Beauty

[just bee]

@aprilskies

So maybe we need to take another look at our no-buy challenge.

Teas and bras are necessities in my world; are we talkin' beauty items specifically?  That I can do.

Like I said, all I need is mascara and then I'm willing to be done until I run out of something.  Still auditioning the Acure shampoo and conditioner.  Not bad, but still have a backup set.  (Of course I do!)

So... wanna see how long we can go before we buy something we absolutely, positively do not need?  I can up the ante and include shoes in that.

[just bee]

On the subject of taking one's own advice...

I had a bit of tea in the pantry and I moved it to the cupboard.  I rearranged some items and now it looks like there's more room in there.  I actually parted with an old plastic water bottle from the March of Dimes.

I should have plenty of tea for a few months.

[kathie66]

Hi all,

Haven't gotten a chance to read thru the whole thread yet, but wanted to say Happy New year to all. And renew my compact for the New Year for myself. The last year has brought many changes to my professional life, It was required for my new position that I earn college credit, so I have been slowly but steadily accomplishing that goal and hopefully will finish by September. Working full time plus school has led to less time on this board, unfortunately. I do try to catch up when I can. The good thing is that with less time to spend, I also bought much less and used up a good amount although I did not keep count as in years past. 

For my compact this year my goal is still, to use up brands of shower gel in my stash that are not my favorite, as handsoap. I was working on this last year, and hopefully this year it will be completed, and my stash will consist of only my favorite brands of shower gel. I have shrunk the favorites down to 2 brands, all others are on the use up list as handsoap.

As far as makeup goes, an hourglass ambient blush is on the list (its almost gone) as well as an hourglass powder. I have been decluttering my makeup stash and plan to keep it up, I have not purchased an eyeshadow palette outside of my Fab Fit Fun and Boxy Charm subscription in a long time. I am not renewing the Boxy Charm when it is up, I give most of the things from it away to my DD and son's GF.

I think I have finally turned the corner after all these years, I may have to actually purchase some Pure Grace fragrance and lotion this year as my stash of pure Grace which was immense is almost gone. And it is all I want to use lately. I feel I can finally let go of some fragrances which is huge for me, I started by giving my DD Beach by Bobbie Brown it was just taking up space, and she was happy to get it and use it. 

I hope next year at this time I can say I only have Philosophy and L'Octtaine shower gel in my stash. I have also not bought any WEN this year, I have been using my stash for the whole year and still have lots left, I found some Ojon in the closet and have been using it up too. I will reevaluate my hair needs when the stash is gone, which will take awhile.

Enough rambling, I so appreciate this thread and all of you more than you know, I still read and catch up when I can and get inspiration from all of you. Know that I wish each and every one of you success in your goals, and a year filled with health and happiness the most important things we can have! 

XO Kathie

[just bee]

@kathie66

Work and school will keep you busy, that's for sure.  It's a major priority shift.  Everything else gets pushed aside.  It rewires your brain.

It's funny how I still reach for pure grace and never wonder if I'm offending anyone with it.  I have so many fragrances that I would never wear to work because they're just too... assertive.  So why do I have them?

I have a lot of falling in love spritz but I tend to use it on my days off.  Still not comfortable with it for work.

[BExplorer]

I can relate to so many of your collective buying and less than great eating habits and the reasons behind them. I know @just bee and @geezerette are long lost sisters but I have to say my posts could be identical to @geezerette's and @aprilskies'. 

HEP is a continual challenge for me. I have an addictive personality and I love bad for me food.  I do at least try to eat healthy meals so I will hopefully not have as much junk in between them. I have been consistently going to the gym 3 times per week for classes since last June so it helps that for 3 nights a week I'm not sitting around with a box of Cheez-its. 😆

I have also found that having a cup of hot tea when I'm hungry helps curb that hunger. Something warm always help me feel fuller.  Yep, staying busy and warm drinks and foods such as vegetable soups help me with HEP.  

I went on on quite a SKINN buying spree at some point this fall.  I sent back what didn't work an kept some items so I am using quite a number of products each morning and evening and will not repurchase most.  I simplified my skincare one in the past year or so but have crept back up to a ridiculous number of products again.  I should have 5 finished by the end of the month YAY!!

I remind myself of all the money I can save this year as I don't anticipate having to buy any night creams for at least a year, maybe two.  Now, if I can keep from finding a new purchasing obsession...🤔

My only other stash is WEN and I can't win with it.  A formula I was trying to use up and not repurchase has all of the sudden the turned from my "I can't wait to get rid of it formula" to my HG, and I majorly stocked up on my previous HG formula that will take me a good long time to use up while not having my best hair days 😤.  My hair has turned fickle on me. 

Compact on!  

[just bee]

Speaking of HEP...

I pulled a very large box of microwave popcorn out of the pantry today.  Costco, 44 packs of movie theater popcorn that we didn't even put a dent in.  It's almost a full box.

"Best by" date is January 2017.

That's the danger of membership.  We used to have Costco and Sam's Club but we dropped Sam's.  We recently downgraded our Costco membership because we've discovered we're just not buying enough there to justify an executive plan.

What I did buy there recently was a pack of 14 organic Opal apples and I've eaten ten already.  I've been bringing two to work at night and actually eating them!

Like a cup of tea, water, soup... a crisp apple really helps fill you up.  And it's a natural breath freshener/tooth cleaner.

I just love apples!

[rnmom]

@just bee- thanks, I will look for these liners the next time I stop at Rite Aid. I can at least try them on my top lids, see how they hold up and use the eyeliners I have now on my lower lids. For 99 cents I'm not out much if I don't like them.

I managed to get into my closet for a bit yesterday and I found 13 items to donate. It's not a lot, but it will help to offset the new pieces that I bought for my new job. I still have tops in there that I haven't worn in a long time but I'm waiting to see how many of them will get worn now that I'm wearing street clothes to work every day. Can't get rid of everything!

I got on the scale yesterday and was extremely disappointed to see that out of the 35lbs I lost I've gained back all but 12 of them. No wonder my clothes don't fit AGAIN! Hubby has also gained back about 15lbs so he wants to go back on a diet too. So today I'm going to try and get back on track, I want to at least try to lose 10-15, so my clothes are comfortable again.

I have one more day off and then back to the grind for the rest of the week so I probably won't be posting much until the weekend again. Have a great day ladies!

[just bee]

@rnmom

It's a generous amount of product for $0.99.  I like the colors.  They might be sliding off me because I've been using oils and creams and they're probably too close to the eye.

Holiday weight gain isn't unusual so don't beat yourself up.  Is there a particular culprit?  One you want to avoid in 2018?

I noticed this morning as I was scraping the last traces of Skippy creamy out of the jar -- the three pound jar -- that I'd dated it 12/17 when I opened it.

I can go through three pounds of peanut butter in one month?

[just bee]

Rats!

Walgreens is having a major clearance on what's left of Lumene.

[rnmom]

@just bee- one of my major downfalls is chocolate, I could eat it 3 times a day, after every meal, and it doesn't matter in what form, or if I'm even hungry, I just love sweets. Candy, cake, brownies, cookies, it's all good. Cutting out sweets will help tremendously, but I just need to cut back on portion sizes overall and start eating more fruits and veggies and less chips and junk food. Plus I need to get off my butt. I was doing a lot of walking but with the crappy weather I haven't been getting out to walk at all. I have a treadmill but I don't like it.