Back in early February, I posted my beauty (makeup, skincare, nail polish) and clothing low buy plans for 2022. A "low buy" is an intention that some people set out -- particularly in the minimalism and project panning beauty communities, at least from what I've seen -- to try and regain control of their purchasing habits. For me, my two goals were 1) to reduce spending and 2) to be more conscious about my purchasing habits. A reason why I published a post detailing my low buy criteria, other than for ContentTM, was to try to hold myself accountable by publicly documenting/averring my plans. Now that we are halfway through the year, I am here to check back in and let you all know how I've been doing with my low buy! Overall ThoughtsAs I just said, in my original post, I said being publicly transparent about my low buy would presumably help myself hold -- well, myself accountable. I've found that to be a pretty correct presumption. Especially in the beginning months of the year, at times when I was more tempted to overbuy past the rules I set out for myself, the thought of then subsequently having to own up to that overbuying was, simply put, icky. However, as the year went on, I found myself being held back more so by my own internal desire to curb my consumerism rather than not wanting to face that external public humiliation -- which is a good thing, I feel! By this point last year, I had spent $243 on beauty products (seven makeup products + five skincare products + zero nail polishes). Right now, halfway through the year, my beauty (makeup + skincare + nail polish) spending totals $81.50; that's about a third of last year's spending. For clothing, I spent $315.34 by the end of June; I, unfortunately, can't compare to last year as I don't know how many items I bought or the amount I spent in 2021, as my wardrobe tracking is not nearly as well organized as it is for my beauty products. Another thing I mentioned in my low buy introduction post is my lifelong tendency to simply transfer my fun spending from one fixation to the next: from stationery, to music gear, to makeup, etc. I am excited to announce that I have mostly avoided that. While I have certainly spent a lot of time and energy -- which itself is a form of capital, albeit non-monetary -- doing online browsing for non-aesthetic hobbies (primarily home décor and laundry), I have not spent a whole lot of actual money on these things. Hopefully, that'll continue for the rest of 2022/forever and ever for the rest of my life. Small note: my low buy didn't start until February, so my numbers don't include any allotments or purchases from January MakeupPlan: 1 product per month (rolling allotment, barring replacements) = 5 total by the end of June Actual @ 6 months: 0 products ($0) 6 months in, and I've bought zero (0) makeup! The spring 2022 semester continued the trend of the fall 2021 semester, i.e. I didn't really consume a whole lot of beauty content, and my schedule didn't allow for much fun makeup time. Even after the school year ended, I was immediately caught up in the frenzy of myself moving back home from college, my family moving from my childhood home of almost two decades to a new house, going on an international vacation, continuing to move my family home, moving back to my college campus, and most recently working full-time as part of my pharmacy school IPPE rotation. As such, I haven't really been in the loop about new -- or even old -- makeup releases, creating this unintentional no buy. I am interested in buying from some indie/smaller brands like Adept Cosmetics, Oden's Eye, Kaleidos, Terra Moons, Clionadh, and Sugar Drizzle, especially for ~sporkly~ (magnetic single) eyeshadows, but I haven't looked into my options enough to make any definitive purchases anytime soon. In my low buy intro, I also briefly mentioned how I need to declutter my makeup collection, as I haven't really decluttered in a long time. I am happy to report that I did some decluttering back in April right before the end of the school year and moving off of campus, along with a little more soon after moving back onto campus at the beginning of June. I can certainly do more, but that'll just take time for when I'm ready to let go of things without guilt, second thoughts, etc. Makeup purchase log thus far: N/A Makeup purchase plans (/wish list) for the rest of 2022: sporkley shifty eyeshadows, NYX Long Lasting Glitter Primer ($6.50), Youthforia Pregame Primer ($38), deep burgundy lip liner if I ever find one that I actually like (I have been hunting for many a year) SkincareMy skincare purchases thus far in 2022, from left to right: The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors moisturizer, INNBeauty Project Slushy Serum Moisturizer Crush