no buy

Lemmings #1

~ stashy ~ 77 Comments

This is the first time I’m posting a wish list type of entry, but I’ve chosen to title it “Lemmings” instead. The reason for this is because most, if not all, of my wish list items have been brought to my attention due to other people’s posts about them. The meaning of “Lemmings” is from a 90’s video game whereby the little creatures would all fall off a cliff if not guided properly – they simply follow the leader.  Essentially, a lemming is when other people buy something, and you have to go buy it too…
2009-05-23-Lemmings
Similar to when your mother used to say, “If everyone jumps off the London bridge, would you jump off too?” In the makeup world, the answer is YES.

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July beauty favourites and 200 Days of No-Buy

~ stashy ~ 57 Comments

I’ve never done a monthly favourites because I fear that my picks will become too repetitive month after month, since my favourites don’t change drastically.  Maybe it won’t be a monthly affair but let’s see how it goes. Before I get to my July favourites, I just want to acknowledge that today is my 200 day of No-Buy (aside from my birthday purchases, which is completely pardoned in No-Buy-land) – yay:
nobuyachievement200days
Onto the July favourites:
favourites201507_2

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150 Day No-Buy and YDSMBSM

~ stashy ~ 46 Comments

Weird title for a post, huh.

Firstly: yay, it’s Day 150 of my No-Buy!  Only 186 more days to go… (for those of you who don’t know, I’m on a yearlong No-Buy, but I had to restart it in Jan because I broke my No-Buy with a Target haul.  My No-Buy ends on Dec 31st.)
nobuyachievement150days
Now, what does YDSMBSM mean?  It stands for:
You Don’t Save Money By Spending Money.

It’s something my frugal bf says to me in response to when I try to justify my latest purchase, “I got such a good deal on it, it was 50% off!”  To which he’d say, “You Don’t Save Money By Spending Money.  You still spent money to save that 50%.   If you didn’t buy it at all, then you would have saved 100%.”  Party pooper.  But he did have a point. 😛

Here’s a bunch of crap deals that I bought last year because I found them in the clearance section:
YDSMBSM2
What did I need an orange eye shadow for?  And a hot pink lipstick? I’ve NEVER EVER even worn that lipstick!

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I did it: MAC 137 Long Blending Brush

~ stashy ~ 22 Comments

I bought it.  Yup.  What happened?  Let me tell you the tale.

On a fateful Thursday, I received an email from Hudson’s Bay VIP Rewards to let me know that my points balance was 9,494 (for non-Canadians, Hudson’s Bay is like Macy’s).  This means I actually have enough to redeem for a $40 gift card (2,000 pts = $10).  Then I scroll down and I see an offer:
MAC137brush2
That’s like getting $10 back for spending $50 – that’s 20% off – pretty good.  But only on cosmetics and fragrances – hrm.  Never mind.

Famous last words. Keep reading to find out what happened.

100 Day No-Buy

~ stashy ~ 58 Comments

Today is my official 100 days of my No-Buy! *throws confetti*
My No-Buy primarily focused on not buying makeup / skincare as per my rules (no net new items unless it’s to replenish a finished product).  To a lesser extent, I also committed to not make any unnecessary clothing purchases.  I won’t lie, it’s been difficult, especially in the early days of clearance sales and Target Canada closing (hence me breaking my No-Buy in January and having to restart 😳 ).  To mark this milestone, I’ve giving myself a badge:
nobuyachievement100days
I shared my progress report at 28 days and I plan to do milestone achievement posts to keep myself accountable.  Now that I have my 100 day No-Buy badge, if you’re contemplating on doing a No Buy or a Low Buy, I thought I’d share some tips. 😉

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NEW Tag: The No Buy / Lo Buy Tag!

~ stashy ~ 19 Comments

NoBuyLoBuytag
The idea to create this Tag came out of a discussion with StyledWithJoy in the comments section of one of my posts a couple of weeks ago.  We’re both on a No Buy for 2015, and we decided we needed a place to commiserate.  If you’re on a No Buy or a Lo Buy, please join us in answering these co-authored tag questions – it’s cathartic!

1. When did you start your No Buy / Lo Buy? How long is your No Buy / Lo Buy going to last?
2. Why did you decide to go on a No Buy / Lo Buy?
3. Have you ever attempted a No Buy / Lo Buy before? If so, how did it go?
4. What do you hope to achieve with your No Buy / Lo Buy?
5. What product(s) have you hit pan on since starting the Makeup No Buy?
6. Do you have more empties because of it? What product do you miss the most?
7. Do you think you can survive the ban from makeup?
8. What is the one product you envy right now but can’t get? For eyes? For lips? And for face?
9. Have you cheated and bought something already?
10. After your No Buy / Lo Buy, are you planning a big haul? What are you going to buy?

Keep reading for my anaswers

No-Buy 2015: My true 28 Days

~ stashy ~ 6 Comments

Since restarting on January 19th with my No-Buy 2015, today is my real 28 days of no shopping.  It has been good for the most part. It was initially difficult to resist all the typical clearance sales in January. I used to spend my lunch hour browsing through shops, so I had to change how I spend my free time (mostly a lot of window shopping now). Weekends were the most difficult. I typically check the drugstore flyers on Saturday mornings and then hit up a few stores for deals.  And I would go to Winners (Canadian version of TJMaxx) or Marshalls at least once a week to see what new things they got in.  I still go to Winners to check out what they have about once a week (it’s on my way home from work) but luckily for me, January and February have been a dry spell there in terms of cosmetics stock.  I’m pretty shocked that I’ve bought absolutely nothing from Winners in 2015.

I did purchase a few items of significance during this time:

1) This Quo Mineral eye shadow palette in Downtown Brown, but for my sister!

I posted this on my Instagram – follow me @stashmatters

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28 Days

~ stashy ~ 10 Comments

Conventional addiction recovery models suggest that in order to break a habit, one has to give it 28 days (some literature even say 21 day – whoa there buckaroo!) Well today is day 28 of my planned No-Buy 2015.  So how have I fared? I think I did amazingly!

Bwahahaha!  Have you seen my Target entry?
fail
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Dammit, Target!

~ stashy ~ 21 Comments

Look at what you did!
target1
I was minding my own No-Buy 2015 business and you had to go and announce the closure of all 133 of your Canadian stores. Nothing triggers my hoarding drive than when companies either discontinue products or when they leave (see Illamasqua, Jacob, 2014).
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Why No-Buy 2015

~ stashy ~ 13 Comments

In 2014 I went on a bit of a makeup buying binge especially toward the end of the year.  I keep a detailed multi-tabbed Excel spreadsheet that tracks my beauty stash, including date of acquisition (I’ll devote a blog post explaining my spreadsheet in the future, I promise).  From the spreadsheet, I was able to determine that in 2014, I acquired:

  • 22 blushes
  • 56 eye shadows (I count individual shades in palettes, so a quad = 4 eye shadows)
  • 112 nail polishes – I blame Illamasqua for this.  The counter inside The Bay was closing shop and the brand was leaving North America so I had to not only stock up on my favourites, but also take advantage of the 25-50% clearance sale!   I own a total of 46 Illamasqua nail polishes, and 39 of them were acquired in 2014…
Illamasqua
Sample of an Illamasqua haul from 2014

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