2018 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

[ElleElleG]

*updated 11/25/18*

The 2019 thread is now available here: 

Spoiler

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2019-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...#M342753

Hey all!  For the last few years the lovely @lnum has hosted this thread to help us stay motivated on our no-buys and low-buys. In an effort to keep her work alive, here is the 2018 edition.

The purpose of this thread (from lnum):

This thread is a support system for all of us who are trying to maintain a budget and keep our beauty spending limited. Post here when you have a weak moment, post here to hold yourself accountable, post here when you just need someone to talk to, post here when you have advice for all of us, and post here when you make mistakes but also make gains! Many of us post here to keep track of our monthly purchases. Anything you need to say, we are all here for each other. There's no judgement here.

Feel free to share your goals, items that tempt you, missteps (we don't believe in failures), and any successes.  Above all else, encourage and support one another.

Here's the OP from 2017 as well as the link for those interested: 

Spoiler

lnum wrote:

Welcome to Year 3!

My motto for this thread is that I strongly believe, even on a budget, you can have the things you want that make you happy without feeling like you're limiting yourself. 

This thread is a support system for all of us who are trying to maintain a budget and keep our beauty spending limited. Post here when you have a weak moment, post here to hold yourself accountable, post here when you just need someone to talk to, post here when you have advice for all of us, and post here when you make mistakes but also make gains! Many of us post here to keep track of our monthly purchases. Anything you need to say, we are all here for each other. There's no judgement here.

I am so excited to spend another year with you all. If it wasn't for the first two years of this thread, I would never have been able to cut down my beauty spending. My goal for this year is to maintain low spending on beauty, and cut down my clothing purchases. I will be funneling that money into traveling, which is what I have done in the past and it's a great goal that truly motivates me. 

I'm still so proud of everyone for making it through 2015 and 2016, limiting ourselves in the beauty product area in order to improve our lives in other areas. We all did great and here's to another year of learning and saving!

Here is a link to the 2015 thread: http://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB-ROUGE/2015-The-No-Buy-Low-Buy-Budget-Buy-Accountability-and-Supp...

2016 thread: 

http://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/2016-The-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILITY-AND-SUPPORT/td...

 2017 thread: https://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/2017-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILITY-AND-SUPPORT/m...

Interested in Some Challenges to Help You Use Your Stash?  Check Out These Threads:

Spoiler

Pan It! 2018 Challenge: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/Pan-It-2018-Challenge/m-p/3604337#M317498

Use Your Foil Samples Challenge: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/Use-Your-Foil-Samples-Challenge-January-2018/m-...

The Perfume Challenge: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Perfume-Posse/The-Perfume-Challenge/m-p/2633976#M18939

Mask of the Week Challenge: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Skincare-Aware/Mask-of-the-Week-Challenge/m-p/3615125#M44343

**are you participating in a challenge that I failed to mention?  if so please let me know I can link it here**

💜💜💜

[txcatx]

@ElleElleG I've actually been very happy with the Allure box lately and have used many of the products I've received. The Play box is starting to send repeats (but I've been subscribed since almost the beginning), so it may be time to put a pause on that one. It's a great point about the Allure spoilers, too.

[Susubee]

I just signed up for a second beauty box 🤦🏼‍♀️.

I've gotten Ipsy for over a year now and generally enjoy the products I get. I signed up for a six-month Birchbox subscription; so far, the deluxe free box I got was significantly more exciting than the actual box I got (why ask me if I usually airdry my hair to style, then give me a heat-styling treatment and a dry shampoo???). Instead of berating myself for the impulse sign-up, I've decided to just ride it out, compare the two after six months is up, and pick the one that's giving me a better selection of products. OR, if getting double-minis every month is keeping me from overbuying full-size products from Sephora and Ulta- keep both!

My thought is: It's ten dollars a month (each) for things that I probabaly couldn't get as samples otherwise. I typically prefer sample sizes because I like trying new things, so this way I'm never paying for full size items I'll start to hate using halfway through when I get bored. Also, I really like saving up the minis to put in my mom's Christmas stocking. 

[sparklekai]

things i do NOT recommend doing - putting prices by items in your inventory

[pinyo]

That would terrify me and I fortunately don't have the time to give myself that heart attack 😄

I'm very curious as to how many lip products I have though...I'd guess at least 200...it's so bad!

[sparklekai]

do.not.do.it!!!!

lips
primer	0
liners	26
lipstick	158
lip crayons	39
liquid lipsticks	60
gloss	26
balms	14
scrubs	2
	325

[Lazybeautybeast]

OMG! That would be scary! That would be a major reality check. If my spending this year gets out of hand, I may have to start writing the prices on every item in my collection as a gentle reminder of how much I've spent already.

[sparklekai]

i'm glad i did this after i did my massive declutter - because i'm not sure if i could handle the reality of how much money just went out the door. 

