Join me in a beauty product buying ban or come and give me moral support!

[listsandbudgets]

I can't do this alone folks. I've got TOO MUCH STUFF... I also have 2 beauty advent calendars

So I've set myself a challenge. Between now and June the 1st 2024 I will not buy any beauty products UNLESS I've run out of all of that particular type. If I've got a tiny sample bottle of shampoo or conditioner I'll use it all up. All those half used bottles of moisturiser, night cream, shower gel and toner and body lotion MUST GO... the mountain of soap must be surmounted.

My only concession is that I will not cancel the Liberty Beauty drop will get a couple of boxes to cheer me up

So if you want to join me make up your own rules and lets cull that stash

@listsandbudgets Hopefully not permanently green.

Also, if your dog is anything like either of mine, make sure you don't fall asleep or he will lick it off for you.

Serums:
finished the Vichy B3, it’s really nice and I think my skin looks nicer.
Next are Caudalie, Glow Recipe, and some small samples. I used the GR one on vacation and really liked it as well.

@listsandbudgets or you could just lie down while Mumsnetting with a face mask on. :)

@OchonAgusOchonOh I like your style. I should copy that too. I try to remember myself not on the weekends but Mondays (mask Monday it is).

I agree they seem to multiply when you are not looking. I have an overnight mask and the thought of having a full face covered in cream all night is not appealing at all. How do you use those?

@Thereislightattheendofthetunnel

I don't have any overnight masks at the moment but if I do I just use them like a night cream so only use a very thin layer.

OMG.. where's my brain just read lie down mumsnetting as something else beginning with M and ending in G and thought @Thereislightattheendofthetunnel has lost her mind..

What’s that? 😂

@listsandbudgets I have been tempted to tell “Lie Down!” On some of the other threads on this site…. Not here though. Everyone’s lovely.

A couple of empties at my end. A bottle of Dove shower gel. Itchy central. The rest of my ginormous bottle of Bioderma shower oil. Great, but bored with it. Need to replace with something else. Was tempted by the L’Occitane almond oil - until I saw the price. Might see if the Body Shop has an alternative. Haven’t been there in years. Romand Glasting Melting Balm in Mauve. Loved it. So moisturising!!! Will reorder different colours as and when. Some Korean Sakura-scented hair oil. Smells great but I suspect oil dries out my roots. Toothpaste, deodorant, riveting stuff.

80 days since I spent a solitary penny on beauty products... and I feel as if I've barely made a dent in what I have... but at least I haven't go any more!!

I know I've opened the ACs but technically I had them anyway.

I wonder how things will look after 160 days which I think will be the 13th April

Wow, listsandbudgets, that's a long time. You must have an awfully large stash!
I've committed to using bits and pieces, but I don't think I would last that long with what I have.

I'm at 39 days without buying anything new in the skincare and beauty categories, although I also had a beauty advent calendar but some of that went to friends for Christmas. And I did get some nice beauty treats for Christmas, too, so I do have plenty to use up.

Also, I seem to use things very sparingly compared to other people, so my progress is rather slow. I was aiming for 50 days straight of no buy and then I might buy something small for my birthday next month, since I have a £15 off voucher. If there is something I really need or want. Then back to no buy after my birthday!

DH is more of the 'practical' gifting type - for my birthday he says he will take me to the shoe shop for new running shoes, haha. Useful though!

I’ve had an advent calendar too, bought before this challenge started, and apart from a blusher in December because I forget to pack one when I went away, that’s been it.
I have also sorted through the stash and it’s still HUGE and I’m trying to divide and conquer by sorting by category so it’s now spread over 4 hiding places storage places.

I haven’t bought anything either. Well at the beginning of the thread I was in NY and bought stuff then - in fact I’ve just finished a cleanser I bought there. But other than a few things I received for Christmas I haven’t bought anything. Stash doesn’t seem to be reducing that much though!

I'm afraid I haven't been as good as everyone else. I ordered a serum from Boots yesterday. In my defence, it brought me up to the threshold for 500 free points and I don't actually have very many serums in my stash. I'm using one, I have two teeny tiny ones from the No7 advent and another from the Boots Premium calendar that I don't think will suit my skin type so I'll need to give to dd.

I've bought an SPF (had a £10 rewards voucher expiring for Space NK so it would have been a waste not to use it but at least SPF is useful/almost medical?), and Aveeno body wash and body lotion as my skin reacted to the Weleda Skin Food in my stash that I was trying to use up. Interestingly the Dove shower gel I've previously been fine with also made me very itchy last week @Fraaahnces , I wonder if they've changed the formulation. Or maybe my skin was just irritated and more sensitive from the Weleda. Other than those, which were more or less essentials, I've not spent on beauty at all since before Christmas.

