Can’t stop buying & hoarding beauty treats? You’re in good company here!

[Experiment627]

Welcome to our little corner of beauty bliss! If you can’t resist trying the latest beauty launches or your shelves are bursting with favourites, you’ve found your tribe. This is the place to chat, share reviews, swap tips, and celebrate all things beauty — from budget gems to luxury treats.
This thread has been around for ages, and many of us have even tamed our beauty-buying habits thanks to the wisdom and support shared here. We post our empties and chucks, helping each other make smarter, more satisfying choices next time we shop.
All beauty product addicts welcome!

I ended up paying for Mumsnet premium to get rid of the ads, but they're all over my social feeds and my inbox is stuffed full of offers and sales already. It's no wonder it's hard to resist, we're on the receiving end of some relentless marketing.

I wonder if I could go a month without buying anything beauty/skincare-wise?

I’m going to do a perfume inventory with a glass of fizz later.

My life rocks 😂

In truth I’m loving a chilled day - we normally host and this year we all wanted 3 days just the 4 of us. Its amazing.

<so I’ll probably do a treat order >.

Whilst I'm here I have 3 empties. No photo because I can't be bothered - sorry. 😁

Full size Shiseido Ultimune Hand Cream - it was fine, not a favourite. I feel like I have a mini size somewhere from last years advent.

7ml AB Retinol serum from a Liberty box - like this and have a slightly larger one from this years advent calendar. Not something I would buy as it's too expensive for retinol IMO.

A few more G&S eye patches - again fine. Just working my way through them.

Exactly @OvaHere! I'm still a bit irritated at how long the BF offers and emails went on for, I love shopping and researching and even I was peeved by the end of it. Now the onslaught for the sales begins.

I'm toying with a few ideas to manage my response to all the ads and marketing emails:

1. Wait to purchase. Overnight, ideally. This worked so well with the LE BF goodies I bought from SNK and I feel like I treasure those purchases more.
2. If waiting feels tricky because they've got me with their LIMITED TIME ONLY OMG UP TO 40% OFF WE NEVER DO THIS BESTIE crap, then I should clean a bathroom or hoover a flight of stairs, and then determine if I actually need to buy whatever it was.

I'm thinking my bathrooms will be gleaming over the January sales period...

@DidILeaveTheGasOn🤣🤣🤣🤣 your today/tomorrow was hilarious & really resonated!

I have an empty:
Sudocream: absolute life saver at the minute. Really helpinh with my itchy irritated skin on body plus whatever is happening to my face. Which ain't pretty.

I

So how does the 100/100 work? Do you all start NYD and aim to report 100 empties by NYE 2026?

If so, would me posting my 2 measly eye mask empties on NYD be cheating 😁

I do have a spreadsheet - it's named "keepincool's ridiculous beauty stash" sheet. I do have a ridiculous amount to get through and definitely low buy now. I'm not tempted by sales at all, thankfully.

I've just counted my empties for December so far and I'm at 19, which is great. I'm not seeing actives or serums though. I have loads of them but I'm not using them. I feel a bit put off by them, intimidated maybe, whilst also a little suspicious that they are all snake oil. But then, if I'm not using any of them with the sort of regularity that empties them, what's the point?

My interpretation is that it's about areas that you want to focus on. For me, I overbuy cosmetics, body care, shampoo and conditioners, and candles, whereas for others they may not count shampoo and conditioners because they're everyday items. I don't think there are rules - it's whatever you need to focus on.

Thank you @DidILeaveTheGasOn

With the serums, could you use them up on your legs or other areas of your body?

The only serum I have found makes a difference for me is Wildsmith copper peptide serum, which i got in the F&M beauty calendar last year. I've since repurchased a spare on Vinted.

That's what I do with serums I'm not particularly enjoying.

I used the ordinary on my legs and that was fantastic, my shins absorbed it in a way my face would not!

But I should at least make the effort to apply it to my face first. I just forget and they are all there. I have loads!

Merry Christmas everyone for tomorrow🎅☃️

I have bought some bits from SNK sale this evening, and a Kerastase set from LF.
I really must stop now, due a house move in the next couple of months, and i think when i see every item in front of me, it will be a real eye opener!🫠

Going to try use 100 products up next year, i will try and focus of perfumes amd body care. I think my perfumes would out live me at this rate😂

I used an awful perfume in the carpet shampoo machine - smells lovely! Carpet was clearly meant to smell lemony and I was not.

I've got a few more -
Skin Rocks Retinoid - from last years SNK, it got used but I prefer my Medik8 one - this was being used on my knees at some point to use it up. And 2 perfumes - An 8ml Byredo Super cedar - Not for me, one of my new year beauty resolutions is to skip the perfume edits because in trying to use them up I've realised out of the 4 or so edits I've bought I've only found 2/3 scents I'd repurchase so although they are super fun to buy, it's actually quite wasteful - I prefer wearing a couple of scents I love to trying a load and realising they aren't 100% for me then trying to use them up regardless. I live in London so doing a trip to try scents isn't exactly a struggle., I'll just have to read the threads, choose likely candidates and be a bit more selective. That said, the Veronique Gabai empty from an early liberty edit is lovely - very subtle, I think it's another one of those scent enhancer fragrances that you can layer but it's also good solo.

