No Buying Toiletries in April Challenge!

Bronnie
Bronnie Posts: 4,165
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edited 6 April 2010 at 7:44PM in Health & beauty MoneySaving
This fab challenge was set up in January 2010 by katie clampett

Here's her original challenge post:

"No buying any new toiletries, cosmetics, pefume etc... until I have used up ALL the ones I already have. I got a huge amount of (really nice) stuff for christmas but I am going to resist the urge to browse Boots, Asda, Superdrug etc, and pop another tub of cream, face scrub, shampoo or conditioner into my basket. I reckon the stuff I have will last me until possibly June. I have decided that the money I save I will put into my special holiday account.

Anyone else?"


Lots of us have taken part in the challenge over the past few months and are making great progress reducing our stashes and unnecessary/excessive spending.

Come and join us for the month of April. The more the merrier!!

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Comments

  • Bronnie
    Bronnie Posts: 4,165
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    edited 1 April 2010 at 11:29AM
    Welcome to all the newbies to the Challenge:j
    Regulars ignore this, but I thought a quick resume might be helpful for newbies;

    Why not add the challenge to your sig as a reminder?

    How about taking a bit of time to do a stock-take and see if there are any gaps in your stash that you might need to spend on this month? Some of us set a budget for the month for essential purchases or to help with withdrawal symptoms, others like to go cold-turkey!!

    Remember the challenge is about making the most of your money, enjoying your products, finding which products really suit you best and are worth buying, giving yourself a well-deserved pampering and breaking the habit of buying for the sake of buying. In money-saving tradition, it should also be about making your products l-a-s-t as long as possible ( although the temptation of using an unloved shower gel extravagently to finish it off is sometimes too much to bear!)
    • Brand new products ( or opened perfume) sell well on ebay
    • Unsuitable products can be used for other jobs (shower gel/ shampoo as handwash etc)
    • Some items can be returned to certain stores for exchange (for essential items or gifts!!) without a receipt
    • Unwanted items can be recycled as gifts or for gift hampers (saving the money you'd have spent on gifts)
    • Unsuitable items can be donated to charity as mentioned earlier.
    It helps to avoid the places where temptation lurks for you; be it QVC, Boots, Bodyshop, the supermarket toiletries aisles, grabbit board, online toiletries browsing, seductive department store beauty counter offers etc. Remember retailers are making offers and promotions all the time, so there'll always be another deal!

    Good luck all for April and remember to keep popping in for inspiration and support.
  • debidoodle
    debidoodle Posts: 1,152 Forumite
    edited 31 March 2010 at 10:17PM
    Evening ladies

    Thankyou Bronnie

    Welcome all the newbies :D

    Well done on the walking SA :)

    Have used up the following

    Tube of Balm Balm WIBA I don't think so as it was very greasy when you first applied it.

    S & G body butter WIBA yes it was lovely and moisturising.

    S & G heel genius WIBA yes smelt lovely & moisturising.

    I am now going to finish a half opened tube of Burt's Bees coconut foot cream.

    Hubby is using up all the tablets of soap that I have accumulated, only another 10 to go :p

    We will need some mouthwash in the next week or so so will pick some up at the local supermarket, I will not go to Boots and therefore there will be no temptation.

    As a little treat I opened my last bottle of Balance me shower gel which I am using sparingly on a shower scrubby.

    off to bed now, am freezing & tired it is like winter again.

    Bronnie totally agree regarding Ebay, have just withdrawn another £200.00 from my account, also I have made up birthday presents for friends & family from my stash.
  • trudij
    trudij Posts: 1,905
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    Its almost April - so HI newbies, GOOD LUCK everyone, and....

    I will be throwing away the dregs of a night cream when I go up to bed in about 3/4 of an hour or so (so it will be April by then!) - so theres my first throw !!!

    Cant remember the details,think it was a garnier one, but I wouldnt buy it again,not cos it was bad particually, but because Im completely converted to Benefit stuff !!! Ive had my face wash and moisturiser almost a month now and hardly made a dent into it !!!
    Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup
  • InaPickle
    InaPickle Posts: 5,968
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    *Shuffles in embarassedly carrying a post from the old thread which she just dumped into what she thought was the the new thread, only to be nudged along here by Bronnie*

    *Dumps post and exhales loudly (well, it's getting very heavy now, and there has been a lot of lugging from pillar to post)*

    Hi ladies, I have a toiletries-related question and you may just be the ones to anwer it for me...

    I've been using Sunsilk shampoo and conditioner (mainly the blonde one and sometimes the purple one) for a fair while, but a month or two ago my hair went into a fairly horrible state, turning into a 'rat's nest' at the top with hair breaking near the root. I've never had that before, and summised that the bad weather we were having meant that the shampoo/conditioner I was using weren't suitable for the bad weather conditions. I then converted to Tresemme Deep Cleanse vitamin C shampoo (the one with the dark green stripe), which has been fabulous for the washing, and I have continued using up the conditioner as a) it didn't seem to pose much of a problem after changing the shampoo; b) I don't know what to use instead as it has been so long since I used a different one (and the Tresemme one hates my hair).

