Beauty chat - freebies/gifts with purchase/offers THREAD SEVEN

[OvaHere]

New thread for when the old one is finished. We rattled through the last thread being a chatty bunch.

Everyone welcome to chat about beauty and/or share bargain finds.

I now have serious cheeseboard FOMO

@Thelifeofawife I was eyeing up some biscuits and the butterscotch sweeties too 😋🤣 I'm wishing I bought them now. You'll have to go back on and get the palette. It was £33 with the 10% 😁

@BakeOffRewatch @IDontHateRainbows with the extra 10% off, it made the cheeseboard £13.50, I think it looks so much more expensive then that 🥰

@OvaHere oh don't feel guilty, it was a great bargain, would've been rude not to 💚

I can't remember if I mentioned it, but I finally bought the baskets I've been looking at (gone up £3 each since before Christmas 😫, I know they'll go down again but I want them now). So I'll be using next weekend to finally sort my stash and make an itinerary of everything. I'm hoping I can sell / throw some stuff away too.

@OvaHere and @JoRaRaRa - honestly, dont feel bad for me. I did not need to spend £200 adding to my ridiculous haul. Not getting the Elemis BAC is a blessing in disguise.

I've taken a photo of my hoard, excluding some bits under the bed, and stuff I'm using, or have sold, gifted and donated. In my defense, I know the over-buying is AuDHD related impulsivity, and I have ADHD meds now which are helping. I have thought twice about posting the evidence though - not because of you guys on the thread - I just don't fancy judgment from any 'greedy mumsnetters' lurkers.

So 2026 will hopefully be a shop my stash/wardrobe/books year 🤞

@keepincool its substantial but also looks wonderful. Enjoy using your lovely things.

@keepincool Mine will probably be 2/3 of that if not more once I’ve opened my BACs. It’s easy to get carried away.
I have sold lots already yet still have all of that. I will sell some more but going to have a break from selling for a while.

@JoRaRaRa The palette is a great price but I will resist now that I’ve already placed my order.
I placed the butterscotch in my basket but by the time I checked out it had sold out - shame as I was going to gift it.
Can I ask what storage you ended up getting?
I was in Aldi last week and saw some drawer sets but decided to mull it over, now I wish I’d got them, I bet if I go back today they will have sold out 🙈

@BakeOffRewatch @IDontHateRainbows The cheeseboard looks great and is a bargain price. Obviously it’s just a wooden board but it makes for a nice display.
I’m now reminded of the time that I bought my Dad a personalised cheeseboard set from eBay for Christmas, and they got the personalisation wrong 🙈 I’ve not yet seen it come out for special occasions but he does use it at other times 😅

Incidentally, today I have used a blow dry cream and hair oil that I bought from Aldi last week, and my hair feels soft and silky (I have thick hair) - it’s lovely

No judgment here. Mine would look a lot like this if I pulled it all together in one place. I have de-stashed quite a lot via friends/Vinted in the last couple of months but still...

My main problem through last year probably wasn't so much things like Liberty/CB edits (they were an issue but not the biggest) but falling into a k beauty rabbit hole and discovering Yesstyle/Stylevana etc.

I have way too many face masks, toner pads, cleansers and so on. K beauty sites are a strict NO buy this year because it's far too easy to fill a basket, use coupons for discounts/free gifts and end up with a load of extra stuff for around £60. Even if I went looking for one thing the free shipping thresholds would get me and I'd add other stuff.

I have been good on that front. I haven't ordered from any of them since maybe Sep/Oct and I've stopped opening the emails or looking at their Insta pages.

Same x

Looks fab. Ive got more tbh similar reasons and dopamine hit/distraction. Ive sold bits but not been feeling 100% due to cold and also have puppy which has to be watched as hes a little mischief. 🤣 so I would have sold more but thats my excuse.
Im never pulling all mine out if my oh saw it he'd go mad. With good reason tbf. Ive gone totally ott but not leaving these pages its my sanctuary. 🤣😍
I dont spend on much else so 😍
Ive yet to open the majority of my advents as wanted to sort out my stash first. I did give some to the charity at b and m. A pretty big box. And have given bits to f and f. Also been using up stuff before opening new so all good 🥰

That’s a good start @keepincool . If you keep going it might get close to mine one day 😊🙈.

OMG, I’m exactly like that when it comes to k-beauty, @OvaHere! So easy to keep adding things to the basket even though you don’t necessarily need them but offers and freebies and GWPs are soooooo tempting!

I’ve placed myself on the voluntary k-beauty shopping ban this year, my humongous stash just can’t take it anymore, StyleKorean/Stylevana emails are being firmly ignored, and other k-beauty edits that kept popping out since mid of last year - I managed to overlook them somehow 😅

I did go through my stash and pulled most of full sized things in a pile (to my OH’s amusement! 🙈) and onto the spreadsheet together with sizes/types/expiration dates/notes during the Xmas/NY break, so at least I’ve started tackling this huge task. Now I need to organise the spreadsheet into the categories and sort them by expiration date, so I can start shopping from it once I pan/run out of things.

