How Not To Buy Pretty MakeUp You Will NEVER Use?

[Wicked Lovely]

Im sitting here going through all my makeup an realizing that i buy so many things that i will probably never use and some things i will definitley never use.I cant resist pretty things ,especially if its pretty makeup lol Even if it doesnt look so pretty on me lol Im sure so many of you know exactly what i mean.I dont want them to all just sit here an go bad but i dont really know what to do with the unused makeup.

I need to find a way to stop myself from buying.Im curious to know how the members on here hold them self back from purchasing what you wont use? Tips on makeing better choices? The worst time for me is when there is a sale, especially a friends an family sale.Sounds pathetic but i genuinely can not resist.

I always go in thinking ill buy one or two things but end up spending way more then planned lol Im noticing going through my makeup that i have a bit of an addiction to buying beigey tan flesh colored shadows with shimmer and glitter - for example i have all urban decay midnight cowboy,midnight cowboy rides again.midnight cowgirl,Mac All that Glitters,Mac Naked,Mac Naked Lunch,BM Clestine,Smashbox Champagne,MUF Diamond Biege,Stila Kitten etc etc etc.

Im a neutral eye girl so thats why i go to these colors but some are so incredably similiar,ill never be able to use them all,theyll expire way before i get a chance to use them up,yet if i see these colors i keep buying them lol I know i cant be the only one that does this lol

 

[hello_kitty]

It is hard indeed, I almost bought a bunch of Starflash shadows yesterday and finally I was like "Why? I have similar colors that I never use" and rationality won out. I'm trying to save myself until Hello Kitty, and then I think I'll try to be done for awhile. Summer-Winter 2008 I didn't get any new makeup besides mascara, so maybe I will fall into that mode again. My wallet hopes so!

 

[Lauren1981]

this is a hard thing to do.
i swear i need to get my dad to go shopping with me when buying makeup because as with with anything else i used to buy when i used to live with my parents he'd always be like "don't you have something just like that already??" and i think for a moment and them i'm like "F*CK!!!" because he's absolutely right....
lol!!
i just bought a color from UD that is the same shade (almost) as amber lights and i SWEAR when i bought it all i could focus on was how pretty it was. what i already had NEVER crossed my mind

 

[Wicked Lovely]

exactly u just look at it thinking oh thats gorgeous ive got to get it lol Not oh ive got 20 like it already lol That hilarious have somebody to shop with me to stop me lol In my case though i shop alot online i dont think i can get anyone to sit with me while i shop,maybe i can ban my browser from the website lol Is that possible? Thnakfully im not really into Hello Kitty the only thing i seen i might like to get from Hello Kitty is the Brush Holder,nothing else really interested me.

 

[BestRx]

You can try making a list like you would before going to the grocery store. For clothes, shoes (my real weakness) and makeup, I'll search around on the internet or read magazines and keep a running list of things I fall in love with. I also add to the list things I run out of.

Even though I don't print out the list and bring it with me every time I step foot in a store, I end up kind of knowing it by heart from adding (or subtracting) to it all the time. So when I see something really pretty that's not already on the list, I don't buy it. I just make a plan to add it to the list. Then I have time to think it over, decide if I really want it, figure out if I already own it or already have something similar on my list.

It takes willpower and self-control, of course. But it's really helped me with my shoe-shopping diet that I put myself on for the last 6 months (only 1 new pair wooo-hooo!!) that money has been tight. And I don't suffer from nearly as much shopper's remorse.

 

[Seeking Refuge]

I was going to the counter at least once a week to pick something up. Sometimes I'd only buy one thing and spend $15 dollars, but other times I bought more then I needed and my wallet felt sorry for it later. It got to the point that a friend of mine (who started collecting before me) told me I had too much and way more then she did. She told me that she had gotten to the point where she only bought the things she needed, where as I bought everything I thought was pretty. I also got to the point where I had to see every collection that came out and buy at least one thing form each, even if I didn't love anything. It was a sad cycle.

Then, about six months ago, money got so tight in my household that I was lucky to be able to buy lunch at work, instead I had to brown bag almost everything, and that did if for me. This was not because of my makeup habit, but it sure helping put a stop to my over spending. So since The Cult of Cherry Collection I have bought only a handful of things. And I have to tell you, up until now I was ok with that. But now that money is coming back in I'm getting into old habits. Although I hate leaving the counter with nothing, I also feel good that I can leave without anything and know that maybe next collection or next time I run out of something I'll have the satisfaction of getting something new.

