Doesn't mean that I'll use them all the time, but it helps keep me focused. The no.1 makeup items are in a tray on my vanity, and I'm trying to use at least one of them every day. The first day I did that, I purged one item straight away, because I realised I hated it on me!

I'm generally not looking at any other brands except MAC, which helps keep the purchases down. May will be a difficult month for me though, as both Wash & Dry and Mac is Beauty are expected to launch here. W&D I am confident I can limit to one item, but MIB is a tough one. My list is still 6 items long...

 

[kerry-jane88]

I've had a little think, to try and see how I can recover from a few bad months of low buy. January - 4 beauty items - was great: I found I was fatigued by all the Christmas and sales spending: it didn't appeal to me at all to buy anything other than essentials or what was already on my wants list. February - 20 beauty items - was when I went to Paris where I didn't go crazy compared to the haul happy times we seem to be living in, but still I could have left a couple of things behind, luckily the only disappointing purchases were low value anyway, apparent from my diptyque candle which ended up burning rubbish! March - 25 beauty items - I think took me by surprise. For thr most part, I hadn't been regularly buying Mac since 2013, so I was looking forward to a couple of launches that finally caught my attention. I wasn't preprared for them all at once though: Cinderella at the start of the month I was very restrained and got just the beauty powder compact, resisting the urge to get the stupid eye gloss and other items just because of the film hype. Julia petit was a week after, I got boca and Linda, plus wet road liner, which I could have done without really. Mia moretti hype pushed me to order media lipstick (hate it on me) plus tint ccb. By the time the big coachella Mia moretti collection launched, I hauled most of it, but sent half back, so I was left with the red lipstick (which I don't like on me summer wind ccb and the makeup bags. That's a lot of products, but add onto that general beauty buys plus a few sale purchases from debenhams and I found I was back into bad old habits. April - 11 beauty items - so far has been a continuation of those habits: seeking out previously skipped items and realising I skipped for a reason, succumbing to blind buying things my favourite ig/YouTube girls like, being a slave to discount codes and threshold spends for GWPs. Ugh I've had enough! I've had a look at my average beauty intake numbers per month and I'm thinking of setting a limit. I think one thing a week is more than reasonable. So that's a limit of 4/5 beauty items a month: that includes makeup, hair, body and accessories. I don't include toothpaste, basic wipes, cotton wool etc but everything else I simply MUST limit! I like this idea as it frees up a little room for compromise with myself, like ok, I want two items from a new collection? Well then looks like I'm not getting that extra treat from Lush, plus I'll need to replace my cleanser soon... etc.

 

[Buffy89]

I like this idea as it frees up a little room for compromise with myself, like ok, I want two items from a new collection? Well then looks like I'm not getting that extra treat from Lush, plus I'll need to replace my cleanser soon... etc.

Well in February and March, you did buy a large number of items, but April seems like a "recovery" to me looking at the numbers, although you were hunting for items you previously skipped and similar. So, you can get back on track!

I've been in a similar mood this month, I got 4 new products (one of them B2M), but 2 of them were ones I had skipped in March and I finally gave in and got them. Four items doesn't seem to be a lot, but thinking how much makeup I already own and what I could have done with that money (around 70 Euros), I still feel bad. Altough I bought a lot more in March, I did not feel as bound to consumerism back then.

@veronikawithak thanks for the advice, yes, I'll probably make a shopping list, setting my priorities straight, so I won't lose my head when I'm at the counter.

 

[kerry-jane88]

Funny how I felt like finding an affirmation tonight and this was the one I landed on

 

[veronikawithak]

Funny how I felt like finding an affirmation tonight and this was the one I landed on

So good! I really love this. Beauty is not makeup to me anymore, it's confidence and joy and self-expression. At least, that's the attitude I want to nurture in myself. I also want to focus on letting go of the preoccupation with cosmetics in general. At first it was the obsession about finding the "perfect" everything which resulted in excess - but then it turned into an obsession about reigning in the first obsession. I just want to experience the effortless maintenance stage.

