I’m having one of those days. Y’know, the ones when I look at my beloved makeup collection, the one that I’ve been carefully growing for the past many years, and all I can think of is … meh. Sure, I have my Holy Grail items that I know I can reach for at a moment’s notice but for some reason, they’re not making me feeling any better.
See, what I have is the itch to shop. I want something new. I don’t exactly have a wishlist at the moment but I’m just itching to buy something. Now that, ladies and gentlemen (I know that there are gents reading my blog), is when I step into dangerous territory because more often than not, I tend to overspend when I’m feeling particularly, erm, spendy.
Tim calls it retail therapy. Well, duh. 😛
I get this feeling every so often and when it hits me, there are a few things I do to curb that I-just-need-to-give-money-away-in-return-for-something feeling.
1. Close all tabs on the browser that lead to online stores
As much as I can, I stay the hell away from Beauty Bay, Feel Unique, Beautylish, Strawberrynet, SASA and so on. The less amount of temptation, the better it will be for my wallet.
2. Have a friend who’s destashing her beauty products? Check out what goodies she’s giving away
I’ve picked up a number of goodies this way without having to spend a single cent. Mind you, I’m not asking them to give me the makeup item; they’re just looking for a better home and my collection is happy to accommodate a new addition. The friend gets to declutter and I get something new(ish) to try out. It’s a win-win situation for all.
3. Destash your own beauty products
More often than not, this feeling of I-need-to-buy stems from the need for fulfillment of something and I find that instead of getting new makeup, giving away/donating what I have feels even better. At first, decluttering seemed like an excuse for me to buy new things when I started decluttering and not buying anything new to replace the items, it gave me that sense of fulfillment that I was looking for. I know. Deep stuff. 😛
4. Borrow your friend’s makeup
I do this with LeGeeque from time to time. I know she has no cooties, she knows I have no cooties. No mascaras, of course.
5. Distract yourself with a hobby, preferably something you can do with your hands
When my hands are getting itchy to want to shop for something new, I knit. I read. I write longhand. I even clean the dishes. And I make sure to stay away from a computer, tablet or phone where I can access the Internet.
6. When all things fail, buy just ONE thing
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. When the urge to shop is so strong, I permit myself to buy just one item and I set a budget for it. Sometimes it’s a lipstick or a blush. Or even a piece of stationery.
If you’re feeling restless, not liking what you’re seeing in your own beauty stash, have the urge to shop for something new, try giving these a go. It works quite well for me. After I wrote the above, I took out the Urban Decay Naked on the Run palette that was given to me by a dear friend who wasn’t liking the palette much. You know what? I thought it was pretty cool. One woman’s meh is another woman’s yay.
I keep telling myself that until I get the urge to shop again. Hmm … I do want to get that gorgeous Tom Ford lipstick I saw the other day though.
Oh dear.
I haven’t bought any makeup this year. I fill online carts and have a huge wish list but I am on a “low buy” so I’ve got to be very discerning 🙂
I commend you on your self-restraint. Clearly I’m rubbish at it. 😛
Mind you my birthday is coming up in June soooo I might splurge then hahah
Ooh me too! When’s yours? Mine’s on the 5th. High five fellow Gemini! 😀
I try and shop in my own stash. I’d take everything out. Look through them and go, HEY, I HAVEN’T USED THIS IN A WHILE! And I’d leave it out and keep using it until I’m bored and rinse and repeat. I’m very fortunate that I have friends who get me the prettiest makeup. I haven’t had the need to shop in such a long time. You know that Omotesando blush palette from Dior? Mine is still collecting dust. I haven’t even taken it out of the box yet. 😛
I tried shopping in my stash. I’m usually quite all right with it when I rediscover good stuff but there are times when I’m just not inspired at all. It’s just that damn feeling of “I just need to buy something”. Terrible.
Geez not yet? Aiyoooooo!! Didn’t you buy it for me? 😛
Gurrrrllll, temme about it! Whenever I feel the need to shop for makeup somehow its always lipstick. At this point my friends have banned me from getting any more, as in tackle-me-in-the-aisles-of-Priceline banned!
Hahahaha that would be my husband’s job. Well, he thinks it’s his job, to restrain me from Priceline. At one point, he told me to just get a temp job at Priceline since I seemed to be “living” there so often. I was like, are you nuts? That’s like putting a kid who loves candy in a candy store for many hours! 😛
I wrote a post about this and I ask myself a series of questions before making a purchase including is it better than what I already have, is it similar to something I already own and if it is can I return the item it is replacing. Because no one likes wasting money. I’m also friends with another blogger and we have similar tastes so we confer on products we are reviewing. This way I’m using all of the products I own.
