January 2014 - No/Low-Buy Thread

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Oh hell...Sherlock. Well, I guess I will be saving my pennies and looking at the collection. My hubby and I are HUUUGEEEE Sherlock fans. I think my husband would buy them just on the principle - he doesn't ware makeup but anything Sherlock makes him happy lol. I never get a whole collection of anything but if there's one or two shades that look drop dead gorgeous and wearable, I might get them. I somehow already see a black shade to signify his coat, though! 
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Yeah, I was kind of reluctant to post the collection theme here because of this. for planning purposes, if there *is* a tin version of the collection (with smaller jars a little larger than half-sized than the normal jars), it's probably going to be around $25 plus shipping. A six-shade full-sized collection runs about $29. I've been sitting on eBay money for this precise reason: I knew a new collection was coming and hoped it would be this one. I actually planned ahead and saved money! Totally within my rules for my low-buy!
 
Quote: Originally Posted by meaganola /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Yeah, I was kind of reluctant to post the collection theme here because of this. for planning purposes, if there *is* a tin version of the collection (with smaller jars a little larger than half-sized than the normal jars), it's probably going to be around $25 plus shipping. A six-shade full-sized collection runs about $29. I've been sitting on eBay money for this precise reason: I knew a new collection was coming and hoped it would be this one. I actually planned ahead and saved money! Totally within my rules for my low-buy!
Haha, I don't think there's any need  to be reluctant. part of this forum is about making informed decisions for purchases, and it helps to hear about other people's opinions in my mind. I am ultraaaa picky when it comes to buying eyeshadow because as much as I want ALL THE COLORS, like half of the color spectrum looks hideous on my warm toned skin and black eyes. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by jaylilee /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
You deserve a lot, but when things are making you anxious or depressed, what you deserve is HAPPINESS, not another product that will sit there and languish. And I also bought into the whole "revamping my look and looking flawless" but part of being happy and actually "looking flawless" is accepting that we will never be perfect.
Very, very well said, jaylilee. This is a beautiful and true thought. I appreciate you for forming this and sharing it with us all. This is how I feel, but it's difficult to express and really come to this conclusion. I'm so glad you're in this community and so 'here' for us all.

It reminds me of something from the Tao te Ching:

"Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." Lao-tzu as translated by Stephen Mitchell

This really inspires me. I feel like I can ignore the wanting and just enjoy what I have.

 
Quote:Originally Posted by loftmane /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I keep messing up this month guys. It's really terrible. 
frown.gif
 February's another month! 
icon_rolleyes.gif


Thanks @tnorth1852 for that link!

For those of you who have great budgets that you stick to religiously and/or have done excellently this month in resisting temptation, how do keep yourself disciplined? I'm noticing I have a big problem saying "no" to myself and I've learned to convince myself that I deserve X or earned Y, especially when something in my life is making me anxious or depressed.

Last question: I think I can trace a lot of my product obsession to the idea that X product is going to completely revamp my look and make me look flawless when in reality that is so incredibly untrue. Has anyone felt that way? If you have and have moved past it, what helped you approach makeup more pragmatically?


You're so welcome! There are great budgeting worksheets on his regular website, also. What helps the most, I think, is actually making a budget, on paper, zero based. Meaning: you tell every penny coming into your home for the month exactly where it will go. If you see it on paper, you're more likely to realize "oh, I can't spend that $50 on an eyeshadow palette because, according to my budget, that money is supposed to go to xyz." I, personally, do the Dave Ramsey Zero Based Budget worksheets every month. I know how it feels to find it hard to tell yourself no. The mister and I took Financial Peace University over the summer, and while I live the "dave ramsey way", there were alot of things that were major "ah-ha!" moments for me. I had to realize that I'm the "nerd" in my relationship and the mister is the "free spirit". However, the hardest thing I had to admit in that class was... while I'm 28 years old... I'm a selfish, immature, child. Why? Because I can't say "no". I want what I want, when I want it, and I want it right NOW. "I saw this thing that looked cool. I bought it./It was on sale, so I bought it./It was a great deal, so I had to have it." The inability to delay pleasure is a sign of immaturity. And truth be told... I'm immature. Not nearly as bad as I was... I'm getting better with practice! This is one of my favorite dave quotes: "If the Red-Faced Kid (“I want it, and I want it now!â€) rules your life, you will stay broke." As for your last question -- I feel that way regularly. I wake up feeling "not so pretty", "a little too heavy", "my hair just isn't working".... and I think that by purchasing xyz product, I will feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. When in fact, there's no product that can "make me beautiful" -- that's on me. I either need to learn to love what I see... or change what I don't like. (I'm working toward both.) I'm about a year and a half into the "omg I love makeup" journey and the fun is seemingly "fizzling out". I've found some really great products that I just absolutely love. But for me, it's not worth spending all the money to attempt to make myself feel better -- I prefer, now, to save my money up for things I want to do -- i.e. I just redid my ENTIRE master bedroom (mattress, furniture, etc) on a budget less than $2500. Seeing that transformation and knowing that I paid for it all with cash and did so by saving and working hard -- that was more rewarding to me than any makeup purchase I've ever made. Sorry for the novel! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
 
