Darling Magpie

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Why am I doing an October No-Buy Challenge?

So I waffled several times about uploading an entire post about it, but anyone who follows me on Twitter or other social media platforms probably knows that I'm doing a little no-buy for makeup this October, but it's not exactly for the reasons you think.

For those who've been following me for awhile, I've done a few no-buys on my Househippo blog in the past, when I was trying to hit a new debt-repayment or savings goal, but this was a bit different. I mean, my money is a bit stretched. I just bought a condo, I'm rebuilding my savings from the downpayment, I NEED to replace my laptop and cellphone in the next 6 months and I'm getting LASIK surgery next spring.

But my expenses aren't even the problem.

The problem is excess. Over the last few months, I found myself using my blog as an excuse to buy and test products that I normally would skip out on. I saw myself falling into the habit of just BUYING products because I could, and using my blog as justification. But as you can see, it wasn't ever MAKING it to the blog, because I'm still only blogging once or twice a week, not anywhere near the rate I would be if I blogged all the things I was purchasing.

I told myself that I needed a new rule. I needed to spend some time going through what I already owned, before I allowed myself to bring things into my house. And additionally, I had to seriously think about what I actually use, before I start buy anything new.

I'm no stranger to no-buys, and I've been thinking about this awhile, I did the Project Pan in the spring which was pretty successful (although, if you noticed, I never followed up) and I also wrote about (half) of my NYX haul. Of which I also didn't follow up. In general, my habit seems to be hyping things up, and then underdelivering or completely forgetting to deliver at all. And I want to change that by changing my purchasing habits too.

I need to learn to love my collection, just like Ariel.

So now that I'm almost a week away from the end of the month, I figured if I WAS going to write something, now was the time. And the thing I've learned is that I have SO MUCH I want to blog about and share! Such as a vanity tour, a full inventory of my products, more eyeshadow swatches of some of my favourite palettes, and more selfies and pics of my daily looks. Usually I self-criticize and delete instead of posting, so that's something I definitely want to change. Really, it was good to have a month that was 'makeup free' to realize what I really miss sharing on the blog.

To sum it up, I've literally not spent a dime on anything beauty or personal-care related this month, and it WASN'T EVEN THAT HARD. I found mascaras in my dresser I hadn't even unboxed yet, skincare products that were unopened, lipsticks I'd tucked away and forgotten about, and purged some old nail polishes to find some real winners I forgot I owned. At this point, I have no worries about making it to the end of the month, makeup-spending free :)

Have you ever tried a no-buy for makeup before? How long did you last?

See this gallery in the original post