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!

Fomo is hard for me . Oh dear .

I received the M&S silver skin care bag today and there is a £10 off voucher for any of the included brands. (Clinique, Weleda, Origins, Estee Lauder, Formula, Emma Hardie)

What would you recommend - particularly interested in Clinque, Weleda or Origins... I definitely don't need any serums / retinoids etc and would prefer skincare to make up. Any 'must have products' ?

Same @WinterBerry40 I think there are some clever retail tactics out there so we always feel we can't miss out on the latest/next offer, and then get a dopamine hit from the bargain and so it continues. I'm going to have to find my dopamine hits elsewhere for at least 6 months / several tubs of moisturiser! 😅 For me beauty treats are always the most fun purchase though, clothes feel like a hassle to buy as they rarely fit ( I'm very tall ) or make me feel as good as a gorgeously scented face cream will.

I'm currently in bed with a shocking cold and writing that prompted me to get up and slap on some moisturiser 😁

Vanilla Diorama- This is your mature vanilla scent, not a basic playful vanilla. The slight spice is perfect for this time of year, a cosy perfume for me. But, i dont love it enough to repurchase.

Simple sheet mask- Not soaking wet with serum that drips down your face! Nice enough for a burst of extra hydration.

Lush Vanilla Custard body wash- I enjoy using the Lush body washes, as i like the creamy texture and the gentle lather. Leaves my skin really soft too. But this scent was abit boring for me! Possibly have another in stash, but wont be RP.

Haha we are twins then ! Although my problem with clothes is I'm very short ! ( Barely 5ft on tiptoes )

@WinterBerry40 Fellow 5 footer here. I also have a disproportionately short body and arms (think T-Rex) and find clothes never fit as intended, so I have given up caring about them. Scent, skincare and makeup have been my jam since I was a teen. (Now mid-50’s, so hard to pull back.)

Empty this morning Mielle Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Mask.

Not really sure if it did anything, although in fairness I bought it to achieve the impossible and make my 2A perimeno wavy hair go back to the 3B curls it did before. Never going to happen.

Either way, it was not as good as my all time favorite curly hair mask, Ecoslay Banana Cream, or ColorWow Dreamcoat now I style it straight.

Does anyone else have an unholy amount of blushers? They take so long to use up and I think I have 7 which is ridiculous but a lot came in a beauty box or as a free gift so it's not even intentional. I've started experimenting by layering them in different ways.

I think I need to do a full project pan for 2026 where I'm not allowed to buy in any category where I already have items and just use what I have to cut my stash right down.

@paristotokyo I have a tub of the same toner pads and don’t really get the hype. I wanted to try the sheet mask and was talked into these, sold as a more cost-effective version of the same thing. They sting my eyes and slide around and although the soothing, cooling feeling is appreciated, I don’t think the juice does much. I slapped one on an ant bite (bastard green ant, for those in the know) and while it didn’t take the sting out, the coolness was soothing. I am using these up asap.
Empties:- Curel Mist. Awesome. I have a mini in my car. Very hard to find though, and expensive for what it is. A tube of reformulated Numbuzin sunscreen. It’s fine, but not what it was, and I have another favourite. A bottle of Dove gradual tan. I actually rather like this one. I will RP when I need it next. Doesn’t make my med/fair cool olive skin too green or yellow, doesn’t stink too much.

@FrancesteinI bought the mini curel mist yesterday! (and the body wash). It is very super hydrating, like it so far.

@Francesteinand I’ve tried the sheet masks and I wasn’t a massive fan of those either even though I know they are very popular

@dayslikethese1 yes, I looked at mine earlier in the week to try and dissuade myself from buying the hourglass palette ( that worked well...😂) and I have 9 - one is an ancient Nars one which I should probably chuck, 5 were free included in gwp, and then I have 2 glossier tubes and another Nars one, but that's a liquid one. Having been horrified at how anaemic I look this week I'm now committed to slapping them all on with a heavy hand ( and downing spatone sachets with equal gusto.)

@paristotokyo I really love Curel products. The foaming face wash is my favourite wash ever. The gel cream is divine also.

@FrancesteinI’ve been using the foaming face wash and it is lovely but I just don’t feel it lives up to my HG goats milk cleanser in terms of hydration. But I think it’s because I’m literally as dry as the Sahara 😂 but I’m enjoying testing a few of their products currently. I also just wanted to ask what’s the sunscreen you like now over the Numbuzin? That was next on my list to try as I’m low on spf. But I’m always happy to be influenced 😃

@paristotokyo I love the Beauty of Joseon one, they also have a “Sun serum” version which is lovely under makeup. House of Hur have two fabulous ones - the pink one is better for dry skin. I like the OG Round Labs one, but my current favourite is their Camellia one. My skin is also dry (I’m 53 and post menopausal…)

I love the BOJ ones too. And the birch juice. Haven’t tired the camellia one yet though which I’m interested to try. I was in store today and they had two of the same Numbuzin in stock but different packaging, I believe the one on the right is the reformulated version.

GO LEFT!!!

No. 7 cleansing balm - tbh, I think the balms are all much the same so the I'm going for the Aldi one when I'm rp'ing in future.
No. 7 micellar water. Again, I think micellar water is all much of a muchness. I use it for a double clean when I'm taking make-up off
Not usre if I can count the perfume samples as I don't include them in the spreadsheet for my stash but I'm going for it anyway. I bought a set of M&S perfume samples. I can't remember what these ones were like but there wasn't any I would rp.
Only Bio plum and fig serum. Hated it as it was too oily so I used it as a body serum. I could also have mixed with moisturiser but it would have kept going forever then.

I also offloaded 16 other items. I wrote down the number but not what they were😀

That gives me 87/100, which is not bad at all. Total in this year is 28. Why, I don't know as I didn't need any of it but at least there is more going out than coming in so my stash should be at a reasonable level by the time I'm dead and someone needs to clear out my stuff.

Haha that’s what I chose!

Forgot to mention the TirTir toner. I really liked this but prefer the Cosrx propolis one

The advent calendar thread filled up before I could thank everyone and say how much I always enjoy the threads. I'm assuming lots of the posters will at least pop in here so thank you all and I'm looking forward to see what you all have.

I'm obviously ot very with it today. I meant to put this on the waifs and strays thread. And it looks like i was trying to post on an older advent thread as the current one isn't full.

I do enjoy this one too though and love the support in reducing my hoard, with a little bit of enabling thrown in via the reviews.

REN AHA tonic. I have a large one of these left and then that’s it 😟
2 hotel shower gels. 1 from Italy and 1 from Suffolk.
5 perfume samples. I might just have picked up a bottle of Jo Loves Amber Lime & Bergamot in the BF sales!
hoping to have more next month and wil then set myself a target for 2026.