No buying unnecessary toiletries in May - Challenge

wondercollie

The YouTube beauty gurus often get erm, shall we say, repaid their hauls costs by cosmetic companies.

It came out on various blogs in North America and the QVC beauty forums a couple of months ago. I also know that beauty bloggers with a wide following were given their first few GlossyBox's etc at no charge to promot their products on their blogs.

Some do spend a load but others are let's just say subsidized.

evilsquid1603

Hermia wrote: »

Watching some of the youtube beauty gurus does make me wonder whether some of them have a serious shopping/hoarding problem, especially as a lot are students or in jobs that don't seem that well-paid. I have seen make-up collection vids where a woman shows 300 nail polishes and 30 almost identical nude lipsticks and wonder whether I am actually watching a video of someone with a mental health problem.

I've been thinking about where my stash started and why i bought so much stuff and i think it was tied into my slide back into depression. last time, i controlled my eating. this time i appear have gone down the road of "everything will be ok because i have things to make me look/feel beautiful even if deep down I'm really, really not". it was like a comfort blanket. i felt ok if i knew i had enough things in that id never ever run out. i realise now it was just part of a need to control something and anything in my life and it was something i could easily do, easily keep hidden and nobody could stop me.

I've just read this blog about the difference between "collection" and "accumulation". atm, my stash is just accumulation, stuff I've bought for the sake of buying, because i felt i HAD to have it right now and without even considering what i already had. like the blogger, i want to turn it into a collection of beautiful but still practical things where i use everything i own and it all deserves its place.

Hermia

wondercollie wrote: »

The YouTube beauty gurus often get erm, shall we say, repaid their hauls costs by cosmetic companies.

It came out on various blogs in North America and the QVC beauty forums a couple of months ago. I also know that beauty bloggers with a wide following were given their first few GlossyBox's etc at no charge to promot their products on their blogs.

Some do spend a load but others are let's just say subsidized.

I know the big gurus do make a fair bit of money and there are some that I would never trust to give an objective review because they can't see past the dollar signs in their eyes. But I have seen some newish gurus or ones with few followers who seem to have serious problems. It's not helped by all the "do more hauls" comments that are so common in the YT beauty community.

evilsquid1603 - thanks for the link to the interesting blog post. I am not a shopaholic, but I know there have been times when I have bought stuff for emotional reasons.

emsjune78

ZoeL wrote: »

I have a dilemma :rotfl:
I need some nose pore strips because my blackheads look awful
In superdrug, there are tea tree pore strips or Biore pore strips. The tea tree are currently 2 for £3.99 on the whole range. The Biore are £3.99 down from £7.99. I've heard that the Biore ones are really good and that's a really good offer but the tea tree are better value for money . . . decisions decisions :rotfl:

Do you have a Home Bargains near you? Only they have some nose strips they usually stock there, I think they're called T Zone, that I get my OH which are really effective and only £1.50 ish - hope that helps (or more options may make it more difficult but at least they are an MSE option!) :rotfl:

evilsquid1603

she also has this post about the concept of "lemming" products.

i.e. the ones we want because its special edition, everyone else has it, theres a wait list, its the new black and its SO PRETTY! even though it will metaphorically lead us to our "destruction" by following the crowd - just like real life lemmings.

i wonder who started it, but the concept is SO true. like the chanel limited edition polishes that get wait listed pretty much because its chanel and they have a new polish :eek: its completely crazy!

Hermia

evilsquid1603 wrote: »

she also has this post about the concept of "lemming" products.

i.e. the ones we want because its special edition, everyone else has it, theres a wait list, its the new black and its SO PRETTY! even though it will metaphorically lead us to our "destruction" by following the crowd - just like real life lemmings.

i wonder who started it, but the concept is SO true. like the chanel limited edition polishes that get wait listed pretty much because its chanel and they have a new polish :eek: its completely crazy!

I love your links! I was actually thinking about this last night. When I first got into make-up (10ish years ago) I don't remember there being limited editions and don't remember collections being updated so often. I remember there being summer and winter collections and that's it. Now it's insane. Mac brings out so many special collections now that it's becoming a joke. I haven't even clicked on the last half a dozen new collection emails from them because I am just so bored and it's ceased to be special.

Willowbee

Evilsquid - thank you for the link to the blog post. I found it fascinating. I like her idea that she can change her accumulation into a collection - I think that is what I am trying to do I would have been nervous about calling it a collection though, but I think her definition is good.

