September 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

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. 😉

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Favourites Lately: Mid-2016

I started doing quarterly favourites this year since monthly favourites don’t work for me, as my favourites tend to remain fairly static month over month. But with the changing seasons, I do find a shift in my skincare and makeup, so I’m able to pick some some seasonal favourites to share. My mid-year favourites focus on items I used in the Spring and when I went on my trip to Japan.
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Here are my thoughts on each:

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Trash Stash: May & June 2016

Happy July 4th to my American friends! Hope you’re enjoying the extra day off. We Canadians just came out of a long weekend and are cursing you guys right now… 😆

Since I missed May’s Trash Stash, this is a combined empties post for both months. Hold onto your hats!
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I finished some long-time favourites and items that have been with me for years.

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What I’m Bringing to Japan (Travel Skincare)

While I tend to pack light for my makeup, I don’t skim when it comes to skincare when I travel.  I am fastidious in my skincare regime and I still maintain separate products for day and night time.
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This is why it’s important for me to hoard travel sizes of my favourite products when I find them! If not, I just decant them into travel size containers.

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It’s Summer Solstice, let’s talk about sunscreens

Happy Summer Solstice!  Aka the longest day of the year, aka official first day of summer.  And I want to remind everyone to wear their sunscreen today, and every day! 🙂
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If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll know what I’m an advocate of sunscreen.  No other anti-aging skincare is as effective as sunscreen.

There are 2 general categories of sunscreens: 1) chemical and 2) physical (or sometimes referred to as mineral).  I personally prefer physical sunscreen (combinations of titanium dioxide [TiO2] and zinc oxide [ZnO]), for a number of reasons:
• much more photostable than chemical sunscreens
• less likely to cause skin reactions
• combined, TiO2 and ZnO covers the entire spectrum of UVB and UVA rays (and you want to protect well against both: UVB causes sunburns but UVA causes aging)

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