Quote: Originally Posted by jaylilee /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Haha, I don't think there's any need  to be reluctant. part of this forum is about making informed decisions for purchases, and it helps to hear about other people's opinions in my mind. I am ultraaaa picky when it comes to buying eyeshadow because as much as I want ALL THE COLORS, like half of the color spectrum looks hideous on my warm toned skin and black eyes. 
LOL, you said what I've been thinking forever! I think eyeshadow palettes are pretty and all, but 1. I barely use non-neutrals, especially cool tones and 2. black eyes! I love how all these beauty articles for eye colors fawn over black/dark brown eyes as they can wear "anything", but I don't feel like I can. Got a free little drugstore palette with teal in it once, omg fail. XD
 
I don't put myself on low or no buys because I get really strict with myself about using stuff up anyways, but lately I've been feeling like too much of my mental energy goes towards makeup (or fashion or stuff). I took a step back to re-evaluate where I spent my time and where I would like to redirect time towards. I feel like I need more balance, and I'm starting to get impatient with all this experimentation to find things that work for me. (Although I'm still excited to try skincare stuff lol.)
 
Quote: Originally Posted by kotoko /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I sometimes try to use them as accent colors but the fact is, I never have an occasion to wear anything that's not neutral and toned down - as I work a full time job then do freelancing. like... no chance of anything but either butt naked face or neutral makeup. 

every once in a while I feel 'daring' enough to wear purple to work, but always sheered out. 

 
What a great idea!  I have so many lippies I've only used once/not at all.  I need to not buy any more gloss/lipstick/stains until I work through my stash!

 
Quote: Originally Posted by lioness90 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I skipped too. I liked the colors but I can't justify buying any more polish right now.
Same.  I liked the colors but didn't love them enough to be able to justify it.

Quote: Originally Posted by loftmane /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I keep messing up this month guys. It's really terrible. 
frown.gif
 February's another month! 
icon_rolleyes.gif


For those of you who have great budgets that you stick to religiously and/or have done excellently this month in resisting temptation, how do keep yourself disciplined? 
Yes, there is always another month and another day! Just start over, don't beat yourself up.

As for the question about how to 'do well' honestly I don't think there is a trick or a one size fits all way, but I do think that one thing that is universally true is that resisting buying things is like using a muscle.  When the muscle is weak, it is very very hard to resist temptation.  As you resist more and more, it slowly grows stronger and easier to resist.

For me, this is clear through my nail polish former obsession.  I last got polish on black friday, then realized I was at a polish crisis point and could neither afford to keep buying at the rate I was, not continue to find storage space for it, nor justify buying it when there were so many other things I needed more and when it wasn't even really making me happy to buy it most of the time afterwards.

The first week was really really hard, and the second and third weeks were hard.  Now, I barely think about buying polish ever and it's only been about 2  months. It has also helped that I DO NOT frequent nail polish sites, blogs, or etsy anymore.

 
I've done pretty well with my low-buy this month. So far I have spent $53.38

I bought a Philosophy hand cream holiday set for $15. It was discounted and I needed travel size hand creams to carry in my bag. I walk a lot on campus so I need to keep my hands moisturized.

I bought an Elf brush for $1. It was one I do not currently have.

I bought UDPP and UD Grindhouse for $26. I use a 20% off coupon and I did need these items because I ran out of UDPP and I got a UD eyeliner set for Christmas so I needed a sharpener. 

I spent $11.38 on sampler candles and a candle jar at Yankee Candle Company. They were having a half off sale so I decided to stock up on candles. 

 
After indulging in every want, it's time I rejoin you guys.
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I took advantage of some coupon codes and spent nearly $200 in one week on makeup. Let's just say I'll be on a no-buy until my birthday July!

 
Ack!  It's really sad to realize how broke I am despite how little I've spent this week *and* the fact that this is an extra paycheck month.  It's a really good thing I took lunch to work every day and was utterly unenthused about grocery shopping tonight!  In related news, whoops, I don't have a bottle of white wine after all.  I guess I'll make taco soup (with extra beans, corn, and tomatoes, and I'll throw in some brown rice as well) instead of that meat sauce tomorrow since I have everything I need for taco soup versus everything but the wine for the sauce.  And then I'll bake up these potatoes I've had sitting on the counter all week and make a cheese sauce for them (I should still have a bag of broccoli in the freezer), and then I can make some tuna casserole, and that should cover me for food for the week, and I can be LAZY AS HELL when it comes to putting lunch and dinner together every day.  I should go get some more monster kibble just in case their reservoir runs out (they have an automatic food dispenser), but I think I can get away with not needing anything else all week. 

