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updated 12/31/19* The 2020 Thread is here 2020 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD
Hey all! Welcome to Year 5 of the No/Low Buy thread ๐ฒ.
Since 2019 is LITERALLY around the corner so I figured it was time to get this thread started. The 2018 thread can be located here: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/2018-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILI...
For reference here's 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.
The 2017 OP and link:
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:
2017 thread: https://community.sephora.com/t5/VIB/2017-THE-NO-BUY-LOW-BUY-BUDGET-BUY-ACCOUNTABILITY-AND-SUPPORT/m...
Challenges to Help You Use Your Stash:
I highly recommend the 100 Shades of Eyeshadow and/or 100 Days of Lipstick challenges if you're looking to work through your collections before buying more! I'm participating in the eyeshadow challenge currently, and it's forcing me to go through all of my palettes in an attempt to wear at least one new shade a day. Since it started, I've used 40 eyeshadows and dipped into every palette, which is a great way to figure out what I love, what I can toss/pass on, and what (if any) gaps are in my collection.
Yesss the 100 days of lipstick challenge is my jam!! Everytime I go to grab a new lipstick, I find something new while shopping my stash๐ everyday is Christmas haha
@eshoe, @CC3616, from your combined posts, most helpful idea. I went through all my products I will use. I unboxed everything, I realized the boxes made it appear less, because they are stored elsewhere. Everything is now in my stacks. My estimate is 6mos worth of basic skincare, makeup, bath and body care, and fragrance. I found 3 unopened lip colors, but lipstick/gloss is one of my favorite things. I only have one unopened mascara, but it will be good for 3mos. I refuse to replace a mascara monthly. I made a list of my items, and unless its a ridiculously good deal, I won't buy until I need them. There will be items or sets of new product, I may not be able to resist, but at least I won't overstock on my essentials. I hope my post didn't put you to sleep, reading it made me "yawn"! lol
How fun to have found 3 unopened lip products @byme4u! Sometimes I think my sample stash multiplies when Iโm not looking๐ Glad you found some ideas that work for you, Iโm learning along the way and trying to have fun at it, too;)
@byme4u I agree with @cianni that the pan challenge is a great way to challenge yourself to use up what you have on hand! It's not just for make-up ๐ Definitely keep your hands on things when you are wanting more. Re-sort it, find something new in the boxes to try, make a list or spreadsheet of what you have! Glad you are finding lots of great ideas here!
@byme4u Join us in the 2019 pan it challenge!! As soon as I made my list of things I want to go through this year, it has become SO satisfying to finish things I have, which helps keep the desire to buy new things at bay (at least with skincare/beauty/hair stuff haha)
So... I ultimately decided to go ahead and get the Farmacy eye cream. I'm giving myself a bit of a pass on this given that I've been dealing with some eye irritation all week that may or may not be caused by one of the two other eye treatments that I've been using. The irritation stopped as soon as I stopped using anything but Tatcha's Indigo cream, but that could be coincidental. Once the irritation is fully cleared up I will try using only one product at a time, and only once a day, to see if I can figure out if one of them is the culprit (might have nothing to do with either one or could have been the combination of the two being used in the same 24 hour period).
I also decided to buy a $12 travel size of the Olehenriksen Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer to try out (so I would get free shipping). I got the dream skin sample set, plus two samples that I might actually use (assuming I get those), and two 100 point rewards (mask and moisturiser)... which makes me feel better about spending money. My quest for a day cream in the $40 range is ongoing ๐
@christyrc thanks, I'm really hoping it suits my skin ๐
@sockmagnet I have sensitive combo skin and I use the OH sheer transformation! My skin loves it, and I never have any reaction or breakouts. Hopefully it works for you! I especially love how itโs so readily available in sets and in the mini size. I find the mini lasts me a decent amount of time too
@cianni *fingers crossed* there are lots of great creams in that price range, but finding one that suits my skin and is cruelty free is proving challenging.
Hey all! I have a question. Iโm trying to split my purchases into โlow buyโ (replacement items, necessary items, or something I donโt have an item comparable to), and โno buyโ (items that are unnecessary and I didnโt need).
im going by credit card statements, so my โjanuaryโ is going to end January 22, then January 23-February 22 is my February. Miraculously, I have spent only $25 on necessary low buy items (crediting the crazy accumulation I went through in the second half of 2018), and $32 on unnecessary items. Which is actually INSANE for me.
that being said - I caved today and bought a pair of shoes on clearance. I have a pair of white sneakers I recently shredded in the back and had to throw out. Is it a low buy because itโs a replacement? Or unnecessary because a. Its not like I donโt have shoes to wear. I certainly have other pairs of sneakers, even if theyโre not white, and b. Itโs winter.. I could have held off till the spring. I feel like with all the sales occurring throughout the year I may come across this issue from time to time. Thoughts??
ps. Here are the shoes I picked up for $40. Keds x Little Miss Chatterbox (anyone who knows me knows that I am in fact real life little miss chatterbox๐). Couldnโt resist!
@cianni Just wanted to drop by here and say those are really cute sneakers!! I see you determined whether to include it as a splurge in your posts below, which is a great start for staying on track ๐
Thanks @Guessgal! Nothing has tempted me since then, so hopefully I got my last lil splurge out of my system!
@cianni Those shoes are so cute!
Thank you @SportyGirly125! Iโm a sucker for a throwback haha ๐
@michelleaho Iโm already wearing them today to run some errands LOL so I donโt feel as bad ๐
I lean more towards splurge than replacement (you have other shoes, and I assume at least some are casual and could be worn in place of these in most any situation), but like @ShortErica said, you'll have to define your "low buy" vs "no buy" for yourself, and either way is ok as long as you are consistent with it.
On a related note though...do you wear Keds a good bit? If so, watch their sale page online. I'm seeing lots of cute options from $20, and they have free shipping, no minimum. That's absolutely not meant to discount the cuteness or perfection factor in these for you, I promise, so I'm not saying you should return these and find something cheaper, or anything like that! (and these are sold out on their site anyways, sadly, though they do have some of the other Little Miss shoes left.) If Keds are a pretty consistent staple for you, it might be worth watching for deals directly in the future ๐
(I also have to admit, I was a little shocked that Keds had something that was clearanced for $40...I remember them being my fairly cheap beater shoes as a kid, and had no idea they had gotten so fancy lol. They have some cute stuff, and now I have to walk away...I have enough Converse to fill any casual sneaker void a dozen times over ๐ )
@RGbrown Thanks for the tip! Out of all the shoes I own, keds (or another lowtop sneaker like Superga or converse) are the only shoes I actually โgoโ through, like.. they have holes or are shredded on the inside.
Ill have to check out the keds site again. When I did a little peek earlier I didnโt see any from the Little Miss collection offered on the Canadian website. I agree with you though - for some reason I always remembered keds being like $30, and now the original ones retail for $70 CAD. Crazy!
I think my rule (which I am putting out for posterity so I canโt go back later ๐) is that for skincare, haircare and beauty, anything is a splurge if I have something else I can use that would work equally well (Iโm gonna regret making A rule that counts any lip product or eyeshadow palette as a splurge haha). For things like clothing, outerwear, accessories and footwear, anything that I have something comparable that is in viable condition is a splurge, except โstaplesโ (black dress pants for work if something happens to the normally wear, pantyhose for when I inevitably shred them, etc).
summary - white low tops are not a staple even though I wear them often because I have many casual shoes, so this is indeed a splurge. I wonโt be too hard on myself because it was on sale and itโs my birthday month haha. Good learning lesson โ๏ธ