I'm entering the sixth month of my no-buy challenge this July, and while June was not wholly a "successful" one in my humble opinion, it gave me a lot to work with. While I finished quite a few products this month, the real lessons came when I looked over my receipts and realized I'd fallen into a few old habits without realizing it.
June No Buy Challenge Update
Entering June, the only thing I needed to buy this month was a clarifying shampoo, and a new package of makeup wipes. If I'd stuck to this plan, I would only be spending $20 with about $5 to spare. Easy peasy right? Well, that's not exactly what happened.
At work I won a $250 VISA Gift Card and decided I could buy whatever I wanted with this card. I bought some books, a new cushion for my balcony and some clothes. Nothing really excessive, just some fun things I wanted to buy. But the problem came when I bought makeup because I splurged and bought the Sephora Favorite Summer Essentials Kit with 12 deluxe sized products for $42 CAD, and L'Oreal Paris True Match Lumi Glotion Natural Glow Enhancer for just under $20. And promptly went home and realized I literally had dupes for almost everything. Whoops. And then DIDN'T RETURN EITHER PRODUCT DESPITE HAVING THE RECEIPTS. Double whoops.
I think what I'm learning is that I tend to grab things I want, without thinking about what I actually have on hand. Did I really need the Sephora Summer Essentials kit? NO, I have something similar to everything in the kit. Did I need the Glotion? NO, I literally have a dupe right in my own makeup drawer. But I WANTED to get these new things because I could. Unlike last month when I spent birthday money to get some things I didn't have, this month I literally bought stuff I absolutely had dupes for. And while it only cost me about $60 all together of FREE money on a gift card I won, it is rather annoying.
June Empties
The Body Shop Oceanus Body Powder - This is just a straight up scented body powder but I want to recognize I've probably had this body powder for over 15 years and I only FINALLY FINISHED IT. The scent is too strong for me these days but in the summer I get decidedly less picky.
Dr Roebucks Boost & Tighten Serum - Straight up, this is probably one of my favourite serums that I've ever used. I did a big review of Dr Roebucks a few years back and this is the third bottle of their serum that I've finished. It plumps the skin very nicely, and I notice my skin looks healthier when I use this than some other serums that I own. The serum contains Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin A, C and E, absorbs well into the skin and plays nicely with most moisturizers. Will definitely rebuy.
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Eye Repair - When it comes to eye products, I usually go for creams instead of gels, but I had this bottle waiting to be used so I decided to finish it up before I opened a new container of my IT Cosmetics eye cream. The gel is fine but I don't feel soothed like I do with creams. Also it doesn't work with all moisturizers and sometimes would sting a bit if moisturizer touched any area this gel had rested or if I applied it too close to my serums.
Kate Spade Live Colorfully - I won't lie, I wore this almost every day after Kate Spade's passing, and it reminded me that even people who seem strong, bright and creative can also have demons we don't know about. It's a beautiful scent of white florals like lily and gardenia, with just a hint of sweetness. I felt it was a perfect daily scent and I'm putting it on my list for later.
Lush Sleepy Body Lotion- I managed to get a container of this amazing body lotion last fall before everyone went crazy over it, and I'm so glad I did. This vegan, self preserving boddy lotion helped keep my dry skin nourished over the loooooooong winter and was a regular part of my nighttime routine. I don't think it actually made me SLEEPY but it was definitely a comforting scent to drift off to.
Olay Gentle Clean Cleansing Cloths- When I don't have a lot of product on my face, I tend to use micellar water for my eyes and a regular oil based cleanser to get my makeup off, but for those days where I'm wearing a LOT (Wedding season, ahoy!) I definitely need a fragrance-free gentle cleansing cloth to give me some help. I oscillate between these Olay fragrance-free ones, and the Neutrogena fragrance-free ones because I get SOOOO irritated if my wipe has fragrance. Why. Just why.
Organic Rose Skin Conditioner- I wanted to like this product, I thought it would resemble a Shiseido skin conditioner I once had, but it was more like a weak toner instead. It also had more of a scent than I usually like, and most of that scent was that weird fake rose smell, not exactly a great thing for someone who is sensitive. All around meh.
Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate - I've probably finished like 5 travel sized samples of this concentrate and I want more, more, more! Because this little guy is only enough for a week or two, I can't comment on long-term effects of it, but my skin does drink it up when I use it and while I'm not willing to shill out the mega-dollars for it, you know I'll use up a ton of my Sephora points if I ever see it as an 100 point perk!!
June Tosses
Ralph Lauren Romance - I don't know if it's the strength or the ingredients, but this perfume has me sneezing like crazy every time I even spritz it on a piece of paper to remind myself of the scent. It is supposed to have ginger, rose and lemon as top notes but none of those bother me this much in other scents. I think I've "tried" it on myself like 5 or 6 times with the same result! Definitely not one I can use.
Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude - This perfume is FINE, but it strikes me as very very old fashioned. It's very powdery, but it does have a nice woodsy, peppery finish which keeps it from being boring. I enjoy smelling it on OTHERS but it's not how I like to express myself.
Coppertone Clearly Sheer Face Lotion 30 - I used this for awhile, but the formula was never my favourite. It leaves my skin SLIGHTLY greasier than I'd like, and doesnt work well as a base for makeup. At least not THIS summmer.
And that's it! Let me know if you've tried any of these in the comments below.
