October 2014 No/Low Buy: Hugs, Commiseration, and Confessional

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I am taking the leap and posting this because I need October no-buy support/motivation/help/accountability in the WORST WAY... and October starts tomorrow :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

My goal for this month is to buy NOTHING beauty related.  The only exception is that I can buy something if I run out and I have nothing suitable to serve as a 'replacement' (for example, I have like 10 mascara samples, so if I run out of one I have to use the others first before buying).  However, chances of my running out of anything are totally nonexistent.

I am also going to try to not eat out AT ALL this month.  We'll see how that goes :p /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Those are my main goals for October.

 
My goals:

1. ZERO makeup/beauty/clothing/non-essentials

2. Spend as little as possible on food, drinks, entertainment - use up food in the pantry, bring snacks to class and cook meals at home

3. Enter every single purchase in my planner to keep track of spending

4. Focus on using up current lipstick and lipgloss

5. Wear eyeshadows more

I tried to limit my spending last month and it was an improvement but not a complete success. I purchased quite a few perfume samples, the Hourglass blush palette, and a lipglass from MAC. I also got a few organizers but I'm selling my old ones to help offset that. No clothes though which is great.

I have high hopes for this month. There's nothing LE that I want and I'm well stocked of everything. I will run out of shampoo and conditioner soon but I have a couple sets of travel sized bottles I've been meaning to use up anyway.

I just have a feeling about this month.. it's going to be good. Let's get it done! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
 I am extremely thankful that Circular Swaps are happening in October. Our group usually does two go-arounds, so I will be using my new CS goodies as my birthday present instead of buying something. Between CS and my subscriptions I will be sitting pretty.

  Did the monthly grocery shop for October today, so no more grocery spending except for bread, milk, and fresh fruit when we run out.

  I need two new tires, and some plumbing work done so that will be the major spending.

 
Hooray, the start of a new month! It's always exciting to lay out these goals, you know? Here are mine for the month:

  1. Purchase one item for the holiday season - it's going going to be the Hourglass blush palette. That's it, that's all. It's pricey, but it's an item I know I'll use and love, and I'd much rather buy the one item instead of a bunch of the $10 Black Friday deals and gigantic holiday sets. That's the only beauty purchase for the month.
  2. Delete emails from UD, Sephora, Ulta, etc. as they show up in my inbox. I've found that I'm much better off if I don't even know about new items or bargains.
  3. Keep all of my empties. I tried to just keep a list of items last month since I didn't want a bag of garbage hanging around, but I kept forgetting to add items, so back to the bag of empties it is. That way I won't forget anything.
  4. Wear some kind of makeup every day. It's not doing me any good by just hanging out in a drawer, not getting used!
Let's make this a great month!

 
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all right, goals and rules for October

- I get to keep my subscriptions (Birchbox, Beauty Box 5 and Ipsy)

- I have a budget of $100 to spend on Holiday pretties and replacements (to be fair, it's unlikely I'll need any replacements)

That's it. Nothing else. 

 
Someone help, I am already tempted to fall off the wagon :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Shiro's LE Halloween colors are up :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Oh girl, me too. DYING. We must stay STRONG!!!!

If it helps the website is running atrociously slow right now even on my super fast work internet (I'm sure due to traffic) so ordering would be difficult, if not impossible, right now I'm sure.

 
Oh girl, me too. DYING. We must stay STRONG!!!!

If it helps the website is running atrociously slow right now even on my super fast work internet (I'm sure due to traffic) so ordering would be difficult, if not impossible, right now I'm sure.
Yes.  I am just going to have to resist.  Maybe if I still want it/even remember it exists in 2 weeks I will let myself think about it... but I am sure that by then I'll probably have forgotten due to a new pretty... and I already have 20 virtually unused Shiro sample bags.... ugh.

 
Yes.  I am just going to have to resist.  Maybe if I still want it/even remember it exists in 2 weeks I will let myself think about it... but I am sure that by then I'll probably have forgotten due to a new pretty... and I already have 20 virtually unused Shiro sample bags.... ugh.
That's what Im telling myself. Yes, they're gorgeous. But I have like 30-some sample baggies and another 10-15 jars/mini jars of inidies, PLUS all my "normal" eyeshadows and palettes...it's just more stuff I probably won't use and will take time away from the pretty stuff I already have.

 
It's October ALREADY??? Crazy!

September flew by, and the great thing about that is I spent LITERALLY NOTHING on beauty other than my subs!  They've dwindled to 2 Birchboxes and the Notoriously Morbid VC (I have also prepaid for the October & November GDE OTM, and I'm more convinced every day that I'll let that one drop again).

October goals!

- Drop one Birchbox.  I have clicky trucks for both boxes, and they were "born" within about 10 mins of each other, so I'm reasonably certain they're dupe boxes.  Which is the universe saying WOULD YOU PLEASE CANCEL ONE ALREADY NO ONE NEEDS THAT MANY SAMPLE SIZES!!!

