October 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy

This is the first month that I’m back in the black since my overspending back in June. I had $108.32 to spend. And boy, did I spend every single penny!
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It’s not much to look at but one of those items accounted for 80% of the total. And oh yea, I overspent. Again. Just a tiny bit. 😛

Here’s where my money went this month:

Nordstrom

• Trish McEvoy Petite Kabuki Brush
• Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer C$88
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Read about my haul here.  I’m not sorry I got these! 😛  I’ve tried the concealer a couple of times and it’s just terrific. Really terrific. Everyone says it’s terrific and IT’S GOING TO MAKE CONCEALING GREAT AGAIN. Ahh this election is getting to me. 😛

MAC

• Trip the Light Fantastic Powder in Highly Illogical
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I only bought this because I found a gift card from Hudson’s Bay in a pile of old mail / papers. I used to be terrible at keeping track of and spending gift cards. In this pile of mail, I came across a thank you note from an old colleague of mine. She was thanking me for hauling a bunch of clothes and shoes from a Hong Kong trip for her kids (I got her some awesome deals, I can haggle like you can’t believe) five years ago. So to thank me, she gave me a $50 gift card. 😀 So it went to a good cause:

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Space, the final frontier…

I saw this collection swatched on a few blogs (especially here, here and here) and every time, these Trip the Light Fantastic Powders were drawing me in… this particular shade is a bronzey plum colour that’s pretty unique to my collection. My sister, who is the real Trekkie, would be proud. 😉 (this was C$39.50 but not counted toward my accountability total since I used a gift card)

Drugstore

• CoverGirl Katy Kat Eye Mascara
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I bought this due to curiosity and a recommendation from Grieta of TO Beauty ‘n Beyond. But then I just read from Pretty Ruff Life (formerly known as ClassicMaggic!) that she hated the clumpy formula. I shall have to test it for myself!

Winners

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• Valcena Multi Active Régénérative Night Cream – I forgot to mention this last month actually. I went looking for this after reading a glowing review on it on fivezero’s blog. I found it at a newly opened Winners location, and then I proceeded to clear them out of their entire stock of this item. I’m keeping 1 jar and the rest are going to fivezero! 😉

• Valcena Roller Glacé Eye Contour Cream – this could possibly be a rollerball eye cream. I have a thing for rollerball eye products. I love how all of the Valcena products are shrink wrapped and display the expiry dates too. Both the night cream and this expire in 2019!

Bourjois Glamour Chic and Glamour Fantasy eau de parfum
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These were $15 each and I was curious about them since I’d bought another Bourjois perfume before (Soir de Paris) and I found the quality to be surprisingly good. Out of these 2, I prefer the Chic one better – it’s a powdery smell that’s vanilla-y and warm. Glamour Fantasy has notes of sour cherry, raspberry and patchouli – what was I thinking? I kind of wished I’d picked up the “Lovely” version which is primarily a rose scent. The bottles are so cute.

Nail Polish

As soon as October 1st rolled around, I had my makeup budget burning a hole in my pocket, I ran out to my favourite nail polish supply place to scoop up some of the Essie Fall Tokyo collection (plus a couple of others):
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• Playing Koi (this was my #1 pick from the collection!)
• Now and Zen (I’m kind of thinking this might be a cousin of Maximillian-Strasse-Her?)
• Go Go Geisha (yes, another grey… I can’t seem to get enough)
• Udon Know Me (I got this for the name!)
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• Aim to Misbehave (this shade is so ugly, it’s pretty – it’s also Essie’s 1000th shade so I had to get it from the clearance bin)
• Passport to Happiness (Bridal 2016 collection – found this in the clearance bin – fivezero reviewed this here)

Somehow my bill for the 6 polishes rang up to only $23.94 which means I got these for $3.99 each! 😀

And the grand total for makeup purchases in October is… $111.91. I went over by $3.62. 😛  That Clé de Peau Concealer really did me in.  For November, I had allocated $200 to accommodate the Sephora VIB sale, and now deducting the overspending I have $196.38 to spend. As this post is going up, I’m already knee deep in my Sephora VIB shopping… 😆 I’m going to call it now: November Accountability will be a gong show.  I mean, I haven’t even factored in Black Friday!!! 😮

How has your spending been lately? Are you looking forward to Black Friday?

49 thoughts on “October 2016 Low-Buy Accountability”

  1. My mum and I went to the Trish McEvoy counter in Liberty’s a couple of weekends ago and I was seriously impressed with the quality! It suited her skin so well and everything looked natural yet still like you’d made some effort! I’m intrigued to see what you think of the brush then! xxx

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    1. I own quite a few Trish McEvoy brushes and they’re some of my favourites! I haven’t used this one yet but I’m sure I’ll love it just as much…
      It’s definitely an underrated brand.

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  2. see that yellow …….
    i see a small pattern happening –
    Those Valencia creams looks great
    and THE TRISH ………
    yeah – looks like buttery goodness smooth
    maybe i go to winners soon –
    you got the winners eye ….. seriously xo
    ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

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    1. I like it a lot. No regrets! 🙂 I’ll post a review soon… ish. I’m so backlogged.
      If you’re curious, check out the reviews on Temptalia and Beauty Look Book – that’s how I made the decision to buy it. 🙂

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  5. I’ve wanted to get that Essie yellow anniversary one – but I didn’t see it anywhere here!
    Yet another Bourjois product we can’t get here, definitely haven’t seen those perfumes, they remind me of the Anna Sui bottles for some reason!
    That MAC powder is beautiful, I almost got something from the collection as it actually looked more interesting than most of their recent ones!