serum, Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask moisturizer Plan: replacement-only no buy for the entire year Actual @ 6 months: replacement-ish-only no buy ($81.50) I said in my original post that I historically only buy new skincare products when I run out of something or need to fill a niche in my routine. This has continued to be the case in 2022. That being said, I have bought more skincare than I anticipated, while still aligning with my RONB criteria. From February to May, my forehead was incredibly flakey -- the flakiest it's been in years, honestly; I could lather on my tried-and-true, failproof heavy moisturizer (Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Intensive Cream) or use a hydrating sheet mask, and my forehead would still feel dry and flakeful within the half-hour. In hour of of desperation, I bought three skincare products: a thinner moisturizer, a hydrating serum, and a cult classic T H I C C moisturizer. Though the two moisturizers were 100% anticipatory replacements, the serum fell more in the "need to fill a niche in my routine" box; I wasn't super close to running out of the other hydrating serums I own, but it is in fact very different from those other ones. Skincare purchase log thus far:
Nail PolishPlan: 6 polishes for the entire year Actual @ 6 months: 0 polishes ($0) For nail polish, I gave myself an allotment of six polishes, new or secondhand, for the entire year. Thus far, I have purchased none. Even more so than with makeup, I have not been keeping up with new releases/general polish community content, which again gives me less of a desire to buy more polish. And, unlike makeup, skincare, or clothes, I only use a different polish every couple of weeks, which makes adding more to my already bountiful collection feel even more unnecessary. I didn't include nailcare as a category in my official low buy because, for me, such products are much more of a pragmatic purchase -- akin to body lotion or my singular hair conditioner -- rather than a fun, hobby purchase, but I will say that I need to buy refills for my Zoya Remove+ nail polish remover and NBM Cuticle Buddy cuticle oil, as I am close to running out of both of those. Nail products purchase log thus far: N/A Nail products purchase plans (/yearnings) for the rest of 2022: nail polishes from Cirque Colors (especially something from their recent Bubbly collection, which is the first polish release in a long time that has REALLY drawn me in), flakies from Polished for Days Clothing
Plan: 2 new pieces/4 secondhand pieces per month (rolling allotment) = 10 new/20 secondhand total by the end of June Actual @ 6 months: 4 new + 6 secondhand = 10 total pieces = "7 new pieces" ($315.34) My low buy for clothing is officially two purchases a month, but to make it easier for myself (+ encourage more socially conscious spending), secondhand and "ethical" pieces only count as "half" a purchase -- e.g. in February I could've chosen to buy two new items, one new + two secondhand/ethical items, or four secondhand/ethical items. In addition to the pieces I actually purchased, I also added many pieces for free, which I stated in my original post would not count towards my low buy. As such, a few gifts and many vintage pieces pilfered for free from my mother's closet when we moved do not exist within the constraints of my low buy. Out of all the categories, I feel that my low buy has been the most effective in curbing my clothing spending. It's the thing that I tend to be the most tempted by, so my low buy has really made me slow down and deeply consider each potential fashion purchase just that much more. I've avoided many a half-baked buy with the thought of "this piece of clothing is simply not worth enough to me to use up one of my purchases." Even more than I already did, my "cheat" with secondhand items has also made me value secondhand fashion over firsthand fashion in a more concrete way -- making it worth literally twice as much as firsthand fashion. When I've been tempted to go the easy route by buying something new new, this has reminded me to instead go to the used market with its immediate benefit of serving my low buy.
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with how things are going so far. Could I buy more and still be within my guidelines? Yeah, but I don't need to spend more. Could I buy less and be more financially reasonable and socially/environmentally conscious? Yes, but neither have I ever pretended to be a minimalist or some sustainability icon; I am well aware that I am not either of those. Even so, I'm excited to see how the rest of the year shall go! Instagram: @glowymino
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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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