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

Yeah I am the same as @Peridot1 it is the thrill of owning something new for me . I love new brands or old brands I haven’t tried for a while so advent’s provide this
I have one which I am looking forward to as a last hurrah for 2023
. I have been going crazy with shower gels lately. I have bought an incredible 8 this weekend. I think it is because I am stopping buying anymore face products/luxury products . I have switched to quick consumables like shower gel . I am also using a really cheap horrible shower gel at the moment so have used the sales to upgrade on quality slightly. I think I am now set for the whole of 2024.
Now how am I for deodorant…
I am quite looking forward to my no buy 2024 I agree it is quite satisfying seeing those empty bottles . I have three items that I will finish this week and I am really looking forward to getting something new out of my stash and creating that empty space on the shelf

Yes @Puravida23 - it’s the thrill of something new. I think next year I might avoid the Beauty Advent threads and checking the contents and just buy one without knowing what’s in it. Living dangerously! The first one I ever bought was the M&S one in 2016 and I had no clue what was in it as I just came upon it in store.

Smiling at your shower gel acquisition weekend. I did the same a few years ago with soap. Switched from shower gel in an effort to reduce plastics and went max buying soaps. Every time I was in TK Max I bought a few. If we went away I bought a few. Etc. I’ve been using some up but still have 20!

I have been really good this Black Friday weekend. Have been tempted to buy a couple of things but have resisted. I have finished a few things up and will finish a few more this week.

I did buy some foundation I confess. It is my HG one and I was worried I would run out when I was on holiday as the bottle is opaque and I can’t see how much is left. I feel a bit bad about this as I remembered that I have a hardly used foundation in my drawer. Why is it hardly used? Because it’s too thick and heavy. So I should just bin it and move on.
As for using up products, I’m still wading my way through some of them and it feels really sad to write that because I should be writing about how much I enjoy using them and how I’m sad it was all used up. But I see I’m not alone in feeling that the stash is not a joy but a bit of a burden. I shall try to remember that when I fell tempted by some ‘bargain’.

I’m in. I was just eyeing up an advent but I really don’t need one. I have so much stuff from last year. I’ve got the 12 day perfume one and that will do me. Need to do no spends on basically everything next year as I need to save big time to go away. We’ve got this!

@narniabusiness - I think buying a HG foundation for that reason is ok. I took all the foundations and CC and similar out of my drawer the other day and I have 8. Ridiculous. One I never use as it’s way too dark. A few others I don’t use as I’m not keen for various reasons. Am going to be a bit ruthless later today and get rid of the ones I’m definitely not using.

OMG @Fraaahnces is your husband related to my DP. He did exactly the same - I had norovirus so he thought he'd pack up the tree to be helpful and finally asked me as I staggered from toilet to bed how to take the lights off. It's ruined we're going to have to get another as even after 6 hours spread over a few days I've not been able to put it right. It was a brand new tree as well OF COURSE!!

I'm afraid I love advent calendars for the surprise element. I want someone else to choose new things for me that I'd never have chosen myself and then I want to play with them and decide which I really like. Picking stuff out of my own stash just wouldnt be the same.

@moimichme I agree it's incredible how long things go on and on and on... unless I really like them in which case they seem to disappear much faster than I'd like.

@Puravida23 I've got 17 bottles of shower gel plus about a dozen little bottles. I was at my mums at the weekend and realised that she had about a dozen bottles and a huge basket of little ones... it's not our fault... it's genetic

@listsandbudgets - I don’t know why, but it makes me feel a little better knowing that my DH is not the only Mr Magoo in the world. Going to put the NEW tree up in the next couple of days. (Btw, I totally upgraded. This one has 300 lights!)

Am dumbfounded about the removal of lights from pre-lit trees! What a nightmare! Did they both feel a bit silly @Fraaahnces and @listsandbudgets? My DH would never live that down.

My DH thinks I am nagging him every time I bring it up. I then point out that I have never wrecked anything of his (he is ham-fisted) and he never replaces things even though he promises immediately afterwards.

I'm trying my best to use up what I've got. I have a Hyaluronic face mist which doesn't seem to be doing anything and it smells like shit. It's the last one in my stash but I just don't want to use it. Can i just throw it away and find something else?

