September 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy

I decided not to do a Trash Stash (empties) post for September since I’m so backlogged with posts but I definitely want to squeeze in my accountability for the month. Here are some of the items that got added to my stash:
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To refresh, for the month of September, I had -$91.68 balance left in my budget. Yup, you read that correctly, I was in the hole. No makeup spending for me. But luckily, I went on vacation in September so the “Vacation Clause” kicked in, as is universally known. 😉

Firstly, here’s the Mediterranean cruise makeup haul that I just posted about this week:
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😀 I bought my first Catrice and also a bunch of Korres makeup! And that’s it in terms of makeup. Here are the other items I bought earlier in September before I went on vacation:

Online Order

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Shiseido The Makeup Blush Brush – ever since I got my paws on the Powder brush when I was in Japan, I’ve been kicking myself for not getting the blush brush as well. I sought it out on ebay and when the Canadian dollar was a little stronger, I decided to take the plunge. I’m so glad I did. I’ll do a review of the various brushes I’ve acquired this year.

Winners

These are random acquisitions when I hit up the various Winners either on the way home from work or on the weekends. I probably buy something for every 4 times I visit a Winners store.

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You Cosmetics Beauty Blender Cleanser Rosewater – I’ve never tried a spot brush cleanser before, but ever since I started Project Pan, I’ve been sticking to the same few brushes since I’m wearing the same eye shadows day in, day out. But the idea of not cleaning those brushes gives me the heebie jeebies so I hope this brush cleanser will work well. I noted that it’s alcohol-free which is important to me since I mostly use natural bristle makeup brushes and I didn’t want the alcohol to dry out the bristles.

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Sukin Micellar Cleansing Water – I was so excited to find a whole display of Sukin skincare products but even more excited about finding the micellar waters again!
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I tried it earlier this year and it is so good that it challenged my longtime favourite micellar water from Yves Rocher – the Sukin made my favourites of early 2016 list. And I was shocked that they were only $5.99 each. I know that the bottle I got back in January cost $9.99. So of course, I grabbed 2 bottles. They have expiry date of March 2018.

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Holika Holika One Solution Anti-Wrinkle serum – I’m stocking up on serums in advance of the upcoming winter. This one looks like a good one for night time. It always surprises me to see well-known Korean brands at Winners now.

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La Roche Posay Effaclar K – remember how I was moaning about this being discontinued in Canada? Well, I found this at a Winners, just in time!  I went into a location that I don’t visit regularly and it was just sitting on the shelf, all by its lonesome. It’s fate, I tell you.

Shoppers Drug Mart

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Etival Ener-C Vitamin C Mist and Brightening Serum – I recently finished the Paula’s Choice RESIST C15 Super Booster which I love, but it’s a bit spendy with the current exchange rate (C$64 not including shipping) so I decided to give this home-grown brand a try (plus, I like trying new things). Etival is the private label skincare brand of Shoppers Drug Mart. I’ve been meaning to try something from them so I was pleased to get these during a 40% off sale (with the discount, the 2 items came to C$32).

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Bunch o’ Mascaras: (replacements – I go through mascaras quickly)
• L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Sculpt mascara – found this in a clearance bin for $3
• Essence I Extreme Volume mascara
• Essence Get Big! Lashes mascara
• Annabelle Expandable mascara – I like the idea of twisting this mascara wand for more / less drama. I am a sucker for gimmicky mascaras and this was on sale for $5

The day I got back from vacation, I retrieved my mail and came across this:
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I had just one day left to redeem it… 10% off makeup! Thoughts of hauling from Nars or Burberry danced across my jet lagged brain. But in the end, I opted to stay home and do copious amount of laundry instead of filling my life with more makeup. 😉

Guess what, my No-Buy is OVER! I’m now back in the black! 😀 I have $108.32 to spend in October… let’s see how long that lasts since I’m planning on visiting the newly opened Nordstrom store here in Toronto soon. 😛

To my fellow Canadians – I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! May your plates be full of Turkey, stuffing and… apple pie (you thought I was going to say pumpkin pie, didn’t you – I’m not that cruel). ❤

46 thoughts on “September 2016 Low-Buy Accountability”

    1. There are so many Winners / Marshalls locations near me, I just rotate which ones I visit. I do feel it’s being at the store at the right time though – if they just replenished the shelves, you can tell by the selection.

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  2. That is a brilliant roundup of items and I was telling Jodi on the other day about Sukin product launch in UK and I can’t wait to put my hands in it. The brush from sheishido looks so fab and the amazing mascaras too and I’ve tried butterfly mascara from Loreal before and it is one of the type where the bristles in the brush wand is absolutely designed uniquely

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    1. You’ll love Sukin! I love their misting toner and this micellar water. I hope to try more items soon too.
      The Shiseido brush is SO soft, I tell you! And it wasn’t even that expensive.
      I’ve tried the L’Oreal butterfly mascara before too and I agree, the shape is unique and it really does work.

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  3. Happy Thanksgiving! You’re making me want to hit up TK maxx now, the last time I went in they were totally rearranging the beauty section and I could see piles of NARS andy warhol but couldn’t get to it, I totally forgot to go in, maybe I should sneak in on my way home!
    Yay for finding LRP!
    I’ve heard good things about the essence mascaras, they’re on my list to try when I need to buy a mascara in the distant future!
    Funny that that beauty blender cleaner has a picture of a makeup brush on it.

