Okay, first of all can I just say how much I hate the new Blogger layout? The older one was so much easier to use and I can see this is going to take me a lot of time to get used to. Meh.
Anyway I have decided that due to the number of products in my stash I have to go on a no-buy*. I have been addicted to buying make up all the time for the past 4 years or so and have accumulated a crazy amount. The worst areas are lipsticks, lipglosses and nail polish. I now have nearly 1000 lip products (over half of them are lipglosses) and over 500 nail polishes. There is just no way I can even make a dent in them let alone use most of them up in the next year or two. So I have decided it has to stop. (*I've just re-read my post and want to clarify that the no-buy only relates to lipsticks, lipglosses and nail polish, just in case you all think I'm going to give up buying make up altogether!)
I am going to allow myself 4 more lipsticks and 8 more lipglosses until I reach the magic 1000, and then I will stop buying them. I have given myself a very few exceptions, like limited edition Guerlain Rouge G lipsticks (I love those too much) and Mac Dazzleglasses, possibly Lip Gelees. Do you know what? It's actually been quite liberating to not be able to go out and buy lots of lipsticks, I've been carefully planning what to do with my last few remaining choices, and have only bought 3 lipsticks in the last 3 months. I still have one choice left after buying lipsticks from the Mac By Request collection and I don't know what it's going to be yet. It's almost exciting!
Nail polishes as well, I have bought so many over the past couple of years, it would take me 1.5 years to use them all if I painted my nails every day. Which I don't do. So let's make it 3 years, and that's only using them once each. Yes, it is that crazy.
So I guess what I'm saying here is that you won't be seeing many reviews on lipsticks and lipglosses in the future, but on the other hand you will be seeing lots more nail polish posts and I will maybe continue with the "Swatching my stash" posts because that way I can also be reminded what lipsticks I already own and not be sad about not being able to buy a new one.
How long will the no-buy last, I don't know. Initially I'm thinking a year. Then we'll see. Right now even that sounds thoroughly scary, but I just have to be strong. I will no doubt continue to buy other type of make up, so that should help too. It's not like I actually need any more make up for a year (or ten!), but I can't go cold turkey. Make up is my hobby, my passion, so it would be like giving up a small part of me and that would certainly not be nice.
Right, enough waffling. Feel free to let me know in the comments if you've ever done a no-buy and how it went.
Wow. Congratulations to setting such though rules for yourself. A year sounds like a long time. I wish you patience and a strong will.
ReplyDeleteOne year sounds scarily long, but it's only lipsticks, lipglosses and nail polish, so it shouldn't be too bad. I have so many unused unloved lipsticks and glosses that it will be actually really exciting to rediscover them rather than hunting for more.
DeleteI feel the same as well. I have a lot that I won't even dare count. I just have too many foundations, lipsticks, and blushers. And it takes a long time to even finish one!
ReplyDeleteIt takes forever! I'm not even aiming to finish anything in the next year, won't even get around to using everything I own. So yes, this lip and nail no-buy is properly justified and needed.
DeleteGood idea! :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very brave and I wish you luck! I sometimes look at my collection and wonder what else I could possibly need, but there are always new products to tempt us! I think when I first got into MAC I was a bit obsessed with buying something new every month, and I still have some products that are unused or unloved from 1-2 years ago!
ReplyDeleteI buy something new every week! Not necessarily Mac, but something, anything, and more often than not, something expensive. It's not even really about the money, I'm fortunate in that we can afford my crazy make up buying habits, but it's really about usage and storage now. I have many products I have never used, not even just those I bougth for my collection. I have a whole bag of lipsticks that I bought over the past year and I haven't really used much (at all).
DeleteThat sounds terrifying and tough, but also very interesting. I hope you will enjoy the no buy period:) I'm thinking about a no-buy month for myself, my stash is waaaay more smaller than yours, but still I sometimes feel that it's too much, I don't use everything, it just sits there on the shelf and that's it. The only exception I'm thinking about are limited edition products, since I saw a few lipsticks and glosses that interest me. Well we'll see :D
ReplyDelete