Tracy recently posted..Blind Face Test: Foundations
Good on you Tracy! I hate wasting money too. Damn the temptation!!
Yeah my friend and I discuss about beauty products with each other too and we even share our makeup. Good way to try new things without needing to buy them.
🙂 An article after my own heart! I drink coffee (try), ‘spend’ being the keyword I tend to buy something to eat – salad or Low carb chocolates or if I am feeling particularly nasty the delicious Joy cupcakes across my work…
More often than not though I give in but tend to keep it real simple and head off to Priceline (and not Mecca) and end up with a Mascarra or Nail Polish or some good basics like Body Wash which is normally considered “not” offensive 😀
But in all honesty I don’t deal with this even half as well as you do reading the above. Lots to learn (or unlearn)
Oh I try to stay away from Mecca as much as I can when I’m having “one of those days”. Too dangerous and too easy to spend way too much money! Once I had that strong urge to shop and I made the mistake of going to Mecca. I came out with a $50 liquid eyeliner. CRAZY. I never pay that much for eyeliner. What in holy blazes was I thinking? >.<
I always have the urge to buy. What stops me is my laziness to go into the store haha
Kat Ness recently posted..EotD | Choc-a-Block
How do online stores not make it worse? 😛
Heehee I know!! I like to try things on or swatch products before I buy them. Sometimes, when I am at the shops, I will tried things on and then wait for a special with their online store and buy it then.
Kat Ness recently posted..Blended Beauty
Really love this article as I’ve been feeling like this for ages – more than a few months. For me it is an emotional void that I’m trying to fill, which is why I have managed to resist the craving for so long. I cope by making really long lists of things I want to buy. Writing it down helps me ‘exorcise the demon’. But there are times when something snaps & I end up buying a lot of stuff. But so far, so good.
Nail on the head, Poohkie. NAIL ON THE HEAD. It’s an emotional void waiting to be filled, not so much wanting the actual product. I’ve been doing lists too on my Google Keep. I call it “shit I want to buy but shouldn’t buy but I can dream about it first” list. 😀
This happens to me in waves – sometimes I just feel blah about everything I own, and I start maniacally stalking beauty blogs (hey there!) and adding outrageous things to my Sephora cart… but then I also take a look at my bank account online and look at what I’ve bought this month (or whatever is showing on the statement), and I think about adding whatever’s in my cart to that list, or actually paying $xx amount of money for stuff I probably won’t love anyway. And then I start paring down the stuff in the cart, and sometimes I get so tired of doing that that I x out of the window altogether and forget about my attempted shopping spree – other times, I end up keeping a small amount of things I reeeeeeally wanted, and so my makeup stash doesn’t grow too crazily 🙂
Heheh I do that too! I’ve gone on Net A Porter plenty of times, finding the MOST outrageously expensive designer items and adding them to the cart (have to make sure I don’t sign in. If not, if I accidentally clicked on Check Out and submit payment, I’m screwed). Once, I had over $10,000 worth of stuff in my shopping basket. Oh it felt good. Then I closed the page and went on my merry way. 😀
Some great tips Tine, especially since I’m on a project pan atm 🙂
Mel recently posted..Violet Box April Review 2015
Thanks Mel. I admire those who embarks on the Project Pan. I couldn’t do it. 😛
OMG this post is bang on! I’m actually feeling like this riiiiiight now – probably WHY I’m reading beauty blogs… and it’s always lipstick and eyeshadow. I hardly even wear lipstick and I already own a dozen but still just lurve shopping for them. It’s like “STEP AWAY FROM PRICELINE”! LOL. But to combat this rampant shopping I like to a. remind myself how broke I will shortly be if I don’t stop and b. shop my own stash at home – try and use something I haven’t worn in ages, try a different colour combo etc and c. research literally everything about the desired product to find cheaper dupes or convince myself it’s not that great or worth buying.
Great tip Liv! Research everything! Sometimes I find that I’m really craving one particular item and, okay this is a bit of a sucker punishment, I Google bad reviews on that item. I don’t even want to read what’s good about it. I need to read about how crap the product is so that it curbs that temptation. And then I’ll strike it off my “want” list. 😛
Hahaha this is even worse.. I just went to Priceline at lunch. To be fair I needed sunscreen for an upcoming “Red Centre Roadtrip” but I did end up buying another L’oreal Colour Riche Mono Eyeyshadow in Nude 201…such nice colour, texture & packaging make it irresistable!LOL
HAHAHAHA you mean, you just bought one item? Come on Liv, I expected better.
Heeheheheh!