Merry Christmas from Aus, fellow Beauty Fiends. Trying to justify putting an order in for new sunscreen and hair stuff before NY. (Am running out…)

Merry Christmas everyone.

@Francestein - dd has started to get in to K-beauty. She's going to Aus next month. Are there any chains of stores where she would get good value? Also, what suncream would you recommend for Irish (so very burnable) skin?

@OchonAgusOchonOh Most of mine is purchased online. (Brisbane is a bit beige…) If she’s in Melbourne, there are several fabulous J and K beauty stores at Chadstone & Highpoint Westfields. (Both enormous).

Thanks @Francestein she's going up be in Perth.

Hello all. Happy Boxing Day. And Happy Stephenses Day to @OchonAgusOchonOh and any one else who is Irish.

My original skin care stash is looking quite healthy. Lots of space in the drawer now. Well the main drawer. I also have a drawer of minis/travel sizes. Some of them are pretty old so today I’m going to go through those and chuck the really old ones. We go away tomorrow for nine days so I will aim to pack my toiletries bag using up the minis drawer.

I don’t tend to buy a lot of make up so although there are things that I don’t use too much a quick sort out will sort that drawer.

I do appear to have a lot of foundations/cc creams etc. So my aim fair this year is to clear that stash out one way or another.

Over the last couple of months I have added in two Caroline Hirons kits, the Boots Skincare advent calendar, a Jarrolds Beauty edit and a Cult Beauty Edit. So far I haven’t added them into my main stash. Although I did pull out a moisturiser yesterday as I really wasn’t enjoying the one I was using - Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference. I’ll use that up as a body lotion.

I’m going to keep the newer arrivals separate until the main stash is done. Otherwise I risk having to bin quite expensive stuff as it’s gone off.

Am avoiding the sales. Not difficult as we are going away so I wouldn’t be here for deliveries anyway.

I do have quite a perfume stash so will try to sort that. Mostly small sizes from Beauty Drop etc. I don’t tend to wear perfume a lot so it takes me ages to get through. I have some bottles of perfume that must be at least 15 years old.

I think I will need a spreadsheet to keep track of everything. DH is king of spreadsheets in this house though….. he despairs of my skincare obsession so no way am I getting him involved!

@DidILeaveTheGasOn - I don’t use actives too often as my skin is a bit sensitive but I would try to use an acid 2/3 times a week. It takes a while to get through them but they do get used eventually.

With serums the general idea is that they either help treat a skin concern or add in hydration. I remember when serums first appeared I think the idea was that they help your moisturiser work better. Some are I suppose snake oil to an extent. But some definitely make a difference. For instance vitamin C helps with brightening skin and also helps apparently SPF work better - although I have no idea of the science behind that.

Maybe pick one and just use it daily for a couple of weeks and see if you see a difference. Or if no difference even if you just enjoy it as part of your routine. I just enjoy the whole ritual of my skin care. It’s me time.

Happy Stephenses day to you too @Peridot1 and other Irish posters. Happy boxing day to everyone else.

Sounds like you've done really well. I have bought very little this year but my downfall tends to be free postage and I'm not even from Cavan. When I needed more of the vit c serum for example, I added extras to get up to free postage.

I have made progress though and my boxes are looking emptier. I donated some of my boots skincare advent as there were a few things I wouldn't use. I also finished a HA from The Ordinary yesterday and dumped two eye shadows that had dried out and a concealer that had gone off. I should probably go through my make up and see what's for dumping.

I now have lots of perfumes so I need to be careful I don't end up with a similar stash. I'm still going through last year's HN a fragrance advent and have just started on the SNK one.

That's good advice @Peridot1. I've got all the serums together on a tray so all I can see at a glance is lots of little pipette tops. I like your suggestion of picking one and using it daily for a couple of weeks. I might get a couple of toiletries bags and put together a morning routine in one and an evening routine in the other, with products to alternate/use a few times a week. And then perhaps put everything else in a big box under my dressing table so I've only got a small amount to deal with.

I'm trying not to shop today, we are going on holiday next month to a really expensive destination and I want to be able to eat out without worrying about the cost.

Laughing at your Cavan comment @OchonAgusOchonOh! I know just what you mean about the free postage though. I live fairly near a Space NK so go there if I want something. Then I just get tempted in general! Especially with the travel sizes. I’m a bit like a kid in a sweet shop with those sections.

That’s a good idea about a morning and night routine @DidILeaveTheGasOn. I have a tray on my dressing table with the products I have in use and that is usually my current routine. My cleansers are in a tray in the bathroom. Usually have two on the go. Then the dressing table tray has toners/essences, the current acid, serum, retinol and moisturiser and/or night cream. And SPF.