How My Buying Process Has Changed

Growing up I was taught to be a sale shopper. I remember going to double coupon days at Delchamp's, not being allowed to buy something unless it was on sale, and walking straight to the clearance rack to browse. I was taught that buying something at full price was ridiculous when plenty of items could be bought on sale. After all, it was important to get the most bang for you buck, and quantity was preferred over quality. The more things you had the more wealth you had and the more choices you had to choose from.

When I started becoming interested in makeup I was in my mid-twenties and still in this mindset. Pair that with not knowing much about makeup sale trends or makeup products in general and it was a recipe for disaster. For my first year of makeup buying I stuck to the drugstore because the thought of spending more than $10 on something I thought was a fleeting interest seemed unreasonable to me. I would look at the sale ads for CVS and Walgreens each week to see what makeup brands were on sale. Then, if I saw Maybelline (or whatever other brand) was on sale, I would start looking up Maybelline products to see if anything interested me or if any YouTubers were talking about something. (Why hello there Maybelline Color Tattoos! Of course I need eight of you!)

In my mind, I needed to "build my collection" and buying things on sale was the best way to do that. YouTubers I watched back then constantly had a dozen new favorite items each month (or even each week!) and massive collections with lipsticks numbering much closer to fifty than five. It was so normalized on YouTube that I thought massive collections like that were actually common for the average consumer. 

It seemed perfectly reasonable to me to buy four Maybelline eyeshadow quads in one shopping trip because (1) it was Buy One Get One 50%, (2) somebody on social media mentioned liking them or I saw them in someone's collection video, and (3) a color looked pretty in the pan. Nowadays I see so much wrong with that way of purchasing. 

First off, I would never buy four quads at once. Four singles? Maybe. Okay probably. But they would be thoroughly thought-out purchases. Four of the same product type, on a whim especially, just would not happen today. And that sale? What kind of sale is that? BOGOHO sales are one of my most disliked sales now. It requires you to buy things in multiples of two, which meant that instead of picking the item you wanted most you were encouraged to add something else to make the purchase "worth it." Also, a lot of the time the things I liked were not the same price, so what would've been a 25% off sale had I bought two of the same became sometimes a 10% off at best. I was enticed by the BOGOHO sales on drugstore makeup repeatedly until I realized how often they occurred after a few months of seeing the sale cycles repeat. (When I do want to buy a drugstore item now, I usually buy it from Target because they don't have the crazy markup that CVS/Walgreens/Ulta has to compensate for their constant sales.)

I also rarely buy things now based on product recommendations. Instead, I think about what I've been wanting lately, what I've felt a lack of in my collection, and searched for products to fill that void. I seldom watch monthly favorites even though they used to be one of my favorite videos to watch. Just because someone else likes something (or promotes something) doesn't mean I will too. I would rather go test it out for myself and make my own judgment on it rationally. 

This is why I rarely shop at the drugstore now. I want to be able to see how a product swatches before I buy it, and that's not something I could do when I was limiting myself to CVS and Walgreens. (I know that I could return it, but I'm just not that kind of person to return things just because they don't work out.) 

When I got up the courage to check out Sephora for the first time I feel like things changed. I still was not comfortable spending lots of money on makeup, but when I realized I could compare eyeliners on my hand to find my perfect shade of purple. I suddenly became okay with spending $20 on one product because I knew that it was the one I wanted. And because it was so much more than I was used to spending I was more selective in what I bought. 

Quality started to become more important to me than quantity for essentially the first time in my life. But I was still a sale shopper at the core. It is so ingrained in me to wait for something to go on sale if you think it will soon. I try to wait until the Sephora sales to purchase something unless a higher discount appears elsewhere. So since I'm the lowest tier Beauty Insider and only ever receive a 15% discount at best, if a brand site has 20% off or better with free shipping I'll purchase from there instead of waiting for the Sephora sale. 

But I still only buy the one or two items I wanted in the first place. Not the stuff YouTubers told me to get. Not the three more things that will help me reach the free shipping threshold. Just the things that I've sought out for myself and swatched on my own hands. I have gone from finding a sale and searching for a product to searching for a product and waiting for a sale.

