Beauty Hoarders anonymous - take pride in your stride!!!

[Experiment627]

Continuing the good work we made on the last thread! Come join us if you have a stash!

If you want to see that:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/3785372-beauty-hoarders-anonymous-you-have-got-to-be-in-it-to-win-it

@stepmotherofone looks amazeballs!!! Do you pay to have Trello? And is it on your phone?

I used to make up use up lists but it has been a while- maybe I should start again

Cherry, there's a where to buy list on the site you linked to, with European webshops. It seems some ship to the UK - maybe they have the product you want.

I have had some success with asking shops based abroad if they will ship to the UK, even when it has not been listed as an option on their website, so you may find these shops will do it too (at least until Brexit makes it too complicated).

@Experiment627 totally free and works on computer or via an app.

@CherryMargo I like the Aurelia natural cream deodorants but may not be suitable for you

Speaking of inventories, I use Excel for my multiple inventories (this year I’ve also created inventories for my meds/supplements, beauty tools and clothing/accessories) because it helps me count the total numbers easily, plus since 2019 I’ve been monitoring my spending, and Excel makes the whole process less of a chore.

Here is what the bottom of my S&B inventory table looks like. PP stands for 'project pan' (an all-year-round project I'm entertaining myself with). And I also make note of how much it costs me to put on a full face of makeup (just to bash myself mentally even more 😖) – I update this information three times a year.

@CherryMargo I love that!!

I’ve also never ever hit pan on an eyeshadow before so may make that an aim for myself.

@RiskIt4Biscuit thank you for pointing me in the right direction! ❤️ I’ve spent my afternoon checking their online retailers list. Unfortunately, some of the listed shops do not stock this brand anymore (I guess Meow Meow Tweet are late on updating their website), but it seems like I can still order their deodorants from Sweden and Australia! 🤩

@stepmotherofone thank you for the recommendation! If I find no baking soda free option anywhere anymore, I will give the Aurelia deodorant a go. Thank you very much once again! ❤️

Very impressive @CherryMargo

Little haul and the freebies🙈 Running out of space now!

I hope you get the products you want, Cherry. There's nothing worse than wanting something and not being able to buy it.

I've finished a Dove deodorant and a 20ml Lumene body lotion (from an old advent calendar).
The deodorant is great and I already have a new one, and the body lotion was okay, but nothing special. I liked the scent though.

Having spent this morning avoiding work making a spreadsheet of everything in my current stash, I feel I should join you. I've got 132 products - and that's just skin and hair care, I'm not going to count make up as I don't really use it up in the same way.

Admittedly the Harvey Nichols GWP and minimum spend to get it have a lot to do with this. But I clearly had enough beforehand!

How do you choose what to use next? Do you use the small things because you get through them more quickly so get the satisfaction of ticking them off? Or the full size products because they take up more space?

I use the small ones first, then the oldest full sizes

I categorise them eg for skincare I will have cleansers, toners, serums, day moisturiser, night cream, eye cream, masks etc and then make a list of every thing I have in each category, the size of the item and roughly how long I’ve had it. And then I pick one from each category, usually either the smallest or the oldest, and use that up. And score through it on my list of stash items (very satisfying). I think I’ve used up about 80 things this year (I include single use things like bath bombs and sheet masks to keep myself going!). I have a lot more than 80 items left to use though ...

Similar to Costa so I try to use oldest small sizes first before bigger items which take longer to use up.

But a lot of my small sizes are GWP whereas the full sizes are the things I’ve spent actual money on so I want to use them at their best

So I mix and match a bit depending on what I fancy, how my skin is feeling etc.

Finished a 15ml Omorovicza rejuvenating night cream. Will not buy this. It was just a bit meh and there was something about the scent I didn’t like.

I think I’m out of night creams, so I’ve picked a Lumene Aerating Gel Mask as it can be left on overnight, and I’m not very good at using masks regularly.

Welcome aboard, @BookSkark!

Being a nerd that I am, I have developed the following rules for myself when it comes to picking what to use up next (my apologies for a wall of text 😵):

1. Unopened expired (I know, yuck! I do not condone the use of expired products!) deluxe samples & foil sachets get picked first. Once I have none of these, I look for…

1. ... unopened deluxe samples & foil sachets with unknown dates of manufacture (if I don’t know when the product was made, how can I be sure it didn’t expire?). Once I use up all of these, I pick one of the…

1. … already opened and expired (yuck again!) full-size products. It is a chore to finish these up, that’s why I work through them after the minis.

