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

I have a couple of nice things from advent calendars and gift with purchases that I think I'm going to give to a couple of friends for Christmas (maybe 4-5 each). It'll whittle down my stash a bit and hopefully bring them some happiness, too.

I'm opening my OK Beauty advent calendar right now, but at least it means I'm not feeling tempted to look at other beauty or skincare stuff! Hold strong everyone.

I'm feeling very chuffed with myself... I've started the big sort-out.

The main reason I buy so much stuff is that I FORGET what I have...

So, first shelves cleared, and:

• one bag of "bits to try" (from various advent calendars, free gifts, etc) with a commitment to delve regularly ... but seriously, how many face masks does a girl need?
• one bathroom cupboard with things where they are meant to be and only the stuff I am actively using is in there (includes pots I am finishing - and now I won't forget they are there!!)
• one overflow bathroom cupboard neatly sorted by category - includes stuff I use regularly (stocked up in sales) and stuff I seem to have acquired and plan to use...

I do like the idea of giving unused things on to local women's shelter so will start a bag for that...

Next stop - the make up... Hmmmm....

And a VERY big thank you for inspiring me and starting this thread - it's going to be good... and surprisingly enjoyable!!

Stoic ... what's the hair product you are trying? Your hair sounds just like mine and I am so clear I want to get it more manageable and flowy this year...

So yes, mini thread hijack - and especially interested in what you think when you have used it

K18 shampoo and leave-in hair mask. Not had chance to try yet but will report back after this weekend.

@loveyouradvice Brilliant - It is satisfying working out exactly what you've got. I try to do it from time to time and always feel quite pleased afterwards but unfortunately I'm disorganised and it tends to get mixed up again.

I'm opening the Liberty AC at the moment and I love it - think it will be quite some time before I need to buy anything else - well that's the plan anyway. I've got the M&S one too but that's going to be dealt with in January - hate January always want cheering up. I don[t wear makeup so DD is going to have some amazing stocking fillers this year.

I used up a moisturiser and some body cream AND MY BAR OF SOAP HAS FINALLY DIED after 5 months

DP has just given me a 500ml bottle of nivea body lotion - seems it was his gift in the secret Santa so that is going to take quite some time to get through I think... weird gift guess it was a last minute thought.

I always put toiletries kits in the DCs stockings - I actually managed to buy 3 sets on Monday and didn't buy anything for me - I got some new tights instead.

I am feeling very smug with myself. Last year I ended up with two identical Cohorted 12 day advents (long story not worth going into) I kept them as they are very pretty and found them in the garage the other day. I have had the genius idea to fill them for DD and DS’s girlfriend for xmas. I am shoving in as many beauty products as possible (although may have bought the cult beauty buyers edit box to supplement it but only for gifting obviously) and reckon I could be down at least 20 products by the end of this, Result!
My biggest issue I am finding is that I just can’t let go of certain items I know I have too many serums but just can’t get rid and they take an age to finish. Also moisturisers I really don’t need 8 full size ones but can I part with them. No.

I never thought I would ever congratulate someone for using up their soap 😂 but bloody well done for seeing it through.

This week I have finished one moisturizer and a retinol, I have no idea why I have so many retinols. Oh and the hand cream in the car. So I replaced that today, it took a few minutes to decide which hand cream would take top spot from the stash. Elizabeth Arden 8 hour hand cream took top place. It's just got an odd smell to it, a bit medicinal but it's there in the car to stay now.

I also have a little stash of items in there I realised, a deo spray, face mist, sun cream, wipes and tissues 😂. I do use them though, as I am out and about a lot for work and it's bloody hot right now. So hoping to make a dent in these too. Lawd knows I have plenty of replacements waiting .

Nivea cream is great after getting out of the bath/shower. If you shave your legs, it's quite nice to use instead of soap or gel. Not just you that thinks it's a bit of an odd Secret Santa gift to give to a man though.