    So here is the crux of my problem. I need to find a new conditoner as the other one doesn't aggrivate the problem at the roots, but isn't quite perfect, either. In case you need to know I have mousy brown hair which is quite thick, not oily or dry etc, and normally in very good condition. When I was a teenager I used to get an oily slick down part of the left hand side, but I don't any more (I don't think it would return due to an overly-oily product, but who knows?). I know it's a bit of a random question as everyone's hair is different, but I'm just hoping that someone out there reckons that my hair sounds about the same type as their own so I can get a good recommendation without having to buy ten bottle of rubbish conditioner before getting a good one.

    FYI Herbal Essences is horribly in my hair, as if Tresemme conditioner (but the shampoo is great). I can't use Paul Mitchell any more as it not leaves my hair unmanageably soft.

    Any recommendations, please? x
    Please call me 'Pickle'
    No More Buying Books: ???
    No More Buying DVDs: ???
    NMB Toiletries ??? and I've gone back for my Masters at the University of Use Ups!
    P
    roud to be dealing with her debts 1198~

  • Bronnie
    Bronnie Posts: 4,165
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    Yay, Pickle!!!!!:T
  • mum2one
    mum2one Posts: 16,279
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    I've got to join this month...... plucks up courage!!!

    I had a wack of toilettries for xmas, highly addicted to Boots xmas lines, and Body Shop,

    Its that bad, that my stock of supplies - is about 3ft high by 3ft, (boxed and bagged), think there was 20 shower gels.

    Over the weekend will count what I've got, but before that take a pic of the junk corner, so will shame me into tidying up and counting + not buying.

    I WILL NOT GET DISTRACTED BY BODY SHOP EMAILS.....
    XX
    xx rip dad... we had our ups and downs but we’re always be family xx
  • InaPickle
    InaPickle Posts: 5,968
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    Bronnie wrote: »
    Yay, Pickle!!!!!:T
    It's only taken three threads and three attempts! *Insert rolly-eyed smiley here*
    Please call me 'Pickle'
    No More Buying Books: ???
    No More Buying DVDs: ???
    NMB Toiletries ??? and I've gone back for my Masters at the University of Use Ups!
    P
    roud to be dealing with her debts 1198~

  • Kaz2904
    Kaz2904 Posts: 5,797
    Combo Breaker First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
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    Ooh, nice shiny new thread. Lovely jubbly! Nothing used up yet this month but there will be by tonight :D
    Debt: 16/04/2007:TOTAL DEBT [strike]£92727.75[/strike] £49395.47:eek: :eek: :eek: £43332.28 repaid 100.77% of £43000 target.
    MFiT T2: Debt [STRIKE]£52856.59[/STRIKE] £6316.14 £46540.45 repaid 101.17% of £46000 target.
    2013 Target: completely clear my [STRIKE]£6316.14[/STRIKE] £0 mortgage debt. £6316.14 100% repaid.
  • lostinrates
    lostinrates Posts: 55,283
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    Pickle have you done the stretch test on your hair to see whether you need moisture or protein from your conditioner?

    I learned it from one of the lovely people here, and its almost eradicated bad hair days....

    after take hair from the head , wet it, an gently stretch, then release...

    if it doesn't shrink back you need protein, if i snaps you nee moisture...
  • mrs-moneypenny
    mrs-moneypenny Posts: 15,519 Forumite
    edited 1 April 2010 at 8:56AM
    morning all

    ohh a shiny new thread to play with:). hope everyone has a good month with lots of pampering and minimal spends

    i will start on a good note and say i have used up
    a bottle of SJP Lovely perfume WIBA yes but i dont need to youngest DD brought me one for others day:T
    also used up a tub of naturals body lotion, it was really nice sort of a soft cafe au lait colour,that smelt slightly of cinnamon, my skin feels so much nicer since ive joined this thread. I'm treating myself next and have taken a 3/4 used tub of sanctuary mande lular out of my stash to use next.

    re the perfume i've only got 2 bottles of 'cheap' perfume left in my stash so im going to try and use those up next (obviously will use the good ones from my stash if im going out or special occasions)

    I think my stash just built up because i was basically being lazy, i was winning some wonderful pampering products and buying a few at carboots and when on really special offers but not actually getting round to using them, spotting this thread while making an effort to declutter was a real wake up call for me, after all what is the point in having something if you arent using it. So now im slowly working through my stash, really enjoying finding which products i like and actually pampering myself as well as decluttering. Now what will i do with all that empty cupboard space in about 3 years time when its cleared. The only trouble is now im reading your recomendations there are things i WANT to buy that i would never have thought of trying before LOL
    SPC~12 ot 124

    In a world that has decided that it's going to lose its mind, be more kind my friend, try to Be More Kind
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