November 2014 No/Low buy Support Thread (and cookies!)

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I think to avoid the temptation of buying stuff from now until november, what I plan on doing is to put my project pan aside. I'll allow myself 2 months of just wearing crazy shades and items sitting in my collection that haven't been touched and get back on the makeup basket bandwagon. This is literally going to be shopping my stash, instead of shopping at sephora  :lol:

I think my "want shiny thing" came from being stuck in a perpetual "taupes and browns" rut and not knowing how to incorporate more things from what I currently own, so I'm going to start looking at youtube videos of look tutorials and figuring out how to replicate them with what I have. I should be covered in the color department, anyways. 

 
My lip stash is the worst, so every day, I've been swatching a few lipsticks every single day - not swatching on my arm or hand, because that usually just winds up with me being like, "Yeah, that looks fine" - I've started doing lip swatches so I can see how it looks and wears on my lips. If it's finicky, fussy, and difficult to work with - it goes. If it makes my lips look bad and shows lines, flakes, or imperfections - it goes. If the color is incredibly unflattering or awful - it goes. So far, lots of things have gone into the pile to giveaway and they've all been limited edition items or items I've found on clearance, which I think shows a lot about my spending habits and how I buy.

I was tempted to purchase something from Sephora earlier today, but I just removed it from my cart and closed the window. It's hard, but it's getting easier every day!

 
miss lawson said:
My lip stash is the worst, so every day, I've been swatching a few lipsticks every single day - not swatching on my arm or hand, because that usually just winds up with me being like, "Yeah, that looks fine" - I've started doing lip swatches so I can see how it looks and wears on my lips. If it's finicky, fussy, and difficult to work with - it goes. If it makes my lips look bad and shows lines, flakes, or imperfections - it goes. If the color is incredibly unflattering or awful - it goes. So far, lots of things have gone into the pile to giveaway and they've all been limited edition items or items I've found on clearance, which I think shows a lot about my spending habits and how I buy.

I was tempted to purchase something from Sephora earlier today, but I just removed it from my cart and closed the window. It's hard, but it's getting easier every day!
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A lesson I learned many years ago was that beauty items on clearance aren't a good deal - now matter how low the price is.  Its like the products are old, products don't perform well, the products are discontinued/obsolete, and/or the colours just don't look right after you apply the product...

 
annatomical said:
A lesson I learned many years ago was that beauty items on clearance aren't a good deal - now matter how low the price is.  Its like the products are old, products don't perform well, the products are discontinued/obsolete, and/or the colours just don't look right after you apply the product...
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Pretty much! The only clearance item I've come across in my stash that I adore is a Hello Kitty mirror, but as far as makeup goes... meh. If I ever get tempted to snatch up any items on clearance, I need to just remind myself that there's a reason they're there.

 
I'm playing catch up on this thread and everything really hits home for me as well! I've done some work clearing out my vanity this weekend and it feels so much better to just have things I love and want to use instead of having a bunch of things that I am trying to finish so I can get rid of it. I'm not a huge lip product person but gave a ton from sample boxes and GWPs, so I'm going to work on thinning out those products because I will never use up everything I have.

I have been doing very well on my goals. Participating in Secret Santa is keeping me from buying stuff. I have been putting the things I want on my wishlist and forgetting about them. I've been buying gifts as planned but have been taking advantage of deals and making thoughtful purchases. I've also found some good items in my stash to gift to others. I haven't needed to buy any replacements either, which is good as well. And with Memebox not releasing new boxes my Memeaddiction is fading as well.

 
 I am proud of myself! All my purchases have been for other people (SeSa and Christmas gifts for Momma and DH) , the only thing I got for myself is an item I have wanted for several months, and I finally used a few BB points to get it free.

  I am finished buying all SeSa gifts, so no more spending until Black Friday/Cyber Monday for the last online gift purchases for my family.

 
I'm actually doing really well. Month's half over, and I keep planning to buy a few things from a handful of sites, because there's discount codes, but there's literally always codes. I keep loading up carts and deciding that I can wait. Nothing in my cart is something I need right now, or even something I need for several months.

I did spend $100 at

Nordstrom Rack, but it was a specific pair of boots and a specific hoodie (both brand and color) that I'd almost bought online literally that morning. Both of them were on clearance with an additional 25% off. I also saw a bunch of things I'd been considering buying (some makeup items, some specific sweaters and shirts that keep popping up on Hautelook) and was SO glad that I saw them in person. They are not at all what I expected. Temptation thwarted! Both the boots and hoodie have gotten tons of use already
and I have no regrets there.

I'm just going to keep procrastinating on any purchases until Black Friday sales start showing up. And then I'm going to think of everything I bought last year, and how I'm NO WHERE NEAR using up ANYTHING, so in all honesty I should keep procrastinating until Black Friday 2015.

 
I haven't bought any makeup yet this month and am super proud! Now I just have to keep chugging along with these grad school applications!

 
Today I came to the conclusion that I am just not adventurous when it comes to makeup.

