No Buying Toiletries in March Challenge

Alton_Towers

I have been to the hairdressers today and they are now doing the Morrocanoil products! So I got a small 25ml bottle to try so an in. Then I went to the shop where you have to WAIT to get a ROSE to pick up some bits and decided to check out the essentials shampoo and conditioner as it was recommended somewhere and I also picked up an essentials showergel in Plum and Mimosa and also the handwash in the same flavour - smells gorgeous!

Went to Mr B's and used my £5.00 voucher of the No7 age defence cleanser.

So 6 ins......I am doing rubbish this month! LOL

Kaz2904

No ins or outs for me today. Been in bed all day and just had steak and chips for breakfast. Watching Night and Day and then going to have a bath before w*rk. Not to bad a night last night, I managed to get a break which was good but lots of people coming in and getting nasty vomiting viruses within hours of admission. Poor things, I hope I don't get it though!

mineallmine

lynseydee wrote: »

Two uu, a toner and at long last my body lotion. Now have 4 and 35 left respectively.

Really will have to stop buying or be tempted to buy anything for the next few months as looking to put the house on the market hopefully next week so obviously need to minimise what I'm moving.

Hi ld - could you sell some of the body lotions on ebay? Or gift them? Sending you hugs for the house sale. And a lovely excuse to have lots of extra pampering sessions to help use up stuff

mineallmine

celebrate wrote: »

ok here goes

hi guys i am a newbie! It has been suggested to me on various threads (esp lloyds pharmacy sale that I fess up and get help)

I have always knwon about MSE but never really looked properly at the forums until january when i wanted to double check dates for the boots sale. Since then I have been addicted to the site and to shopping.

I have to say I had a bit of a problem before , as I have a good job (am comfortable) I don't really have to watch too much what I spend but have always been tight and never really part with my money unless soemthing is at least 75% off.

Since joining the forums I have become aware of sales I previosuly would have never known about or not taken an interest in.

Looking at the posts other people have posted made me giggle and quite embarrassed, if I were to list my stash of stuff it would be several pages (if not more) long.

Places I have gone crazy and bought more than I need (list is from top of my head, i daren't look in the cupboards as it will all fall down onto my head):

1. Boots sale couple hundred pounds spent, and more recent temptations-loads of no 7 sets, gift sets, frontcover sets, gok sets, loads jewellry, recent JF offer bought 4 and lee stafford hair products offer bought 2(NEVER would have bought these before), minis 5for 4 and 3for2 bought 15, dove deos and shampoos/shpwer gels

2. Claires accessories spent over £140 in the 10 for £10 ( sorry i know no toiletries)

3. lloyds pharmacy sale -4 orders online 2 for over £100, another 2 for £60 each, did another two around £60 thank God one cancelled by lloyds as not in stock, other i cancelled last minute just after placing order as i felt i was overdoing it and soooo guilty. Spent over £100 in lloyds while visiting rels in manchester, today been to a lloyds about 20miles away and bought another £100 worth of fragrances

4. Tesco sale-duvets, asda toy sale clearance-have stacks of mini robots at 75p

5. A local store in my town sells cut price make up bought tons lip glosses and other make up when i pass

Although i have a big family and loads of poor rels abroad who i love sending gifts for I still feel I have a problem, it makes me feels good to get bargains, if i don't take everything that was there i can't rest and feel v agitated unless i go back and clear the shelves, generally most shops i will go backa few times. its kind of like a fix, i know i'm describing an addiction.

It is totally ruining my life, my sister has nicked half my stash of perfumes and didn't seem that grateful. I am spending less and less time with my family, am irritable with the OH if he bothers me while I am engrossed on the comp. I have exams to revise for and updates for my job i am just not keeping up with.

Not really sure what to do. I know I couldn't hack going cold turkey.
Any advice appreciated:) Sorry I know this is a no buying toiletries not a no shopping general thread (but i have spent hundreds on toiletries recently hope i qualify!!)

Welcome to the thread - you're in safe hands and a friendly place now :A

Many of us have got here in similar ways - just watching our spending get out of control. But things will improve - and today things have already improved as you now know this is a problem.

I gathered as much of my stash together in one place in boxes/strong bags. See what you've got. See what you could sell or gift (as pressies). Then concentrate on what you need to use up first.:)

And the good news is - that this is where the pampering begins. Now a few months ago someone posted how many products they could use in a session. So go for it. You will get things under control and you will realise that Boots 3 for 2, Body Shop sales, Debenhams offers and so on - run pretty much throughout the year.

The only exception to that advice is if you have a Holy Grail product - and stocks are running low - then you buy things at the best MSE time.

Tracey2609

Hi All,

I have 3 INs to report - but they were won in a charity raffle... (so is that just one foot on the naughty step?)

Trevor Sorbie Straightening Addict Shampoo, Conditioner and Blow Dry Spray. Not bad for 3 strips of raffle tickets at a pound a strip for a good cause and making them £1 each...

I started the year off with 224 items in my stash and I'm now down to 207!

mineallmine

Here's my "No need to buy list" - things I just have too much of! Stuff I am trying to use up are underlined.

