For some reason it feels so much more difficult to stick to my low-buy this year over last year! I have bought 2 things- both of which were on my list of things I wanted to get regardless because I have been waiting for them since before January- a pigment collection from one of my favorite indie cosmetic companies, Beauty From the Earth, because she's going out of business and the Sugarpill Sparkle Baby shadows and LE pigment from IMATS(a friend picked them up for me). But I feel like I have this growing list of things...things I am sure I don't need, haha. That Ulta 20% off isn't helping either because I really want to try the new NYX items and I was gifted some extra cash. Still limiting myself though...Perfect Topping and the two fluidlines from the new MAC, only b/c I've been wanting PT since I saw it ages ago and the liners are gorgeous colors, BUT I will still wait for some swatches just in case they match any of my gel liners from Inglot. Sigh...just had to get that out. :headbang:
I'm sorry you seem to be struggling. Thanks for sharing that. Its helpful to all of us to feel safe here and not judged. Doing well, or faltering... Its all part of the process. Just know we're here to support you no matter what!! I know you'll pull it together! There's LOTS of year left!
It's really interesting to see how long products last; I think it depends on what formula you use. I go through Lustres or Cremesheens faster than through Mattes. Anyway, a swap thread would be amazing for you ladies! I don't think I could participate 'cause shipping from/to Germany can get quite expensive but it's a great idea. My brushes arrived this morning and so far they look good. Also, I'm in love with the Naked 3. I've worn it the past two days. I hope the next 9 days will be a no-buy for me. This is my goal for January (pathetic, I know, but I've failed this month).
Don't say you failed. You are trying and that is something! Its all about awareness. If you still buy too much... Being aware instead of oblivious is still a step in the right direction. Trust me... I honestly don't need one more thing! But I enjoy being able to splurge a little here and there. So for me, it was more about being more conscious of what I was buying instead of telling myself NO BUY and failing miserably. That's why we're in this together. And as far as the usage info is concerned.... All that solidified my NO BACKUPS agenda for sure! The rate I'm going, I'd only use a BU if I lost something. And I sure as hell would gave enough alternate colors to choose from without having a BU!
These stats on how long it takes to finish an item are fascinating! I took a closer look at the Brightest Bulb in the Box blog and she also worked out how many swipes it would take to finish a lippie. For a MAC lipstick, it's 531!!! I did a little math and if you applied 3 times a day, it would take you 177 days to finish a lipstick. That's almost 6 months! I'm officially committing to a low buy for this year starting right now. With all the new info coming out about the Spring collections, I feeling tempted to buy and buy. Last year I started out really well with not buying and using up my stash. Then I made a long distance move and lost my mind hoarding products I thought I wouldn't be able to get them in my new town. I wanted to buy around a dozen products and ended up buying 23! That's not including a few things I got for Christmas. :thud: Ok, so for this year I'm going to do my best to stick to 12. Fairly Precious has been my only 2014 purchase so that leaves me 11 more items. To be honest, even 12 items is much more than I need but I'd drive myself crazy if I didn't treat myself every once in a while.
Definitely treat yourself or it will feel too much like a punishment. And when we feel punished, we feel shamed. Shame us not the answer! Thanks for joining us and setting a realistic low-buy goal for yourself!!!
This thread is good for my soul. I think I have hoarder tendencies too, but it depends on what I'm into at the moment. Then, I wake up one day and I'm like, meh. I also know that these days, the makeup shopping is directly proportional to how crappy I feel. Between work (or soon to be lack of), new baby, husband, feeling like my old self again postpartum, and winter blues in general, I'm amazed I haven't had a breakdown yet. I'm back to talking with a therapist regularly until benefits run out, and I'm trying to not spread myself so thin so I'm not so stressed. I miss the old me and I hope she comes back.
She'll be back and better than ever! Soak up that therapy and feel good about working in yourself. We are all works in progress... When you stop growing and chsnging ... You just stand still. Life is about moving forward! You'll come out of this a stronger woman! We support your course sweetie!
It made me freak out too!! There are so many I want to wear and so many I want to buy and I have so many already!! What I've definitely learnt from this thread is not to wear the ones I don't like, imagine wearing what you don't like for a whole 6 months in total!! Yikes!
That's RIGHT! I'm having a "proud mama" moment! Wear the ones you love. Learn from the ones you didn't... Then get them out of your stash quickly so theory don't burden you! Even if you gave to B2M a practically full lipstick... Bye bye! Good girl!!
I wonder how long it would take to get through a MAC pigment?
At those rates... An ETERNITY! HEEHEE
Been away from the computer a while, for travel and work. Operation low-buy is doing pretty well. I avoided any boxing day makeup sales. Since black friday, my purchases have included a few used nail polish, one new nail polish, and two cheap lip liner/pencils from a beauty supply store (I had none). I also managed to use up a few things from my stash, so things are going fairly well.
THATS AWESOME! Great to hear!! Bravo!
I am excited and scared at the same time to see what I uncover. I know that my house has been cluttered and I've bought more crap than ever since my dad died 6 years ago. I've never been super neat and I've always shopped too much but the makeup thing is so insanely out of hand. I do this with anything I'm interested in. Every phase I've gone through whether it was making jewelry or scrapbook, I've bought way more than I've used. I'm just determined to get out of this rut.
