No Buying Unnecessary Toiletries June 2026

Hodgepodge

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 @Clutterbug07 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!

MillQueen

Hello and thank you for our new shiny thread. I am keeping it simpler this month by focusing on one thing at a time. With it all being makeup, it's possible some might take more than a month.

UU: Today I went to start using up a Clinique eye pencil in brown sugar and found that it had gone solid and was un-use-able without scratching my eyes. So I threw it away and replaced it with an Urban Decay pencil in Whiskey (which is actually a really lovely shade). I always like the UD pencils and have a few to use.

PP Eye Liner: Partially used Urban Decay eye pencil in Whiskey.

PP Blush: Finishing the last bits of another full size Benefit Hula Lite.

PP Eyes: The last bits of a Clinique brown shimmer eye shadow and a half used matte brown.

PP Eye Base: Last remaining scrapings of a No. 7 Stay Perfect Smoothing Eyeshadow in Bronze (this seems never-ending and I have thought it must be nearly done for ages).

PP Lips: Korres Mango Lip Butter, which is now half gone.

PP Brows: The last bits of the lighter wax in my Benefit Brow Zings palette.

Clutterbug07

Thanks for the new thread, @Hodgepodge !

Didn't do the best in May- 12 OUTS and 10 INS (£65.45), though they were at least all replacement items, one of which was free- so could have been worse! 🤣

UU

• Rainbow Connection Acetone Additive- in Cherry Slushie scent: Poured the last bit into my nail polish remover, so I will call this done now, as the bottle is about to go in the bin. Smells nice, and helps soften the nail polish remover so that it's less damaging. Will repurchase, maybe try a different scent this time. Probably won't need to buy until next month, as what I have left in the remover should do me for the month I think.
• Batiste Dry Shampoo Brunette Colour: love this, repurchased it the other day as I knew it was about to run out.

Hodgepodge

2 INs from my beauty box

Medik8 Press & Glow (mini) and Peter Thomas Roth Peeling Gel (mini)

There were 4 other items but I only keep track of facial skincare

shandyclover

Can I rejoin please :)

Years ago I was on this forum and it helped me whittle everything down to just 1 box.

I'm back again to try and get control. My dream is to figure out my HG products and stick with them.

My daughter moved house and passed on a box of items she no longer had space for.

I sadly lost my Mum not long ago, she loved her toiletries and I inherited quite a stockpile from her. I couldn't bear to bin everything as I know she absolutely hated waste, so I am trying to use up what she left and put the spare cash saved towards something she would approve of like time spent together with family. I think I will always keep her perfume though.

UU

Schwartzkopf crystal shine finishing oil - I think I introduced my Mum to this.

Hydra Formula hand cream - ok hand cream but nothing special

Palmers Cocoa Butter alpha/beta hydroxy smoothing lotion - I usually avoid cocoa butter as I find it a bit sickly smelling, but this was good, and actually seemed to work on my lizard-like skin!

Hodgepodge

Welcome back @shandyclover

My love of lotions and potions also comes from my Mum ❤️