1. Opened unexpired full-size products are the next on the chopping block. It is like an interim reward for my good progress – I allow myself to enjoy already opened products which are still fresh before I go back to the old and rotten items in my stash.

1. Unopened but expired (more yuck!) full-size products get picked after I am done with the above categories (this category really makes me feel guilty about my excessive purchases, but helps me say ‘no’ when I get bombarded by sales offers). After these I move on to…

1. … unopened full-size products with unknown dates of manufacture. Again, there's a high chance that by the time I get to use them, most of them will have expired.

1. After that it is time for unopened unexpired deluxe samples & foil sachets. Finally! 🥳

1. Unopened unexpired full-size products are the last to go.

And then there is... stage two 🤓 If any of the above categories have multiple products sitting under it (say, I have six opened unexpired full-size body lotions), I will use them one by one giving the first priority to (in the following order):

1. Products with the oldest date of manufacture (if I have this information)

2. Products which have the least amount/weight remaining

3. Products which do not suit my skin/hair type, do not match my skin/hair/eye colour, do not help with my needs/issues or even make them worse (in other words, hate panning, which I also do not recommend doing!)

4. Products which can be multitasked/of multiple purpose and/or require re-applications throughout the day

5. Products with potentially harmful/toxic ingredients

6. Products which are not cruelty-free

7. Products which are not vegan

8. Products by brands which ethos/vision/policies/behaviour/ambassadors I disapprove/feel strongly against

9. Products for which I have dupes or at least one identical backup in my collection

10. Extra rule for makeup products: if I have several of the same (for example, three opened unexpired lipliners), then the priority would be given to the one which would be the best colour match for other coloured products which I am currently using, i.e. lipstick and/or lip gloss

By following these rules, I am – before everything else – using up/getting rid of products which have expired, been opened and do not sit well with me (poor performance / ingredients / brand ethos). The less of those I own, the better I feel about my stash.

P. S. There would be significantly less steps in my picking process if I could just declutter everything that has expired or that I don't like but my hoarder brain is not ready to do that yet 😓

Hey found you again. Nothing to report here yet though

Wow @CherryMargo, that's a very detailed approach. I can't even find use by dates on most of my things! I think I'll go full size items first on the basis that I paid for those so want to use them at their best, and save the small ones for when I'm travelling/have run out of the large items.

Happily, I finished a few off last night/this morning. A Clarins cleanser and eye gel, and a Clinique Moisture Surge moisturiser. The Clarins stuff was fine, but I find it a bit functional rather than a treat. The Clinique moisturiser is nice and rich, but I'm not sure my skin really needs something quite so heavy - although I've got a few more in my stash from various giveaways, so I'll be using it again regardless!

Lots of empties. I use the wonder balm a lot, impressed with the hyaluronic acid, will get that again. Not sure I saw any difference with the cellulite smoother, I used it on my bingo wings as surprisingly I don’t have any cellulite on my legs. It also has a weird smell so won’t be re purchasing. Prefer the Prai neck and décolleté cream

Costa that’s really impressive! I’m interested in the Inkey hyaluronic acid please. I’ve just started using HA - I have a 20ml Dr Sebagh one on the go and I like it. But I’m confused as to why some HAs are so cheap (boots own brand is £5 for 30ml) and others, like the Dr Sebagh, are so pricey. I assume it’s the amount of HA in the serum? Is the Inkey one good value, do you think? I’ve heard good things about The Ordinary HA but I’m clueless.

ook I have one of those Clinique moisturisers in my stash too. If I find that moisturisers are too rich, I use them up on my neck.

That should have been to Book sorry.

Yes it was very good value @WellTidy I will definitely re purchase

Thanks Costa. Great to have a cheap alternative. Acids are a new world to me. I’ve used Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum for years and it is getting pricey, so I am really interested in The Inkey etc.

@BookSkark yeah, it can be difficult to find the information on manufacture or expiry dates. Most brands somehow (deliberately?) do not indicate them. The following websites are helpful but, unfortunately, they do not have every brand under the sun in their database:

1. m.checkcosmetic.net/?mobile=1
2. www.checkfresh.com/

Thanks for those links - although I'm not sure I want to know! It would make a good addition to the spreadsheet though...

Another empty - just a body wash that I found say the back of the cupboard. Nice enough scent but I can't really get excited about body washes. Or maybe I just haven't found the right one yet.