EdithS2

I've been back on No Buy and Project Use It Up for one week, and it's going great. Excellent start! More progress; Registered for a dental insurance Used up TreSemme Hair Masque foil packet Used up Mario Badescu eye cream foil packet Used up Mary Kay Coal eye shadow sample card Used up Yves Rocher Anti Age Global Essence foil packet Used up Yon-Ka Cleansing Milk deluxe sample Goals for last ten days of June, to get ready for No Buy July: Use up some more little samples Tomorrow is first day of summer; begin using Yves Rocher limited edition summer bath and body products from 2017 and 2018 (one perfumed hair mist, one body wash, one body scrub, two gel lotions) Next payday, make minimum payment early for the credit card I want to pay off July

Half month of June 13-30 Paid off $30.00 debt Paid extra $20.00 on smallest credit card Used up Sisley Hair Masque foil packet Used up dermalogica cleanser foil packet Used one bath bomb Used up Sisley Izia Shower Gel foil pack Used up Eve Lom Cleanser foil pack

Last night I was organizing things for my Project Use It Up, and it brought back good memories of my 2018 year long no buy, I realized I'd just taken up all my old No Buy habits again so easily. It was a wonderful feeling of familiarity. Then I realized that my 2018 No Buy was not a failure, was not a waste, even though I cracked and have been back in my compulsive shopping since January. Because during that No Buy and even the No Buys before that, I developed a system for myself, and built up habits, and it's all still there. All of my cosmetics are still organized the way I had them in my No Buy. My debts are pretty low now because I worked hard paying extra on them during the No Buy. Everything has been on hold, but is waiting for me to come back, right where I left off. It was a wonderful moment of reconciliation. My first financial goal was to pay off my $30.00 bill for a buy now pay later site. I made the payment yesterday, the payment is still pending, and I still feel tempted to buy more from the site. So even though the bill is paid, I don't have closure yet. I hope that craving will go away. Because if I buy the things I want, that will add another $60 to $90 to the beginning of the debt snowball, plus reinforce shopping on that site even more. But the No Buy Project Pan activities soothe my anxiety and boredom. Last night I was organizing my shower gels based on fluid ounces (I have over 30, and want to use up the smaller ones first because they are easier). I fell asleep and had a nightmare about work. Then in the dream I was organizing my shower gels at my desk at work. I saw some beautiful white bottles with ornate gold letters, French words about summer. They were Yves Rocher limited edition summer shower gels. When I saw those, it was a reality check. I realized those were not real shower gels in my collection, and I became lucid in my dream. I decided in my lucid dream I wanted to go to Europe to spend the summer in an elegant villa. I left work through ornate thin metal gates, painted white, and walked down a green grassy path. I was a little worried because I only had my purse with me; I had left everything else behind at work. I figured I must have some money, so I would work things out when I got to Europe. Then the YouTube playlist that I keep running all night switched to another video, and I woke up.

I completed my June goal of paying off $30.00. It was for face cream and serum I bought on a "buy now pay later" plan. I want to buy more! Goal for the rest of the month is to unsubscribe from this buy now pay later place and forget about it, as I am all paid up with them.

I got started on the plan! I'm using my tried and true method. I went through all of my things and gathered all my foil packet samples to use fist, since it's easy! I had a few foil pack samples that were open, that I had used once or twice and abandoned. Those are first priority. I noticed that I enjoyed this, and it was stress and anxiety relieving. I'm having fun, and appreciating the nice things I have. When I am in the mood for it, I love these projects so much. I feel I am going to be getting back in the zone and I'm excited.

Scentbird is really lovely. They have started selling their own line of face masks now, gemstone inspired. They look gorgeous. There is so much to choose from though, I never know what to get for my monthly pick. I will browse on the site for hours.

I lost my will and strayed from my goals, but I was looking over things, and everything is aligned for me to be successful in the second half of 2019! Looking at my bills, I see that if I go on a No Buy for the rest of the year, I can pay off a lot of debts, as follows! [debt snowball] June - pay off $30.00 card July - pay off $100.00 card Aug - pay off $243.29 card Sept - pay off $244.76 card Oct - pay off $441.25 card Nov - pay off $443.38 card Dec - pay off $523.50 card Wouldn't that be amazing? It is doable if I focus. I would like to get back to being focused on my goals, and have fun using up what I have again. I still have way too much stuff. Also I could do without all the overeating I do. Goal - start systematically using up cosmetics right away, no buy, and pay off $30.00 debt by end of June!

From today to Aug 8: no buying new cosmetics or anything not necessary, and no unnecessary overeating. No Door Dash delivery (I love it but it's very expensive) No ice cream and chips and extra snacks like that (very expensive, and ice cream is hard to digest) No Large McDonald's No bath bombs No Yves Rocher orders on credit No beauty subs etc., etc. What's allowed Having nice small, healthy meals Will be getting Sisley and Beauty Heroes boxes, already paid for Use all the cosmetics you already have Get ahead on bills instead of getting all that expensive food! Don't care about weight loss. Just doing this to have more money and feel better. I don't even care that I'm overweight and would rather eat what I want! But it's holding me back in other ways. This is to help my work life, which is difficult. It will either make me feel better and do better at work, or it will give me the money to be free, free, free!

