Beauty

[just bee]

The ComPact is a commitment to simplify, pare down, streamline. It began as a way to gain some control over our collections of beauty products. Why were we amassing so much, yet not using what we were buying? Why were we always searching for the next new product? Why couldn't we just find what worked for us and stick with it?

The ComPact, however, is not restricted to beauty items. If you have a collection you want to address, do it here. Choose an area you want to work on, and track your progress on the ComPact thread. Members will offer tips and encouragement.

Choose one of our many mantras (“One by one until they’re done!” “We are SPAHHHRRRTAN!!!” “Not until you really have to.” “Buy less, choose well, make it last.” “Resist the propaganda.” "If it's high, I don't buy!" “When in doubt, do without!” “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” “Shoplighters of the World Unite!”) or create a new one and share it. Target items each month to toss, donate, or use, and post your “chopping block” -- or “hit list.” Post temptations, post victories.

They say it takes 30 days for something to become a habit: Let's see if taking the ComPact one month at a time works for you.

Join us.

[RetRN]

@just me 1 bee, I want to say "good morning" and thank you for starting our May thread. I'm still thinking about what I will work on this month.

[just bee]

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@RetRN wrote:
@just me 1 bee, I want to say "good morning" and thank you for starting our May thread. I'm still thinking about what I will work on this month.

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Good morning!  The months go by quickly, don't they?  Sounds like a few of us made purchases in April that we may question.  Didn't need it so why did I buy it?

Well, I got up this morning, fed the world's greatest dog, fed the birds in the yard, ate a slice of cold pizza, made some tea, and sprayed on a fragrance I purchased in April.  Did I need new fragrances?  Of course not.  But suddenly there was this wave of nostalgia, a need for something pleasant, and an email from drugstore.com.  That, combined with an extra 20% off and free shipping, set the stage perfectly for a little self-medication.

The question is this: Was the medication effective?

As we enter May, April's meds should be kicking in and it should be smooth sailing.  Lucky for me, I have six new bottles of medication: Vanderbilt, British Sterling, Toujours Moi, Chantilly, Tabu and Navy.  Taken as prescribed -- at least one spritz a day or applied as needed -- I should be able to get through May without buying something completely useless.

The four-bottle Dana set cost $7.99.  The hospital takes more than that out of my paycheck for parking and I park on the street.  (I went to the office to plead my case and the only good that came out of it was that there was a Russian olive in bloom in their parking lot and it smelled like a candy factory.)

I'm happy to report that none of these Dana fragrances make me want to hurl.  They are wearable.  Not in public, of course, but definitely wearable.  Better-half has even commented positively.

I still need to adjust to Vanderbilt and British Sterling, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to use these without regret.  Thirty-five bucks for six fragrances?  That's cheaper than any psych med and I won't be needing refills on these.

So that's the test.  If you are enjoying your April purchases in May, then they are worth it.  Personally, I'm happy that I splurged on some good scents.  April was state and federal taxes and today I'm writing a check for property taxes.  Technically, I won't have any money to buy anything "pleasant" in May!

[dosey]

Thanks, just bee, for starting the May thread.

This month, I will continue focusing on a few things.  1. A face lotion that I demoted to my neck.  2. Isomers Vitamin C face cream that is nearly empty. 3. Physicians Formula concealer.  I like this so much that I am using a brush to get every bit (it's a solid).  Sadly, the formula has been changed, so I cannot purchase it.  4. Body scrub.  I like the idea of using a body scrub but just do not have the time to use it regularly.  That's why it takes so long for me to use just one jar.

Yesterday, DD had a band competition at Carowinds amusement park, and they had plenty of time for rides.  I knew she would be tired, so we are not doing too much today.  She fell asleep minutes after coming home and is still asleep.

The shopping bug has bitten me.  I feel like shopping.  Why does this happen?  Is it because I bought a few things?  Did that get it going?  My gosh, this is ridiculous!  What do you do when you want to shop?

[forest4thetrees]

Morning, ladies!   I so enjoy following this group.   Your mantras have saved my patutie more than once........