Oh well, it can take its place in the stock pile until it becomes the chosen one 😄

My legs are due a shave so I'll give it a go thank you.

Funnily enough I recently finished (or I'm about to finish not quite sure) a tube of 8 hour hand cream. As you say, it smells slightly medicinal but it's a good choice as it sinks in really well and leaves the skin soft. I can never decide to use one hand cream at a time so I have 6 on the go at the moment maybe more

I used to feel a bit guilty about my beauty stash, but then I realised that I enjoyed looking at it in the same way a stamp/coin/dinky car collector might like looking at their collection.
I also find if I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, thinking about my stuff calms me down so I can sleep.
So am I just totally weird or does anyone think the same?

Not quite @Fairyliz but I do like looking at my stash. I am starting to worry about things going off before I can use them though so I really want to make a good dent in it this year.

@Fairyliz maybe not exactly the same, but it's taken me a long time to realise that I stash things because we didn't have a lot growing up. We weren't poor, we had enough, but looking back I had less than friends did and if something ran out it wouldn't always get replaced. So I think once I started earning my own money I've obtained things but been reluctant to ever use them up. In that sense, I can understand why the security of having plenty would be calming.

This is my worry too, and my main reason for the no buy, along with the fact that I have run out of storage space for beauty products!

When I moved house a couple of years ago, one of the removal men commented on how many boxes were labelled 'beauty'

I feel like I need to reduce the stash before someone discovers it and I get sectioned!

@Possimpible
Very perceptive, this was exactly my childhood too.
I’d never thought of the connection before but I think you are exactly right.

Mine too. Never went without, but I was aware that my clothes were hand-me-downs when my friends had new dresses. It was worse at high school when we had 'wear your own clothes' days and youth club discos.

Suspect it has something to do with the hoarding. One parent was a hoarder.

With things like shampoo, if I bought one, it would get used up before I had a chance to use it, and my DM would go through my things. I'd use up one bottle, get to the next and find three-quarters of it gone. DM would go through my things and didn't really try to hide it.

Like I wouldn't notice and I wouldn't mind.

Zero respect for boundaries. Same with christmas chocolates. They'd think it OK to open a box of chocolates that I got as a present and eat the lot.

I am like this and had the same background. Never had nice clothes or anything for myself.

@Puravida23 - I made advent calendars with my samples, sheet masks, minis, etc for all three of my kids. (DS’s was harder to put together as he likes very “male” oriented bits, so it had to be augmented by things I found at the chemist/snacks he likes, deodorant, toothpaste, etc. I put them in numbered, colour-coded organza gift bags and hung them on their bedroom doors every morning. They really loved this and asked what happened this year and I told them I literally didn’t have time and forgot. (They’re all old enough to understand this and know my current time constraints.)

I know my issues stem from my abusive mother. I look after my skin and enjoy beauty bits and bobs because she routinely humiliated me about my looks and tried to shame me for wanting to look and feel good.

I am on a health kick atm and hope to loose weight. Once I hit a certain milestone, I have some boots in mind instead of beauty junk. The only things I bought in the Black Friday sales were to either replace things I use frequently and had used up, a couple of favourite sunscreens that I know I will need shortly and some cleansing balms and an oil that will be used up fairly quickly.

Was sorry to read some of these stories.

I've reflected on why I've bought so many beauty products in the last few years and I think that I'm a bit prone to addictive behaviour. I used to smoke and drink a lot but have stopped the first and have massively reduced the second. During lockdown, I replaced drinking (and going out) with a bad beauty and clothes buying habit. It was boredom follwed by compulsion fueled by excessive online usage.

Anyway, I've started reading 'The Art of Discarding' bu Nagisa Tatsumi. I tend to buy less when I've decluttered.