(The Game Is On collection from Geek Chic Cosmetics is still allowed since it was budgeted in PayPal.  Planning ahead!  Selling things on eBay!  This is what I need to do for *all* of my non-subscription box purchases.)

 
So I ran into some money today when the second distribution of my Xmas bonus came in higher than expected. Of course my first thought is "buy ALL the makeup!" I spent an hour on sephora.com tonight and I just....didn't want anything. Like eyeshadow? I have a million. Lipstick? Million of those too. Foundation? Have one I like, why do I need to keep trying new ones? So moral of the story, although my no-buy was not a COMPLETE success this month, it is an absolute change in my attitude which I give at least 85% of the credit to reading this thread. I'm definitely starting to rationally think through purchaes instead of just "pretty! GIMMIE!" So thanks to all of you!!

 
@BSquared that's amazing!!!  Good for you!  Your willpower muscles are totally buff right now!  

 
The new Hourglass blushes are my first serious temptation since I started my no-buy.  However, I'm not going to bite and they should be around in April, when I can buy something.  There should be plenty of reviews by then as well.

 
I have to be strong today. Niece number five's birthday is coming up and for her birthday she wants me to take her to pick out a couple of outfits. Which is fine and budgeted for. But the temptation will be there for me just to pick up a couple of things. Plus I had a bad week at work and I'm getting that "I deserve it feeling." Of course this is my "cheap" niece so that helps. She always look at the price tags and wants to know about coupons. I don't need anything. So this will be a great test of my will power. Send no-buy thoughts my way.

 
@BSquared  WAY TO GO! proud of you, lady! 

@meaganola  Can't wait to see the colors for the collection! 

I can't believe I slept for 14 hours. I was running on fumes since Wednesday, to the point where I literally slapped my makeup on in like 2 minutes in the morning (forget intricate looks. eyeliner and mascara was about the extent of anything fancy). Woke up this morning at about 8-ish after having crashed after work yesterday. Hubby's working in the office today and told me not to go snooping, and that I am banned from looking at makeup (yeah okay lol) until my birthday early next month... >_> I think he was trying to be subtle but totally failed. either way I'm kind of  excited hahaha!

Though, that said, my low buy has been officially successful! Only purchase I made this month was a replacement brush (for the one that seems to have poofed into the ether), and I used part of my allowance to pay down some debt on my paypal/bill me later account. They keep raising my "limit" but I'm like NOT BUYING INTO THAT, BML! I also got two replacement pens. Got a commission which was pretty fantastic, so that moolah is going into the savings acct. 

 
Woo! So I feel like I've been doing really good so far. No random drugstore purchases and I haven't even bothered to look at Sephora. I was tempted for a hot second by CS's Revealed palette (I don't own UD nakeds) since it was on sale yesterday Buuuut. Meh. I shrugged that off pretty easily. Plus I'm sitting on 800 birchbox points so I could just get it there if i *really* wanted. The bf and I have been doing really well with our eating-out-only-1x-a week - thing. BUT last night we went out with my best dude friend who is only in town for a bit. I spent *so* much money. Probably $50 at the bar. $50 on food. And I'm sure $20 on random stuff throughout the day. It was a blast and he is only here for a few more days (bouncing around to various friend groups) but WOW that money went quick lol. ...and this is where having cash in hand when going out is key. Eta: Oopsies. My sisters friend is in town (and we're super good friends too) and we're all going on a brewery tour ($20). Maybe I can make today a better version of yesterday Adios makeup, hello beer!

 
I really want benefit Lollitint because *so pretty*, and Birchbox just added a bunch of new benefit stuff including this to their store, *and* I have $80 credit there between gift cards and points (and I do need to use a chunk of points because they're at use-them-or-lose-them time), but i just tried the lavender blush I received in my December Glamour Doll Eyes OTM, and it's *not* a good blush look for me. Still looking for Birchbox items to order, but the more used to not spending money I get, the harder it is to even spend those points despite the fact that they're going to go *poof* soon!

 
I really want benefit Lollitint because *so pretty*, and Birchbox just added a bunch of new benefit stuff including this to their store, *and* I have $80 credit there between gift cards and points (and I do need to use a chunk of points because they're at use-them-or-lose-them time), but i just tried the lavender blush I received in my December Glamour Doll Eyes OTM, and it's *not* a good blush look for me. Still looking for Birchbox items to order, but the more used to not spending money I get, the harder it is to even spend those points despite the fact that they're going to go *poof* soon!
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I have had my eyes on lollitint too but I'm going to wait. I have minis of cha cha tint and poise tint, and I'm not sure that I would ever use up a full size! I'm hoping that it will come out as a mini like as part of a sampler set or something (preferably at ulta because I am sitting on a gift card for there :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> ). Otherwise I might get it for my birthday in April or when I get enough BB points that I wouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket.
 

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