Tag: no buy

January 2022 No-Buy Update

by liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on January 2022 No-Buy Update

I’m on a no-buy for most of 2022 and using these monthly updates to keep me accountable. For these updates, I’ve decided to answer the same set of questions every month. Feel free to follow along in the comments with your own no-buy or low-buy updates. As always, thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here or on Instagram @liftbakelove for new posts!

What’s one thing that helped this month go easier?
At the start of the year, I unsubscribed from tons of brand emails and created a filter so that any I kept would skip my inbox. This has helped so much! I thought I’d be tempted to buy things constantly, but I really haven’t because I just don’t know what’s launching. I also haven’t been tempted by any sales because (if there have been any) I don’t know about them so can’t be tempted. Similarly, I deleted the Sephora and Ulta apps off my phone and haven’t been able to just browse for what’s new. I only have 2 non-nail polish items on my wishlist which is so much less than I would have expected.

What was one thing I wanted to buy but didn’t and why?
I really wanted to get the Holo Taco Winter Shimmers collection that launched recently. I don’t have any iridescent shimmer toppers in my collection, so I immediately wanted to buy them since that felt like a gap. They also looked so pretty on all the combinations I was seeing online and so different from what I already own. But if I buy every new launch, I’ll never get to enjoy what I already have. Plus, I have really fun toppers to play with like the one I used on launch day in the photo below – it was great to try and “dupe the vibes” as Hannah Louise Poston would say. Since these are permanent, they’re going on the wishlist for Black Friday, and I can bet anything there will be so many other nail polish launches to get excited about been now and then that I might even not want these anymore.

Orly Star Glaze over Holo Taco I’m Over Brew in beautiful elevator lighting

Did I buy anything this month?
Nope! I got nothing from my no-buy categories, and I’m so excited to keep this progress going. I didn’t even need any replacements so got through the month with no shopping at all in my no-buy categories at all.

What’s a product I rediscovered by having to shop my stash?
One of my favorite rediscoveries are the Bodyography eyeshadows. I had honestly totally forgotten about them and how great they are. Their site says that these are a unique formula that incorporates “the saturation of a loose pigment, the cushion of a cream, and the silkiness of a powder”, and that describes it better than I could. I can throw them on with a brush or finger to create a lot of impact and dimension quickly with one shade, but I’ve been loving layering them together too. I have Celestial (Pink/Brown), Off the Hook (Taupe), and Sparkler (Rose Gold), which cover all the kinds of glittery shades I would want. They stay all day even with a regular eyeshadow primer, and they work great with a glitter primer as well. I’ve loved shopping my stash and enjoying the amazing products I already have!

If you’re doing a no-buy, how did your January go? If not, what amazing thing did you buy this month? I’d love to know in the comments below! Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here on LiftBakeLove, and thanks for reading! 

Revisiting the 5 Oldest Products in My Collection

by liftbakelove6 Comments on Revisiting the 5 Oldest Products in My Collection

As part of my no-buy year, I’m trying to really get to know and love my collection, and my friend suggested that I review the oldest five products in my collection as a way to revisit products that I might have forgotten about. I track all my purchases in an Excel sheet, so it was super easy to find the five oldest products, and I’m excited to review them. Not everything is linked because some of these items were limited edition or discontinued and aren’t available anymore. As always, thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here or on Instagram @liftbakelove for new posts!

diptyque Paris Eau Moheli – My husband bought this for me for our first holidays together, and I’ve loved and cherished it ever since. It’s been more than 8 years since I received it, and it still smells exactly the same. The scent is a very fresh citrusy, green, and woody and definitely fits our joint love of nature and hiking. I wore it on our wedding day and have a travel atomizer I used whenever I went on a trip alone for work. The scent continues to make me so happy, and this is a great reminder for me to use it more often instead of trying to save it. I know it’ll go bad eventually, and I’ll have to throw it away, so I want to get as much use out of it as possible.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Master Palette By Mario – This was a limited edition palette, and I’m honestly so glad I bought it even though I wasn’t even really into makeup yet when it came out. It is one of my most loved makeup products in my collection and always what I used when I wanted my eye makeup to look great. I got so many compliments wearing this palette, especially the shades Paris and Marina. The quality is actually still the same as when I got it in 2016, and I won’t be getting rid of it until I’ve panned more of the shades. I wish that instead of buying more eyeshadow over the years, I just used this one more.

