No Buying Unnecessary Toiletries October 2022

pinkfluffybabe

Here we go again for another month. As usual, this initial post has been shamelessly copied from the many previous months. A big thank you to me for starting us off last month. 

Welcome all newbies and regulars to this very friendly and chatty thread where we give lots of lovely tips on how to use up your stash and lots of support and encouragement if you need them.

Keep up the pampering and keep down the spending: let's make the naughty step an empty and lonely place this month (rather than one so long that it can be seen from space)! Will this be the month when the "usual suspects" rein it in a bit? Let's see..... (but I doubt it!) 

Remember - those products do nothing for you while they are stashed in drawers, boxes, and cupboards! 

We are eternally grateful to Katie Clampet who set up this fab challenge in January 2010. Here's her original challenge post:

"No buying any new toiletries, cosmetics, perfume 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 some of us even years!!) and are making great progress in reducing our stashes and unnecessary/excessive spending.

Regulars can ignore this, but a quick resume is always helpful for newbies:

Why not add the challenge to your signature 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!! Other ideas which some people find useful: Listing everything out so you can cross things off as used to increase the sense of achievement, and putting a sum of money in a pot each time you use up an item to save for something you really want, or simply to assist in making future essential purchases "cash neutral".

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 extravagantly to finish it off is sometimes too much to bear!).

Brand new products (or opened perfume) sell well on eBay.

Unsuitable products can be repurposed and 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 or a local women's refuge as mentioned earlier

Also, why not reward your efforts by banking and recycling your use ups/throw aways with Boots scan2recycle points at participating Boots stores: Recycle at Boots - Get rewarded for recycling - Boots 

Alternatively, simply drop them off at Maybelline Recycling points: www.maybelline.co.uk . Unfortunately, you won't be rewarded for the latter but the earth will thank you :-)

It helps to avoid the places where temptation lurks for you; be it QVC, Boots, Body Shop, email newsletter, 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 will always be another deal! Honest! 

Good luck all for this month and indeed the coming months, and remember to keep your stash lists updated, keep popping in for inspiration and support and to report your UU's and IN's, especially any sales bargains - we want a nosy! 

Welcome to all newbies - the more the merrier. Please introduce yourselves so we can welcome you properly! Do de-lurk if you are lurking, this is one of the friendliest threads on MSE.

Oh - and anyone thinking "OMG my stash is FAR bigger than all of theirs, I cant possibly join" - believe you me, we have been doing this challenge for well over a year some of us - you wont scare us, and I can almost guarantee that someone somewhere will have had more and survived.... we are very supportive (and protective - so don't be scared!!) oh - and did we mention that are nosy??!!

Useful abbreviations and jargon!

WBA - Will Buy Again

UU - Use Ups

IN - Self explanatory - stuff you've gained into your stash - warning: lines may be given out for unnecessary purchases or you may be sent to the naughty step!

NBI - A non-bought item such as a present, gift with purchase or free sample

WNBA - Will Not Buy Again!

Glitch - when a shop/online store make a pricing mistake so you end up paying less or even get freebies! 

PYN(M/T/W/Th/F/Sa/Su) DELETE AS APPROPRIATE! - Paint Your Nails Monday/Tuesday...... it allows everyone to try and finish those dastardly nail varnishes with group support! You can never be too groomed for this thread. Also see PY(T)N... - for toenails!

Splutterer - the stage where an item is nearing the end of it's life and spluttering - also the most annoying and seemingly never ending stage!

GWP - Gift With Purchase - a sample or mini sized item

HG - Holy Grail - this is the product you would go back for time and time again, it does the job brilliantly, and is either economical, or so fantastic price becomes no object!

NPI - Near Purchasing Incident (OMG we all have those!)

LHJ- Long Haul Job - for those products - love 'em or hate 'em - that never seem to end no matter how often you use them

PRCP - Pink Rose Candle Philosophy inspired by Erma Bombeck who said: 'If I had my life to live over again I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose that melted in storage'. Don't keep things 'for best' or 'for a special occasion'. That day never arrives. Give the best to yourself now and enjoy it. (Thanks to McCulloch29 for introducing this thought provoking sentiment to us)

GA - for an out that was given away to charity, as a present, or "just because" rather than binned or UU

TA - for an out that was thrown away due to going off (generally as it has been lurking at the back of a stash since time immemorial) or for any other reason such as a broken container or spillage

PP - Project Pan: a list of specific items targeted to be used up

If anyone can think of any more we can add to the list so newbies won't be intimidated by our jargon!

pinkfluffybabe

Back in for October, PP List:

Fresh Lemon Sugar Body Lotion
Drunk Elephant Shower Gel
Sjal Face Oil
Drunk Elephant Protini
Odilyque Gentle Herb Shampoo
Medik8 Serum
The Ordinary Niacinimide and Zinc 

Autumn  List of 4:

Eight Hour Cream
Espa Lip Balm
L'occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
The Inkey List PHA Toner

pinkfluffybabe

78SH said:

Please could I join this month? I have so much stuff to work my way through!

