If in April I lasted nearly till the end before making my first beauty purchase, I am sorry to disappoint and tell you that May was exactly the opposite. In May, much to my shame, I placed my first beauty order on the 1st of the month.
Once I discovered an online shop that apparently I have been subscribed to since 2012 or so, I started buying their stuff. I will talk about the website in the near future, but it probably won’t be of interest to that many of you since it is a Romanian beauty shop, so unless you are an expat or national in RO, you probably won’t give a damn. However, you might care about the products which I will also review separately.
Anyway, writing the April post and seeing just how cheap some of the stuff I got was, I could not help myself and get more, especially since it was on sale. I think I spend at least double the amount to purchase items from the same brands when I was still in the UK. It definitely threw me off. The price in Romanian Lei seemed quite steep, but once translated into pounds it seems shockingly affordable. Yeah, the opposite happened to me when I moved to the UK nearly a decade ago. I should be used to it by now, but for some reason I am not.
After that initially spend, I tried to hold off. The idea was to use the stuff I already had. However, after 9 weeks (*8 weeks and 6 days, to be exact) I had to go out. I was going crazy inside and working at all hours of the day did not help my case at all. So I went out to dm, a German shop that sells cleaning products as well as beauty products. I was running low on various disinfectants and the likes so…you can guess how well that turned out. I did spend more on house cleaning products than on beauty so there is that at least. The same happened yesterday when I went out for the second time since this craziness happened. The shop near my place is big and almost always empty so I took advantage of that, but then again most of the restrictions where I live have been lifted so I did not break the law in any way.
May, to say the least, did not turn out the way I wanted it to. Let’s see the damage.
Beauty buys
- It’s Skin Cera Routine Hydrating Serum – £17.78
- It’s Skin Hydra Routine Energising Moisturiser – £16.51
- It’s Skin Cera Routine Face Toner – £12.52
- Kokostar Pink Lip Mask Jar – £14.15
- It’s Skin Hydra Routine Wakening Face Toner – £12.70
- It’s Skin Glow Routine Peeling Toner – £12.70
- Balea Sheet Mask – £2.41
- Balea Nose Pore Strips – £2.04
- Balea Shower Oil with Sea Salt – £1.11
- Holika Holika Hydrating Sheet Mask – £3.06
- Nivea Fresh Blends Apricot, Mango and Rice Milk Shower Gel – £4.30
- Nivea Fresh Blends Watermelon, Mint and Coconut Milk Shower Gel – £4.30
- Balea Lips and Eyes Vital Balm – £2.93
- Ziaja Cleansing Wash Gel – £3.15
- Pantene Hair Biology Cleanse and Reconstruct Intensive Repair Mask – £6.99
- Total beauty spend: £116.65
Allowance from empties
Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Peel Treatments – 30 treatments are worth £89.90, I used two which were each worth £2.99 so I get an allowance of £2.99
Sisley Floral Toning Lotion – worth £72.50 fro 250 ml, my bottle was only 30ml which means that it was worth £8.70, thus I get an allowance of £4.35 from this one.
Dove Coconut Oil Shower Mousse – worth £3.99 so I get an allowance of £1.99
Kopari Coconut Crush Scrub – I used up a mini worth £11.50 so I get an allowance of £5.75
Huxley Secret of Sahara Cream Fresh and More – I used up a full sized jar of 50ml worth £33 so my allowance from this is £16.50
Soap and Glory Scalp Exfoliating Shampoo with Charcoal – worth £7.50 so my allowance is £3,75
Total allowance from empties: £35.33
Allowance from posts
Allowance from reviews
- No7 Beautifully Matte Mousse Foundation – you can read the review here.
- Glossier Dotcom Balm in Birthday – review
- EOS Crystal Melon Blossom Lip Balm – review
Total allowance from reviews: £15
Allowance from IG Posts
Allowance from IG posts: £2
Total allowance from posts: £17
Okay, so now let’s add things up. This is going to be very painful.
So I started the month of May with a negative balance of -£9.33. This wasn’t;t so bad. I had better months or perhaps just one month which I actually finished with a positive balance, but still, it was not bad. It was definitely not bad when compared to what is to come.
So…
-£9.33 (from April) – £116.65 (May’s spending) + £35.33 (May’s allowance from empties) + £17 ( allowance from posts) = -£73.65
Yep, as predicted the results are not pretty. This is a bit disappointing actually, but I cannot feel to guilty about it. I know that I should, but I am trying and that is all I can say. This is definitely so much better than my spending from last year or two years ago around the same time of the year.