[MissPuff]

@sparklekai Haha, I barely even want to COUNT my collections, let alone add prices! You are a braver soul than I.

[sparklekai]

@MissPuff i have WAYYYYY to much time on my hands and i like to scare myself apparently!

i thought the inventory would help me with purchasing the same thing multiple times - since i have bought the same single shadow 5 times since i did the inventory i'm not sure its working

[MissPuff]

@sparklekai But now you have backups! 🙂

[ContouringinTX]

Great idea for a thread, @ElleElleG. I currently have $190 worth of L'Occitane in my basket, and my fingers are itching to click the purchase button. I mean, double points on skincare? Such a great deal. I've been back and forth for two days. Yes, ,my skin is dry, but no, I don't reaaaally need premium products. Very torn. 

[RGbrown]

@ContouringinTX

If it helps...

190 extra points doesn't even get you 2 deluxe samples. Extra points are nice bonus if you are buying anyways, but to me at least, they aren't enough to justify a splurge. If L'Occitane isn't your usual, skip it from Sephora. Their direct site usually has much better gifts for much lower buy-ins.   

(their current GWP is a DS and several foils, with only $40 buy-in 🙂

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Savvy-Shoppers/Deals-Too-Good-to-Pass-Up-Volume-Six/m-p/3671806/hig... )

[ContouringinTX]

@RGbrown that helps a lot. Thank you for the perspective and the link - that does look like a much better deal. 

[RGbrown]

@ContouringinTX@ElleElleG

Aw shucks, twas nothing. Always happy to help with deal alternatives 😊

[ElleElleG]

From $190 down to $40, that alone is progress @ContouringinTX .

I agree with @RGbrown that the points multipliers are not worth much unless you actually need to purchase something.  Thanks RGbrown for sharing an alternative!

[KateLovesYSL]

I love this thread! This will be my 4th year on my low buy/no buy journey and I find it has gotten soo much easier as each year goes by! I've reduced spending for material things in all areas of my life and have reallocated those savings to trips, paying for my daughter's university and living expenses in another city, and experiences such as attending the performing arts/concerts. I'm so much happier and more fullfilled. Sometimes I even get a sick feeling when I'm looking at all the make up I have that is barely used and mentally add up the equivalent of a few luxurious trips or think of home renovations I could have spent it on instead. 

In 2017, my sephora purchases were for my daughters and friends. For myself, I only purchased 3 eyebrow pencils to get me through 2018, even though I was heavily tempted by so many releases. When I got a 20% off code I spent a week filling and unfilling my basket and reading reviews and threads on the brands and found it really hard to resist. The night before it expired, I went to bed early so I wouldn't be tempted to buy anything! 

For those just starting out , just take it one week at a time, decide what is a priority for you, stay accountable on this thread, and reward yourself periodically with non beauty related purchases! Shopping your stash and using up your samples will curb the need for something new! I still have sooo many samples and back ups after being on the past 3 years! 

I love this community but have shifted to more frequently reading blogs /articles /Reddit threads about being frugal, savings, and minimalism to help keep my mind focused as my impulse to spend has been around for decades and it's still hard to shake off at times, especially when stressed. Keep an eye on your moods/feelings to hone into the reasons you may be spending so you can think of alternate things to do in those circumstances.

Good luck everyone!! 😊

[ElleElleG]

Thank you @KateLovesYSL I sure hope you'll continute to share some of the frugal and minimalism things you discover.

[pinyo]

My 2017 was almost exactly as you described...

I was crazy into makeup in 2016 and when I'm interested in something, I go all in. Starting in 2017, I saw the sheer masses of makeup I had and thought to myself...what is a girl who literally only uses highlight on her cheekbones perhaps 3-5x a week going to do with 20+ highlights?? And then you do the same math for the lipsticks, blushes, eyeshadows...the list goes on!

I'm so grateful that my makeup fanaticism has died down significantly because I have so much more money to allocate towards things that are even more important to me. Trips, memories, cultural experiences, savings (the stars and clouds knows we all need that!) It's such a liberating feeling to be ever so slowly reducing my makeup collection to a more straightforward, "staples" collection. 

[Kay522]

I did a terrible job in 2017 on keeping my makeup buying down. Though I did manage to not hit Rouge again. So, I am on a pretty strict low-buy for 2018; refilling basics and that's it! Minus the one eyeliner I bought the other day. <.<

To keep myself accountable, I'm going to keep a running list of what I buy. SO far for January we have:

-KVD Basket Case Eyeliner (Big GD fan, couldn't resist! I never buy collabs for the sake of the collab except this)

-Sephora gel concealer (Basic and I was out)

About to buy within the next week:

-Fenty Stunna Lip Paint (Gift for my best friend)

[ElleElleG]

Hmm, perhaps I should adopt this idea as well.  Thanks for sharing @Kay522 !

[Susubee]

Ooo. Keeping a list here is a great idea!