Of course   

dolly84

Thanks pfb for the new thread.

My regular list for this year carries on.

Makeup I want to finish in 2022

1. Soap & Glory nude pink eyeshadow from a quad

2. Soap & Glory dark brown eyeshadow from a quad - has fallen apart and I am using it from little pot

3. The Balm Down Boy Blush - lots of pan and product thin in other areas

4. Brillo lipgloss in a pale coral colour - keep this in the car to use

5. Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara mini

6. Model Co Cream Blush

7. Bare Minerals Plum Eyeliner

8. Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in rsvp

9. Max Factor Fusion Mascara - starting to dry out a bit now

10. MAC Foundation

11. Max Factor Facefinity Foundation

12. Wet n Wild Foundation

13. Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation

14. Matte brown eyeshadow single (any of the ones I have taken from a palette and put into my magnetic palette.

15. Lipstick Queen Thrilller Lip Crayon

16. Revlon lip crayon in Honey - using this regularly on non work days

17. Bobbi Brown concealer

18. Too Faced Shadow Insurance - use this regularly but still loads left, or it could be air.

Will not need to buy in 2022

Shower gel of the liquid variety
Nail polish
Hair serum/oil
Makeup  (except possibly foundation and mascara) Foundation purchased in February
Perfume - was gifted one in January, another purchased in June

Soap - 3 minis brought home from a holiday

May need to buy in 2022

Shampoo bar - 2 purchased June, 7 purchased August

Cleanser - one purchased in March

Facial Oil /Moisturiser - 2 oils purchased January/4 Moisturisers purchased February/ 1 NBI August
Curl cream - 2 purchased January and 1 NBI April
Deodorant - 2 purchased June 

Hand cream - 2 purchased April, 1 purchased June

Foot Cream

Hair Conditioner bar/refillable bottle of conditioner

Solid shower gel bar - 4 puchased May, 2 purchased June

Body Lotion/Bars - 2 body lotions received as a gift in March

dolly84

I didn't purchase anything in September but I might buy a mascara this month.

Clutterbug07

Thanks for the new thread, @pinkfluffybabe!

PP list

• Haruharu WONDER - Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner: got down to halfway, which is good since I use it on hands and body, not face, so maybe only a couple of times a week.
  
• Isntree Spotsaver Mugwort Ampoule
• Simple Protect 'N' Glow Radiance Booster SPF30: I don't reach for this at all, but I think weirdly I'll use this more as it gets colder and my skin gets drier. 
  
• 1 x big Tresemme shampoo (my Mum had too many, so she gave me this. it's HUGE)
• Concrete Minerals mineral Eyeshadow in Ruse: a very dull light rusty brown colour- v boring!  I try to use it on WFH days when noone will see me.. 
  
• Lily Lolo mineral concealer
  
• Lily Lolo mineral yellow colour corrector: work for hyperpigmentation marks, since it's meant to be good for dark under eyes.  Finished this last month :-)
• John Frida Frizz Ease- small 5ml travel bottle: had for ages, don't use, but it's almost done and I want it gone.
• Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drops: not sure about this, has EGF so am not sure I really want to use it.  Using up on my hands/body.
• Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum: soooooooooooo fragranced. Using up on hands/body.
• The Inkey List Peptide Moisturiser: use this on hands and body. Don't love it, the weird bottle annoys me.
• Sukin Original Hydrating mist toner: too rose fragranced for me. Used it a lot when it was boiling hot to refresh my skin without worrying about wasting it. Got under half left, so gonna use it before it gets too chilly!
• Rituals body lotion- 30ml travel size: think got this at a hotel, feels like clutter, would like it gone.

This list didn't really get much shorter since last month, must remember to try and use these items!

ruby_eskimo

Morning all.  Thanks for the new thread @pinkfluffybabe

Have a lot of things that are spluttering at the moment and should be done this month so it might be cheating but that's the basis for my PP list:

- Jordan Samuel Skin The Aftershow Cleanser: HG morning / second cleanser.  This is the largest size they do (almost 300ml) and have had it almost a year.  A little goes a long way but I think it's going to be finished soon as getting harder to squeeze product out.
- Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Oil 50ml: Another product that's getting harder to get out of the bottle, so I have to pour it out rather than use the pipette now.  
- Urban Decay Maui Wowie eyeshadow: This is a pan from a palette and it's so close to being done
- Urban Decay Smog eyeshadow: Same as above
- Nars Afterglow lip balm: a mini that's lovely but also very close to being done
- Hawaiian Tropic Body Butter: Have had this a very very long time and actually started using it on holiday and fell in love with it.  Scent is amazing and leaves my skin feeling really soft.  Will be sad when this has gone.
- Soap and Glory Righteous Butter Mini: as the above is so close to being done, I think I can also make my way through this too.
- 4 sheet masks: Need to make more progress with these!
- Lush Power Conditioner: This is the large size that has been open a while and I want it gone before it goes off.  
- TBS Hemp Hand Protector: Again, this has been open a while and the metal packaging has started to split a little bit so again want to try and use as much of this has possible before it goes off.