I was very interested in your post as a whole. I'd like to reply later when I've given it a bit more thought Also, it's nearly my dinner time and I am super-hungry! :rotfl:

(More has been written since I replied! I was thinking about 'lemming' too...)

skintscotslass

Willowbee wrote: »

When I went to the L'Occitane evening a lovely girl there gave me a facial. She asked which products I was interested in and I said the Fabulous Serum as I was sure someone here had recommended it She used the serum and the Shea Lotion and my skin felt lovely (really comfortable) but before doing the facial she had measured how hydrated my skin was and given the result (very hydrated) had said that I should just carry on with whatever I was already doing (an anti-sales pitch, bless her! She was super-nice ) She gave me samples of the serum and the lotion but I don't think I'll be buying them - they are nice but not amazing. I think that the most important thing that I learnt from her was to take my time and really massage the serum/moisturiser in. She said she was doing a 'lift and lock' technique and her movements were really slow and quite firm.

That would be me That's what I like about L'Occitane SAs. They dont do high pressure sales.

emslovesmickey

evilsquid1603 wrote: »

I've been thinking about where my stash started and why i bought so much stuff and i think it was tied into my slide back into depression. last time, i controlled my eating. this time i appear have gone down the road of "everything will be ok because i have things to make me look/feel beautiful even if deep down I'm really, really not". it was like a comfort blanket. i felt ok if i knew i had enough things in that id never ever run out. i realise now it was just part of a need to control something and anything in my life and it was something i could easily do, easily keep hidden and nobody could stop me.

I've just read this blog about the difference between "collection" and "accumulation". atm, my stash is just accumulation, stuff I've bought for the sake of buying, because i felt i HAD to have it right now and without even considering what i already had. like the blogger, i want to turn it into a collection of beautiful but still practical things where i use everything i own and it all deserves its place.

I identify with this so much. I do exactly the same thing - including with clothes. I'm constantly looking at other people and thinking everybody looks better than me. I also buy clothes that i think are lovely and then think i'm not good enough to wear them if you know what i mean? I have always had huge self esteem issues but am slowly getting better. I've actually had the courage to where some of the stuff i've bought over the years this year. It was a bit daunting at first, but i'm getting there.

evilsquid1603

Hermia wrote: »

I love your links! I was actually thinking about this last night. When I first got into make-up (10ish years ago) I don't remember there being limited editions and don't remember collections being updated so often. I remember there being summer and winter collections and that's it. Now it's insane. Mac brings out so many special collections now that it's becoming a joke. I haven't even clicked on the last half a dozen new collection emails from them because I am just so bored and it's ceased to be special.

the rise in this stuff has increased the more beauty blogging has took hold. this post the same blogger that wrote the rest did explains it perfectly using the naked palette as her example. before we only knew from magazines and actually going to the shop what products were brought out. now a company can use social media and blogging to whip up the kind of frenzy they'd only dreamed of before, for little money and with what is basically a mediocre product and virtually no different to the permanent collection. and they did it with BROWN. how many browns do we all already own? and do we really need a different shade of brown for every day for nearly the next two weeks on top of all those browns we have at home? and how many of those browns were noticeably different to all the other browns? whoever dreamt that palette up must have earned themselves a very hefty bonus.

i think mac pretty much permanently has a special collection out. a few have even involved permanent pieces but just in special edition packaging! the only good collections now tend to be the christmas ones - thats the only time they really bother trying to produce anything spectacular.

the new trend for intricate palettes has really taken off too, everyone now seems to release some sort of bog standard blush/bronzer/eyeshadow and just presses a pretty pattern on it and it illicits "ooohhhh its so pretty!" and an increase in price. i fell for two dior ones at the height of my ridiculous spending that were ridiculously over priced but i fell for the "pretty!" and "special edition!" stuff. I'm still terrified to use them no matter all the PRCP stuff i tell myself because:
1) they cost so bl**dy much
2) if i use it it will be like totally gone for like EVER (despite the fact the shades will match somewhere, probably mac or nars if not the permanent dior collection)
3) I'm pretty sure i'll go to use them and one of them will end up separating because the different colours are so intricate and small in places and they quite clearly aren't bound together by anything.

emslovesmickey wrote: »

I identify with this so much. I do exactly the same thing - including with clothes. I'm constantly looking at other people and thinking everybody looks better than me. I also buy clothes that i think are lovely and then think i'm not good enough to wear them if you know what i mean? I have always had huge self esteem issues but am slowly getting better. I've actually had the courage to where some of the stuff i've bought over the years this year. It was a bit daunting at first, but i'm getting there.

i think we all think that, its human nature to compare our perceived flaws with other people.

I'm making myself get better with my self esteem issues. i used to wear a full face of make up every day, like full foundation, under eye concealer, concealer on spots, bronzer, blush, eyeshadow (2 colours blended usually), eyeliner, mascara, brow fixer, face powder and setting spray :eek: i still cant leave the house without something on, but i forced myself to go to the supermarket a few times with only tinted moisturiser and a bit of mascara on and the world did not end and i didn't run into the long list of people i couldn't bear to run into without a full face on (despite knowing one lives in london and the last i heard another was in leeds and therefore highly unlikely to be in a sainsburys in manchester).