Through the years, I've noticed something about myself: as I naturally flip from hobby to hobby, I don't necessarily spend less money or become more of a conscious consumer. When I drift from and subsequently spend less money on one particular hobby, I simply divert those funds to a different hobby. For the past several years, this has happened when bobbing between makeup, nail polish, and fashion. I really hope to break this habit. First of all, I'm a college student who is fortunate enough at the present moment to not need to worry about paying too my own living expenses, but that's not going to last for too much longer. Before I have too many Real Adult Responsibilities, I want to create healthy financial/consumer habits for myself that I can carry into my Real Adult Life. Second, it's just not environmentally or socially responsible. Consumerism inherently generates waste, and there will always be social repercussions because we ~live in a society~. I want to be a "conscious consumer" (whatever that actually means), and I hope to promote that on the internet and in life in general, but it's hypocritical if I myself don't necessarily do the best with intentional consumption. Yes, I find joy in my hobbies and all of the pretty things that come with those hobbies, but consumerism shouldn't be an essential aspect of that joy. My two general goals for my low buy are: In being "public" with my low buy plans, I hope that this will help me hold myself more accountable throughout the year! MakeupPlan: 1 product per month (rolling allotment, barring replacements) I purchased 16 makeup products in 2021, plus a handful of gifts. Compared to past years when I was first starting out in makeup, this number is honestly not too bad as an absolute quantity. I think my purchases were generally intentional -- for the most part. However, I do want to continue this upward trend of intentionality, especially as I've been wearing less makeup (due to a combination of less time and less motivation). Replacements won't count towards this number; this will likely only need to apply to brow products. In addition, unused monthly purchases will roll over to future months (ex: if I don't buy anything in February, then I can buy two things in March). I just want to make sure that I don't make unnecessary purchases just to use up that allowance, and it'd honestly be even better if I don't use up all 12 purchases. For the purchases that I do make, I hope to prioritize indie brands/smaller brands. Adjacent to my makeup low buy plans: I need to declutter my makeup collection. I haven't done a big makeup declutter in several years, and it really is time to do so. I have far too many old and gross products and old and bad products that need to leave my life. SkincarePlan: replacement-only no buy Skincare is only here just because I consider it as part of the beauty category (makeup, skincare, and nails). While I do consider skincare to be a hobby of mine, I am generally more utilitarian with my purchases -- relative to my other aesthetic hobbies, at least -- and usually only buy replacements or to fill a need in my routine/skincare collection. I plan on continuing that habit to only buy replacements for items I run out of, which won't be difficult. Nail ProductsPlan: 6 polishes In 2021, I bought 14 nail polishes: a mix of new and secondhand polishes. Considering how slowly I go through nail polish -- I have short nails and only do my nails only once every 2 weeks (at the most) simply due to my schedule/lifestyle -- it simply does not make sense to be buying more polishes; I have never gone through or even gotten close to fully panning a nail polish. Nail polish doesn't truly "expire" from a microbial standpoint as makeup and skincare do because the chemicals in polish are not conducive to bacterial growth. However, unlike makeup, skincare, or clothing, I usually only use one item per manicure. I'm such a sucker for gorgeous indie polishes, but buying more polish just means fewer opportunities to use the beautiful polishes I already have. My purchase allotment is six polishes over the whole year. Whether they're new or secondhand does not affect this rule. I don't need any more nail care products, so these are completely excluded from my plan. I don't anticipate feeling tempted by nail care products regardless, since they're very utilitarian in the same sense that skincare products are for me. ClothingPlan: 2 products per month (rolling allotment) In 2021, I spent more time and energy on fashion than on makeup, which was reflected in my purchase history. I'm not sure exactly how many pieces I bought exactly (I'm a little scared to count), but it definitely was way more than any other category here. In fact, it was in musing over my clothing consumption from the past year that I was inspired to lay out these specific low buy plans. I will allow myself two clothing purchases per month which -- just as with makeup -- will roll over into the next month if that allowance goes unused. Only "daywear" pieces will "count" as a purchase. That means clothing items like formal occasion-wear, athletic wear, loungewear, underwear, socks, pieces I'm required to buy for school (e.g. scrubs), etc. won't count. In addition, to give myself a little more grace, secondhand and "ethical" pieces will count as "half" of an item. That means that in one month, I could either buy one new piece or two secondhand or "ethical" pieces, "ethical" as primarily determined by the platform Good on You. Not only will this help me ease into my low buy in a more realistic way, but it'll also hopefully encourage me to (continue to) prioritize secondhand and ethical fashion over firsthand fast fashion. The Fine PrintGifts and other such free items won't count towards purchases in my low buy plan.
I also am not including specific budgets in my low-buy plan. While reducing my spending is one of my goals, I also want to prioritize quality and quantity. I fear that a limited budget would facilitate purchases I'm only lukewarm about because I only made them to get the "most" out of my budget. Buying something I wouldn't use would ultimately be a greater waste of money. There may be fewer than 11 full months left to 2022, but it's never too late to start being a semi-responsible consumer!
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about @glowyminoI have dry skin and very dry and textured lips. I also have a medium-light skintone (somewhere in the realm of NC25-30) with strong warm yellow/olive undertones. I have a tendency to prefer a glowy, lightweight base and color cosmetics in shades of a warm undertone. Read more about me in the about page! Archives
May 2024
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