No Spend November

It's hard to believe that October has already come and gone and that soon Christmas will be right around the corner. Being a beauty enthusiast, I've noticed that's it's become harder and harder to resist a sale and the urge to try that new product everyone has been raving about. At times it's completely compulsory and I end up picking up things that are not all that different from products I already have at home. Sometimes I buy things and set them aside thinking I'll find a time to use them but I just end up forgetting that I even own them. Since the holidays are coming soon, which inevitably means lots of spending for others and lovely new things for me from my family and friends, I thought that November would be the perfect time to institute a beauty spending ban for myself.
Now, the idea of a beauty blogger not trying any new products for a whole month might sound a bit crazy. You might be asking yourself "What the hell is she going to write about?". Fortunately I have a whole stockpile of things that I haven't gotten the chance to play around with. I'm looking forward to taking the time to shop my stash and use some things that have just been sitting around unused.

Now for the details. My 'No Spend November' ban is beauty specific. Therefore, I can still spend money on clothes or shoes or whatever non-beauty related items I fancy, though personally I'm going to make a concerted effort to cut back on that as well, as I've pretty much completely run out of every kind of storage space.

For the month of November I will not be buying ANY of the following:
  • Makeup
  • Hair-care and Hair Styling Products
  • Skincare Products
  • Body Products
  • Beauty Tools

Exclusions:
  • My Ipsy Glambag - Since this is a monthly subscription and I do not want to have to re-register and get back on the waiting list I am not cancelling my Ipsy bag for the spending ban.
  • Gifts or Prizes - If I am gifted with something or if I win something in a giveaway it does not count as I am not actually spending any money. 

Everything else beauty related is included, and I mean everything. I even bought an extra deodorant so that I wouldn't have to worry about including it as an exclusion. I also bought some extra cotton rounds and q-tips last week just to be sure I'd be covered. In terms of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, I have several varieties currently sitting in my shower so even if I run out of my favorite I'll just have to make do with something else. So if you run into me and my hair looks poofy or sad, you know why.

My co-workers seem to think that 'No Spend November' is going to be really hard on me but honestly I don't think it's going to be that rough. I have so many things already at home that I'm looking forward to playing with that I think they'll keep me occupied. The hardest part will definitely be ignoring sales since I'm pretty much a junkie when it comes to deals. Plus, this time of year there are so many new holiday sets and palettes that are released which are usually a less expensive way to try high-end products. Not to mention the blow-out prices during Black Friday. My key to getting through it will just be to add things I really want to my wish list and hope that someone gets it for me for Christmas.

And just for clarification, I'm not winning anything or competing with anyone by doing this. I thought it would be a good way to test myself, limit my spending during the holiday season and finally get to use up some of the products I already own. I'll definitely be giving you some updates throughout the month on the blog and on Twitter as to how it's going. 

I'm actually really excited about this! What do you think? Will I be able to go the whole month without buying any beauty products? Would you ever set a spending ban for yourself or have you in the past?


2 comments

  1. Nail polish is my undoing. I keep telling myself I'm not going to pick up anything in the Target beauty rows but then a great Essie color catches my eye and I have to have it. I'm inspired by your challenge and am thinking of doing the same. Good Luck!

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    1. Oh god! I know what you mean. When you think about it it's so much cheaper buying a new nail polish than getting your nails done in a salon. So really we're saving money, right? Lol. That's the mentality that kills me. But I have a huge bin of polish at my disposal so at least I have lots of options to play with this month. I write this as I sit here with naked nails lol.

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