This is the end of my third month on a beauty spending ban (of sorts). I feel that this month went way better than previous ones, at least I hope it did. We’ll see below. I have not done the math yet. However, my biggest win was abstaining from getting the hugely attractive Harvey Nichols beauty gift with purchase, a gift I promised myself to never miss again when I actually wanted to get it and also deciding to take this experiment a step forward by focusing on using up minis as much as possible and not opening up new full size products. I already have enough full sized products open as it is.
Beauty purchases
- Sephora Collection 1 Minute Face Masks with Lotus – £9
- Sephora Collection 1 Minute Face Masks with Avocado – £9
- Zara Home Body Wash Vol 1 in Guaiac Wood – £8 (super cute, see below)
Total amount spent: £26
Allowance from empties
- Sensai Absolute Silk Cream – £145 for 40 ml, mine was 15ml worth £54.37 so I get an allowance of £27.18
- Sam McKnight Cool Girl Barely There Hair Texture Spray – £25 for 250 ml, mine was 50ml so worth £5 so I get an allowance of £2.50
- Soap and Glory Pore Refining Sheet Mask – worth £5 so I get an allowance of £2.50
- Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Touch Hand Cream – worth £15 so I get an allowance of £7.50
Empties allowance: £39.68
Allowance from posts
Reviews
- No7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Pencil in Black – £5
- Merci Handy Shower Slime Jelly Unicorn Edition – £5
- Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Touch Hand Cream – £5
- LA Splash Cosmetics Wickedly Devine Eyeliner – £5
- Decorté AQ Meliority Intensive Regenerating Multi Cream – £5
- ColourPop Lilac You a Lot Eyeshadow Palette – £5
- Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream – £5
- Dior Hydra Life 2 in 1 Sorbet Water Toner – £5
- Nivea Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover – £5
- Soap and Glory PoreFab Pore Refining Sheet Mask– £5
- Kopari Beauty Coconut Lip Glossy – £5
- Sephora Collection Glow Peel Pads – £5
- The Body Shop Almond Milk and Honey Hand Cream – £5
Review allowance: £65
I finished last month on a deficit of £16.25. It was way better than in January which I am grateful for. Now, let’s do the math and see how I did this month.
Total expenses: £26 to which I need to add last month’s negative balance. So my expenses have a total balance of -£42.25.
Total allowance: £39.68 from empties plus £65 allowance from reviews. This bring me to a total of £104.68.
Overall, I am finishing this month an a more positive note. I am no longer going to start next month on a deficit, but with a positive allowance of £62.43. This is not much, but it is so much better than previous months!
Now, I wish I could say that this was all me. Sadly it was not. Being stuck inside and going home played a major role. The only thing I did do was not shop online. However, this also had something to do with the borders being closed or more difficult to cross. I mostly shop from the Uk and EU no matter where I live and I did not want to take any chances at this time.
Overall, I am glad with the results for March. Despite having started this experiment back in January, this is the first month I actually have a positive balance to carry forward. It is too soon to say whether the experiment works and whether the next few months will be even better than this. I hope they will and I hope I will be able to continue on this path.
My wishlist is overflowing and growing every single day, but what I learnt during this time is that I do not really need every single product out there. I have more than enough as it is. I am grateful for that as I really do not want to have to go and buy anything that is not essential at this time. I haven’t left home since March 15th and have no plans of leaving anytime soon.
I am going on a tangent here but this is something I felt the need to add so bear with me.
I also learnt that cleaning every single beauty item that I purchased is way easier when I initially got them. Yes, this is something I do. However, now that I feel the need to clean everything, those products are just standing in my way. I really want to minimise my collection which is why I suggested focusing on emptying out as many products as possible. Especially the ones that are already opened and the minis.
Hope you had a great March as well and remember it is never too late to embark on a no spend or limited spend when it comes to beauty (and other areas).
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