- Stay on task with no impulse purchases!  I'm so glad I have (most) of my stuff organized now, because whenever I'm out and tempted by a lipstick/nail polish/eyeshadow palette I can visualize the area of my closet where there are already soooo many others!  And I can tell myself that I do NOT need more!

Allowed purchases:

- Cancel/resub to only ONE Birchbox using a 100-point code (which effectively prepays for my November box)

- Notoriously Morbid VC (I'm actually not a fan of their theme this month, so if I don't like the colors I may hold onto it for a swap and/or to add to my Santee's package)

- Aaaaaaand as a special gift to myself for being good, an indie purchase! (spoilered so as not to tempt)

OH EM GEE THERE IS A NEW HELLO WAFFLE COLLECTION BASED ON CATS AND CLASSIC LITERATURE.  I'm very proud of myself that after perusing the colors, I will be able to keep on living after only getting half of them.  And half of the lip colors, if they end up getting released too.  And a few sample sizes of some other colors.  Here's my tentative order:

Eye colors:

- The Great Catsby

- Purr-ide and Purr-ejudice

- Catticus Finch

- Portrait of Purrian Grey (depending on if it's the color I think it is)

Lip colors:

- Jane Pawsten

- A Tale of Two Kitties

Other stuff:

- Heavy Breathing Cat (I may have a cat obsession) - Full Size just for the artwork!

- Archean Earth (sample)

- Either "23" or "One of Us!" (sample)
 
I think this month will be more about buying only things I will use.  I hesitate to set a $ amount because I need some new work clothes and new boots to wear with skinny jeans and tights. I also plan to buy some Halloween goodies at Lush but those will get used up quickly.

For makeup I can only buy items I will get regular use out of.

I also have the KVD set to return to Sephora.

I returned some impulse buys to Target yesterday.  I realized I won't use them for at least a few months if at all and I can always buy them if I do need them.

 
I will not buy anything in October except maybe a gift for my little sister.  Which is spending money but isn't adding to my piles on top of piles of things so I don't feel remotely bad about it.  

Other goals include actually organizing my make up stash and giving away the things which get no use.  New homes make other people and makes me happier too.  I am thinking of maybe trying to throw some stuff into a project pan to get used up by the end of the year.  I have a feeling November will be a little bad what with all of the holiday goodies and pretties but if I can be really really really good in October I won't need to feel too bad about all that.  

 
With holidays, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that it's just one day. When you buy Halloween-themed makeup, how often are you likely to use it? Plus, if it's an impulse purchase it probably won't do you any good for Halloween itself - it might not even go with your costume. So, what are you going to dress up as? Is there any specialty makeup you'll need for your look that you don't already have? If so, get together with friends and figure out what you can borrow to complete it. There's no reason you should need any new products!

Holiday collections are also reeling you in with the fact that they're "limited edition." But is it more useful to you to have makeup sitting around that you might not use at all, or to miss out on some limited stuff but keep your collection manageable and use everything in it? Remember that it'll all come up on Ebay in a few months, much cheaper. I just acquired the 2013 Fall Essie line for maybe half of what it originally went for. I want the Fall 2014 line, but six polishes is plenty for me for the next 3 months, and I can get that collection next year on Ebay if I still really want it.

Two of my sisters have October birthdays and one has already asked for makeup for her birthday. I'll be rounding up a few things I don't think I'll use much for her, but I already have a plan for my main gift. I'm going to get containers and supplies from Mountain Rose Herbs and make some skincare products from scratch. I'll make extras for myself while I'm at it. I'm thinking of some kind of scrub, a coconut-oil-based perfume (me and one of my sisters can't use any mainstream fragrances because of sensitivities), and a mask. These are the types of things I'm itching to buy from Etsy right now (I also really want to buy handmade deodorant and switch away from aluminum-based ones again), but part of my no-buy policy is that if I need skin or haircare products, I have to make them. I'm sure I'll learn a lot even if they don't turn out amazingly well, and they'll love the fact that I put so much personal thought and care into it!

 
I need an October plan because 3 days in I have been on a bit of a shopping bender. I am very well stocked up so I likely won't need any replacements this month. I think what I really need is a 24-hour hold on online purchases.

 
Okay so I am basically through day 3 and am doing very well (at least for me).  No makeup or beauty purchases despite being very tempted and so far no eating out at all either.  I am proud of myself.

 
Curlytails: try removing your CC info from all the online shops you go to, and filtering all beauty emails so they get archived in a folder rather than showing up in your inbox. Then when you feel the urge to check those emails or go shopping, find something else you've been wanting to do but haven't had time for - like reading a chapter of a novel, spending a little more time on an interesting recipe, going to yoga...not something that feels like work, though! It should be a treat that you haven't made time for yet.

