Beauty

[just bee]

It's the Easter kelpie.

[MeadowLark]

Hello need some advice please,but first I cancelled my autoships here on the Q and now I have to talk myself into doing the same for hsn auto ships.   ok maybe this is the wrong board to ask this but need to ask, if you work part time in retail and it seems your hours are getting smaller and smaller while the younger works hours are getting bigger,would you stay at this retail store? I have alot of debt do to all my credit cards thinking I could pay them with no problems well its not working that way for me now. I am so unhappy with my self right now and just don't know which way to turn etc...    I like the store i work at but not they way my hours are going and I know if I went to talk to the HR person she would say its all about getting credit apps thats whats gets you more hours. So I am torn  about what to do or not do.   

[aprilskies]

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@Beauty$Junkie wrote:

Aprilskies, I can so relate to all the anxiety all this stuff causes.  I, too, have donated a lot, but still have plenty.  I have been selling some of it on ebay, so that has been kind of exciting.  I still have a lot on the chopping block, but fear that, if it was gone, I would be ready to buy more.  I am enjoying what I have and, if I don't, I can part with it.  I don't worry about using too much of the product anymore.  I have a lot of samples that I have decided will be great to take on vacation.  The word auto-delivery makes me crazy.  Happy Easter to all. 

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Yes, for sure.  All of a sudden there is "room" and by the time you know it you are back to square one. It doesnt take long.

Thanks, you know, you reminded me of my original intention, which was just to enjoy what I have and whatever I get through, I get through.....or not.   I  think going through my collection made me a little crazy. I was doing okay but then I found things I forgot I had and then bumped into my BE collection, which was the  last straw. It threw me over to crazy. I think I need to go through that collection and declutter most of it. Too bad it is too old to donate.

I am not a big seller but it is exciting when something sells. I am considering trying to sell some of my higher end mu brushes. Brushes I had to have but have barely used.

[aprilskies]

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@aprilskies wrote:

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@aprilskies I love when I get into those decluttering moods.  It's a breath of fresh air to clear things out in a moment of clarity. Take advantage of it while it lasts.  And in hind sight, I have never regretted or missed anything I got rid of.  

Speaking of using up old skincare, I watch Gothamista's Drunk Elephant reviews and it turns out that my never-ending bottle of C-Firma is past it's useful life.  I guess it still oxidizes even in an airtight package.  It's not doing much on my face so I'm just going to use the rest of it up mixed in with my body lotion.  I'm using the new bottle on my face before it goes bad too.

My concealer was looking cakey and dry too so I started to mix a tiny bit of my face oil with it.  It really thins out the concealer but looks SO much better.  I can even set it with powder and it doesn't look cakey.

Confession time, the Sephora sale is coming up and I was planning to buy another tiny eyeshadow palette.  Coming back to this thread has killed that plan.  I actually want to stop using eyeshadow so why would I buy another palette???  So crazy!  The only things I need are SPF and body wash.  And a Clarisonic brush head since DD is using the one I stopped using 2 years ago.  That can't be too hygenic...  Glad I got that out of my system before I acted on it.

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It sure does feel good to let a lot of things go and you are right, I never miss anything. I can be brutal when it comes to decluttering but I feel I held back a little this time and will go through it again as a second round.

Oh no about the C Firma. I know mine has been hanging around for a minute. It is one of the reasons I started using it everyday and realized it was too harsh for everyday. I was waiting on finishing another serum I was working on and now that this is done, I will focus on this one. Thanks for letting me know. Its amazing how time flies and these things just age. I have to check mine. 

I will try that trick with the concealor and see if that helps.Thanks. The beauty blender helps but lately I forget to wet it before I sit down to do my mu and because I dont do my mu in the bathroom and always seem to be running late, I dont get back up. I will try adding a little oil to it.  Otherwise, if that doesnt work for me, I may just put a dot in my inner corner and not under the rest of my eyes. I can get away with that.

Hope everyone has a nice week.  