Makeup Collection Tag

I was not expecting to post another tag so soon, but when Georgia Harris posted her Makeup Collection Tag last week I knew I wanted to participate. I have been enjoying Georgia's Youtube channel for a few years now and have thoroughly been loving her content lately with the introduction of her no-buy year. It is so refreshing hearing creators talk less about buying all the new products and more about exploring what they already have. And I think this tag is perfect for that, so here we go...

 1. How long have you been collecting makeup?

The first collections I remember are Mac Alluring Aquatics and the initial launch of the Maybelline "Buffs" lipsticks. That would put my start in 2014. I remember exploring things in the drugstore for at least some of 2013, but it was probably around five things total for the year because I was still very hesitant with becoming interested in makeup.

2. What kind of collection do you have?  Minimal, utilitarian, aesthetic, historical, etc. 

I'm not sure how to define it. I definitely lean more towards minimal, but I also like having choices. I want the products I own to be right for me and chosen specifically with my style in my mind. I like having almost a capsule wardrobe when it comes to makeup, where nearly everything meshes cohesively with the other products.

3. Are you a completionist? 

Absolutely not. I am careful now about choosing the particular product I like the most from a line. Just because I like one formula does not mean I need more of it. If I'm looking for a new color product though I'm more likely to purchase one from a line I already know I like (hello Urban Decay eye liners). It also would not bother me to buy, say, Lorac Pro 4 even though I've never owned 2 or 3 and no longer own the original. That just means that the fourth iteration is the one that is "right for me."

4. How do you store/organize your collection?

I have the bulk of it in my closet in a cosmetic tabletop organizer, the kind with dedicated spots for lipstick tubes on the left and other bulkier products on the right. I keep a smaller edited bag in the living room with products for a quick easy face: a face primer, powder, blush, eyeshadow palette, two eyeliners, and some brushes. Because my toddler usually "helps" me put on my makeup I've learned to keep my lipstick separate from the bag. (Did you know it's so much fun to jam your finger down a lipstick tube?) Instead, my current lipstick or two essentially lives in my handbag.

5. What is your favorite thing about your collection?

I love how unique it is to me. It has been a few years of progress to get to this point, and I love how "me" my collection is now. I like how nearly everything fits into my style and mesh well with each other. I have a few remaining aspirational items I can't yet bring myself to declutter, but overall I love how nearly everything I own now was chosen by me not because I bought something someone else on Youtube or Reddit told me was likable.

6. What is your least favorite thing about/something to improve your collection?

I want to change how I am storing things. The plastic cosmetic organizer was perfect when I had a larger collection and enjoyed being able to see everything at a glance. But now that my collection is smaller and I can easily remember everything I own I think I would rather have a set enclosed spot for everything to be placed. I think it would help me better contain everything in one spot instead of having stragglers here and there.

7. What is the biggest category of your collection?

Excluding eyeshadow, either lipsticks or eye liners. I have around eight of each. These are two categories where I like having choices. As far as eyeshadow I probably have closer to thirty considering my custom singles palette and handful of pre-made palettes.

8. What is the smallest category of your collection?

I have one each of eyeshadow primer and highlighter. The eyeshadow primer is just the first one I ever used and since I had no qualms with it I've just continued repurchasing the same one. I think I'm now on my fourth tube of Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. Having only one highlighter now is amusing to me because just a few years ago it was my favorite category. I still really enjoy highlighter, but since becoming more selective with my purchases I've learned that this is one category where I would rather have "the right one for me" than lots of choices.

9. Do you have a “holy grail” in your collection?

I love my custom singles eyeshadow palette. I was very careful with choosing the shades, selecting the right shades of brown and complimenting "colorful" colors I was actually likely to wear as a neutral lover. As far a single holy grail product, my face primer has been a game changer for me. I don't wear foundation, so I love that the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Primer blurs things just enough and creates a nice base for my face products.

10. Do you ever wish your collection was bigger/smaller or is it complete?

I am quite content with the size of my collection right now. Of course, I wish I had a few more eyeshadows and few fewer lipsticks, but overall I am pleased.