Yes my stash is huge that's why I had to start this thread.

Like @moimichme I'm wondering if I used less of product than other people. I'm a bit awed when I see some people posting 6 or 7 things at once on the empties thread - proper big bottles as well. I can't imagine where the find the time to use it all

To be fair I think quality plays a part. I do find my more expensive products last a lot longer I've not idea why probably because I find myself thinking I've got to be sparing because it was expensive A 250ml bottle of Molton Brown can easily last me longer than a 500ml dupe from Lidl.

I am making myself use the Center Point shower gels and shampoos every other day which is obviously slowing my progress on everything else but I'm determined not to be left with those as my only options in May!! I've absoutely no idea how I've accumalated so many bottles. They're OK but they don't bring me joy in the same way as some of the others do

Checking in.

I haven't bought anything and didn't have an advent calendar but did buy the Boots Heroes box in November and a Liberty GWP in October. Anyway am feeling rather pleased with myself but making very slow progress with my stash.

I have just finished the Votary hyaluronic serum, which DD2 managed to spill part of. I generally rate Votary products and this was decent but I think it's hard to judge how effective serums really are. My skin looks fine, no spots or redness, but as am just shy of 50, am not really expecting miracles either.

I think I have a Dr Sebagh hyaluronic serum in my stash so will move to that next.

OK I have changed the rules for me, as I can’t resist a bargain. I confess I bought the Cult beauty skincare box last week because I am actually using the Sunday Riley ICE moisturiser at the moment and really like it and wanted a spare (although admittedly I do have other equally good moisturisers in my stash I could use)
But I then sold some unwanted beauty items on EBay and made £30 to offset against the spend.
I am still £15 down but I have other items to sell which I just haven’t got round to yet so fairly confident I can offset the whole expense as well as not add to my stash.
Ultimately my objective now is to have spent as close to zero by the end of the year and used up most of my stash so if I buy I then have to sell some other stuff
i think this is the only way this exercise will work for me as I just can’t resist a beauty box and I get bored with my existing stuff
I have made inroads though as I managed to resist the latest Boots Beauty box which old me would definitely have bought!

I keep being tempted but have so far not bought anything yet this year. I feel like I've made a good start to the year with using up my stash but there's a lot of year left and it would only take one or two beauty boxes to undo all my hard work!

I haven't bought anything yet this year either. I haven't even looked at any beauty stuff. I don't feel at all tempted, or even interested in looking at anything beauty related at the moment as I have so much to get through. I have no storage space for anything else!

I have just shopped my stash for a cleanser to replace the one I have just finished and there is actually now some space in that drawer! (I will admit there is stuff in other drawers!)

Loving "shopped my stash". Well I've just shopped mine too as my conditioner has just run out. I've decided to have a break from my normal shampoo too and use a small sample of shampoo and conditioner that came in a beauty drop box a few months ago. Won't make much of a gap but better than no gap! After that I've got a couple of teeny bottles of Rituals conditioner then I think I can start on one from an AC.

Does it count as an empty if your kid nicks it? It’s out of my stash anyway… My daughter pilfered (was given) my (almost new) Mary&May cleansing balm. It was fine, but not my favourite. It was just a tiny bit on the waxy side for my preference. Meanwhile, I had to use one of my Mecca gift cards before it expired and I purchased the Glow Recipe one. It smells great, but the texture is even waxier. Am contemplating warming it slightly and whipping it up with my coffee frother to see if that improves the feel. I think that if you didn’t use a foaming cleanser after these two, you would have residue after rinsing. Because it’s so stiff it is hard to evaluate how much you need and end up using too much. I would NEVER spend that much on a cleansing balm IRL if it weren’t for the gift card.
I have used up a BioSilk Bonding Treatment. That whole series (shampoo, spray in/rinse out conditioner and the treatment) are all amazing! Would love to repurchase but am currently using my stashed VicREA Honey Damage Repair shampoo. It’s also amazing and smells divine.
I have lost my fave Romand Glasting Melting Balm. (Was on one of my desks at work. Probably chucked out by cleaners.) I will eventually order two more. They are amazing in the air conditioning.

I'm also 'shopping my stash' for conditioner at the moment. I'm completely out of regular conditioner but I do have two tubes of intensive hair masks (one small, one large) and a small bottle of Ouai leave-in conditioner, which is quite light. I've been alternating between a mask and the leave-in and actually my hair is fine with that so I'm hoping I can hold out a bit longer before buying anything.

Good on you @SwordBilledHummingbird Ive got quite a few of those small leave in conditioner/masks that I never use so I’m inspired to try them out. Have you put them on wet hair? Once my hair is shampooed it turns into a tangled mess so I use conditioner to sort it out and then it doesn’t need leave in product as well. Hence I’ve never used them.