No Buying Unnecessary Toiletries in March 2025

Clutterbug07

If your beauty and toiletries are taking over your life, then this is the thread to help you work through the stash and motivate you to not buy anymore (hopefully!)

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.

Thanks to @VALM  for starting last month's thread.

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!

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without

Clutterbug07

25 for 2025 PP list: 1 down, 24 to go!

1. DERMATORY - Hypoallergenic Cica Gel Cream 50ml: carried over from last years PP.
2. MAC Black Cherry Glow Play Lipbalm:  carried over from last years PP list.  Bought in 2021.... need to finish it!
3. Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Body Oil 200 ml: had this a while. I’ve figured out the best way to use it now- mixed in with some moisturiser makes it less greasy.
4. Klairs Supple Preparation Toner: accidentally bought the fragranced one last year, want to get this used up on my body.
5. Redken 11 Thermal Spray: heat and hold spray. Don’t like it, too thick/heavy for my hair- want it gone so I can get a lighter heat protectant spray.
6. Tigi Bedhead Motor Mouth- mega volumizer with gloss: like this, had it forever though so probs time to finish it up
7. Lilylolo mineral blush in Beach Babe
8. iUNIK Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner: don’t love this, too thick for a toner, would like it gone so I can go back to one I love.
9. 17. Gorgeous Gloss- yellow: like this, but the soft brown is my fave. Not heaps left, I could finish it this year!
10. Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner- mini 30ml size: like this from pre-skin issue days, so want to try the sample to see how I like it now.
11. Skin1004 Centella Toning Toner – mini 30ml: has very mild form of AHA exfoliants. Want to see how my skin does with this as I’d like an AHA in my routine but am very wary of going OTT and destroying my skin.  If I put it on this list, I will have to try it- currently a bit scared still about introducing new products.
12. One loose eyeshadow: unspecified: but I want to finish one this year.
13. One nail polish: ditto.
14. The Body Shop British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask
15. Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter liner in Distortion: iridescent glitter liner, bought in 2021…. Still using it but really shouldn’t.  Sadly they don’t seem to make these colours anymore so I’ll be sad once they’re gone.
16. Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter liner in Grind: the pinky one.
17. The Body Shop Festive Berry hand cream
18. Vaseline Lip Therapy- Gold Dust:  not sure when I bought this… has teeny tiny shimmer in so give lips a nice sheen. It’s kinda old though and I have a big pan so would like to finish it this year.
19. Mad About Skincare Gentle Jelly Cleanser: putting this on the list cos I am being FAR too lazy and using micellar too frequently instead of actually washing my face. I have one back up of this in my stash so I don’t mind finishing my current one either as I won’t need to replace it.
20. Aveeno Dermexa Daily Emollient Cream – 500ml: want to be better at moisturising!
21. Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Body Booster Mousse – 50ml travel size: don’t really use this, would like it gone. Or at least used frequently enough that I can see whether I like it.
22. Collection Glam Crystals  Lip Rocker lipgloss: bit too frosty rather than sparkly, so don’t love this.
23. Revolution Colour Correct & Fix Primer- Green: I don’t think this does ANYTHING, so I would like it gone.
24. Essie Apricot nail and cuticle oil: would like to try different oil for nails, so got to get this one used up! 

UUs from PP List
NEOGEN - Dermalogy White Truffle Serum In Oil Drop

** I'm going to swap out the Revolution Colour Correct & Fix Primer- Green for something else cos I just don't like it, it's rubbish, and I don't really want to have to use it.  But I don't know with what yet, so I'll come back and edit this once I've figured it out.

VALM

Thanks for the new thread @Clutterbug07

My PP List
Carried forward 

Lacura Sugar Maple shower gel

Garnier Shea body lotion

M&S Fragrance Society hand lotion

Lacura BHA Serum

Philip Kingsley Elastaciser

Carried forward
MAC Dare You 3

Too Faced Gold Dipped 3 

Added

OPI Kronological Order

NARS Decatur

Escada Cherry in Japan

Hodgepodge

My use up list for March

Botanical Body Cream Orange Flower - Liz Earle - Has been cut open, so I give this another week then it will be gone

Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye 3 - Medik8 - Goes on forever but I love it

Elastic Boost Eye Moisture Serum - Beauty Pie

Plantastic Magic Mandarin Hand Cream - Beauty Pie - Now approaching the spluttering stage

Vital Veggie Mask - Elemis

Pro-Collagen Marine Mask - Elemis - has been cut open now

Superfood Midnight Facial - Elemis

Triphala Pigmentation Corrector Serum - Sachi Skin

Hydr8 B5 Intense - Medik8 - Will be gone soon I think

Lotus Flower Treatment Cream - Emma Hardie

Quantaqa

Hello, may I join? I don't have a huge stash but I do have some bad habits I want to stop. I tend to 'stock up' on items, usually when on offer whether I need them or not. I then get bored with that particular item/brand etc and then buy a new item/brand and don't want to use up the items from the previous brand I'm bored with. It just feels like a bit of a chore so I'm hoping that joining this challenge will make it feel more fun to work through things and use them up. 