Yes @TheDandyLion! I have done that with a couple of things. There is no point in suffering through using something you are not enjoying when you have other things in your stash. You gave it a good go and some things just done work for us for whatever reason.

Confession time. I broke my no buying pact. Admittedly biggest spend was a pizza oven for DH. (From our three kids and I - they will pay me back.) My eldest DD is moving out in a week or so 😱 and I bought her a cleansing balm. They were BOGOF, so I bought two different ones to try. I am not counting el cheapo Daiso sponge & brush cleaner as a bad thing. It’s never on sale because it’s ludicrously cheap. It’s a staple in my bathroom. (About $3.00Aud)

Absolutely @TheDandyLion Chuck it and move onto something nicer. Self care is supposed to be enjoyable. I am trying to take my own advice because I’ve been known to keep on using things when I don’t really like them.

@TheDandyLion Do it. I've just chucked a 111 skin rose quartz exfoliating mask from last year's Flannels AC allegedly worth about £50 - hated the smell, hated the feel, and I don't think it did anything! So why bother? I have much nicer exfoliating products

Thank you I just needed the validation that sometimes throwing away is ok. I really tried but it's horrible and sometimes stings. I do not reccomend the Q&A Hyaluronic fast mist at all. I picked it up in Holland and Barrett during my 'natural' beauty phase before I knew any better about skincare. I don't know what I was thinking. It's in the bin. Now to do some proper research to find something much nicer before spending the cash.

@TheDandyLion I also just threw out a Q&A hyaluronic acid face moisturiser from the H&B calendar (I'm having a clear out today!) and it was awful. I've been using it as hand cream to get through it. Also would not recommend that brand!

Chuck it out...these products are meant to be a pleasure not a nasty ordeal.

You wouldn't keep half of a horrible bottle of wine would you?

May I join? I feel like I've found what I need to keep me in check. Thanks @Peridot1 for linking on the Beauty Advent buying thread.

I have managed to resist buying a calendar that year but did buy Liberty's October GWP, a Boots Beauty Edit and the Sarah Jossel Beauty Edit just because it was super bargainous. I've still got stuff left from last year (JL & Fenwicks) and Liberty a couple of years before so really don't need anything else. I did manage to stop myself from being tempted to buy more by sorting what I have into categories. Once I saw my 3 eye creams, 5 cleansers, and god knows how many hair masks, it did stop me!

Anyway I may ask for some Diptyque perfume for Christmas but otherwise I'm definitely going to stop until next autumn. I've also cancelled the Liberty beauty drop.

I'm joining too please. After a blow-out November, I'm starting today. I'm going to take the challenge to 1st September, will include all toiletries (to prevent fudging boundaries) and add scented candles to the mix. I have a weakness for candles.

My primary aim is to reduce my stash/declutter so I will chuck away anything I'm not enjoying using. I will apply the same 'type' restriction Op is using and I don't expect to need to buy anything before September except some regular essentials (toothpaste etc).

Loving the 'do not recommends' instead of the usual recommends.

Yup. Less is more with my face now, but I have sooo much make-up. Also, shampoo / hair products. My hair is lo-fi.

Hello ladies, hope that you don't mind me joining you. After failing to exercise any restraint during advent buying season, I need to commit to a 6 month buying ban

I may need a concealer and some sun cream during that time, but I really can't imagine needing anything else at all

Welcome all who are making their way over from the advent calendar thread. Some of you definitely need this thread! . As do I. My weakness is Caroline Hirons Kits and I am determined not to buy them next year. Even though they are extremely good value and all full size products rather than samples and minis. I have enough to keep me going for at least a year.

@MidnightMeltdown - sun cream is a medical necessity and not counted. I get through a lot of that so will be buying some I’m sure.

@Peridot1 - it is like crash dieting after a binge.

My weaknesses are advent calendars (danger passed), post advent calendar eBay bargains (now peak risk), and Brand Alley. A sucker for any discount really.

GWPs used to be dangerous but they seem to have got less enticing recently and this year haven't been a buying trigger.

I should do a buying ban for clothes and kindle books too.

@Peridot1

That's true. I tend to see facial sunscreen, at least, as a beauty product because it appears in beauty advents, but it's a necessity really.

Anyway I have enough facial sunscreen to last me for the next year. I may just buy a body one for holiday