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    1. I was tempted to grab that Essie anniversary at full price but I knew a shade like that wouldn’t sell out. I was right – the sale bin at the beauty supply place had a ton of them.
      So ODD that the Bourjois offering is limited in the UK, I would have never guessed!
      I’m wearing the powder today as blush, it gives a lovely bronzy plum glowy look. It’s very easy to use too.

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  7. My spending? My wallet is bleeding out 😂

    That Katty Perry mascara sounds intriguing. It is very difficult for me when bloggers that I follow have polarised option. Though, I do prefer love/hate than luke warm reviews.

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    1. But you don’t understand. I used to buy something EVERY SINGLE DAY. Like, if you looked at my credit card statement at the end of the month, it would list a purchase daily. 😆 This is a vast improvement for me. Although, the holidays are creeping up and I get such an itch to shop…

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    1. *almost*
      I am one of those people if you give me $10 to spend, I will spend every cent. That’s why we set up automatic withdrawals for savings contribution LOL. So happy my SO is an accountant. 😛

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  9. Oooh, such a great haul! Hahaha your line about the Cle de Peau concealer making concealing great again…’Murica would be proud. I have not at all been interested in any of the MAC releases as of late, but that powder is on point!

    The Essie polishes are such a steal at that price. The cheapest I’ve seen them is $5.99 at Winners, where the selection is meh.

    Such cute packaging on the Bourjois perfumes. I haven’t noticed these here yet!

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    1. ‘Murica needs that Cle de Peau concealer. They would all look lovely and that will solve everything.
      I haven’t been interested in MAC LE collections for a while, but every so often one or two pieces will look interesting. Gone are the days when I’d snatch up a bunch of products just for the packaging. Silly me!
      That beauty supply store has a buy 4 get 2 free offer on Essies so I think that’s how I got those polishes for so cheap. They also seemed to have dropped their prices on regular Essies. I still haven’t worked out the math but that’s what the receipt for the total purchase read.

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  10. Yeah you know I went bonkers at Ulta recently. And the Sephora VIB sale is coming up but I’m only going to get a few things in that (from brands I can’t get at Ulta).

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      1. Oh yeah I agree Ulta’s rewards program is WAY better. 100 points = $3 off anything you want (including high end). If your Platnium you get 1.25 points per dollar spent. Plus they have things like double points during your birthday month and up to 5x points on certain brands sometimes (they recently had 5x points on Smashbox and another deal for 300 bonus point with any purchase). I had over $50 in points to redeem so that too some pressure off my wallet.

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          1. I don’t shop at Sephora as much as I used to. Ulta won my loyalty. At my local store earlier this week my fave employee there (who follows my blog) saw me come in & he tracked me down in the back to say hello & tell me about a bonus rewards points offer (which I already knew about & had activated).

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  11. The Star Trek/MAC product looks so pretty and the packaging is neat too!
    I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the Katy Kat mascara, I saw that mascara and the lip products advertised on TV the other day.
    Those Bourjois perfumes are adorable! I think I’d prefer the scent of the chic one too, I have a thing for vanilla scents and perfumes 🙂

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    1. I’m looking forward to using the Katy Kat mascara – I typically do enjoy CoverGirl mascaras so I hope this one is in line with the rest.
      I couldn’t pass up those cute Bourjois perfumes – I did actually go back to see if they still had the rose version but they were all gone. Too bad!

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      1. I should put a CoverGirl mascara on my list of things to try? Do they make both washable and waterproof? If so, are there noticeable differences?
        It would have been nice if you could complete the perfume set! Out of curiosity, what colour was that bottle?

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        1. Yes, CoverGirl offers waterproof version on all their formulas! I find the washable ones to be a bit water-resistant. Like, if I tear up from allergies, the mascara won’t just melt off. But, it washes off easily with regular face wash – no special makeup remover required. Whereas the waterproof version, you really do need one of those dual phase makeup removers to get them off. I find waterproof mascaras in general too harsh for my eyes.
          The Bourjois Glamour Lovely perfume is in a light pink bottle:

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    1. Nah, don’t sweat it. Everyone is individual so what may work for you may not for me. Ingrid raved about the Becca Ombre Rouge palette and I bought it… and ended up HATING that palette! In fact, I’m going to give it away to one of my friends soon. Read about that review here:

      Becca Ombre Rouge Eye Palette


      She felt so bad but I would have bought the palette anyway – I had seen so many positive reviews on it! 😛

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  13. Lol. I’d be terrible at giving myself budgets. But I think what I might do in the New Year is give myself item limits per month. Like two new things a month. Skincare wouldn’t count. And YSL collector palettes wouldn’t either lol. Not sorry. 😝

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    1. I’m still unsure whether my budget is helpful or a hindrance. Because every month I see it as a challenge to use up ever last penny of my budget. It’s kind of like being on a diet… versus “mindful eating” and learning to trust oneself. 😛 I make so many exceptions, sometimes I think calling this a “low-buy” is a misnomer! 😉

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    1. Now that I’ve used the concealer for a few weeks, I’d say the concealer is great… but way over priced for what it is! I’ll do a detailed review of it and provide some alternatives too. 😛

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