A cosmetics spending ban... a year of shopping my stash!


The makeshift vanity table I blogged about some months ago now, is no more. It was put out with the hard rubbish when we moved.

Whilst still on holidays, I spent the day today collecting up all of my makeup from various handbags and boxes stashed in multiple rooms of the house and put it all in one spot... 2 and a half months after moving into our new home.

My makeup is all organised once more!

My makeup now all lives in the bathroom - within easy reach to use everyday.

Last year, with a trip to the US and my discovery of mail forwarding services (hello Sephora), I have a further stash of unopened products and plenty of deluxe sized samples (generously given away in the US every single time one buys anything remotely cosmetic) which I have not photographed.  I think I own a lot of cosmetics for a woman who likes the 'no makeup' makeup look, so I have decided that this year I will go on a cosmetics spending ban.

I do not foresee this to be a problem as I wouldn't call myself a makeup junkie, but having previously had a relatively large amount of disposable income (prior to buying our new home), I pulled the trigger on all the lemmings which developed throughout 2012.  Enter 5 new eyeshadow palettes, about 20 new lip products and all new foundations after my favourite L'Oreal one was discontinued, not to mention everything else.

My rules are very simple - this year I will 'shop my stash' throughout the year and only buy what I NEED:



ALLOWABLE PURCHASES*
SHOP MY STASH
Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Moisturiser
Shower Gel
Kosmea Radiance 24/7 Youth Boost
Cleanser
Ellis Faas Concealer
Eye Cream
Butter London Hardwear PD Quick Topcoat
Moisturiser
Sephora Instant Nail Polish Remover
Primer

BB Cream & Tinted Moisturiser

Foundation

Powder & Bronzer

Eye Shadow & Liner

Mascara

Blush & Highlighers

Lip Colour & Care

Nail polish

Hair products (excluding shampoo & conditioner and colour)

 * These are my Can’t-Live-Without-Holy-Grail-Products, but I will only purchase if nothing in my stash proves suitable. 


If I'm ultra organised, I might even do an end of month empties post each month, including a small review of each product that I have finished.

Do you own more eyeshadow than you can use up in 5 lifetimes?
Do you find yourself hoarding cosmetics?
Do you find yourself buying a new product before finishing the one that you are currently using?
Do you own more than 3 nail polishes in a similar shade?

My answer to all these questions is YES.  If you have answered yes also - then maybe you too should re-assess whether you NEED to buy anymore (at least for this year) and instead shop your stash.

The way I see it, each dollar I save on cosmetics, I can re-direct into buying small things for our new home.

17 comments:

  1. I actually need to buy makeup. I have so many freebies and stuff that I have never used and probably past their sell by date. I need to head for the bin and just tip the lot in ... a bit like you did in one of your previous posts if I remember correctly?

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    1. You remember correctly. I don't want to be in the same position in two years time.

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  2. I might be moving desks soon, so that's an incentive to empty out my little drawer set, bring it home, and fill it with my cosmetics so I can actually see how much I have. I currently have items stored in a box and only what I'm currently using is in sight! I suspect that if it was ALL out, I'd be much better at using what I have (and not being tempted to buy things that I already have something similar to).

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    1. Out of sight, out of mind I find. Same with an over full wardrobe. You lose sight of what you have.

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  3. Your post and the Vogue Forum No Spend thread has inspired me to sort through my cosmetics, make a list and either start using or throw out. Many are probably out of date anyway. Shopping today do I may pick up one of those acrylic draw sets too.

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    1. It helps to have it all out on show. I think now if I went out to buy another chubby stick you really could say that I am a block head ... also me and red nail polish. The mind boggles.

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  4. I'm thankful that I'm not a big cosmetics purchaser, and never have been, so in the last year I think I've bought mascara and eyeliner, both of which were needed. When I was in the US I went with a friend who was a huge make up fan and I bought enough MAC make up (still not a large amount by normal standards) to last me a few years at least. I have sensitive skin though, so try to avoid using many products. I hope you're successful with your ban! :)

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  5. Yep yep yep. Since I bought the Nakeds I haven't touched another eyeshadow.
    I'm aiming to get rid of my stash this year too, good luck!

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  6. I am doing this too! Really need to get rid of the huge stash I have accumulated... Especially lip products.

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  7. I'm not a big cosmetics buyer, I wear the same products over and over and only buy more when I run out. my big weakness is nail polish and lipstick though, I have way more than I'll ever need so I definitely need to cut down on those!

    love the organiser, I want to get something similar! x

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  8. oh i love how you've organised your stash! your about page doesn't say where you're at but if you know of a mail forwarder that will ship nail polish (to australia or anywhere really) do let me know! i am dying to buy sephora stuff but hopshopgo refuses to send me anything they deem flammable :/

    steph / absolutely-fuzzy.com

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    1. I use Myus.com.
      I have queried ordering nail polish and they told me that it was ok, but there was a $15 charge per bottle due to the fact that it is flammable.
      I have not been game enough to order something to see if this is the case.
      I have received gwps with orders and some have featured perfume samples and there has been no extra charge.

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    2. An update on this... MyUS charge $10.50 per shipment containing nail polish. Will verify this in the coming month as I have almost used up my HG top coat x

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  9. I love your organizer! I think I've seen a similar one at Muji. I'll definitely have to get one because I've chucked all my make up into a small basket. I'm pretty awful with make up. Until recently, I have 2 eye shadows. I know. Pretty pathetic. A friend of mine who's a real make up fanatic took pity on me and gave me the Naked 2 palette, foundation and eye liners (they are beyond fantastic). I finally added an additional lippy to the one I've been using for the past year. That makes 2 lipsticks.

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    1. No Muji in Australia :(

      I really want to get into using my Naked palettes but I keep reaching for the same old STILA shadow each morning! Which is why I devised this whole ban - to actaully use my stuff!

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  10. I don't think I could ban myself from buying makeup for a whole YEAR, but good on you! I agree that I probably have more things than I need (but oh so hard to resist all the pretty products out there)!

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