Phew! 😮‍💨😬

@Doglover73 What is the charity at B&M and F&F?

@keepincool I love how neat it all is 😍 There definitely is no judgement from me, mine is that bad that I have stuff in every room, falling out of cupboards. I found a serum and lipstick in the alcohol cupboard last night 🤣

@Thelifeofawife I have the kallax shelves from ikea with the split shelf, so I needed some that were square-ish, and only came up to max 15cm, and I want them to match the baskets that ikea sell. So I've bought these https://amzn.eu/d/iyBx9an and then these ones from ikea https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/labbsal-basket-handmade-water-hyacinth-80500796/ they're not a perfect match, but it's only for the spare room / office.

@JoRaRaRa I found a serum and lipstick in the alcohol cupboard last night 🤣🤣🤣🤣 That really tickled me.

Thanks, I’ll take a look at the storage

I still have 2 advent calendars to open so am limiting what I buy in terms of makeup and skincare until I know what I want or need. I have my eye on a watch and a few bags I would like this year so that helps direct my attention elsewhere, somewhat.

Having said all that I am swaying between the Patrick ta blushers and ysl. Have any of you tried them and which would you rate better? I have blush blindness and do get through them quicker than other makeup products. Also has anyone tried the Haus labs foundation? They are meant to be great for drier skin.

Thanks @JoRaRaRa I have picked up the versace perfume set for my mother in law. I thought it would go well with a few other bits for Mother's day.

@JPMJuliz those sites are great but dangerous. I was a bit annoyed when all the UK stores started jumping on k beauty part way through last year as they all charge a lot more for the same products. It's possibly a blessing though because if I do want one singular thing it might be a lot better for me to just pay that few extra quid at Boots and avoid the haul mindset.

Quite a few of the brands have Amazon storefronts now too which makes it easier to just buy the one thing you were looking for and not end up with 3 toners and 2 sunscreens you weren't in the market for.

It's still there too, I just grabbed the gin and thought 'I'll deal with that another day' 🤣 I'm looking forward to sorting things out though and actually seeing what I have. I do have a list but it seems I've remembered to update it with some stuff but not others.

I haven't liked the PT blushes as much as I thought I would. It's taken me trying them for a while to decide this. I bought the one from the CB advent on Vinted but ended up reselling it unopened.

My main issue is that they're very pigmented and I'm very pale. I can make the lighter shade I've got work fine but I prefer blushes I can build rather than have to dampen down the colour after application. I don't think they're bad products though.

I love the YSL blushes, I still need a light hand but find them fairly effortless. Some shades are shimmery and some matte which isn't always obvious when buying online so watch out for that if you have a preference.

@JoRaRaRa I’d do the same, close the cupboard and worry about it another day 🤣

I have tried to condense and sort through my stuff before I open all my BACs, but I still have stuff here and there. My poor DS has the overspill in his room.
I am yet to get around to doing a proper inventory/spreadsheet, I will do it over the coming weeks though so I can be a bit more sensible about future purchases

@Evergreen21 I only have 1 Patrick ta blusher, I really like it but you only need a tiny bit. Well, I only use a tiny bit. I've bought the duo brush too now to go with it 😊 I've just bought a ysl blush from LF this morning so I've yet to try it, apparently they're really nice though. I would recommend the trio morphe ones too, I use cheek frills most days now.

Oh I should've got the versace perfume for my mum for mother's day too 🤦🏻‍♀️ I don't think I can stomach paying out anymore money in p&p though. That would be £24 in p&p 😳

My mum hasn't received a notification about her Elemis ac from Harrods yet. Hoping hers doesn't get cancelled or I'll feel bad that I received mine and will have no choice but to sell it to her 🤣

The ysl ones for valentines are shimmery, they look gorgeous 😍😍😍

@JoRaRaRa could you just share some of the products or do you both want the same stuff from it?

For storage baskets/boxes I’ve gone for Ikea Skubb. Lots of variations and sizes and they’re cheap.

I’m kinda disappointed that Tatcha is a Unilever brand. I know I can’t completely escape big conglomerates but I hate it when it’s not transparent that brands are under the umbrella of a massive organisation such as Unilever. At least tell me so I can make an informed choice. So I’m also a bit relieved because I was really twitching on the Tatcha sets and discounts!

It’s one of the reasons I was so disappointed by Tea Pigs when I found out they were owned by Tetley, and therefore Tata, but presented themselves as a cosy little independent.

🤣 I'm going to go round the house next week and collect the things (that I know about).

I like how we all think a spreadsheet will stop future purchases. Well... That's the intention anyway 😉🤣

Yeah, even as I was writing about the spreadsheet I wasn’t convinced 🤣🤣