11. How often do you declutter makeup in your collection?

If I notice that I have not used a particular product in some time, I'll reconsider why I own it and might get rid of it in the moment. Also if I find that whenever I reach for a certain product I get annoyed with it or elect not to use it a few times in a row, I'll consider getting rid of it then as well. If I notice that I haven't decluttered anything in several months I'll "pick a team" with everything. Meaning, I'll take out each product and from the pile choose which ones I most like, the ones I know I would repurchase and find myself using constantly. Then if there is anything I'm hesitant about I'll consider why that is. And any of the stragglers I'll think about why there were the last to be chosen, if they were even chosen at all.

12. Do you ever get envious seeing other people’s makeup collections?

Not anymore. When I first started watching Youtube, I was amazed at how many different lipsticks people had. I thought it was completely normal to have fifty lipsticks and ten new favorite products every month. Now so many of the collection videos I see have single categories that are bigger than my whole collection. I cannot imagine having to store and utilize that many items.

13. Who on YouTube has the best makeup collection video?

Hands down Jacquelyn Lovene. I love how edited her collection has become over the years, and I especially love watching her favorites and decluttering videos because of this. I know that she has spent enough time with her products to actually have a personal opinion on them and isn't just spitting out the normal Youtube talk about them.

14. What’s some advice you’d give to a future makeup collector?

Just because you think something looks nice doesn't mean it's the right fit for you. You can appreciate the beauty of something without owning it. Also, just because it looks nice on you doesn't mean you need to buy it either. It might be a pain to apply or it might not fit your style, and that's okay. It's also okay to not like or buy something that someone else tells you you should. Everyone has different preferences and styles. Also, learn to change your way of thinking about purchasing products from "I want new makeup and this is pretty" to "I want a purple pencil eyeliner and I like this shade and formula the most."

My Panning Journey (and Why I Don't Now)

I have been a member of r/makeuprehab for more than four years, basically since the sub itself was created. In the beginning I remember there being a big focus on using up products in a certain amount of time. Projects like "5 By Fall" or "12 Pans of Christmas" were quite popular, and the introduction posts always seem to garner a lot of interest.

Over time, however, I came to despise these sorts of projects. Even if I used the same product every single day, I would not make nearly as much progress as some of the other members. I was lucky to finish two products a year, not five in the span of three months. I began to wonder if some people were overusing products just to "complete" the panning challenge. A few days ago Elle S posted a video about wasting product while she was big into panning. Hearing her say that made me feel so much more confident and comfortable in my "inability" to pan like others.

I learned that I use up product much more slowly than other people when I participated in the sub's first community Pan That Palette. While others chose big palettes like the Lorac Pro or Too Faced Chocolate Bar, I chose the quad Lorac Satisfying Toffee Crunch. It was only four shades, but it was honestly the best decision I could have made. I learned so much about eyeshadow placement by using those same four shades continually. I learned that I did not need so many shadows as YouTubers were telling me I did, especially so many that were similar. Instead, I would rather find the gold that is most particular to my tastes - not one that is yellow gold, one that is bronzy gold, one that is a bright metallic. Just because they are different from each other doesn't mean I need all of them.

I found it interesting too when the X by Y projects started becoming more specific. It was no longer just use this many products by this date but now themes were added into it as well. You had to match the products you were using up to the colors of the Avengers or relate it back to Pokemon in some way. It became less about using products you were going to use anyway and really focusing on them and more about showing others how many products you had that related to the theme, in my opinion at least. People would get excited about pulling out neglected products to write about in the intro post, but by the third update post the number of participants had dwindled considerably.

I no longer participate in any of these projects. I do maintain a rotating makeup bag, but I don't switch it out after a set time, just when I feel like changing things up every month or two. Sometimes I'll do what I call a "Focus Four," where I'll choose four products to focus on for a week. I think I might do that again soon with an eyeliner and eyeshadow palette I think would pair nicely together. It was so interesting to me to recognize the switch from "how much of a product I'm using" to "how I'm using a product." After all, I can still be a member of the beauty community even if I don't have a massive haul or empties picture to share.

