No to Buying Unnecessary toiletries in August 2011!

Helen1971

Hello, can I join you for September please?

Would have waited til the new month began but was scared I'd lose my bottle if I didn't strike now!

I've been lurking on this thread for a few weeks, like some of the other joiners. What an eye opener. When I started reading I was fascinated by your stash lists. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading them, particularly the lady who is single-handedly supporting the economy of Provence with her great love of l'occitane and the lady with the collection of MAC eyeshadows so large that I thought she should be a make-up artist!

I knew I had a lot of stuff but didn't think it was too bad. So complacent was I that I went out and bought 2bottles of BS sweet lemon shower gel on the strength of recommendations here.

That weekend I decided to follow your advice and list my own stash........:eek:

Ruddy Nora! I was horrified! How had I managed to buy so much stuff? How??

I had twelve bottles of shower gel. Twelve! Why? Did I anticipate a global shower gel crisis? I've got lots of bathroom cupboards but let me tell you, it's a double edged sword. There was stuff in there I'd forgotten that I'd bought. I was furious with myself!

As for the body lotion, saints preserve us! There's gallons of it!

Don't get me started on tanning stuff. Being blue-White I like a bit of fake tan but Christ, did I need so much??

I asked my husband whether he thought I had too much stuff. He replied that I had three times as much gear as any other woman he'd been out with. Oh dear!

Sorry if this sounds stupid but I started to feel a bit burdened by all the stuff so I thought that if I joined your use it up challenge (if you'll have me, that is!) I'd feel calmer.

So, I started using stuff up and crossing it off the list. Sorry if I'm sounding a bit odd but it gave me such a feeling of achievement. Who knew that using up the dregs of stuff would feel so good? I'm resolved to run my stocks down to one thing in use and one thing spare.

I started thinking about my triggers and wondered whether any of you recognise them in yourselves? I'd love to know.

1. Boots and their £5 and £2 off vouchers. Curse you, Boots! Why do I think that the world will spin off its axis if I leave a voucher unused? The worst thing is, after I've used a few on time delay moisturiser, which I do actually use and is my HG, I get bored and decide to buy something else for a change, which I then never use because It doesn't fit in with my life. Energising face serum, why?? Those Boots marketing people are in my head!

2. TK Maxx and their toiletries section. A pox upon you, TK Maxx! That is how I acquired fire-extinguisher sized bottles of Tigi shampoo and conditioner plus no end of other random stuff.

3. Home Bargains and B&M. They often have really good brands where the packaging is about to change or a product discontinued. I get the red mist and buy loads.

4. My dear friends buy me toiletries for birthdays and Christmas, which is lovely of them, but if I could send them a subliminal message saying, "ladies, I love you all but please no more body lotion for the love of God!" I would!

5. Tanning, see above. I'm fixated on finding the best self- tanner so I keep trying new ones and I can't believe how much stuff there is!


I'd be so interested to know if other people have the same weaknesses. I'll be sticking with this thread in September so I hope I can provide some support as well as drawing inspiration from how well you're all doing!

Lemon_Tree

LadyMorticia wrote: »

Does anyone else find that Listerine Antibacterial mouthwash really burns their mouth? Or am I just strange?

i find that pretty much all mouthwashes burn my mouth, i mostly put that down to the alcohol which i'm allergic to, but it happens even if there's no alcohol in it.

Lemon_Tree

Helen you certainly sound as if you'll fit right in here, i know i always feel that i MUST UU the boots No 7 vouchers other wise the world could end. I never thought i was a toiletries addict till i listed all my things, i knew i had lots but i think most of it's it down to thinking i 'should' do something to take care of myself but not actually liking myself enough to follow through and do it. Things are very slowly beginning to change, but it's an up hill battle.

Last UU of August for me - Avon Hair colour, my hair isn't dry yet but i think it's a bit darker than i expected, not sure what the pre treatment thing was about or what difference it makes, and didn't really like the conditioner in a sachet, too much for one go but not enough for two and i always struggle to get the stuff out of sachets. on the whole not sure i'll buy it again but we'll see what the colour is like when it's dry. I've got two Superdrug ones in stock so won't need to buy any more for a little while anyway.

dug around in one of my stock tubs yesterday looking for my tub of coconut oil, my hands are a mess at the moment (constant cleaning what with the house being on the market) and they're cracked and sore, fingers crossed it will help, it certainly is very greasy, not sure what i would used it for otherwise if it doesn't work on my hands.

trudij

Lemon Tree - you are allergic to alcohol??!! Poor you !!!!! (yes - listerine burns my mouth too, but im not testing the allergic to alcohol thing )

Welcome newbies - you will be great with us lot !!