Some of these stories are very sad. I blame my mother for my obsession but it’s because she was really into skincare and makeup herself. And encouraged us to be the same. She loved a GWP and would so enjoy beauty advent calendars if they had been a thing. In fact I bought my first one in M&S when I was in buying my DS a shirt and jacket to wear to her funeral a few years ago. I’d spent enough and was offered it at the till and said no as it seemed a bit frivolous to buy one while planning her funeral. Then I realised she would have loved it. So I bought one. My mantra now is “what would Sheila do?” And Sheila would buy all the products and have all the treatments and enjoy it all! Although she wouldn’t have a stash as big as mine. That was built up in lock down really.

I think my stash is the result of an addictive personality too. Once I spot an item /beauty box/advent calendar I am vaguely interested in I fixate on it.
I know I don’t need it logically but I build the items up in my mind (watch youtube, read reviews) until I have to have it. Normally when it arrives it’s a big anticlimax often not even used (as I have so much other stuff to get through first)
My big issue with the whole process is not the expense, although this is an issue . It is the mind space it takes up as these fixations can cover days and often only end when the item goes out of stock or I buy it. I want to be free of this ultimately . I am going to start a journal of my products and rate them as I use them and then once my stash is used up I will only buy the ones I rate highest. I am also going to unsubscribe from a lot of the promotion emails which contribute to my downfall. Hopefully together we can look forward to more streamlined shelves and a healthier bank balance in 2024

This is me. I wasn’t even interested until all the cut price advents last year. I’m a sucker for a bargain. Only when it arrives I rip it open, feel deflated and then crave the next one.

I'm worried about the cut price advent calendars, gift pack sales etc. I find them so hard to resist

I think I've got an addictive personality as well. I was looking at my stationery stash yesterday - I must have a library of note books mainly unused, lots of books waiting to be read and a huge bag of dishwasher tablets I don't even remember buying... and lots and lots of pretty bowls I find in charity shops.. sometimes I'm surprised there's space for me

Also I HATE throwing things out - boxes of kids toys and bags of clothes from when they were little. Ive even got all their old nursery pictures and school uniforms - and DD is 18!!

^ However, the cull has to start somewhere and I choose my beauty products, also my books - no more until I'm choosing some to take on holiday in August - I've easily got enough for then and beyond.

@listsandbudgets - notebooks are a problem for me too.

My problem areas are: Style & Beauty items, stationery, books (paper and kindle), gifts, and smaller household items (e.g candles, plates etc). I'm writing down everything I buy in these categories for 12 months (started Nov 25th) to observe/monitor and, hopefully, control. I know this thread is about beauty items but I'm concerned I'll just shift buying onto something else if I reduce that spend.

I used to buy loads of magazines but one day the penny dropped that it was a waste and I now buy a couple of them 1-2x a year as an airport only treat. That thinking needs to extend to books.

My buying behaviour is ok for socialising, travel, and basic household essentials (no dishwasher tablet hoard here). I do waste too much food but that stems from poor meal planning so a different solution needed.

I have been enjoying watching beauty influencers go through the advent calendars they buy to see if the value is genuine. The Dior one is amazingly overpriced. Almost every store one is jamming the Augustinus Bader cream down everyone’s neck. Most have fragrance samples that you would probably get for free if you were trying to choose between two at a counter, rather than the mini bottles you used to get. It’s a real insight into the shifting fashions of the luxury beauty world.

We sound quite similar. The overly researching and getting quite obsessed with an items sounds so familiar

And it isn't just S&B items for me either. It's such random things too. Currently it's a cake stand 🙈. I decided on a particular dessert for Christmas day and it would be perfectly fine displayed on one of so many platters or dishes that I have, but I have it in my head that it needs to go on a cake stand. Which I don't have. I don't have one as I have never needed one, as I don't generally do dessert or even eat cake. I have spent the best part of today looking for the nicest, yet best value cake stand.

I think just reading your post and me typing this out makes me realize that I need try hard to stop doing this (and use something I already have).

Thank goodness we don't get good sales of advent calendars (we don't get much in the way of them to choose from generally) as I know it would be very tempting if I did. I just get my hit by reading through the threads to see what everyone else got.