Low-Buy 2017 Progress Report: March
I'm back with some makeup and some thoughts!
New Makeup:
Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff: $14.40 (20% off)
MAC Matte Lipstick in Men Love Mystery: $15 (15% off, plus tax)
MAC Metallic Lipstick in Metal Head: purchased with Nordstrom store credit (usually $18)
MAC Matte Lipstick in Whirl (mini): gift from Renee
Topshop Glow Stick in Otherworldly: gift from my boyfriend
Total: $29.40
I acquired five new pieces of makeup last month. Technically, I bought only two of those, but I'm not letting myself off so easy. I could have spent that store credit on something else, and I didn't have to ask my boyfriend to bring me a highlighter from the UK. A product for which I don't exchange real money takes up just as much space in my collection as a product for which I actually swipe my card or hand over cash. I'm pretty pleased with all of my new playthings, at least. Reviews to come! Here I am wearing Metal Head, which looks more or less purple on my lips:
Replacements:
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser (12 oz): ~$14
Glossier Boy Brow: $12.80 (20% off)
Revlon Quick Dry Topcoat: $8.49
Total: $35.29
Nothing to see here—I've purchased all these products multiple times and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I've mentioned wanting to find a more affordable substitute for Boy Brow, but the prospect of saving a few dollars isn't worth the possibility that I'll have to try out multiple disappointing products. I might as well keep buying what I know I like.
Tools:
Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner: $4.29 + shipping + tax = ~$11
I bought a totally ineffective OPI polish thinner from Amazon a few years ago. Since then, I've become a lot more paranoid about beauty fakes on Amazon, so I decided to order a different brand of thinner from a more reputable source: Sally Beauty Supply, which unfortunately slapped an absurd $5.95 shipping fee on a $4.29 product. The good news is that the Beauty Secrets thinner is far more effective than the (fake?) OPI was. The bad news is that it's effective only up to a point. I've managed to revive a few completely desiccated bottles of polish, but those shades are still on the gloppy side after 5-7 drops of thinner, and they seem to chip more quickly than they used to. Still a worthwhile purchase, though—I really missed that bottle of Essie Ladylike.
Total for March: $75.69
Reflections: I've been faithfully recording my beauty spending for the past 15 months, and though I've achieved a clearer sense of my consumption habits, I'm currently feeling ambivalent about my low-buy. I struggle with self-esteem in many areas of my life, and I wonder if this low-buy plan isn't just another way to set myself up for failure. I don't have a shopping addiction—at least, I don't think I do—but could I have a guilt addiction? Could I be hooked on the little thrill of self-loathing that follows every makeup purchase beyond my two-a-month limit? I still enjoy writing up these posts at the end of each month (or, you know, the middle of the following month), but I'm not sure how to sustain my low-buy without feeling guilty all the goddamn time. Ultimately, my goal is to focus less on the products I want to buy and more on the looks I can create with my existing collection, but my low-buy seems to have encouraged me to do the opposite. I'm just not sure a strict low-buy is the best fit for my personality, especially because I'm not impulsive and I don't have problems with overspending or hoarding. Thoughts?
Wishlist for April: I've already bought three pieces of makeup this month, so I'll confine my wishlist to something I've wanted for a while: a really subtle mascara. A lash tint, basically. Just a little extra color and length—no spider legs, no clumping, no can't-believe-they're-not-falsies volume. Such a product must exist, right? Help me help myself.
Edit, 4/12: Okay, I also want some of those peachy ColourPop powder eyeshadows like Wait for It and Outta Luck, and at least one of the new Blotted Lips. And a small handful of other CP stuff, obviously. Time will tell whether I place that order this month or wait virtuously until May.
New Makeup:
 |
| L-R: Whirl, Metal Head, Men Love Mystery, Puff, Otherworldly. |
 |
| Swatches, same order. |
Glossier Cloud Paint in Puff: $14.40 (20% off)
MAC Matte Lipstick in Men Love Mystery: $15 (15% off, plus tax)
MAC Metallic Lipstick in Metal Head: purchased with Nordstrom store credit (usually $18)
MAC Matte Lipstick in Whirl (mini): gift from Renee
Topshop Glow Stick in Otherworldly: gift from my boyfriend
Total: $29.40
I acquired five new pieces of makeup last month. Technically, I bought only two of those, but I'm not letting myself off so easy. I could have spent that store credit on something else, and I didn't have to ask my boyfriend to bring me a highlighter from the UK. A product for which I don't exchange real money takes up just as much space in my collection as a product for which I actually swipe my card or hand over cash. I'm pretty pleased with all of my new playthings, at least. Reviews to come! Here I am wearing Metal Head, which looks more or less purple on my lips:
Replacements:
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser (12 oz): ~$14
Glossier Boy Brow: $12.80 (20% off)
Revlon Quick Dry Topcoat: $8.49
Total: $35.29
Nothing to see here—I've purchased all these products multiple times and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I've mentioned wanting to find a more affordable substitute for Boy Brow, but the prospect of saving a few dollars isn't worth the possibility that I'll have to try out multiple disappointing products. I might as well keep buying what I know I like.
Tools:
Beauty Secrets Nail Polish Thinner: $4.29 + shipping + tax = ~$11
I bought a totally ineffective OPI polish thinner from Amazon a few years ago. Since then, I've become a lot more paranoid about beauty fakes on Amazon, so I decided to order a different brand of thinner from a more reputable source: Sally Beauty Supply, which unfortunately slapped an absurd $5.95 shipping fee on a $4.29 product. The good news is that the Beauty Secrets thinner is far more effective than the (fake?) OPI was. The bad news is that it's effective only up to a point. I've managed to revive a few completely desiccated bottles of polish, but those shades are still on the gloppy side after 5-7 drops of thinner, and they seem to chip more quickly than they used to. Still a worthwhile purchase, though—I really missed that bottle of Essie Ladylike.
Total for March: $75.69
Reflections: I've been faithfully recording my beauty spending for the past 15 months, and though I've achieved a clearer sense of my consumption habits, I'm currently feeling ambivalent about my low-buy. I struggle with self-esteem in many areas of my life, and I wonder if this low-buy plan isn't just another way to set myself up for failure. I don't have a shopping addiction—at least, I don't think I do—but could I have a guilt addiction? Could I be hooked on the little thrill of self-loathing that follows every makeup purchase beyond my two-a-month limit? I still enjoy writing up these posts at the end of each month (or, you know, the middle of the following month), but I'm not sure how to sustain my low-buy without feeling guilty all the goddamn time. Ultimately, my goal is to focus less on the products I want to buy and more on the looks I can create with my existing collection, but my low-buy seems to have encouraged me to do the opposite. I'm just not sure a strict low-buy is the best fit for my personality, especially because I'm not impulsive and I don't have problems with overspending or hoarding. Thoughts?
Wishlist for April: I've already bought three pieces of makeup this month, so I'll confine my wishlist to something I've wanted for a while: a really subtle mascara. A lash tint, basically. Just a little extra color and length—no spider legs, no clumping, no can't-believe-they're-not-falsies volume. Such a product must exist, right? Help me help myself.
Edit, 4/12: Okay, I also want some of those peachy ColourPop powder eyeshadows like Wait for It and Outta Luck, and at least one of the new Blotted Lips. And a small handful of other CP stuff, obviously. Time will tell whether I place that order this month or wait virtuously until May.
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