[aprilskies]

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@MeadowLark wrote:

Hello need some advice please,but first I cancelled my autoships here on the Q and now I have to talk myself into doing the same for hsn auto ships.   ok maybe this is the wrong board to ask this but need to ask, if you work part time in retail and it seems your hours are getting smaller and smaller while the younger works hours are getting bigger,would you stay at this retail store? I have alot of debt do to all my credit cards thinking I could pay them with no problems well its not working that way for me now. I am so unhappy with my self right now and just don't know which way to turn etc...    I like the store i work at but not they way my hours are going and I know if I went to talk to the HR person she would say its all about getting credit apps thats whats gets you more hours. So I am torn  about what to do or not do.   

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I certainly would not feel comfortable giving you advice one way or another. Only you know your situation.  However, if you are in debt, cancelling your autoships is a great first step. And as a step further, stop all unneccessary spending until you get out of debt. 

If you have a large stockpile of products, focus on using them up first before adding anymore. Products take a long time to use and it will help minimize the effect of reduced hours and not add to your debt.

It is a shame that they push the cc sales on the employees.  Would it be the same anywhere else?  

Good luck with your situation.  Dont make any rash decisions until you get a little clarity.

[just bee]

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@MeadowLark wrote:

Hello need some advice please,but first I cancelled my autoships here on the Q and now I have to talk myself into doing the same for hsn auto ships.   ok maybe this is the wrong board to ask this but need to ask, if you work part time in retail and it seems your hours are getting smaller and smaller while the younger works hours are getting bigger,would you stay at this retail store? I have alot of debt do to all my credit cards thinking I could pay them with no problems well its not working that way for me now. I am so unhappy with my self right now and just don't know which way to turn etc...    I like the store i work at but not they way my hours are going and I know if I went to talk to the HR person she would say its all about getting credit apps thats whats gets you more hours. So I am torn  about what to do or not do.   

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@MeadowLark

As for where to post your question, I've found that the crowd over at "Among Friends" is usually helpful regarding work and family issues.  But this also sounds like there's a need for ComPacting here.

I graduated from college during an economic downturn and positions in my field were scarce so I grabbed the first available job I could find and that was in a bookstore (English major).  I stayed in retail for over five years and realized there was an unusually high level of drama there.  My other major was Theater and Film so I guess that was something that kept me going to work -- until the day I woke up and told myself that this would be the day I'd either be fired or I'd quit (dramatically, of course).

From there I went into high tech (I was living in Silicon Valley so it only made sense).  Spent thirteen years there and then September 11 happened.  The tide was turning way before then, but the company used the tragedy as an excuse to downsize.  When I left the company I noticed something unusual: All those who had been laid off were "of a certain age."  My job was divided into four parts and was given to four younger employees. 

The good news was that it was time for me to do something else.  I had no idea what that was, but I knew that I needed to be somewhere else, doing something entirely different.

What I remember most about the experience was that my boss commented how surprised she was about how well I handled the news (she was gone, too, soon after I left).  I also remember the day before this happened I was shopping for groceries and there was a sale on coffee beans and canned soup.  For some reason I filled my cart with both.  I must have had "a feeling."

Anyway, I was ruthless after that.  The first thing I did was cancel everything I had on auto-delivery.  And then I stopped shopping.  I became a hermit: No restaurants, no entertainment.  And I was fine with that.  Former coworkers kept trying to drag me out, thinking I was morose.  I wasn't.  I was pressured one night to go to dinner and then to a club.  Where, of course, I blew out my knee on the dance floor.

Ever limp into a job interview?  Makes a real impression.

But I digress.  This is the time for you to be frugal.  Was there any chance that you were shopping to self-medicate?  Or are you happy at that job?  I suspect you would be happier someplace else.

I tend to stay in jobs longer than I should instead of always looking at alternatives.  How would you feel about looking around and maybe picturing yourself in another position?

[just bee]

@MeadowLark

Well, now you've got me started.  What I noticed about working in retail was that I -- and just about everyone I worked with -- spent what little they made because of the dastardly employee discount.  I acquired so much unnecessary ____ when I worked in retail.  I'm still carting it around thirty years later.

Anyway, the whole experience of losing a job and then finally getting another that paid less than half of what I'd been making was probably the inspiration for the ComPact.  I had to cut way back and change my thinking, my behaviors.  Complicating matters was the fact that Better-half worked for the same company and he was not only ticked off that they would let me go, but he figured that if someone like me would be cut loose, he could very well be next on the chopping block.  So he resigned.

