winners

June and July 2017 No-Buy-Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy ~ 110 Comments

I hadn’t planned on being MIA last week but it was my final week at my old job and it was so busy!  I ended up having a lot of social engagements last week (goodbyes) – being out every night makes it difficult to blog!  Things likely won’t settle down until after Labour Day weekend…

This post is a combined June and July accountability (I know, I’m so late with this!)  June was a No-Buy month whereas July is a Low-Buy month.  My budget for July was originally $200 but since I slightly overspent back in April, I had to subtract off $1.70 from my budget, leaving me with $198.30 to play with.

I was able to stretch my budget by supplementing with gift cards – plus, I received some birthday presents! 😀

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April 2017 No-Buy-Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy ~ 76 Comments

This is my first Low-Buy month this year since starting the No-Low-Buy “program” for 2017. I managed to pick up quite a few things – I had some luck on my side with some great deals, plus an Optimum Points redemption event:

I had $200 in my budget, let’s see how I did…

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Hauluary 2017 – Makeup and Skincare

~ stashy ~ 119 Comments

When I look at it all together like this, I think I got a bit carried away with makeup hauling…
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But when you pick up a little bit here, a little bit there, it doesn’t seem like it’s that much! 😉  I wasn’t able to go on actual Boxing Day to shop but many of the deals are available for the whole month of January – basically when stores sell out of stuff is when the sales end! 😛

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September 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy ~ 46 Comments

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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China Glaze Let’s Jam

~ stashy ~ 53 Comments

I always take advantage of a short work week to wear something a little more “daring”, so last week I wore China Glaze Let’s Jam:
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I picked this up back in May – this is part of the Lite-Brites collection that I was so excited for, and I was so happy to have found this – along with a few others from the collection – at Winners. This is part of the reason why I went over my budget so much in May! 😛

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August 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy ~ 55 Comments

The first “real” month of my self-imposed No-Buy, due to my overspending back in May / June. In August, I did pick up a few bits from the drugstore, and Winners, where else?
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I’ve been surprisingly not too tempted by new launches even with all the Fall sneak peeks and clearance sales (no thanks to the ultimate Temptress, Ms. Ingrid! 😉 )

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Antipodes Skincare Reviews

~ stashy ~ 53 Comments

This week I’m focusing on skincare! 🙂 I’ve got 4 Antipodes skincare products to review first –  I’ve been using these for the past 6 weeks so I’ve formed solid opinions about them.
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L to R:
• Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum
• Apostle Skin-Brightening & Tone-Correcting Serum (this is a sample size)
• Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream
• Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream
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As you may recall, I scored the 3 full sized products at Winners back in January for C$16.99 each! It was the score of a lifetime, really. And the Apostle Serum was from a giveaway I won from Caryl Almelor! 🙂  Antipodes is an organic skincare brand from New Zealand with premium plant-based ingredients that are housed in elegant recyclable packaging.

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July 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

~ stashy ~ 46 Comments

July was supposed to be the start of my 3 month “No-Buy” since I had overspent in May / June. But wouldn’t you know it, my birthday happened to be in July and I rained birthday gifts down upon myself! 😀

It happened. And it was magnificent. 😀  I did also place an order from the Body Shop for some skincare because for once, I’m actually in need of some items!

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Winners Finds – May 2016

~ stashy ~ 49 Comments

I’m really back-logged with my posts as you can see, as this was meant to be posted before I left for vacation, but I didn’t have time to take photos. Ah well, better late than never! 😉

So I wasn’t really planning on doing much makeup shopping before my trip but I’ve been finding some AMAZING stuff at Winners! I just couldn’t NOT buy this stuff:
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Burberry! Armani! Nars! Paul & Joe! Nail polishes from the newest collections! I couldn’t even fit everything into the frame.  😀  I’ll start off with the craziest (aka the best!) things:

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Collab: $20 Makeup Challenge

~ stashy ~ 80 Comments

When my blogging pal MyStyleInsideOut (formally known as FilipinoInsideOut) tweeted if anyone was interested in doing a $20 drugstore makeup challenge, I jumped at the opportunity!  As you know, February is the first of my Low-Buy month for 2016.  My budget limit is $50 for the month.  We decided to hash out the details of this challenge:
• $20 before taxes (when she asked if the $20 challenge to be before or after taxes, I laughed and laughed and said it has to be before taxes – we pay 13% tax here [I am in Toronto, Canada] and there’d be no way I could manage $20 after taxes – as it is, it will still be quite a challenge.)
• Makeup items only – skincare and brushes not included
• Must be a full face of makeup

Here’s what I got:
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I’ve seen the $20 makeup challenge on various YouTube videos and blogs so I knew some strategies. My plan of attack was to find items that could be multi-purpose.

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