Starting a No Buy Year because the amount of stuff I have is truly embarrassing. Once upon a time all the makeup I owned fit comfortably in a single pouch. I only had one of each item (definitely not multiples like now) & some products like primers & highlighters just didn't exist. The same could be said for my skincare pouch too. Only a few items & all of them in use currently. Now I am using products I bought a whole year back because that is the amount of backlog I have. I am sick & tired of maintaining an elaborate excel sheet with detailed info. It's almost like a race against time where I'm constantly trying to finish products before they expire. And as a result of so much stuff I have to let go of products that I'm truly excited to try & continue using what I was excited about say, a year back.
Makeup & skincare along with clothes are my problem areas. I don't over-buy anything else. In the past year I've not stepped out of the house & hence not shopped. In fact I only had 2 new pieces of clothing in the whole of last year & both of them were gifts. I'm mortified to admit that I still have brand new clothes that I've not even worn in my closet. After the year that's been 2020 I've come to realise that I don't need so much stuff. I can live comfortably on way less. Less stress, less maintenance & less time spent cleaning all of this. It seemed difficult at the start but as time went on I actually didn't miss shopping for clothes at all. I want to replicate the same thing for makeup and skincare as well.
June was my birthday month and I have gone a wee bit overboard with my shopping. Friends and family know that I love makeup & skincare and those generally form the bulk of my gifts. I'm not depriving myself of anything, just trying to use up things before they go bad. God only knows what possessed me to "save" makeup for a special occasion! And all that time the makeup sat on my vanity & died a quiet death.
I've gone through several No Buys over the years but I feel I've had the wrong approach. I used to think it was like a short term diet where you deprive yourself & then go on an all out binge session. This is more like a lifestyle change. You use your things & only buy when you are about to run out(radical, I know) Baby steps ( don't judge me)
As with everything else, let's start with the rules
1. I can only buy replacements of products when I'm down to my last bottle of said item. Now since I routinely buy bulk-sized products last bottle obviously doesn't mean last 1 litre bottle. It means when I'm down to the last 100 ml for shampoos, lotions, cleansing milks etc. It means even tinier bottles for nail polish removers etc
2. Schedule in an at home facial every fortnight so I can actually use the products I bought anticipating some quality me time. Also I shop less when I'm more relaxed & not holding tension on my face especially my jawline. The same goes for other grooming I do at home - manicures, pedicures, facial and body hair removal. Pencil them in so you actually prioritise them.
3. Declutter everything expired, what you don't like, what doesn't work for you or shades that you are less than thrilled about. I did this & pared down my lipsticks from 80 to 30. I feel so much lighter as does my makeup drawer.
4. Practice my makeup every chance I get. Not only will I finally make a dent in the mountain of products I'm holding on to, it will also improve my makeup game.
5. Watch & read content from others who have successfully done No Buys. Nothing like some motivation. I've saved No Buy related content by Whitney Hedrick & Personal Philosophy Project channels.
This is not a rule as such but since I will have a lot of free time that was previously spent shopping, it does make sense to plan how I will utilise it. I plan to restart learning French & the keyboard. I have finished a couple of levels in both but just gave up midway. Wish me luck!
