Sephora

Stores & Services
Find a Sephora

Happening at Sephora

View all

Services

From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations

Free Classes

Get inspired, play with products & learn new skills

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Post in Beauty Confidential
|

2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

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 😲

 

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:

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...

 

Challenges to Help You Use Your Stash:

Spoiler

 

 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Happy Birthday @Lazybeautybeast !!!!

 

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Since finding out I am pregnant at the end of 2018, I have spent $0 for 2019. So far, so good!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Congrats on your pregnancy!! @rockstargina 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Thank you!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Great job, @rockstargina !  Congratulations on your pregnancy, too!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Thank you!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Congratulations @rockstargina! Very happy for you on both accounts😊

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Thank you!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Congratulations @rockstargina (on both your pregnancy and $0 spend)! 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Thank you!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

January progress report on my low-buy lipstick goal (number and space limits on the total amount of lipstick in my collection). 

 

Online purchases: 
Spoiler
  - 4 bullets
  - 8 liquid lipsticks (3 are a mini trio, 2 are a FS duo)
  - 7 crayons
 
I’m giving one of the liquid lipsticks to a friend. 2 of the bullets wound up not working for me. At least I didn’t pay full price for them. But yeah, I was definitely lured by some really good sales. I have zero regrets about 5 of the crayons I bought; in fact, I had regretted not buying them back when they first launched, and was excited to get another chance—and at a fantastic price! 
 
In-store purchases: Just one bullet! 😮 
 
Declutters: 9 bullets (including 2 of the new purchases). 
 
Other acquisitions: 1 liquid lipstick in my Beautylish Lucky Bag, plus 6 liquid mattes via lucky bag trade. I’m including these because I got them all in January, though my original lucky bag was a December purchase. 
 
Total lipsticks in my collection (as of today): 
Spoiler
  - 125 bullets (below strict 160 limit)
  - 10 crayons (still got room for a few more) 
  - 27 liquid mattes (not out of room yet) 
  - 37 glosses & other liquids (room for a few more) 
 199 total
 
Conclusion: 
 
I did amazingly well in stores! I’m so proud of myself for not walking out of any store with an armful of lipsticks. All but 2 of my online purchases were sale priced, so I didn’t break the bank. Still, a couple of them were duds—which reminds me that I need to be more mindful when tempted by online sales. 
 
I’m still in declutter mode, so I’ve got more purges to make. Glad I’m still below my 160-bullet limit, and haven’t run out of storage space for liquid lipsticks yet. So far, so good! 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Good start to the year, @WinglessOne!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

@WinglessOne Good job! I think having a set number is a great way to stick to your goals 🙂 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

So, at the end of November I was trying to commit to not buying a few things for the next three months as follows:

face cream (except replacement day cream)

hand cream

sheet masks

eye products of any kind

buying random things just to try them

 

I think I totally managed to stick to this for December, but then in January I sort of fell off the wagon a little bit (but still bought far fewer things than I was tempted by).

 

Spoiler
I bought one travel size face cream from Ole Henriksen that I'm using at the moment, and I caved in and bought the Farmacy eye cream that I've been wanting for at least four months now. I bought a selection of different sheet masks from Ulta and also restocked the Aloe masks that I love from My Beauty Diary... but I feel kind of justified on this one because I have been doing a lot more masking and enjoying it. I bought a tiny tube of hand cream but this was ultimately a restock because the ones in my handbag were used up and I just hadn't realised. 

I didn't buy any lipsticks or lipstick sets, and I didn't buy any lucky beauty bags, or any other beauty items that I haven't already listed above (I don't include things like shampoo, conditioner, or body cream).

If I can get through the rest of February without buying anything else then I will be pleased.

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Good for you! @sockmagnet . The hand cream is justified since you ran out.  Good luck in Feb!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

I avoided the lucky bags, too, @sockmagnet.  Good luck in February!

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

@ElleElleG thank you for starting another year of this thread, it's the first I've been involved in and coincidentally the most involved I've been in this forum 😄

 

Total for Jan: 

Rather than separate my beauty products, I've chosen to lump them altogether. What I learned on my first low buy was that I need to categorize impulse purchases and restocks separately. I think I meant to do this initially, as I purchased a BU of my favorite YTTP moisturizer in November in anticipation of the challenge as I knew I would run out. Then I ran into another hump when purchasing sheet masks, on the issue of whether or not they are really a 'need' and how they should be categorized. I sheet mask almost every night, to me, it's just part of my routine and it doesn't feel complete without it. 

 

Then I had an inner battle with the beauty gifts for my daughter; they aren't necessary by any means, it's just part of Valentine's Day. But I find reasons to celebrate her every month, so...time to re-evaluate my budget again.

 

Totals: I was over by $17.17 for personal impulse buys, but on the plus side, my return was much more than normal. I realized I need to budget for restocks as well as gifts. I do not view it as a failure at all, because I am learning and my personal purchases have been well thought-out (despite me calling them 'impulse' purchases, I actually thought about them beforehand, they were just-for-fun buys).

 

I don't have a set budget yet for the latter 2 categories, and I may not include one. Reining in my spur of the moment buys has been extraordinarily satisfying and I am hoping to just continue improving.

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Welcome in @eshoe ; you're more than welcome! This thread has played a significant role in maintaining my low/no buy.

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

So my January on my Sephora lower buy is going good. I peeked at the figure that I thought I spent last year but when I looked again to figure out the percentage...I was looking at 2017! 2018 was much higher which was a shock & awe! at the same time. Anyways...my spending was 41% less than 2017 and 59% less than 2018. I have noticed that I'm having a hard time  not wanting to buy anything I deem "fun" though. And my fun is eyeshadow palettes......🙄🤔even if theres not one that I'm interested in. 

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

@sonnydee  It sounds like you are doing a phenomenal job on your low buy. Gotta have a little room to breathe, sounds like your palettes are it 😉

Re: 2019 - THE NO-BUY, LOW-BUY, BUDGET-BUY ACCOUNTABILITY AND SUPPORT THREAD

Sadly @eshoe  eyeshadow palettes are my weakness (you saw my MJ collection & I reorganized my UD & too faced palettes BUT I have more than those...) it's what I really need to reign in, so very lil breathing room.  Literally Im running out of space!😁I dont even wear makeup everyday. I think I'm going to practice quality over quantity as much as I can with that. Too faced pretty mess palette easy skip. the new MJ palette in steelitto (it was a sneak peek on the direct site.) Hoping it will get to sephora so I redeemed a gc from ebates & I'm going to put it towards that. Still have to count it though I could've put it on a cc balance or something ....ughhhhh! Adulting bites sometimes! But overall pretty happy with Jan need to play with my palettes when I get the urge I guess 

945 Replies
testing