 

[kerry-jane88]

So good! I really love this. Beauty is not makeup to me anymore, it's confidence and joy and self-expression. At least, that's the attitude I want to nurture in myself. I also want to focus on letting go of the preoccupation with cosmetics in general. At first it was the obsession about finding the "perfect" everything which resulted in excess - but then it turned into an obsession about reigning in the first obsession. I just want to experience the effortless maintenance stage.

Thanks for this reply it's made me very thoughtful. When do I feel most beautiful? When I've been smiling lots - which isnt related to how much makeup I have on my face. I need to get over the preoccupation with having or not having - I need to let it go and just 'be'.

 

[veronikawithak]

Thanks for this reply it's made me very thoughtful. When do I feel most beautiful? When I've been smiling lots - which isnt related to how much makeup I have on my face. I need to get over the preoccupation with having or not having - I need to let it go and just 'be'.

That's so true. I feel most beautiful when I'm around friends, smiling, like you said. So logically I should be spending more of my time and finances socializing rather than shopping.. just have to make a habit of putting that into practice. Maybe that's something we can work on together.

 

[DMcG9]

Funny how I felt like finding an affirmation tonight and this was the one I landed on

This should be the low-buy motto.

 

[nt234]

Tumbleweeds blowing through here.. (Sephora sale?) How's everyone's goals coming along?

I was able to narrow down my Sephora sale haul to 3 items, so that was good. Only one of them was an impulse purchase and that's because my birthday was yesterday so I wanted to splurge on a makeup/beauty item I've always wanted! (CL nailpolish in Tutulle)

That being said, I put my low-buy on hold for the entire month of April. lol.

Here's what I've picked up:

MAC is Beauty IGNK eye pencil
ABH lip gloss in Weekend Barbie
ABH eyeshadow in Pink Champagne (I think?)
Jaclyn Hill Favorites Palette
LA Splash liquid lipstick in Latte Confession
DOC liquid lipstick in Black Rose
Wet N Wild Hollywood Boulevard highlighter
BECCA blushed copper
Too Faced Better than Sex mascara
CL nail polish in Tutulle

1 eye pencil, 3 lip products, 1 single eyeshadow, 1 eyeshadow palette, 2 cheek products, 1 mascara, 1 nail polish

Pros: I was able to keep my Sephora buys to a minimum, and I didn't go overboard with MAC this month - although I am planning on getting a few lip pencils and maybe a blending brush tomorrow, but those are things that I'm trying to add to my collection anyway.

Cons: I need to work on my lip products to everything else ratio, and I should probably slow down on the cheek products as well! (After Colourpop releases their highlighters, of course)

 

[VAL4M]

My Sephora haul was also small .... and only one makeup item, good thing because I have no time for makeup anymore I gave birth to a little boy April 14th but I had time to do a wish list before, so it was easy at check out on the 17th
I purchased:
Caudalie Glycolic Peel (I finished my enzyme mask in March)
Perfume travel atomizer
Ren Serum Oil
Philosophy Salicylic acid treatment and moisturizer (my everyday moisturizer and the one I'm using right now is almost done)
Peter Thomas Roth Peel pads (I usually buy the Philosophy incredi-peel and wanted to see if this one is better)
Too Face Sugar pop palette (i just want to see the hype with those palettes, I could have gone with the Chocolat Bar palette but I have enough "Nude" palette in my stash)

So not bad but not good either.... My credit card is still have 0$ balance and this is my goal, I do not want to have a balance on my credit card for makeup purchase, so as long i'm buying based on the money I have in my bank account, I'm ok with my buying purchased.
My next purchase should be the MAC Wash and Dry collection (I want 3 items) in May
June it should be those Rae Morris brushes I saw on Beautylish (I want 4 brushes)
and July it should be the same Skincare products that i'm using.

with me wearing less makeup because I will be at home with baby should help me lemming less things.
I have to say I do not want to buy any lipstick this year because kissing baby with lipstick and leaving marks on that perfect little skin is a no no!