Lessons learned from a 1 year makeup purchase ban

I haven't completed a year yet. about 1.5 months left. But here's my experience so far:

Here are the rules I set for myself

  • I cannot use my own money to buy any color cosmetics (gifts acceptable)

  • New color cosmetics can only be obtained as gifts or Back2Mac

  • If I run out of a product, I must survive without it and find other solutions. (ie. mixing concealer and moisturizer for foundation)

  • Samples are permitted, though only acquired when I run out of a product

Here's what I started with:

  • My main motivation was seeing how much I had spent on my makeup collection, even after purging to nearly one item per category. I still wasn't happy and was still obsessed with finding "the one". I knew I had to be happy with what I had first.

  • I was pretty safe starting out. I wasn't running out of anything (mascara was questionable). And I had a good relationship with all the products in my collection.

  • I asked for accountability from friends. Confessing that I had a problem with purchasing and looking at makeup constantly was hard, but their loving response made me super thankful for them.

  • I canceled my accounts with Ulta and Sephora to stop emails and the temptation to purchase for points and rewards. (THE MOST HELPFUL THING I DID)

Here are the lessons I learned:

  • I am the only one that knows what I put on my face. My friends will not know that my lipstick is from MAC. My boyfriend has no idea that I spent $20 on that eyeshadow. Makeup is a truly personal experience that not many people share with me (unless I make videos or share on social media)

  • Moving forward, I want to have just one product of each makeup category I use. And I want to use them all on a semi-daily basis. Because if I have more than one, then I am forced to choose in the morning. A product that I choose not to use is a product that will take longer to use up.

  • My makeup style doesn't change too much, which allows me to keep my collection at a minimum. If I really want to do a bold lip or crazy eyeshadow, I can find something in my collection to make it work (i.e. dark purple eyeshadow on my lips)

  • Once I confess my obsession with makeup and decision to ban to others, I get a lot of impressed responses. Practicing this self control has made me realize that I am in control of my makeup, my makeup collection, and my makeup practices, its not in control of me. And this mindset has expanded into my skincare and wardrobe as well.

  • It is more rewarding to buy something I will use at full price than to buy something on sale or in a value set. How I value a product does depend on how much I spend on it. I will use a product if I value it. As much as i love saving money, it might be worth it to splurge so I will use up products in the future.

  • I am a sucker for packaging. If it looks cheap, I'm not going to value it as much. I'm still learning lesson 1 so I will learn to willingly use drugstore makeup, but the personal value that I put on an item is a huge indicator or whether or not I will use it up.

Here are my weak spots and how I deal with them:

  • OMG the salez.... I still get wind of sales. Not having an ulta or sephora account helps a lot, but its still tempting to hear about a good sale. I have to remind myself that they will often come around again.

  • Presents for my girlfriends: my friends know I love makeup and i love to buy and share makeup that i love with them, especially as gifts. I haven't stopped buying them makeup gifts (which in turn allows me to shop for makeup, which is half the fun), but I am trying to get them practical and meaningful makeup gifts. i.e. a Z Palette, makeup storage, or a lipstick shade in their name.

  • I really can't stop watching project pan videos and keeping up to date with the new releases. But I am more impressed with the creativity of brands and the determination of all y'all project panners. And I try to watch things that don't tempt me to buy or research products.

  • My mind drifts to makeup if I'm bored or stressed. The true signs of an addiction. If I'm not thinking about the next product I want to purchase, its catching up with the makeup gurus. But I've tried to fill that time instead by chatting with a friend, cleaning my room, reading a book, watching educational videos. I'll still give myself time to get my makeup fix (i.e. from 9-11pm, but nowadays anytime is game), but there are other ways that I can be more productive and reroute my boredom or stress. I might not get the same high or rush of emotion, but if its not healthy, its not healthy, no matter how good it feels. If all else fails, prayer (surprisingly, God seems to care that I care about makeup).

Here's how I've done:

Pretty well! Like I mentioned above, I have bought makeup for my friends. I also bought makeup when a friend asked me to do her bridal makeup. I have bought makeup for friends who asked me to teach them how to apply makeup. I have bought some makeup brushes (for the wedding and to replace my dying ones). I have bought some nail polish. I bought a face powder bc I ran out and used birthday money to buy a fancy MAC one. I got a lipstick and eyeshadow (which I gifted to a friend) through Back2Mac. It wasn't a makeup fast or desert, that's for sure. But I now feel like I have control over my makeup practices again. And I've had friends that gifted me with some makeup, so they've eased the wait :) so technically, I haven't broken any of my rules. I think I was expecting it more to be a makeup desert, but I've actually enjoyed this year (makeup wise) more than any other year since I took an interest to makeup.

Here's how I hope to move forward:

  • Since I'm not completely done, I have to hold out a little longer. But its so tempting to start planning my first color cosmetic purchase as soon as Black Friday hits (I started on Thanksgiving day last year). the makeup sales will be brutal to my deal-hunting brain. But knowing everything above, the most practical thing is to look at what I need. which is mascara. lolz.

  • Yes, there are things that I ran out of during my ban (eyeshadow primer, foundation) but I've made do without for months now. It might actually be better for me to ask for samples every few months than to buy a whole tube of eyeshadow primer that will expire before I use it all. So for those, I'll sit on it until I get a clear answer.

  • I might put up some boundaries to keep me accountable (i.e. spending limit, can't purchase anything online, must buy at full value, etc...), but I hope to never have my collection get out of hand again.

There's still things I need to work on, but I'm happy with my progress and very glad to have found this platform to share it. I hope some of the things I have said will help you too.

TLDR - I have control over makeup again, instead of it having control of me