2 UU in teh last couple of days - another bar of soap, I dropped it in the bath (again!) and ended up sitting on it... theres not a lot that could come back from that......

and my last colour foam hair dye - left it on longer and i now have lovely dark hair with a reddish tint. bit like a magpies black and blue, but with red if that makes sense.... WIBA - definately. think Id always get the hairdresser to do it though - seem to have managed to get it in parts of thebathroom that havent been used for years somehow !

ruby_eskimo

One last UU of the month:

- Oral B Sensitive mouth wash: bought from the £ shop and only lasted me 3 weeks for some reason....oh well. Was ok, but can't say I was bowled over by it. Will replace tomorrow with something from Boots.

Speaking of Boots, I made a massive list of things I thought I might as well stock up on since they have 10 points per £ going on, and then realised that I don't need to stock up. I can be like a normal person that buys things once they've been used up. I will always be getting points on shopping at Boots so I don't need to take advantage of the offers really because they just make me spend more money than I have. Therefore I will go to Boots tomorrow and buy my mouthwash and face scrub and let that be it!

VALM

Helen1971 wrote: »

Hello, can I join you for September please?

1. Boots and their £5 and £2 off vouchers. Curse you, Boots! Why do I think that the world will spin off its axis if I leave a voucher unused? The worst thing is, after I've used a few on time delay moisturiser, which I do actually use and is my HG, I get bored and decide to buy something else for a change, which I then never use because It doesn't fit in with my life. Energising face serum, why?? Those Boots marketing people are in my head!

Welcome to the thread Helen *wave*.

These vouchers used to be one of the banes of my life as well. As I said in an earlier post I was in Boots at the weekend and ended up with three of them as there are no many things that you purposely set out to buy that are less than £5.00 so the vouchers keep on coming. I've gotten better though and although there is one downstairs waiting to pounce on me as I leave for work I'm gonna leave it be. There was a time when I would sit looking at boots.com working out the best cost effective way of using them up.

QVC used to be a bad habit for me also but I've learnt to only purchase what I like from them now rather than being conned into buying the expensive kits containing products I won't use.

TBS has become a bad habit though especially now that they keep having great offers on but I keep that in mind now that another offer will be just around the corner from them.

2 more UUs for me bringing the total to 17 for August:-

Happy Hair Days Shampoo - the colour protection one - have another in stash ready.

Boots Botanics Rosewater toner - bought its replacement at Boots at the weekend.

My Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion is spluttering and tonight the tube will be cut open - suspect there are a couple of days' worth application in there still. Could be my first UU of September?

Have a great day everyone. x

rosemary54

it is clinique bonus time till sep the 10th at john Lewis....not that anyone is interested:rotfl:

maggirl

Hi Helen, you are so right about the "triggers" for buying toiletries.

I have avoided Boots for a few months now, before when they did the vouchers it was a mission of mine to spend them.....

But TK Maxx is now my downfall....I only recently descovered they did a toiletries section and I can usually be found poking around their "clearance" shelf looking for things with battered packaging...I do try to me slightly MSE!!! .I love good quality soap and they always have such nice "soapy" gift sets in there!!

Also LUSH...I dont have one in my home town so when I visit a place that does, I just feel I have to "stock up"..stupid I know.

I am getting better about it though. Resist Resist!!

One UU to report today....LUSH Grass shower gel. Got this is a gift set and WNBA...its just too strange smelling, almost "woody" for me, I much prefer floral shower gels.

h007

LadyMorticia wrote: »

Does anyone else find that Listerine Antibacterial mouthwash really burns their mouth? Or am I just strange?

me! you probably need an alcohol free mouthwash

Lemon_Tree

i tried the listerine zero mouthwash last night which is suposed to have a mild taste and no alcofrol but it still burnt my mouth, i'm guessing i'm not destined to use mouthwash.