Then he went to work for crooks and had to quit that job, too.  I went to work at a struggling non-profit arts organization in a crumbling historic building full of cockroaches.  This was a transition job.  It was something that would be completely different but temporary.  But, of course, I loved it and I stayed for three years.  The only job I ever left that I still liked when I exited stage right.

But I had changed my behaviors enough so that I was prepared when I got this crazy idea that I would go to nursing school.  (During all this time I had other issues going on, like the death of my sister who was caregiver for my mother who was battling Alzheimer's).  So, after spending all my "free" time at hospitals with my mother, it dawned on me that I could do this for a living.  I was pushing 50.

But I went ahead, ignoring everyone who said my cheese had slid off its cracker, and got an entry level job at a hospital, then enrolled in nursing school.  They may have been right about the cheese and the cracker: I ended up working in psychiatry.

But if there's a moral to this story... and I think there probably is (in fact, there might even be a point somewhere), it would be that we can modify our behaviors and change our lives.  Pretty dramatically.

[just bee]

This has been one interesting month.  I think attaching an adjective to the months has been helpful.  I'm appreciating quite a bit more than I thought I would.

After I mailed my taxes (didn't appreciate that) Saturday morning, I drove to Walmart and perused the beauty section.  I need a replacement for drugstore.com.  I'm still looking.

I'm a simple girl.  All I need is Full 'N Soft washable mascara, a cheap CC cream and an EcoTools Konjac sponge.  Walgreens is still an option -- if I can catch a sale.

I still have to check out Target and Ulta.  Maybe Amazon.

The trip to Walmart wasn't a total loss: I bought eighty pounds of birdseed and old school toothpaste.

[aprilskies]

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@just bee wrote:

This has been one interesting month.  I think attaching an adjective to the months has been helpful.  I'm appreciating quite a bit more than I thought I would.

After I mailed my taxes (didn't appreciate that) Saturday morning, I drove to Walmart and perused the beauty section.  I need a replacement for drugstore.com.  I'm still looking.

I'm a simple girl.  All I need is Full 'N Soft washable mascara, a cheap CC cream and an EcoTools Konjac sponge.  Walgreens is still an option -- if I can catch a sale.

I still have to check out Target and Ulta.  Maybe Amazon.

The trip to Walmart wasn't a total loss: I bought eighty pounds of birdseed and old school toothpaste.

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It is helpful to name the month and I have to get better at remembering the essence of it.  I think this month is particularly important. - to just enjoy and appreciate. Thanks @Beauty$Junkiefor reminding me to just enjoy it. Just recently, I was digging through my collection to donate and I got a bit overwhelmed and a bit disgusted because as I was digging through, I bumped up against my BE Collection. Yup, the ball and chain. I certainly was not appreciating in that moment. It is kind of amusing to me because I have tossed so much barely used, yet, I cant bring myself to toss this collection or at least most of it.  Well, it is too old to donate although, honestly, I think it is still good. So, it dawned on me this morning that since I am looking for a bb or cc cream, that I would try using some of the minerals to add to my moisturizer in the morning to create my own.  Will it work, do I have the right colors, I dont know.  I didnt want to add an extra step in the morning, but if it works, I will at least use up something from the collection and spare me from seeking out something new. I am going to give it a try this week. I am also going to try and do the same thing with the bisque minerals for the eyes.  Although, that may be one too many steps.

A simple girl - me too- although you wouldnt know it.  I use to be a cleanser and moisturizer only type of girl. I have a while to go, but I am working myself back to the basics. Quite honestly, I cant wait until I get there. I am so over the clutter.

This is the first year ever my taxes were done in March. Usually, I am stressing on the last possible day to get them done.  Honestly, I was thankful. It was nice not stressing for once.

[aprilskies]

One thing I wanted to say, is I really appreciate all of the people on these boards that share.  Just recently I read where people were using shampoo as hand cleansers at the sink. I would of never in a million years thought to do that.  So, I just finished my last hand cleanser and started using a shampoo.  I will admit, I find it a bit odd - it is a mental switch- but what a great idea.

So, I really appreciate everyone on this thread and on these boards in general.