No need to buy:
Bronzer/blush - Elf kit, Clarins, Laura Geller blush, MUA pink blush; BareEssentials (HG Laura Geller)
Moisturiser (rich) - Nivea; Clinique x2; Clarins-multi/SPF; Clinique moisture surge (HG Clarins)
Face masks - Clarins; Mudd; Jeunessex4 (HG Dermologica)
Shower/scrub - Radox, S&G, Nivea. S&G scrub (damn you S&G use up, use up!)
Body butter - Avon rich moisturisers (HUGE pot); Clarins scented (HG Champneys)
Hand cream - S&G, Nivea, Aveeno (sorry S&G not impressed with hand food)

As I get my stash under control they move to the Holy Grail category
Clarins Extra Comfort Cleanser * L'Oreal gentle eye make up remover * Dermologica Daily microexfoliant * Body Shop seaweed SPF * Liz Earle eye serum * Clinique spot clearing gel * Rimmel volume flash mascara * Collection 2000 Mineral powder foundation (discontinued..sniff) *

celebrate

thanks to all for your supportive comments and advice

i have known about this thread for a couple of weeks thanks to
julie bunny but was too embarrassed to admit my problem.

The reason I avoided is that I am not sure if you guys would believe HOW BAD i actually am, I mean by your standards I think I would have to spend my whole life on the naughty step. I mean if iliterally list everyhting i have in my cupboards this thread would be a few hundreds of pages long:rotfl:NOT KIDDING!!!

Previously my buying has been managebale and all items i have bought have been used and not wasted, problem is my mum and sister always know where to come when in need of a cheap pressie (sis always pays up cost price, mum never does!)and never realise the hassle i go through for getting thebits in the first place.

I have previously lived quite a sheltered life compared to some, I never do anything to my skin (a bit of the standard cheapest olay now and again!) no fancy foot creams, don't do manicures/ pedicures, do have a few hair products but not to xs and most are in use. I don't buy magazines fullstop even if their is a free product. I had never even HEARD OF SANCTUARY OR S&G before MSE!!:eek:

I have some great bargains for sure....the claires stuff-fur boots and handbags that were originally in xs of £25 were thrown in to the 10 for £10 promotion because we bought so much (tempting us to buy EVEN more......!)

As well as spending about £400 online at lloyds, i visited a few lloyds in manchester while visiting family and probably spent about £100 on fragrances and bought loads deos and shower gels. Yesterday after someone mentioned on the lloyds thread that they had been to a local lloyds and found some fragrances still in stock spurred me to travel to a couple about 1/2 hr from me... you know the rest of that story.

.........but worse is to come..................:eek:

since introducing myself to you guys yesterday I still couldn't control the urge to visit a couple more lloyds about 20mins (but in ooposite directions ) to where i live, haven't counted but i guess on this board we fess up to everything we have bought yes??

TODAY all for 3 for 1 promotion
FRAGRANCES:
playboy spicey *3
storm *3
morgan psychedelic*2
ck obession night *2
burberry brit*4
britney circus*2
porshe design *6
moschino couture*4
suzanne shaw *2
halle berry*2
beckham story *1
kylie couture*3
burberry london*1
scarlett*2
miss sixty*1
kylie couture gift sets *2

multivitamin packs*8 ( for my parents)
olay*3
kotex sani pads*10 (for my sis i don't have periods i have a mirena coil in!)
hair bobbles*2
rimmel foundation *3 (was a bargain at 1.32)


so why did i do it if i knew i had to tell everyone here?

1. you guys are virtual and although your opinion counts probably don't know you all well enough yet for your disapporval to be a deterrant

2. mys sis took off with half my stash yesterday, paid cost price, although i felt good about letting her have bits (she is not well off and totally non savvy with sale shooping) i still felt i had to recoup my stash as if it were lacking now

3. I feel as if i have a "catch" bit like the hunter gatherer who sits and admires what he has caught

4. I LURRRRRVE FRAGRANCES!! I went to dubai and gave away all but one of my 12 odd fragrances that i bought and was so devastated after i gave them away, just kept an eternity and givenchy irrestible for myself (a year ago and still going strong) never really allowed myself to indulge in fragrances even though i can afford it.

I now feel so moody and angry and guilty for racing around today I am like a bear witha sore head with my kids and OH. I can't get this nagging thought out of the back of my mind about one other looyds whom i rang and they said they have kate moss in stock (love her perfume)

One thing I will try is to try keeping busier, since I reduced my hours I have had more afternoon to spend wandering around town wasting time. i have taken on a few extra shifts and hopefully I will be too busy to go shopping. Distraction has been a good remedy in the past.

If anyone ever saw how much stuff I had I would die of embarrassment which is why I could never have a sale at work like one of you guys suggested-I do hold a certain position at work and when you employ staff you don't want them to see your weaknesses. If my husband saw what/how much I have bought he would kill me.

Pls don't think i have listed all the fragrances to show off, merley to reflect how silly i am and how many i have got WHICH I DON'T NEED BUT LOVE TO KNOW THAT I HAVE(the list is just from today, I have about the same amount bought yesterday and same amount from manchester trip) I couldn't bear to part with them even to sell them. That IS bad! pls don't tell me to get medical help I kind of am in that field

celebrate

[QUOTE=
The only exception to that advice is if you have a Holy Grail product - and stocks are running low - then you buy things at the best MSE time.[/QUOTE]

what is a holy grail product??

sundance218

Hi Celebrate - a holy grail product is your favourite product such as a certain shampoo or a certain foundation - the one you use the most often and find yourself returning to again and again

lizziebabe

celebrate wrote: »

what is a holy grail product??

Hi celebrate - firstly welcome and hope that we can help you

I take HG to mean our favourite product and one that we use as it works well for us. My HG for eye make up remover is the Camomile one from the BS. I do use others but this one works really well for me and I trust it.

Hope that is useful - and all the best :beer:

Thanks sundance we crossed posts - Liz