Four of the shades from the Viseart Theory Palette in Cashmere are on the right under JD Glow Unexpected

Viseart Theory Palette in Cashmere – This was given to me as a gift and was my first “higher end” palette. I honestly don’t use it very much because it’s quite cool toned and the shimmers don’t provide as much impact as I would want. I like the mattes but like using the mattes in my other palettes so much more, including in the Petit Pro palette I have from Viseart. I wish that I had gotten that one instead of this one originally. Writing this up had made me consider decluttering this to a friend because it’s made me realize that I’ve been forcing myself to use it instead of palettes that work much better for me. In the meantime, I had moved some of the shadows into my Salt New York palette to see if I’ll get more use out of them that way.

Bite Beauty Amouse Bouche Lipstick in Chai – This was part of the Sephora birthday gift set in 2018 and still one of my favorite lipstick shades. It’s a warm plummy brown that works so well with my lip color, and I always loved how it looked when I wore it. The formula is still super creamy and slightly hydrating. I also purchased the full size of Chai when they were discontinuing the lipstick line because I thought I’d for sure get through the mini. I didn’t know 2020 was going to happen and we’d be wearing lipstick so much less, but even so, I learned that I don’t need to buy a full size no matter how much I like the mini because it takes so long to get through lip products. The mini is still going strong and now I have so many other lipsticks I love wearing just as much.

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Single in Nude Glow

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Single in Nude Glow – I used and loved this eyeshadow so much. It’s still one of the singles I pack when I’m going on a trip because it’s such a great one and done. The color is a really pretty rosy bronzy sparkly shade that isn’t too dark or light on me. The formula has held up really well and still goes on creamy with no fallout. It was only $3.99, and looking back, it was a much better investment than some of the other eyeshadows I’ve purchased over the years.

What products do you have in your collection from years ago? Do you still wear them? Tell me about it in the comments below!  Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here on LiftBakeLove, and thanks for reading! As always, some links may be affiliate links that support the blog, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.

I’m going on a no-buy for most of 2022 – what that means for me and for LiftBakeLove

by liftbakelove8 Comments on I’m going on a no-buy for most of 2022 – what that means for me and for LiftBakeLove

If you’re a long-time reader here (and if you’re not, welcome!), you’ll know that I have a fairly large collection of makeup, skincare, body care, haircare, and nail polish. And honestly, I just have everything I need and want to get to know and love my collection more. I can’t think of anything I need and don’t want to continue piling up products just to have them. So, heavily inspired by the amazing Hannah Louise Poston, I’m embarking on a no-buy experiment for 2022.

Here’s my list of rules:

  1. Anything I want to purchase in the makeup, skincare, body care, haircare, and nail polish categories goes on a wishlist for purchase during Black Friday sales. Based on my experience, by the time it’s been almost 11 months, I won’t even want or remember most of the things I put on the list and anything I do want will be heavily discounted. I’ve already started doing this and it’s actually been easier than I expected to just say “I can wait to get this until November 2022 and it’ll probably be at least 30% off – I’ll use what I have in the meantime.”
  2. I can buy replacements if I finish every single thing in a category (e.g., no brow products left at all so I need to get one) but I have a big enough collection I doubt that will happen.
  3. I’m setting a strict budget for all beauty related products, including the Black Friday sales purchases so I don’t go overboard when the time comes. I also have a small separate budget for limited edition items I know are coming in 2022 but I want to make sure I don’t buy them just because they’re limited edition so I’m really keeping it small.
  4. No buying products “for review” – I bought a bunch of products over 2021 to review for the blog, and while those reviews did well in terms of views, I didn’t need those products. I don’t actually make any money yet from this blog (thanks for your support if you use my affiliate links – it’s not enough to make a profit after just paying for the WordPress membership!), so it just doesn’t make sense to get products just to review on here.

What that means for the blog:

You won’t see as many new product reviews unless I get something as a present or in PR. I still have a bunch of products I got in the last few months that I haven’t reviewed yet, so there will be a bunch in early 2022 and then taper off. Instead, I’ll be doing (hopefully) more empties posts and shopping my stash posts. I’m planning on posting a no-buy update every month and would love to know if there’s anything you’d like to hear about in the comments! I’ll also likely post more fitness related content as I gear up for my next big competition in April 2022 and focus more attention on building up my squat, bench, and deadlift instead of shopping for makeup.

Please let me know if you have requests or suggestions for post you want to see – I’d love to continue to make this a useful place for you to visit! As always, thank you so much for being here – I love having this blog and can’t wait to see what happens with it in 2022!