 
My October goals for the month won't be too different than usual. It's my birthday month, so I will treat myself a little:

No new subs - right now I have two birchbox subs (one prepaid and one monthly that I tend to cancel and resub for points fairly regularly), a prepaid LMDB sub, and Julep (which I took for October and was allowed). Based on the sneak peek I've seen for November, I'll be skipping that one). I've successfully not been tempted to resign up for FFF, cancelled Allure Beauty Box and I'm holding off on October PopSugar until I see a spoiler. I'm allowed to get PS if I really love enough of the contents to warrant the expense.

I'm allowed to shop Sephora sales or good promo codes if I'm purchasing gifts or replacements only (i.e. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need some UD setting spray this month). The only exception is that I'm allowed to purchase the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette (ordered yesterday).

I will be making one LUSH order for gifts and something fun for myself (limited to 2 items).

I've also decided to go through my makeup (which isn't that large to begin with - it all fits in one drawer of small storage unit and that's how I want it to stay, lol) and get rid of anything that doesn't make me really happy to use. If I'm using it begrudgingly just because my random number generator program tells me it's time, then it needs to go.

I don't really have any other goals for the month. 

 
Enough is enough.  Over the last year I have had various beauty subscriptions and have enthusiastically purchased cosmetics and beauty items - now I have an accumulation that is excessive.

Today I spent a bunch of time organizing my cosmetics which is something most girls would have fun doing.  Though I found this depressing.  

I have at least sixteen sample sized tubes of mascara, unopened.  I have lots of perfume, bars of soap, body wash, body butter, body lotion, and hand lotion.  Five tubes of unopened full-sized tubes of mascara.  An assortment of roughy 24 full-sized blushes.  There is also lots of eye shadow. More than I could use in two years if I wore it every day.  There are several unopened moisturizer and serum samples from various gifts with cosmetics purchases.  The complexion products are in the range of normal.  I have six or so tubes of concealer.  Two are unopened.  Two bb cream - one unopened, two cc cream - one unopened.  All lip products together including stains, lipstick, lip pencil, lip crayon, lip gloss, lip balm, et al - I counted over 100 and at least a dozen are unused and still in their original packaging.  Some of the lip products are full-size and some are samples.  Regardless, there are too many lip products.  I also have several dozen tubes of nail polish.  I have three tubes of liquid eyeliner in various colours - all opened.  Several eye liner pencils that I rarely use and have accumulated because I subscribed to various beauty boxes.  Some things like the complexion products exist in reasonable quantities.  Others like like mascara, lip products, blush, and eye shadow are out of control.  So, its safe to say that this girl most definitely has a problem!

Unopened items I have zero intentions of using ever are going to a women's shelter.  I have a box of old clothes I intend to drop off early next week so these items will be gone shortly.  Since holding onto things you won't use makes no sense.  So, I tossed products I tried and disliked then tossed products that have been open for a while and I suspect are expired or are due to expire shortly.  

Effective immediately - no more blush, no more eye shadow, no more mascara, no more nail polish, and no more lip products for the foreseeable future.  

On an as-needed basis - or if there is a REALLY good sale, I will buy face cleanser, shampoo, body wash, liquid eyeliner (one every three months), complexion products, soap, and hand/body butter/lotion.  

Currently, I subscribe to Topbox, Ipsy, and Lip Factory - truth be told I quite enjoy all three of them.  Though I am not ready to decide which sub(s) to cancel it is probably best for me to stick to one beauty sub per month for the time being - and that even seems kind of silly all things considered.  I will likely hold onto my Topbox sub since I like trying new things and Topboxes typically contain good quality products.  Topbox is the sub I like the most and it is the least expensive of the bunch.

As far as cosmetics purchases are concerned - I am going to give myself a budget.  I am allowing myself to spend up to $100 to spend every three months and that seems like a normal, acceptable amount of money for any woman to spend on cosmetics she will actually use and enjoy.  All in the spirit of keeping things honest I don't think I have the discipline to do a strict no-buy so keeping my spending within a reasonable budget is going to be the most realistic approach.  

At least every six months I intend to purge items I have used and dislike or are expired or close to expire.  Though I tend to toss mascara and liquid eyeliner after three months of use because it seems like the way to go.  Unless I am ill I will wear makeup because having it and not wearing it is silly.  I am going to build a small kit of essentials including a few brushes, makeup wipes, makeup remover, and of course makeup to take to work so I can touchup mid-day or on an as-needed basis.  As time passes, I will keep posting on my progress and keep track of empty containers on a monthly basis.  It feels good having said this!!!

 
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My only purchases this first week have been $45 on groceries. I also have a yoga membership and the usual bills. Happy to have not purchased any physical items though! And I'm using up food from the pantry and working on using up makeup.

 

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