I need to have a look through and see what I want to work on using up in March. I'll be back later with a list.

Sarahspangles

May I join, but from next month? At that point I’m starting a decluttering project, and I know toiletries are one of the first things I need to tackle.

There is a point to this post though! Before Xmas I had an allergic reaction to salon hairspray and while my face is mostly better, I definitely need a product with sunscreen every time I leave the house this year. So on Monday I have an appointment at a beauty counter. I’m hoping that I will leave knowing my skin tone/shade, and they’ll give me some samples to test.

I do still have a drawerful of makeup from pre-pandemic days, when I wore makeup for work. It never seemed to look right on Teams calls so I stopped wearing any (I’m hoping that the makeup artist will help me understand why). But maybe with a bit of shade mixing, I could use it up. The question is, how dangerous would that be - are there some types of makeup you’d definitely throw away?

VALM

Im amending my PP List

Carried forward 

Garnier Shea body lotion

M&S Fragrance Society hand lotion

Lacura BHA Serum

2 x hair sampkes

ADDED

B&BW Snowflakes & Cashmere shower gel

MAC Dare You 3

Too Faced Gold Dipped 4

OPI Kronological Order

NARS Decatur

Escada Cherry in Japan 1

DONE

Lacura Sugar Maple shower gel - I tipped this into my bath last night. I liked this but it was reminiscent of Halloween so was time to go. I bought a new Lacura bath soak yesterday.

Ive changed the Philip Kingsley Elasticiser as when i went to apply it found it was a gloss styling product. Have found some haircare samples so have put them in the list. 

UU - one of the samples - Grow Gorgeous Intense. Was in my Look Fantastic box.

VALM

A TA as well - Pixi lip balm - bubblegum pink colour that I dont get on with.

Hodgepodge

Quantaqa said:

Hello, may I join? I don't have a huge stash but I do have some bad habits I want to stop. I tend to 'stock up' on items, usually when on offer whether I need them or not. I then get bored with that particular item/brand etc and then buy a new item/brand and don't want to use up the items from the previous brand I'm bored with. It just feels like a bit of a chore so I'm hoping that joining this challenge will make it feel more fun to work through things and use them up. 

I need to have a look through and see what I want to work on using up in March. I'll be back later with a list.

We've all been there, seduced by offers then not actually using the stuff or wanting the latest greatest thing when it comes out.

Welcome to the gang!

Hodgepodge

Sarahspangles said:

May I join, but from next month? At that point I’m starting a decluttering project, and I know toiletries are one of the first things I need to tackle.

There is a point to this post though! Before Xmas I had an allergic reaction to salon hairspray and while my face is mostly better, I definitely need a product with sunscreen every time I leave the house this year. So on Monday I have an appointment at a beauty counter. I’m hoping that I will leave knowing my skin tone/shade, and they’ll give me some samples to test.

I do still have a drawerful of makeup from pre-pandemic days, when I wore makeup for work. It never seemed to look right on Teams calls so I stopped wearing any (I’m hoping that the makeup artist will help me understand why). But maybe with a bit of shade mixing, I could use it up. The question is, how dangerous would that be - are there some types of makeup you’d definitely throw away?

Welcome

Powders tend to be ok to keep, as they are dry and don't harbour bacteria.

I'd definitely get rid of anything 'wet' that goes near your eyes, so mascara and liquid eyeliners. Pencils aren't too bad as you can sharpen them which effectively makes them new again.

Use your eyes and nose on anything else, if it looks or smells remotely funny then it's best to chuck it away.

But as you have had a reaction and perhaps a sensitive face now, it might be better to start from scratch and not use anything old (as the pandenic started 5 years ago).

Feel free to join now, as there is no time like the present!

Sarahspangles

Sarahspangles said:

May I join, but from next month? At that point I’m starting a decluttering project, and I know toiletries are one of the first things I need to tackle.

There is a point to this post though! Before Xmas I had an allergic reaction to salon hairspray and while my face is mostly better, I definitely need a product with sunscreen every time I leave the house this year. So on Monday I have an appointment at a beauty counter. I’m hoping that I will leave knowing my skin tone/shade, and they’ll give me some samples to test.

I do still have a drawerful of makeup from pre-pandemic days, when I wore makeup for work. It never seemed to look right on Teams calls so I stopped wearing any (I’m hoping that the makeup artist will help me understand why). But maybe with a bit of shade mixing, I could use it up. The question is, how dangerous would that be - are there some types of makeup you’d definitely throw away?

In advance of my beauty counter visit I’ve had a first pass at the makeup drawer. I know what the definite gaps are now. I’ve also swatched a few products. It’s made me realise that with some it’s not the colour I don’t like, but how heavy the formulation is.

TA - I thought these were spluttering but they seem to have dried up
YSL Touche Eclat
Benefit They’re Real Mascara
No 7 Mascara

TA - these were NBI
Body Shop Lipstick in a really non-flattering shade
No7 lip gloss, ditto and I really disliked its stickiness

I can decide on UUs when I know what’s IN.

I’ve also washed my makeup brushes with the cleaner I use for my watercolour brushes. Much more effective than plain soap!