Christmas has come and gone, and as we stand at the beginning of a new chapter, it’s time for one last reflective exercise. Today, we delve into the realm of beauty and explore the staggering amount of money spent on beauty products during the month of December. This monthly exercise is one that you are familiar with, but the numbers still provide a bit of a surprise to this whole thing, at least I hope so. Cannot believe it’s been four years of going through these motions!
Let’s take a closer look at what the beauty spend for the month of December looks like, and whether I managed to improve my spending even a little bit this month.
December’s Purchases
- Bioderma Hydrabio Moisturising Serum Dehydrated Skin 40ml – £14.80
- Hero Cosmetics Rescue Retinol Nightime Renewing Cream – £6.11
In December I ended up spending a total of £20.91 on beauty products.
December’s Empties
- Origins Zero Oil™ Pore Purifying Toner With Saw Palmetto & Mint – £21
- Chloé Nomade Eau de Parfum 5ml – £9
- The Body Shop Almond Milk Body Butter 50ml – £7
- Miniso Ta Tree Nose Strips – £1.75
- Mixsoon Centella Toner – £10.62
- Ondo Beauty 36.5 Panthenol & Coconut Gentle Shampoo – £7.21
- Medik8 R-Retionate Intense Serum – £229
- Bath and Body Works Hand Sanitising Spray in Rose Water & Ivy – £2.51
- PAKage Melt Me Softly Nose Strip – £0.66
In December I ended up emptying £288.75 worth of products. This resulted in an allowance of £144.37.
Allowance from posts
Allowance from Reviews – £15
- Tocobo Glass Tinted Lip Balm
- rom&nd Glasting Melting Balm
- Typology L41 Purifying Moisturizer with 4% Zinc PCA and Bamboo Extract
Allowance from Social Media – £48
- Instagram Reel – £24
- TikTok Clip – £24
Total allowance from posts: £63
Okay, so let’s have a quick look at the overall math now.
£144.37 (allowance from empties) + £63 (allowance from posts) – £20.91 (December’s Spending) – £3620.65 (previous closing balance) = -£3434.19
This month I managed to escape the temptation of yet another Bath and Body Works sale. It’s quite a feat considering that they are currently running their highly anticipated semi-annual sale. If you’re interested, you can check out the incredible deals they have on offer right here.
I can’t help but chuckle at myself for feeling the need to bring that up, considering how many times I’ve shopped with that brand this year. But hey, I did it, and I don’t regret either the shopping or the little bit of bragging. Haha!
In terms of shopping, as you can see, I haven’t done much of it. It has been a really strange month for me. I had to go away for work and settle some important matters, but unfortunately, I also fell severely ill and experienced nausea during my time away. My main concern was how I would manage to make it back home safely rather than thinking about picking up any goodies. On top of that, I had an extremely stressful time at work, leaving me with little mental space to think about anything other than avoiding any mishaps. Thankfully, things weren’t as bad as I anticipated, but I’d rather not dwell on the whole experience if I can avoid it.
On the flip side, I actually succeeded in using up more products than I initially expected, which is quite satisfying. Not only does this give me a little extra “allowance” for future purchases, but it also reduces the number of items I have to worry about potentially throwing away. And yes, I’ve had to do a lot of decluttering lately. It’s a long story, but I genuinely hope to avoid going through that process again. Moving forward, I’ll make an effort to keep my stash manageable once I’ve fully sorted through my current collection. For now, I’ve only focused on organizing the items I had stored elsewhere.
I believed I had reached my breaking point when it came to spending money on beauty and accumulating a massive collection, but it appears that’s not the case. However, this time, it might truly be different. I am exhausted and lacking inspiration for many of the products in my stash – I simply don’t reach for them anymore. Anything that can still be donated and is within its expiration date will likely end up being donated, while the rest I’ll make an effort to use up. One of the main reasons for my weariness is the lack of natural light in my apartment. I have scaffolding all around, so I keep the blinds drawn. But after over a month, I’m starting to feel claustrophobic, so to speak.
I may not have been born to be a minimalist, but this entire experience has motivated me to declutter and part ways with many belongings. Bringing home a car full of items, along with numerous boxes, certainly made its presence felt, even if they are surprisingly less visible than anticipated. I’m always amazed at how I manage to find room for more things without them being noticeable. My wardrobe and cupboards are not exactly empty, that’s for sure. I do enjoy being surrounded by various knick-knacks, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I’m a hoarder in the true sense of the word. I don’t tend to keep items that lack value or usefulness. I won’t bore you with more details, but safe to say that I know the root of this behaviour :).
Overall, I’m pleased with the results for December. I was able to significantly decrease my negative balance, which came as a pleasant surprise. It’s not something I was expecting at all.
There is still a long journey ahead in terms of improvement, but I remain hopeful that one day I will reach my goals and discover joy in new and effective products along the way. At one point, I was tempted to start fresh with a clean slate, but ultimately, I made the decision to continue as I am. This is who I am, and these numbers paint a unique story, albeit an unusual one.
And that’s it for December! I hope you enjoyed reading about my empties and financial progress. Let me know in the comments below what your goals are for the new year, whether it’s to reduce spending or decluttering your collection. Until next time, take care and happy budgeting!
How did you do in December?
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Congrats! This month was great!
Is the Medik-8 serum strong? I have it but I’m using a very weak retinol serum and think the Medik-8 one will be too potent.
On my end presents, donations and sadly trash, and the stash depleted a bit. And I feel no temptation to buy anything, so I hope I’ll be just methodically going through my stash.
Thank you! However, the Medik8 did play a huge role haha. Speaking about teh Medik8 serum – it is a nice serum with an incredibly nice texture. The serum is strong and yet not? It did not irritate me in the least. However, it is not a daily use kind of serum, a least not for the first few weeks. I found it to be more comfortable than other retinol based products. I leaving you a link to my full review here
I get what you mean by feeling no temptations. Same here to be honest. I am tempted by a few items from YesStyle but at the same time I still have products that I have not used up yet and some are nearing their expiration date plus now I have the entire Style Korean advent calendar to get through which will be a bit tricky in some regards a least. Curious to see how things will progress.
Best of luck! Let’s have an incredible year both in terms of personal development but also in regards to or beauty spendings and finings! 🙂