Diary of a 30-Day Beauty Spending Ban

Can I really resist buying makeup when it's as beautiful as Charlotte Tilbury?

Recently, I've been planning a budget series on my YouTube channel, so in keeping with that, at the start of last month I decided to set myself a 30 Day Beauty spending ban. I have too much makeup and I buy too much on a whim. A few years back when I first got into makeup, I used to have a list where I'd write down every product I was lusting after, and if i still wanted the product after a couple of months, then I could justify it. I want to be that girl again. I can be so guilty of impulse purchasing in the drugstore and spending £30 a pop, yet I'm so hard on myself if I wanted a high end product of the same value. Yet I'd probably get more use and love out of a high end eyeshadow palette than 5 impulse-purchased drugstore lipsticks. I want to be more choosy about the products I buy, thinking about whether I really need it in my collection, and whether it's worth the money.

30-day beauty spending ban? Let's do this...

1/6/17 | I've been thinking a lot about the Jeffree Star Androgyny eyeshadow palette ever since looking at reviews after I purchased the Eclipse highlighter and a liquid lipstick (watch the first impressions). It looks like it has some great shades that are all really wearable, except for the blues.

3/6/17 | Went into town to grab some hair supplies (something I allowed myself as I needed to grab some hair dye and wasn't able to go before the spending ban started). I managed not to look at the makeup, but got sidetracked in the skincare aisle and picked up the L'Oréal Fine Flowers Gel-cream Wash. It was on offer from £3.99 to £1.99, which is a pretty freaking good deal, but I managed to put it back. Being able to say no felt great!

4/6/17 | I've seen a lot of reviews on the Makeup Revolution Flawless 3 Resurrection Palette, which has a couple of shades similar the Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette. At first I wanted it, then I wasn't arsed, now I want it again. It's unique to anything else I own, and it's affordable at £8. If i still want it in a month's time, I may buy it.

5/6/17 | I managed to declutter a lot of products from my skincare and bodycare collection, which has made me want to stick to a more minimal stash, yay! Watch part one of my declutter here.

9/6/17 | Met up with Charlotte who was also on a spending ban and we ended up not going in any shops, winner! Ended up spending £4.99 on a semi permanent hair dye, but had a super cheap day out as I saved a fiver on choosing the bus over the train and she won us a free lunch!

12/6/17 | Had a bit of a blog life crisis and feel a bit weird about posting reviews when I'm not buying anything myself. Realise just how much this ban and general interest in minimalism and decluttering is changing my mindset. [EDIT: I'm still in this blogging funk, I need to make some serious changes with my content!]

14/6/17 | Added a bit of Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation with the L'Oréal True Match that's in my project pan, as it doesn't wear the best, especially in the warmer weather. Remembered just how much I loved Double Wear, and I definitely want to get a full size bottle. I'm still using a sample I got at the start of the year and a little really does go a long way as its so full coverage. I'm finding the shade I was colour matched to (1N2 Ecru) a little too yellow-toned so I'd like to try out a cooler toned sample before I make my purchase.

18/6/17 | Beauty Bay were having a 3 for 2 on all Jeffree Star cosmetics, so I had a nosey just because. They only had the manky shades left anyway, but even still, I spent the next hour or two looking up swatches. I love the liquid lipstick in mannequin, but none of the others shades really call out to me.

20/6/17 | Went into Boots and splurged £14.99 on the Bondi Sands Fake Tan Eraser, after I'd had a fake tan oopsie. I kind of regretted the purchase though, it was expensive and didn't wow me on first use.

24/6/17 | Argh I've been seeing more and more people on my timeline with the Androgyny palette. What is it that's making it stick in my head? The more I see it, the more I want it, and it would be so unique in my collection. I'm getting a little more into wearing a pop of colour on the lower lash line too, so maybe I would even get a little use from the blues...

26/6/17 | I decided to finally place my Feel Unique Pic'n'Mix sample order I've been wanting for a while, which had samples of the Charlotte Tilbury foundations, Scent of a Dream perfume, Replica Beach Walk perfume and the Nuxe Shower Oil. It was £3.95 for shipping which is redeemable against another purchase.

30 day beauty spending ban DONE!

I actually didn't find it as hard as I thought I would, and although I did splurge on a few items (mainly hair products), I really didn't miss buying makeup at all. It has definitely changed my mindset when it comes to selecting products. My purchases will be a lot more considered, and I'm thinking a lot more about whether it'll actually be good, rather than just picking up something because it's new or looks cool. I need to know whether I'll actually use something. That being said, I'm finally in the position to look at my makeup as a collection of items to use, not just to look at. There's nothing more a waste of money than buying a product and having it collect dust in a drawer. Obviously there are certain things that don't work out, but that whole "saving it for best" malarkey? Nah, I want to feel like a queen on the daily and actually get the use out of my high-end products thanks!

It did really change my attitude to the haul culture on YouTube, and its made me see how much of a consumerist (not to mention materialistic) industry blogging is. I've been watching a lot more things like declutters and empties, and in general I've just craving more honesty from the content that I watch. I find a lot of the time, people review things for views, and then the product gets lost in the black hole that is a YouTube guru's makeup collection. That's something that is definitely going to impact my own content too. It feels wrong to be a "product pusher", unless the product is the best thing since sliced bread. Instead I'm going to move away from reviewing any old thing I get sent, and make my blog more of a curated edit of products from my existing collection that I truly love and recommend.

What do I still want now that the month is over?

I've been thinking about how I'm going to move forward, and I've actually really enjoyed documenting my thought processes, and having that accountability. I think I'm going to set myself a monthly budget (perhaps £40) to put towards something that I really love. Having that limit will really make me assess whether I truly want something, especially if it's high end and the price means it's the only item I can buy that month. 

Looking back over the month, there's really not much that's stuck with me. The Makeup Revolution palette I'm a bit over, and if I genuinely still want the shades in a few months, I'll just buy the Anastasia palette. Back in uni, I really wanted a Naked palette, and I mean really fucking wanted a Naked palette, and looking back, I definitely wanted it enough to justify the purchase. Yet I opted to go for the MUA dupe, which I did really like, but now I'm like "girl, you should have just bought the flipping Naked palette". If you want something that bad, just get it, you obviously really want it!

I do intend on getting a full size of the Double Wear foundation, but it's not going to be soon as I definitely want to try a different shade sample before I throw my money at it. I'll probably use some birthday money for it or something. Other than that, it's only really the Androgyny palette that I still really want. I'm not going to purchase it just yet, as silly me did buy a few things in Boots so now I only have £24 of this month's beauty budget left (EDIT: do I include products I'm buying for videos in the budget? hmm...), so I'll see whether I still want it in a couple of weeks, provided I've not bought anything else.

Have you ever done a beauty spending ban?

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