I think I came up with this in my sleep last night. I tried to wake up and start on it, but was too tired, could not wake up! It's called "Weekly Makeup Basket Plus". Goal: To have something to do and enjoy during weekends when I'm bored, and something to look forward to for stressful week days when there is no time to think. It's meant to be therapeutic in nature. I have tons of nice things, but I don't use them and enjoy them for a number of reasons. One reason is, I don't have a really nice storage system. I have everything in boxes, stacked and piled high. It's hard to get to things. And I have so much, I just don't know where to start. It doesn't help that I'm already a lazy "no makeup" kind of person. But that does not stop me from collecting because I love glamour and pretty things. The goal is just to enjoy things. I don't really care if I use things up or am on a No Buy right now. I don't feel ambitious; I just want to make myself happy. Step 1: The first step is to start working on my weekly basket as soon as the weekend arrives. I will go through each section of storage one by one, look through all my things, cleaning and organizing as I go, and I will select things to use for the weekly basket. This will include all categories - hair care, skin care, bath and body, nails, perfume and makeup. This will give me something to do on the weekend when I get bored. Step 2: Use the rest of the weekend to have fun with and learn about the weekly basket products before the work week begins again. Step 3: When the work week begins, I'll have things in place so I can have some pampering for stressed days when there is no time to think. Step 4: At the end of the week, assess how the week went, make note of any items used up and any new items acquired, and start a new basket! Happy Memorial Day Weekend and Happy Summer to everybody.

Very cute and pretty summer blue!

I've been so busy, have not been keeping up. Curious to see how it goes since they promised they are upgrading after their price increase.

I wish you all the happiness and treats and enjoyment in the world. I can relate to flashbacks and tears at work. I get flashes when I wake up at night out of a deep sleep. And then I recall my stepfather died, my mom died, and it's been years now. It makes me feel so scared. Like I block it out the rest of the time. I'm not in total no buy control but not on a big binge any more either. I got better when my second job started back up. I don't feel that guilt and shame I was having before when I get things, and I have been getting fewer things without really trying. Be well my friend.

Besides following the wonderful new royal baby Archie, I've been reading about a spa called Rescue Spa. There is a really beautiful Polish lady who runs it who has a perfect skin with no makeup, and she's in her 50's. Her name is Ms. Danuta Mieloch. On the Rescue Spa YouTube channel, you can see her beauty routines, and you can also read about them on Into the Gloss. Her routines are awe inspiring, not just because she uses tons of amazing Biologique Recherche and Valmont products, but it's also they way she applies things. She does have a lot of products, and alternates them. I found that if you email the spa, they will send you a questionnaire and then do an online consultation for you. They sent me a super long email, very in depth. I have not processed it all yet. Some things they advised me: do a double cleanse in the evening; remove cleanser with muslin cloth; best cotton rounds are Koh Gen Doh or Delon. I can't afford to buy all the things they suggested for me, but maybe I should get inspired to use all my skin care products more, since I already have too many. I currently just focus on using one thing at a time. This could inspire my new project use it up!

Thank you for the touching story. It's really fun when you first encounter makeup as a young girl, isn't it? And then it becomes a special memory of one's mom. I hope you have a wonderful mother's day.

Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms! Sadly my mother passed away May 2013. We were best friends and shared everything including a love of cosmetics. When I was growing up, I recall my Mom was particular about beauty, especially about her hair being perfectly done. She had few cosmetics. She used Maybelline "Watermelon" lipstick {this was the 70's}. She always hit pan and finished all her makeup, long before panning was a thing. When I would point this out, she would simply explain, "I'm from New England". One time in the 70's she had a Mary Kay party at our house. I was fascinated. Mom treated herself to the whole set, including this amazing watercolor eye shadow palette. When the order arrived, Dad told me that was for Mom, and I was not to play with it. What does that tell you? Mom used to love to tell the story about how she came to pick me up at school and one of the other mothers, who had been at the Mary Kay party, told her that her new Mary Kay makeup looked great. Mom used to love to tell that she had actually used her old stuff that day! Mom bought me all the cosmetics for young girls from Avon. She got me the plastic orange with the sunscreen inside, the Oreo cookie with the lip glosses in it, the Sunny star necklace and other jewelry, the skin care set for oily skin with the blue seagulls on it, and the figurines filled with perfumes like Sweet Honesty. When I got older and began buying and collecting a lot of cosmetics, I would share with Mom and she loved it. One of her favorite things was the Jerome Alexander set I got her. It was from HSN, and was a jewelry case with different powder compacts. When Mom had a stroke and was in hospital those last few weeks, it was the first time I ever saw her with undone hair. When she was transferred to hospice, the nurses brushed it and it looked beautiful again. Mom must have liked that. Feel free to share your beauty memories about your Mom here! 🌹