 

[cetati]

I used to buy pretty make up I never use but now I have forced myself to get into a habit---

I never buy anything the first time I see it. I will drive to the counter or the CCO once, twice, three times.. and I never compulsive buy. I look at all the new releases here at Specktra and then I go into the store and look at it and sometimes I'll grab one or two things but that's only if I've researched it REALLY thoroughly online. Usually I look at it, swatch it, then go home to let it sit in the back of my mind until I come back to buy it. Half the time I don't come back.

 

[bebeflamand]

Somebody please stop me...I just found out there are MAC stores where I live. Can't believe I didn't know before lol. The only MAC I have comes from Ebay and now I have this urge to go there...an entire shop with nothing but MAC products...*drool* My bank account is already begging me not to :S

 

[vocaltest]

just buy what you know you will use.
i'm avoiding looking at the collections pages on here, that helps.

 

[TISH1124]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vocaltest just buy what you know you will use. i'm avoiding looking at the collections pages on here, that helps.

Exactly!!! stay away from the collection threads all together...you will be pulled into the hype...just like I have been...

 

[DirtyPlum]

My news yrs res is not to buy any MU at all. Im struggling and its like, day 20 only.

Your beige e/s to you, are what pink lipsticks are to me. Its ridic... I have nearly every variation of the colour and have learnt to mix colours together to achieve diff shades.

I think about Gladiola lipstick everyday *everyday* and have done so since Dec 24th when I first tried it... but Ive managed to resist cos I know I can mix up Pink Nouveau and perhaps Pink Plaid or something to get the same colour. Its hard... but

Few things that have helped are:

* do I have something similar?
* can I make this colour by mixing two colours/products that i already have?
* will I actually use it beyond the honeymoon period?
* must not look at Specktra collection threads
* dont buy then and there, go away and if im still thinking of it two weeks later, then maybe yeah buy it. But repeat Q's from above.
* keep all my MU out so I can SEE exactly what I have
*...and use it
* dont log on to ebay!

 

[angied]

I also make a list. I have alittle notebook that I carry in my purse. In it I have my wish list and each time I get something from it I hi-lite it. That way I know what I have and when I look at something I want then I check to see if anything that I have is close to the same color and if it is....I know wether I want that or something else. Right now my big thing is trying to build up my MAC e/s soooo for now I try and stay away from any other e/s. I figure if I dont buy those then I have more money for mac

 

[Eire3]

I usually do a list of what I want and what I need.
I try to keep it for at least three weeks, so that I have the time to erase something that I like in the first impact but just forget the week later.
In this way I'm sure I go to my MAC counter with a precise idea of what I REALLY want only.

Usually, if I want to buy two or three e/s that will match each other or if I want to reach a certain kind of look I ask advice to the MUA and always say to him what are the colours that I already have. This really helps me rationalizing.

And always, before going haulin', I check what I already have at home (I have so many forgotten things!)

This usually helps me very much

 

[Meisje]

It helps just to take out all the pretty stuff you already have and look at it!

You should sit down and list everything you have, with descriptions of each color/product (and assess how many duplicates of the same type of thing you've ended up with) to carry in your purse to keep from repurchasing similar items.

 

[bebeflamand]

Thanks, that's some solid advice. I have started making a list of the things I'd really like, will go through what I have already to see if I don't have something similar.

 

[sinergy]

I have a list of Perm stuff that I want and with each collection a list of LE stuff that Ill want...and usually the LE list breaks down tremendously until I get to a counter and see it. Thats another thing, I try not to purchase online, I wait till I see everything in person so I can make sure I can use it..(although I did buy wintersky online..d'oh!!!) I have a similar list for books...I read so much that I have a list of stuff thats coming out that I want, and old stuff that I look for in my used book store.

 

[Doowop]

I have the same problem with makeup! i see glittery pretty makeup in turquoise and i cannot resist, but i know i'll never dare to wear it out. But I've been broke for a long while so i haven't been buying makeup (or anything else), so I'm kind of used to resisting the urge now!

 

[ancilla]

I bought a lot of similar items too, back when I went on more shopping sprees :/ I agree about not buying an item upon first sight. It totally helps to go back home and glance through your collection to see what already serves the same purpose :] Also, reading the reviews on this site helps because a lot of times other people will mention what shades are similar in their review.

 

[sayah]

I've been in your shoes!

Now I go through what I own and write lists of what I want and need. That may not be the same things.

Then I carry a copy of that list with me when I go shopping. I also have a document on my computer that I makes notes in when I see something cute. Plus I read lots of reviews and look here so I know about XX before I buy it.

Plus I know really pale lipsticks isn't something for me, so even though some are reeeeeeally pretty I have to use my sense. I'm never wearing it, it could find a better home where it would be loved.