Consumables

Day 96

Consumables

This is part of the “quarter of the way there” update.

My challenge to “not buy” extends far, but cannot extend to consumables. By consumables, I mean things that we use regularly and have to replenish, like hair products, body lotion, make-up and shoes. (sorry—not shoes, old habits die hard) Again, it would be very easy to transfer my bad shopping habits to any of these necessities so I have had to make some rules.

1.      Lotion: I have to use up what I have before I buy more, unless it stinks or is of really poor quality, in which case it is thrown away.

2.      Makeup: I had to try on everything I have to determine what is worth keeping and what was an impulsive, poorly chosen item. NO gift with purchase packs with odd color samples and stuff I will never use. I am such a sucker for the “gift with purchase!” Lipsticks can only be replaced with the same color.

3.      Hair care: Again, try everything I have, even if it means some really, really bad hair days.

Along the way, I have discovered some really stupid purchases as well as some hidden gems:

·         Tan Towel Tanning Mist: VERY bad. Streaky, runny, orange. I had to actually throw this away in case I forget this review.

·         Ulta Body Lotion:  This smell good but sits on the skin. I think of it more like a creamy scent. They discontinued my signature scent so Ulta is on my bad list.

·         Speaking of discontinue, have you ever had a beauty product you love but it gets discontinued? I have! I found that by searching online (Google) for the product with a color number, it is often available at drugstore.com or amazon.com. I discovered that some products are discontinued regionally so they are, in fact, still available. This really saves the trial and error of new products.

·         Bath and Body Works Lotions: Better lotion quality than Ulta if you find a scent you like, and they will likely discontinue it at some time.

·         Aveeno Baby Eczema Cream: We bought this for our grandson and it wasn’t suitable for him- but it gives me the skin of a baby!!! An accidental great find!

·          Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Corrector: Useless. Did nothing, but smells nice.

·         SexyHair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel: Bought this on a whim because it implied I would get sexy hair. It actually gives huge volume but it makes the blowout a little more difficult. Worth it.

·         Organix Coconut Milk Weightless Mousse: Clearly bought this thinking “vacation,” nice product because it is lightweight. Doesn’t smell coconutty, which is disappointing.

·         Almay Smart-Shade Anti-Aging makeup:  Smart, if your shade is orange!  I like the Ulta tinted moisturizer better.

·         Best new find: I have used spritz hairsprays for years because I thought it was better for my fine hair. Because I had to use up a can of aerosol hairspray, WOW! I found that I love aerosol hairspray!!! What a difference- my style holds much better now. I can’t wait until all my hairspray is gone so I can buy Elnett from L’oreal!

My shelves are looking pretty bare but I know what I’ve got to work with. I’ll share more reviews later!