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    1. I remember you had so much success at TKMaxx before – the caliber of brands they have! Good luck, I hope you score some gems… you deserve a treat after the week you had.
      Oh I meant to address the Beauty Blender cleaner thing – it’s not meant for cleaning sponges so I’m not sure why it’s named that. The instructions talk about spraying directly onto the brush head and swirling it around on a paper towel. I bought it for brushes so I had no issues. The name is misleading.

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      1. It is misleading, beauty blender can only really mean a sponge or some kind of beauty blending technique so the name doesn’t make sense for either!
        I was going to go tonight but the line of traffic to head in that direction was out of control, I may try and go at the weekend as I’m hoping to go to the cinema which is that way!

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  4. Apple pie! I love apple pie. I don’t like pumpkin anything so you ended the post perfectly for me haha.

    As for the spot brush cleaner, I hope you like it. I use the one from Sephora and really enjoy it, it works so well.

    I hope your Thanksgiving is amazing! xx

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    1. I can’t stand pumpkin pie (which I’m sure you guessed by what I said lol) but apple pie is my favourite!
      I just tried the spot brush cleaner this morning for the first time and it’s decent – the brushes don’t dry instantaneously but the cleanser did remove most of the pigment from the bristles. I’ll have to test it out more.
      Have a great Thanksgiving!!

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      1. Ha, you don’t hear that too often! But it’s also good to go in with lowered expectations anyways – then when you’re blown away (or is that your bank account is blown away?) it’ll be so much awesomer. 😉 Happy shopping!

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  11. I’ve been seeing Sukin products all over the blogmosphere lately and now I kept my eyes peeled on them too. I’ve spotted them a few times but never thought of getting one (stupid me) but now I have to make sure that I won’t let it pass when something comes along. Haha

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    1. Definitely give it a try. I wasn’t sure about it because I find sometimes natural products don’t work well. But their micellar water and spray toners are better than their non-natural counterparts. I’m so impressed – it’s a sure sign something is good when I repurchase them!

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  12. Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I need to pop in Winners again… Mine is very hit or miss, but when it’s a hit…I’ve managed to find some gems! and yay to being back in the black! I’m trying to resist makeup purchases for the rest of the month 😢

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    1. Ooh good luck to you on not buying makeup for October, it’s so tempting with all the holiday stuff coming out now. I’m going to have to be selective on what I get… Sephora VIB sale is coming up too, isn’t it?

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  13. Have you tried either of those Essence mascaras yet? I tried the I love Extreme a while back…and I hated it, it smudged, flaked and did everything a mascara should do. I’m currently testing the Lash Princess out and I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it.

    I’m kicking myself for not picking up one of those Sukin Micellar waters, my Winners had a ton of their stuff in a few weeks ago too. I’m trying really hard to finish things up before I buy something new though and I still have half a bottle of the Garnier Micellar Water left. What else do you recommend from their line?

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    1. I haven’t tried any Essence mascaras but I always read raves for them online and they’re less than $4 I figured I’d give them a whirl – I don’t have high expectations. That sucks the Extreme one was so sucky… I’ll report back on my thoughts on them once I try them!

      Besides the micellar water, I really like their spray toning mist. I haven’t had a chance to try their moisturizers yet but Jodi of A Brash Attitude has tried more Sukin products than me:
      https://abrashattitude.com/tag/sukin/
      She loves their foaming cleanser and the toning mist too!

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  14. My local Winners have nothing interesting these days! (thankfully)😉 My low-buy is going so great … It will be a FIRM $1200 budget in 2017 !😜 I want my stash to be 1/4 of what it actually is 💥

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    1. I’m still so torn about doing a low-buy for 2017. I feel like I’m going to miss out on stuff. Part of me thinks I should just toss out anything older than 5 years and start fresh. But that’s crazy talk, right?

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  15. Whoop, congrats on getting back in the black again, that’s fantastic news! Great haul this month, too.
    Ohhh gosh, that Shiseido blush brush looks downright amazing. Am looking forward to seeing your brush post!And how awesome that you were able to find the Effaclar K?!
    That L’Oreal Butterfly Sculpt is in the clearance bin already? Didn’t it come out just this year or maybe last year? It’s a great deal at $3 – L’Oreal mascaras tend to be pretty pricey, especially considering they’re drugstore products.

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    1. I’ve got at least 10 brushes that I got this year that I need to review – MAC, Shiseido, Charlotte Tilbury, and the Japanese ones… I just wish I could convey how lovely the Shiseido ones FEEL.
      Oh the L’Oreal Butterfly Sculpt is a pretty new item still! But there’s this Shoppers near me that is a small store and whenever they have the special feature displays – and they need to make room for new stuff – they put everything on clearance! 😛 I have to hit up this location regularly for deals. 😛

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  16. Well, you’re not getting anywhere to triumph over your no buy challenge wahahah I have never heard of ‘one solution’. The packaging looks very minimalist for a Korean brand. Hm.. will be interesting to hear of your verdict. I’ll be going to HK at the end of the month. I’ll haul this if you give it a thumbs up.

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    1. At first I couldn’t recognize that the One Solution serum as the Holika Holika brand. But then a lot of those Korean brands have various lines that cater to various age groups / skin concerns. I suspect this range is more for “mature” skin. 😛 I haven’t tried it yet and likely won’t be able to give you a verdict in such a short time! Have a look at the online reviews:
      https://www.google.ca/search?q=Holika+Holika+one+solution+anti-wrinkle+serum+review
      Generally, I think people say it’s a nice serum but don’t expect miracles! 😉

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