Going over my goals:
August is hard because it's my birthday month, and I want to indulge in all the pretties! But, I do need to keep going with my new-found willpower, so when I'm tempted to shop, I'll buy some of the things I actually need.
Things I can/should buy:
-school supplies for the kids -check!
-birthday presents for the kids (one in Aug, one in Sept) -august birthday down, Sept to go!
-shampoo/conditioner for myself (AFTER I use all the foil packets I have. I don't have travel plans for awhile, and they are taking up too much space!) -nowhere even close to finishing samples! Successfully avoided!
Other allowed purchases:
-one Birchbox -check!
-second Birchbox IF I can find a 100 point code - check!
-Ipsy -check, and it was so dismal I cancelled!
-Sample Society (must cancel either SS or Ipsy by the end of the month) - check, and have cancelled SS for Sept too as I didn't like the spoilers.
-One $15 Shiro Cosmetics order (thanks to a gift card from my Midsummer Modmother!) - check!
-I can go to the SiJCP by me to get some waterproof makeup remover and my Birthday gift. If I'm by an Ulta I can get my bday gift BUT honestly not even interested in their mascara. -check on Sephora, didn't go to Ulta!
And that's it! I also need to organize my stash (again). I want to start concentrating on buying indies once I'm off my low-buy, with any "corporate" brand makeup coming from subs and/or Birchbox point purchases. -successfully organized makeup into a tall, narrow 5-drawer organizer (one of the Sterilite kind) that I found at a yard sale for $2!
Good luck ladies!
Other failures:
- Haus of Gloi order - small order, being held until they do a restock. It's an indie company, not going to beat myself up. By the time I'm done, it'll be about a $20 order
- Aromaleigh sample order - because I need eyeshadow like a FREAKIN HOLE IN MY HEAD. But it was an indie company, and the samples were on sale for $0.50 ea! I will be giving some of the samples away in a gift exchange coming up, because of all the dumb things, I managed to order some neutral shades. Still, order total was only $12
- Incoco nail strips, 5 sets at 1/2 price. I love these things, they will last for a week on me (unlike ANY nail polish ever) and I only ordered cool patterns that I could never replicate instead of solids. BUT. $25, not an indie company, this is the one I'm NOT happy with myself about.
Yup, ended up going over-budget by almost $60. I NEED to remember that even small orders add up. So from now on, I'm re-instituting my monthly $25 budget. But instead of being "mad money" for wandering the drugstores and hitting up Ulta, it's going to be for indie company orders, because they're awesome and totally deserving of my money. Just not ALL of it.
Still, I'm very proud of myself for improvements I've made over the summer. I'm now not even tempted to go buy makeup/bath/skin stuff at grocery/drugstores, and that was a really hard habit to break. I'm not tempted to go to Ulta and Sephora anymore, and that was a really hard habit to break. I'm not tempted by all the GWP's and new releases, and "must have new Urban Decay palette!", and that was REALLY hard to break (oh GWP's... my heart still cries a little).
So failure? YES. But also some important realizations and breakthroughs, and for being MY BIRTHDAY MONTH and knowing I went bat-poo insane last year, I still feel really good about this month. Hopefully you guys are in the Sept thread already! Let's do this!