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**

💜💜💜

[fantaji]

A few youtubers I watch religiously were recommending Essence all about matte powder. Can't vouch for it myself though.

[Lazybeautybeast]

Thanks @fantaji. I'll add it to my list. I've been hearing some great things about Essence lately.

[fantaji]

Saks decided to help me out with my goals this month - the beauty gift bag is so trashy and will be available well into March, so I will be saving my gift cards / cash for a better occasion. 

[fieldsofclover]

My new challenge in the 2018 panning thread has me excited, so I want to push myself a little harder here. After tonight I am going on a makeup no-buy until the VIB sale, because I want to buy myself a couple cashmere sweaters from Everlane and I'll feel a lot better about putting in an order there if I've been taking a break from makeup shopping!

My one exception will be to check on March 1st whether my Ulta is stocking the new Wet n' Wild holographic collection, and possibly get (only) the white highlighter since I've been looking for one for a while. Otherwise, I have more than enough to keep me busy in the meantime, including some orders from a couple weeks ago I haven't even picked up yet 📦

Spoiler

I live in an apartment, so we keep a UPS store box and sometimes ship things to my husband's office instead of taking deliveries at home and fretting about delivery errors or people taking stuff.

It removes the "high" of instant gratification too... since we both try to mostly use transit instead of driving and paying bridge tolls all the time, we usually only collect our packages every couple of weeks. The things I'm getting later this week are my orders from around February 9th!

[Samtian]

@fieldsofclover Ooh I do love me some cashmere sweaters! Great investment!

[PrettyPaint]

If you buy the Everlane sweaters, I’d love to hear your opinion on them @fieldsofclover. I feel like my sweaters wear out so quickly, and I need some investment pieces.

[fieldsofclover]

@PrettyPaint Definitely! I'm hoping to start getting more of my clothes there as I retire older things, because I like their supply chain transparency. I'm sure I'll have too much to say after I order them!

[Aaliaa]

Thank you for adding the spoiler, I actually wondered how you don't rip open the box the day its delivered. @fieldsofclover

[Lazybeautybeast]

You go girl @fieldsofclover! Getting excited about your challenge can really help! I'm holding out on major purchases until the VIB sale too. I have to trim my list though because added everything to my cart that I plan on getting during the sale and it was $600+ and pretties will just continue to come out. 😣 I'd like to cut that list in half at least.

[GG84]

@fieldsofclover @Lazybeautybeast I wish I could do that too...but it just feels sooo far away.

[Susubee]

The VIB sale in November?😳

Wow. Get in!

(Sidenote: yay, we'll get to see haul pics soon!)

[fieldsofclover]

@Susubee eek, I mean the one sometime in April!

I guess other than mascara/brow/setting product, I could theoretically go until November... I have too many exceptions to call it a no-buy, but I'll definitely be in low-buy territory for most of the year now. My birthday is in October so my Sephora shopping always spikes in the fall and winter (even before I was the Rouge sort) and settles down around now.

(For the morbidly curious, here's my running 2018 buy list:)

Spoiler

(* Starred items were impulse buys)

January

- Bite - pencil (Rhubarb)
- Bite - pencil (Violet)
- Becca - Light Chaser x4
- *Urban Decay - Naked Basics palette
- *Becca - Glow Gloss (opal/jade)
- Fenty - Hyper-Glitz (Sci-Fly backup)
- *CoverFX- Concealer pencil
- ABH - Prism palette
- The Ordinary - Hyaluronic acid
- DDG - Firming Peptide Milk

- *GlamGlow - GravityMud (Sonic Blue)
- *IT - Melting cleansing balm
- Hourglass powder (Diffused Light)
- Bite - Aquarius
- Huda - Summer Solstice 2017 highlighters
- Hum - Uber Energy

February

- Nars - Radiant Creamy Concealer (Chantilly)

- Nars - Charlotte Gainsbourg lip tint
- Nars - Charlotte Gainsbourg shadow duo
- *Nars - Danger Control palette
- Nars - eyeshadow primer
- Hourglass - Brow Fiber (Soft Brunette)
- *Hourglass - Lip Stylo (Inventor)
- *Clean - Sueded Oud cologne mini
- *Peace Out - acne dots
- Nars - holiday minis (Rita/Hot Sand)
- *Hum - Moody Bird
- Stila - Eyes are the Window palette (Mind) - Stila Direct
- *Stila - Eyes are the Window palette (Body) - Stila Direct

***planned purchases***

March

- Hum - OMG Omega the Great
- Hum - 21 Day Cleanse?
- Wet n' Wild - Goth-o-Graphic highlighter (white) - Ulta

April

- Bite - Taurus?
- Sale - Volition silt mask
- Sale - Ren Glycol Lactic Renewal Mask
- Sale - Origins rose mask?
- Sale - Tinted CC? (LM/Nars/etc)
- Sale - Hourglass Brow Definer (Soft Brunette)
- Sale - mascara (Hourglass?)
- Sale - setting spray (?)
- Sale - Francois Nars book
- Sale - Becca Ocean Jewels palette?

May

- Bite - Gemini?

June

July

- Bite - Leo?

August

- Atelier - Blanche Immortelle?

September

- Bite - Libra

October

- Birthday gift

November

- Sale - ND palette or Pat McGrath palette (Mothership 1)?
- Sale - Nars lipstick (Orgasm)
- Sale - Fenty Stunna liquid lipstick
- Atelier - Advent calendar?
- Hourglass - Holiday palette?
- Bite - Sagittarius?

December

- Bite - Capricorn?

[curlychiquita]

I love your buy list for the year, @fieldsofclover!  It's a good way to stay organized.

[fantaji]

I thought I was the only weirdo who tracks purchases and plans them months in advance. 

[fieldsofclover]

@fantaji Haha this is brand new to me, but it's forcing me to try to find a place on there for everything I say that I want to buy, and making me look more closely at them when the list starts looking too long.

I also wanted to see if there would end up being a pattern to my impulse buys.

[Aaliaa]

Morbidly Curious 🖐🏽🙋🏽‍♀️

[howconnie]

It is with joy and gratitude that I share my huge no buy accomplishments this week. I successfully went a week without purchasing a lipstick and that while I finished a lip palette and lip smackers. I actually think I am getting a little cocky. Thinking I might try to no buy lipstick next month along with eyeshadow palettes cause I need a good clean month of no buying. Stretch goal if I could make it till April that would be great.

I constantly stare at lipstick and imagine how it would look on me. Wonder about the formula etc.

FyI I purchased a bottle of perfume this week.

[PrettyPaint]

That’s fantastic @howconnie!

[howconnie]

Thanks 

[Aaliaa]

Thats awesome @howconnie!

[howconnie]

Oh thank you