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**

💜💜💜

[curlychiquita]

Welcome, @sonnydee! I hope we can help.  Good luck on your low buy!

[sonnydee]

@curlychiquita thank you I've been lurking since the new year. Happy to join. Won't kid myself into thinking I could do a no buy but a lower buy and shop my stash is a start. I need to shop the crap out of it!

[txcatx]

Mid-month check-in. I canceled my Play box last month, and I stopped into a store mostly to redeem my last Play pass. I ended up with my only beauty purchase of the month, spending just $8 on a Sephora #lipstories lipstick. No regrets whatsoever. I definitely reached VIB by this point last year, and I think I re-Rouged sometime last spring/early summer. But, it may take awhile to reach VIB at this rate!

The only item I want right now is the new Givenchy limited edition lipstick that's supposed to be released this month. I've been impatiently stalking Saks and Barney's, who often seem to get new products first. 

[ElleElleG]

LOVE the Lip Stories @txcatx !  Great way to redeem your last Play pass and good riddance Play, LOL.

[curlychiquita]

Great job, @txcatx! I have a few more items on my wish list, but they aren't LE, so I'm trying to hold off for the April sale.

[howconnie]

I’ve decided February is a shopping paradise laden with clearance sales, gift with purchase and all manner of delights. Only the iron willed can no buy in this environment. After an avalanche of warm boring palettes I am tempted by all these romantic rose colored palettes. Beautiful peach and glitter palettes, dark skinned highlighter woe is the no buy. I’m trying to resist.

So far, I’ve bought 20 nail polishes, 3 lipsticks, 5 creme blushes, a perfume sampler, and a single eyeshadow

 I took the paltry $70 I managed to save and payed my massive credit card bill early. It didn’t even make a dent in my Christmas shopping spree. 

[ElleElleG]

Something is better than nothing!  Hang in there!  Also don't forget that if with this new eyeshadow trend even more brands are bound to release the same/similar items so give it some time so you can do some comparing.

[curlychiquita]

Saving 70 is better than saving 0, @howconnie! Good luck next month!

[fantaji]

Lip products is the one category that overwhelms me even more than skincare - I have way too many products for a person who rarely uses them. Maybe 15-20 items (some will say its not that many, but they give me anxiety)? I just want to be left with 1 red lipstick, 1 nude lipstick,1 lip gloss, and MAYBE one berry lipstick. 

[fantaji]

I was doing so well until this week, but then things got a little out of control 😄

So I got a Leahlani Bless Balm, which was promoted to HG night moisturizer (did not buy the mask or the oil, well done me!), and 2 WG/Sonia G brushes earlier this month (all according to my plan).

Things went downhill when I got fed up with dabbing my face with a sponge for 10 minutes (over-exagerating, but kinda hate the process) every day, so I also got Sonia's foundation brush + another WG brush which I was eyeing for a long time, with birthday gift cash, no big deal. But then I discovered that none of my (two) foundations work well with brushes, so I had to go to Sephora for a foundation application test, and ended up picking up a foundation and a spot concealer (which I knew I needed, since my under eye concealer is way too thin to cover anything, but I was kinda making things work).

Additionally, Jo Malone was giving away a full size product with $65 purchase, and I actually had a 30 ml cologne on my to-buy-within-next-2-3-months list, so an instant buy.

On the bright side, I resisted two GwP bags, where I couldn't justify the buy in amount, and still holding off from getting another perfume and Tom Ford eye quad until Saks has an adequate offer. I also put together a list of HG products per category, so I can focus on using, enjoying and repurchasing products I love, instead of constantly trying new stuff and stressing my skin out. Only a couple categories are missing a HG, but the products I'm currently using are acceptable enough to be used up (looking at you, Vintner's Daughter), so I'm quite pleased.

[curlychiquita]

It happens,  @fantaji!  Good for you for compiling a HG buy list in the future! 

[fieldsofclover]

@fantaji Pursuit of the HG is what fuels a lot of my buying too. Thanks for talking about your list... making a similar list or a HG "bingo card" sounds like something I should probably do.

[fantaji]

Yeah, if you think about it for a second, you probably already have a bunch of products you miss or come back to every now and again. E.g. I don't know why I have to struggle through my Omorovicza cream cleanser or obsess over trying Tata Harper - because Caroline Hirons has one in her Cult Beauty box and says that the other is THE cleanser to use in the morning, when all I want is to go back to my slimy fresh soy cleanser.

[Starburst24]

Half way through February and I haven’t spent a dime! I’ve gone to Marshalls (where all my money ends up) and didn’t buy anything which I’ve very proud of myself! Hopefully the rest of this month goes well!!

[cdun]

Congratulations!! That’s so great!

[ElleElleG]

Nicely done!

[curlychiquita]

Great job, @Starburst24!

[b3autygrl]

I have a similar relationship with TJMax.  Every time I go in there, I walk out with at least a couple hundred dollar's worth of stuff. My consolation is that it's usually a great deal 🙂 . I've been good though and I've stayed away.

---

[fieldsofclover]

@Starburst24 You went into the lion's den and came out alive! You can do this!

[Samtian]

I'm doing a little better in a sense. I bought the Bite Zodiac like planned. My makeup budget was 50-60 a month. I passed that a little this month. I'll be getting the next Zodiac, but I caved and bought a rollerball, and the new JS liquid lipstick bundle and a lip scrub. That order was broken up into 2 payments though. So if I can stay strong next month March will be on target.

[howconnie]

Yes March is when my low buy gets its groove. In March we won’t buy a thing. When will this binge spending trap called February end. 🏋🏿‍♀️