no buy

Lisa Eldridge on No Buys

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When I first got into makeup, I went off the deep end and wanted to try all the things. It was exploratory – it was all so new to me and I needed to figure out what I liked. Fast forward a few years, I’m not being ensorcelled by product as much. It still definitely happens, but not like it did; it usually takes something REALLY different and intriguing to capture my mind in the same way.

Lisa Eldridge on No Buys

One of the few personalities I subscribe to is Lisa Eldridge and I loved this video (below) of hers from January.

Her stance of feeling a bit overwhelmed or, “saturated,” on the consumerist nature of the beauty community and industry is refreshing.

How many of the same kind of palettes can one girl have, really?

Guilty as charged, but I’m not buying more until I use mine up!

I’m interested in your thoughts on her perspective. Check out Lisa’s video and let me know in the comments below.

No Buy Pause

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No Buy

Before long it will be time to give my No Buy pause and make some calculated beauty purchases. Soon, the infrequent (and therefore precious) sales shall be upon us. I am not unrealistic – I’ll want to shop.

No Buy Pause Plan

The Bottom Line

There will be more purchased as I hope to maintain my Sephora VIB and Ulta Platinum statuses for 2018. If I plan and am deliberate, I am confident I can meet those thresholds without buying random stuff I don’t feel strongly about.

Fortunately, I continue to be underwhelmed by holiday collections. so there’s little temptation there. The only thing I have been stricken by so far are Urban Decay’s new Heavy Metal glitter liner shades. I love the one I own, but definitely don’t need to add more to my collection – so it is easy to get over.

Chatter: Why My No Buy

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why my no buy

Call it what you will: a no buy is just another phrase to describe a spending restriction. This might be in a particular area, like mine is for beauty products, or it might be for everything. It might be out of financial necessity, to encourage savings, or merely to prevent the accumulation of more things/clutter. Since my April blunder, I’ve adhered.

Why my no buy?

My no buy why is a mixed bag.

SPACE. I have drunk deeply of the Marie Kondo kool-aid and although I have yet to Kondo my home, I’m trying to apply some of her school of thought to things I own. Even after paring down, I still own more makeup than I need. Because my tastes are what they are, my collection has a good bit of overlap. I don’t want to add to my collection (okay, I do want to add an Hourglass ALB. And some of those shockingly-good, <$5 WnW palettes); I have extremely finite storage space and am committed to not having that space expand. Period.

I also just need to use up what I have. Every time I buy, say, a new palette I end up giving it priority. Logically, this makes no sense. I don’t dislike my other palettes, damn it. I need to Project Pan something.

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Back on a No Buy / March Haul

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no buy

I’ve accomplished and purchased the things I wanted to do and more without going overboard. My rules are a little different this time, though, based on what I reasonably expect to need to restock.

The Rules

No…

  • Makeup, brushes, storage, or tools
  • Hair products or tools
  • Nail products or tools
  • Fragrance purchases
  • Skincare
  • Beauty services (hair, nails, brows)

E-mail won’t be auto-deleted, but I won’t go browsing just for mindless amusement.

Exceptions to the No Buy

  • If MUJI drawers go on sale for $10 again, I’m going for it.
  • If I break a jaw clip (lazy hair days), I will replace it.
  • Obviously if I run out of my facial cleanser, I will repurchase. To me, this is more of a hygiene non-negotiable; plus, my cleanser is drugstore.

My March Haul

  • Replacement Gimme Brow.
  • Essence Make Me Brow – a <$5 alternative to Gimme Brow…for science.
  • Sally Beauty’s GVP version of Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo. I’m almost out of my Blond Brilliance purple conditioner, and I read shampoo is better-suited to this task.
  • Tarte’s Airbuki brush to use with my Amazonian Clay powder foundation (reviews on both coming soon) during Macy’s VIP Sale, man. Got it cheap!
  • Tarte Shape Tape Concealer.
  • Radiance brush heads for my Clarisonic…also 20% off at Ulta.

I’m Stocked Up On…

  • Concealer. I have concealer FOR. DAYS. Between my drugstore holy grail, MAC Pro Longwear, NARS Radiant Creamy, and now Tarte Shape Tape…yeah. I’m good. I probably need to extend a concealer No Buy past the duration of this one.
  • Missha Perfect Cover – when I realized I liked it, I bought a backup tube, so I have enough to last me quite a while. Even a shade that I can mix when I start self tanning/accidentally get natural color in spite of my sunscreen.
  • Mascara is good, too – I just opened a new L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, and I have an unopened one.
  • Brow products.

Are you considering a no buy soon?

No Buy Check In

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There’s strength in numbers – so I thought I’d share my, “progress,” in case anyone else is on a No Buy. My No Buy ran from Christmas to February 25. I am granting myself a brief reprieve, then resuming.

Incredibly, I’ve managed to not buy a single beauty product during that window. It hasn’t been without temptation.

The Rules

  • No new makeup, brushes, storage, or other tools
  • No new hair products or tools
  • No new nail products or tools
  • No fragrance purchases
  • No new skincare (but replenishment of facial cleanser and body lotion OK as realistically needed)
  • No purchases of beauty services (nail, hair, etc)

During my no buy, I setup rules to auto-delete my e-mails from Sephora, Ulta, Tarte, and MAC (that’s all I’m subscribed to) without reading them. I avoided the beauty section of YouTube for the most part. If I didn’t have something, I had to do without.

What Almost Got Me

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How to CRUSH Your No Buy or Low Buy

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Ready to do more with less for a while? Time for a spending fast? Did you go overboard during the holidays? It doesn’t have to be on beauty purchases – it could be anything.

  • Shopping for family and friends?
  • temporarily blacking out on a, “TREAT YOSELF,” spree?
  • Maybe you’re just ready to shop your stash rather than adding to it for a while.
  • …The reason doesn’t matter.

The result is that you’ve committed to or are considering a No Buy to help you reign it in.  Whatever the reason… If that no buy involves something you really enjoy (as they usually do), you will find your willpower tested.

My top tip for how to crush your no buy (or low buy)?

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