My Current Beauty Wishlist

I purchased my first beauty item of the year a few days ago, and it's made me start reflecting on why I haven't yet bought other items on my wishlist. I'm not on a no buy or low buy, but I am trying to change my relationship with how and why I spend money in general. I want to be more aware of the items, not just beauty-related that I am bringing into my home. I find it encouraging that I went a full two months without buying any new beauty products, without little effort too.

I bought the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Primer because (1) it's a daily staple for me, (2) it was 25% off with free shipping, and (3) I'm likely to run out in the next week or two. Ideally I would love for every purchase to be as much of a no-brainer as this one was. But realistically I know that's not likely to happen. Here are some things that have been on my wishlist for quite some time, and why I'm not buying them yet:

1.  Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight

This highlighter is easily the top item on my current wishlist. It first came to my attention when I watched David from the Sephora YouTube channel demonstrate it in a video a few months ago. Since I finished a highlighter in 2017, I have been on the hunt for a new, perfect-for-me highlighter. I have one highlighter right now, but my tastes have changed since I bought it. It functions just fine, but I continue pining for the Clinique one. It's been ages since I've used anything other than a powder highlight, but I'm eager to try out this Clinique one. 

So why haven't I bought it yet? Because it hasn't gone on sale yet. I feel like Clinique products are constantly on sale somewhere, but I have yet to see a straight percent off that includes this product. Most of the sales lately include a bag of products for spending so much money on Clinique products, but I don't need that extra stuff. And I don't need this highlighter right now either. I know the Sephora sale is coming around soon, so I'll patiently wait for that unless another store discounts it before then.

2. Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator 

3. Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial

Both of these products are ones I've own previously and loved. I recently finished the Clinique moisturizer, and I didn't realize how much I would miss it once it was gone. I thoroughly enjoyed the refreshing feeling of putting it on soon after waking up in the morning. The Korres facial I have not owned for a few years. I keep putting off repurchasing it because of the price, but I am fairly certain that if I were given a gift card and had no other similar items at the time that I would purchase the Korres one in a heartbeat. 

But right now I do own similar items, to both of these products. I am currently using the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask and the Ole Henrisken C-Rush Brightening Gel Creme. The Glow Recipe mask had been on my wishlist for months before I finally bought it on a whim one day. The feeling reminds me a lot of the Clinique moisturizer, and I do enjoy the watermelon scent very much. I go back and forth on whether I want to own only one morning moisturizer and one evening moisturizer, or if I'm okay with having multiple to play around with. If I lean towards the latter, I would happily include this watermelon mask on my bedside table with the Clinique and Korres ones. 

The Ole Henriksen moisturizer, however, would not find a place there. It's not a bad product, but it just doesn't make me as happy as the other three. This moisturizer came in a set of with three other Ole Henriksen products: Truth Serum, Banana Bright Eye Creme, and Goodnight Glow Retin-ALT Sleeping Creme. Truthfully I only bought this set because of the C-Rush moisturizer and the banana eye creme. Price-wise it made more sense to me that buy the set of minis than the two products individually. Since doing so, I've learned that I'm just not an eye creme person and that I prefer those other moisturizers instead. I'll finish the products though because there is nothing wrong with them, but I look forward to buying the ones that make me more excited once these are finished.

4. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Lucky

I have come so close to purchasing this eyeliner for months now. I almost even bought it when I purchased that primer the other day. It would have been 25% off, which isn't as good as the 50% off that I've seen on them recently, but I still did not buy it. A few years ago, before I became more conscious of beauty spending, I would have easily already bought this eyeliner. I think that a copper eyeliner like this one would look wonderful against my hazel eyes and would pair well with the Urban Decay Petite Heat palette that I own and adore. However, I haven't been wearing eyeliner as much as usual lately, and I already possess a wonderful array of colors, including Anatomy an orange that is quite similar to Lucky. Anatomy also would pair well with Petite Heat, but I've rarely pulled for it in the last few months. (Now that I'm thinking about it though, I feel like I should add it to my next makeup bag.)