Clutterbug07

Have some very boring empties to start the month off with!

• Lee Stafford Dry Shampoo- travel size: Nice dry shampoo, not too white powdery, and it smells nice too. WBA
• Dove Invisible Dry 48h anti-perspirant spray: Smallish travel-size version (75ml, so not the tiniest). Yeah, nice, WBA for travel

Throw away

• The Body Shop - Tea Tree Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner: I used to really like this, and then I had a reaction to TBS tea tree cleanser, and since then I have been too scared to use this!  It has been unused and open for AGES, so I'm just going to bin it.

ruby_eskimo

Have my first UU's to report for the month:

- Colab Dry Shampoo: had this for ages and only use it when I reaaallly have to.  Used it up on Sunday because I couldn't quite wash my hair after having double vaccinations on Friday 😆  Was ok, did the job, wasn't too keen on the scent.  Loved the active one they used to do scent wise, but they all work on my hair and don't leave too much of a residue.  WBA, when I really need some again.

- Hawaiian Tropic Body Butter: didn't expect this to actually be done quite this quickly but oh well 🤷‍♀️  really enjoyed using this left my skin soft, loved the scent (lime colada esque).  It's meant to be an after sun so it's really cooling but I just used it as a regular moisturiser  Would say it's between a butter and a lotion texture wise, lots of aloe and glycerine in the ingredients, absorbed really quickly.  You can usually pick this up for about £3 in Savers etc. so will look to replace when I've worked through the other body butters in the stash.

Hodgepodge

Good news!

I've cancelled my Beauty Pie membership - until such time as I need to purchase skin/body care.

That will be a while then!! 

Clutterbug07

My Facetheory stuff arrived!   Also, had to pop into Boots for sunscreen and travel sized deodorant after work, so a few INs today.

INS

• Face Theory: Exaglow Serum S10 with Tranexamic Acid, Vitamin C and Licorice:  My Inkey List tranexamic serum ran out in Sept and I waited till payday/new month to order this as its replacement.  Have wanted to try it for a while, it's 5% tranexamic acid and meant to be great for evening skin tone.  Also has some vit C deriviative for brightening.  AND I got 50% off as a new customer :-)  NEW50 was the code btw
• Face Theory: Lumizela Azelaic Acid Serum A15:  15% Azelaic Acid, Colloidal Oat and Green Tea.  Meant to help minimise redness and irritation, and it's apparently great to use in conjunction with retinol/al, so starting this now (I currently have a 5% in one of my serums, but want to try the higher percentage) to prepare my skin as I would like to start retinol/al next year. Plus its one I've wanted to try for a while, so popped it in the cart since I was ordering the tranexamic acid!
  
• Soltan Once Face Advanced 8 hour Protection- SPF 50: Purchased this a zillion times.  My current one is spluttering, so picked this up as I've got a couple of day trips this week and I don’t want to have to worry about reapplying
  
• Garnier Ambre Solaire Anti-Dryness Super UV Protection Cream with Glycerin SPF50: They didn’t have my usual Anti-aging HA version, so figured this will be similar, just with glycerin instead!  My current is spluttering, so this is a replacement
  
• Nivea Black & White Invisible Original anti-perspirant - Travel size 35ml x 2: Going away for a night so needed a small deo to take and don't have any in the stash. Was 3 for 2- got my second deo for free, and the third item was travel toothpaste so not counting that here.
  

Oh yeaaaaaaah and I popped to Superdrug the other day. Lots of INS this month already :-S

• Sure 72H anti-perspirant spray- 250ml- Invisible Aqua: used up the travel size I'd been tiding myself over with, and bout this as a replacement
• Elegant Touch- Quick Dry Nail Spray: When I spotted this in Superdrug I had to get it-my Boots stopped selling it a while back and it's great to help your nail polish dry quicker.  A long-awaited replacement

"Free gift INS" from Superdrug

• MUA Shimmer Highlight Powder- Peach Diamond:  Just looked at my Superdrug receipt and it looks like the girl at the till didn't scan my two highlighters…. Well oophsy for her, but bonus for me I guess!  This one has a peachy pink shine to it.  Does show up a bit of texture, but for £3.50 (or free in this case!!), the colour is v pretty and it'll do.
  
• MUA Shimmer Highlight Powder- Golden Scintillation:  My second "free gift" highlighter. A beautiful golden highlight that (does also show texture) gives a wonderful healthy glow