I only wear 4 colors of eyeliner

Purple

Black

Grey

Brown

I only wear 2 blushes

Orgasm

A nyx blush that looks like a matte version of orgasm

For eyeshadow I mostly wear nudes and purples

Occasionally I wear grey or green

I do use an eyebrow pencil but don't really use bronzer or highlighter.

When I try to step out of the box with more colors they get used 2-3 times and then just sit around.  Also, I work in conservative environment and makeup needs to reflect that.  Nails can be any color they just need to be properly maintained.

So going forward when I see something new I must ask myself if it fits my lifestyle now.  If the answer is no, then I cannot buy it.  

I will confine my adventures to nail polish and facial masks.

 
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Omg talk me off the ledge that is the limited edition bobbi brown highlighter. Do not look it up as you'll want it. Put down the phone....omg.

I failed at my no buy with an order from sephora. I've spent probably about $150 this month, probably $100 of that I didn't need (did buy some essentials).

Need...to...walk....away...I'm going to go walk around here at work to get away from the phone/computer.

 
The thought of black friday has kept me going this month. So far, I have only spent on the household essentials, no beauty purchase except for SS. Only bought a pair of black pumps I need for interviews from Zappos, will return if it doesn't fit the way I like.

 
Well, I'm pretty grouchy at the moment.

I don't know if any of you are into video games, but the latest Dragon Age game came out today and my ancient laptop can barely run it at the lowest resolution. It looks bad, it plays bad, but really, I don't have anyone to blame but myself. I've known that it would take a much nicer, more up to date computer to be able to play it how I wanted to. It just hit me that if I hadn't spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on makeup that I rarely wear/don't like all that much, I would have been able to easily afford a new computer. 

But on the bright side, at least that realization had pretty much squashed any desire to buy any makeup or beauty stuff for the foreseeable future, so I guess that's good?

 
miss lawson said:
Well, I'm pretty grouchy at the moment.

I don't know if any of you are into video games, but the latest Dragon Age game came out today and my ancient laptop can barely run it at the lowest resolution. It looks bad, it plays bad, but really, I don't have anyone to blame but myself. I've known that it would take a much nicer, more up to date computer to be able to play it how I wanted to. It just hit me that if I hadn't spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on makeup that I rarely wear/don't like all that much, I would have been able to easily afford a new computer. 

But on the bright side, at least that realization had pretty much squashed any desire to buy any makeup or beauty stuff for the foreseeable future, so I guess that's good?
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Oof, you have my condolences on that. I know I would be gutted. The price of gaming rigs has dropped a lot in comparison to what they were years ago. I don't know if any of your stash is salable to start working towards a replacement fund. 

It's unrelated, but maybe it will help cheer you up with its absurdity. Years ago, Crysis 2 literally caused a fire in my husband's tower. His video card couldn't really handle the game and overheated from the demand on it. Which is a good lesson to everyone to dust out their chassis every so often.  

 
I'm struggling. I've been so good this month and last. But I really want some body scrubs and a nice body lotion. I will post more details later tonight because I am not on my computer and don't want to mess up the spoiler and accidentally enable. My question is, if I know I have no backups up of a type of item, is it bad to buy a few? Are scrubs really essential? Are they a worthy treat?

 
Margiee said:
I'm struggling. I've been so good this month and last. But I really want some body scrubs and a nice body lotion. I will post more details later tonight because I am not on my computer and don't want to mess up the spoiler and accidentally enable. My question is, if I know I have no backups up of a type of item, is it bad to buy a few? Are scrubs really essential? Are they a worthy treat?
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my rule for myself has been that if i have zero backups (absolutely nothing) I can buy a type of item.. maybe you should limit the number of backups you purchase? i feel like most body items you don't need more than 1 or 2 in reserve, unless it's something you just go through like water (like contact solution)

 
You could also make your own scrubs with sugar or salt and oils. I know the pre-made ones seem fancier but they tend to be one of the more expensive products for the ingredients and amount of effort it takes to make them.

Probably not what you wanted to hear.. :p /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> but just another view to consider.

 
@@kira685 I agree, I don't have any scrubs right now and it's making me crazy in this winter weather because I feel all flakey but I am being tempted to buy three at once.  Which will take me awhile to go through.  Which isn't a good thing.  

@@recklesslysober No that's a good idea too.  My bigger struggle with that is I would need to buy all the ingredients which does kind of defeat the purchase and I am not looking at any super expensive scrubs (about $4) so it might be easier to just order pre-made ones.  

My waffling makes me feel like I shouldn't make this purchase.  I am going to force myself to wait until tomorrow to make a decision, which is one of my goals for spending less anyway (thinking/sleeping before making purchases).   Thank you for reading my arguments with myself and offering advice!

 
Scrubs can be pretty cheap to make if you do happen to have the basic ingredients on hand. I've made them with olive oil, sugars, honey, and I think something else. I think some people will use coconut oil as well. 

But it sounds like you're looking at a inexpensive luxury that may be worth getting on an emotional level. How fast do you go through it? Maybe you could get one for now. Or is there shipping costs involved?

 

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