I once again managed not to fall for the gorgeous gifts with purchase, such as this one from Harrods that was released not that long ago. I did not go crazy and shopped my FeelUnique Wishlist. But, luck has been on my side as the Cult Beauty goody bag hasn’t launched yet.
For the month of June, I will try a bit harder (that is if I do not have to go back to the actual office thus leave home again) plus it is my birthday month so a lot fo things could happen. However, I will definitely try to finish up more items, even more than in May. I believe this was my best month in terms of empties so far which is great. See, there is a silver lining everywhere if you just look for it. Progress is progress. But the glaring thing is that there haven’t been many reviews this month which could have helped my allowance tremendously.
The reason why I added the reviews to the calculations was to ensure that I would write more. They are supposed to act as a motivator of sorts.
Anyway, this is it for May. I look forward to see what June will bring. After all, it is yet another opportunity to try again. If you want to know more about how my system works or if you want to embark on this journey with me, read more here.
This is such a great idea! A great way to be a bit more sustainable. Thanks for the tips and recommendations.
It is not as strict as some other projects out there, but my shopaholic tendencies are strong so… it is a more mellowed down option for those who love to shop. It is still a way to make some good progress in my opinion even though it might not always seem like it.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I’m waiting for the Cult Beauty bag too! I think June will be the time for something from SpaceNK, sale and summer sets? I have my birthday in June too and was wondering on ordering something from SpaceNK so I would get the little birthday treat.
FeelUnique gifts never tempt me. I’m spoiled and when I see a gwp that’s of the same value as the minimum purchase needed to qualify, that’s meh.
I use Ziaja every now and then but the Polish market lines and I’m not sure I recognize the products from your picture. It’s cool to see a brand from my childhood going international.
My empties project went good in May, forecast for June is 50% of the May quota, mainly because I’m at full size products now so won’t finish everything in a month. I look at some products I use that I would never buy myself but got them as parts of gwps or advent calendars and I think how much time it adds to my routine as wellbas how the industry is creating needs that are not really there.
On a separate note I’m so struggling with using up lipsticks. I read somewhere that a regular lipstick lasts between 300-500 applications. I was looking for more precise information so I could gauge the possible velocity of using up my stash and to assess how many I need to give away so my stash doesn’t expire before anything. I didn’t find any useful information so I’m trying to collect data myself but I keep forgetting or can’t stick to using one lipstick i.e. for a whole week to gauge how much I use in a week of generous reapplications.
Wow. That is quite the challenge. I have the same issue with lipsticks even though I haven’t really used one in weeks now. But in general, the lipstick I use depends on my mood and situation. As for the use rate, I found lipsticks such as a buttery one from Burt Bees that I could have finished in 30 applications or so. In general, 300 application seems as way too much. As for the products on my lips, they just came out. At least some of them including the Zanja one. The Nivea ones I believe can out around two weeks ago as well. Thus why I could not help myself. I totally get the whole goody bag thing as well. I also go for high value ones. Those are the best aren’t they? I never got the FeelUnique one, but might if I had a huge list of products that only FeelUnique sells and I were not trying to stop my shopping tendencies. When is your birthday? 🙂
Back in the day I fell for one of the curated FeelUnique boxes, later I realized it was neither a great selection nor a great value for money. They also had a selection of currencies available per shipping location and the exchange rate waa very unfavourable. On top of that a surprise gift for over 60€ purchase was 1 deluxe sample from Erno Laszlo. Since then I didn’t even bother to come back. Do they carry something that is not available through other stockists?
My birthday is on 23rd of June. When is yours? 🙂
24. They do Carry some exclusive brands and they recently launched 21 new brands in May. They are usually the first ones to stock new releases of Sol de Janeiro items. In addition, I managed to get some items for way off such as the Armani lipstick I recently reviewed. There are some advantages, but maybe perhaps more if you live in the UK (or at least shop directly as if you were in the UK). Some of the new brands are usually available through other stores in continental Europe.
Almost the same day, so cool 🙂
I absolutely adore Sol de Janeiro body cream, just like you can’t get enough of it. I only know the orange one and feel addicted to its smell. Haven’t tried the purple and green ones yet, wonder if I will like them so much as well.
Guess with Cult Beauty, SpaceNK and the SkinCity gift in autumn I won’t have an opportunity to give FeelUnique another chance. To be frank in order to bring down the amount of products I have to the level I think is reasonable (ca. 50% of the current stash) I should stop buying anything and only replenish basic skincare as needed, because these products and stuff like shower gels are the only ones I use up regularly.But then again, beauty brings me so much joy. Can go without new clothes for a very long time, but for beauty I window shop every other day
Same here! Speaking about Sol de Janeiro I have tried all of their creams and I have to say that they are worth a sniff before purchase. They are way different than the yellow one