holiday spending and joining this community

EDIT: please tell me if this type of post is ok! I realized it's like a haul post, although I do try to be open about my regrets. I removed a paragraph about a purchase I'm not bummed about right now.

I received lots of Christmas money and I've spent almost 1/4th of it within just under 2 weeks

40% of it went to a book that I really wanted, the rest are makeup and related products

I bought another blush despite having too many (gave one to my mom) - I wanted it for a long time but I gaslighted myself to be more utilitarian and directed myself to a different blush with a "better shade". I shouldn't have because I ended up buying the one I really wanted anyway.

I bought another foundation and concealer because I realized my current ones were too yellow and dark despite them matching my neck. It was the last day of the sale too so I checked them out. I did find a way to work with the too yellow foundation but it was too late by then, so I have a lot of base products which I hope don't expire on me.

I bought a papaw balm thinking I could use it as a hydrating lip balm and hopefully a clear topper in one. It was 1/4th the price of my currently preferred lip balm (which I panned 3 of in the last quarter of 2024) and I hoped it would be a great replacement only to find it's just like petroleum jelly except not sheer. I'm already trying to pan a little jar of petroleum jelly and a chapstick which is basically just petrolatum again, and I still don't have lips as hydrated as I'd like nor a glossy topper. Alternatively I have lip glosses that miraculously hydrate my lips the best but only if I put it over a certain matte formula (strangely). I don't really want to use this around the house because there's so little product in it and I've panned a tube in 10 days. The papaw balm still does its job slightly better than regular petroleum jelly and chapstick but I still find myself reapplying every 5 minutes like with my preferred lip balm, which wasn't the goal.

I hope that that's the last of my holiday spending. I got into makeup only last year (I'm 19) and I immediately tried to get into this underconsumption thing because I'm aware of the dangers, but I neglected to research more about it in this sub and so I fell for common mistakes. I have some things leftover from my experiemental purchases in 2024 that I want to pan this 2025, and now that I have all the basics and I know what I like, I hope to stick to only repurchases.