Dosey, if I may........   I find that when I've REALLY got a shopping itch to scratch (but don't really NEED to shop ... you know what I mean) then either my mind or my hands need to be diverted!   So I either grab a book, or my crochet hook and yarn, and I concentrate and promse myself I'll stick to it for 15 minutes .. then I go for 15 more .. and so on until I've lost the itch.  By then I'm usually well into a chapter and my attention is locked there, or I'm in the middle of a stitch pattern and don't wan't to stop!!

[Eager2Learn]

@dosey, thanks for mentioning moisturing the neck.

At the age of 67, I'm noticing lines across my forehead I didn't have before and a drooping of my facial skin. I use serums, face creams etc twice a day usually but never really take them down to my neck.

The other night I went into the bathroom and when I looked into the mirror realized that I have a bunch of vertical lines along the front of my neck. When the heck did that happen? Oh, they've been there a while I guess. I don't usually wear my glasses in the bathroom. 

So now I have more of an incentive to use up those excess serums, creams, etc. Slather that neck!

[just bee]

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dosey wrote: 

The shopping bug has bitten me.  I feel like shopping.  Why does this happen?  Is it because I bought a few things?  Did that get it going?  My gosh, this is ridiculous!  What do you do when you want to shop?

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This requires analysis.  Is this a need for something new and exciting?  A need to reward yourself?  Comfort yourself?  To avoid doing something else?  A quick fix?  Are you bored?  Are you looking for something that will bring about change?  Like, if I start wearing  floral leggings, my life will be different -- better, even.  Maybe a tattoo.  A nose piercing.  A different car.  A move to another state.  If I spend some money I should get something in return.  Something life-changing.

Problem is, life will change.  For like 15 minutes.  Then the thrill of something new and different will pass.  Darn that dopamine!

When I want to buy something -- and sometimes this works -- I wait.  Sometimes the urge will pass.  And sometimes I have to get up and open a door -- a closet door, a cupboard door or the door to my infamous storage room that still has boxes I haven't unpacked since I moved here in 1995.

Sometimes what I want to buy is something I already have.  Worse, sometimes it's something I already know I won't use.

Avoidance works well for me.  I avoid places that sell things.  Things that call my name.  How do they even know my name?

[just bee]

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@forest4thetrees wrote:

Morning, ladies!   I so enjoy following this group.   Your mantras have saved my patutie more than once........

Dosey, if I may........   I find that when I've REALLY got a shopping itch to scratch (but don't really NEED to shop ... you know what I mean) then either my mind or my hands need to be diverted!   So I either grab a book, or my crochet hook and yarn, and I concentrate and promse myself I'll stick to it for 15 minutes .. then I go for 15 more .. and so on until I've lost the itch.  By then I'm usually well into a chapter and my attention is locked there, or I'm in the middle of a stitch pattern and don't wan't to stop!!

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Yup -- you've expressed it so well.  Your hands and/or your mind are bored.  Frankly, shopping is probably more fun than pulling weeds.  Going to a restaurant is more fun than going to a grocery store.  We're looking for something productive and enjoyable.  I have to pull weeds.  This isn't fun.  But I know the feeling of accomplishment and the pleasure I'll get from seeing a weedless front yard will be worth that nagging pain in my back.  But I will continue to avoid it and think of things I could do instead.

But, as you point out, 15 minutes or the commitment to filling just one trash bag with weeds will keep me pulling until the nasty, thorny things are gone.

We are constantly bribing ourselves.

[just bee]

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

@dosey, thanks for mentioning moisturing the neck.

At the age of 67, I'm noticing lines across my forehead I didn't have before and a drooping of my facial skin. I use serums, face creams etc twice a day usually but never really take them down to my neck.

The other night I went into the bathroom and when I looked into the mirror realized that I have a bunch of vertical lines along the front of my neck. When the heck did that happen? Oh, they've been there a while I guess. I don't usually wear my glasses in the bathroom. 

So now I have more of an incentive to use up those excess serums, creams, etc. Slather that neck!

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This is why God invented turtleneck sweaters.  I need to start wearing scarves again!  Don't know if they will disguise the fact that I'm starting to look like a Neapolitan Mastiff, but such is life.

[kitty45]

I am still decluttering & I still have too much stuff. I don't know where they are hiding.  I've done so much decluttering, my sister ask me if I'm getting rid of everything I own, then she came to visit & looked around & said she doesn't see where I got rid of anything.  I feel like I have a magic porridge pot (don't know if you'll know the story),  stuff keeps multiplying.