2019 No Buy

As auxiliary beauty recently noted, it seems like everyone is doing a No Buy this year, or at least this month. I'm curious to see if this is the beginning of a trend toward less consumerism, as people are becoming more aware of and frustrated with the role of money in politics and the increasing threat of climate change, etc.--or if it's just temporary fatigue after a year or two of seemingly endless product releases and shiny new things. I guess it will take a while to see how things shake out once the New Year's resolution season is over.

For me, it's a combination of both. I am really at the point where I can't think of anything else I want, much less need. I probably have more makeup right now than I could use in a lifetime, even if none of it was going to go bad. For skincare I'm all set too. I'm sick of filling bins with empty plastic containers (even though I know that the waste I create as an individual is minuscule in the larger scheme, and making people feel personally responsible for environmental damage is a distraction from the industrial and corporate entities that are creating the vast majority of it). I also question how much of my money I want to give to Ronald Lauder, for example--even though, again, my occasional purchase or lack of a purchase won't ever register among the billions that people like him have in the bank.

Mostly, buying more and more shit just doesn't feel like me. I think there's a hereditary aspect to my hoarding, but I'm pretty good at avoiding it in other areas of my life. (Moving on a yearly basis--or even more often!--also helps.) I started collecting nail polish while I was in grad school, when I had limited (but sufficient) income and was pretty stressed out. Nail polish was something small and affordable and entirely unrelated to my work that I could enjoy. I moved on from there to makeup and skincare. It's similar to the broader economic phenomenon in which sales of lipstick or nail polish increase during a recession, when we still want little treats but can't afford much. And guess what? It's five years later and I still have a modest, unstable income and a lot of stress. It's enough already.

When I started this blog, it was to point out good deals and to investigate whether various products were "worth it" (a subjective concept, for sure!). I am the person who recommended using a light, shimmery eyeshadow as a face highlighter, instead of buying a separate product (remember when it was 2013 and we still had to explain what contouring was?). Now how many highlighters do I own? (Not that many, I suppose, but more than none.) I still haven't become someone who buys the latest trendy thing as soon as it appears, and I've never made Rouge at Sephora or Diamond at ULTA, but I have become someone who buys more beauty products than a single human with one face really needs.

So I'm going to stop buying, and we tend to call that a No Buy in the "beauty community." I don't usually commit to projects like this, just like I don't diet, because I find that it's easy to get obsessive and that following restrictive, dogmatic regimens can easily backfire. But since I don't want to buy anything anyway, I think I might as well do it consciously and mindfully (there's a word that's over-used).

Doing this deliberately requires some rules, or at least guidelines, besides "just don't buy shit." Again, I don't really like arbitrary rules, but I guess the alternative would be to end up buying something, decide I've violated the whole premise of the exercise, and just start shopping mindlessly again. This is where I'd love to hear about your experiences and advice.

I like the idea of "replacement only," which I know is how lots of people frame it. But what does that mean, exactly? For instance, I am currently using an eyebrow pencil that I really like. In general I prefer pencils to other eyebrow products. When it's empty, do I permit myself to replace it with another pencil? Or should I then try to use a couple of pomade/cream brow products I already have, which are perfectly functional, just not my favorite? You don't have to answer that question specifically, but it's the kind of thing I'm pondering. In general, I plan on only buying staples like concealer, mascara, or skincare products with specific ingredients that are important to me. I certainly won't find myself finishing an eyeshadow or a lipstick and not having anything already in my hoard that can replace it.

Also, do I need to set a timeframe? Currently I'm thinking this will continue indefinitely, but is that unrealistic? I don't like the idea of counting down to a date when I can buy something again.

Finally, no more buying things "for the blog." I've never bought things that I didn't think I would eventually use just to blog about them (at least, not that I remember), but I have definitely bought things that I don't need right now because I thought they would make interesting blog posts. I have enough shit at the moment that has never appeared on the blog, and I'm busy enough that my blogging schedule is sporadic, at best, so I'm not going to run out of content any time soon. (I will accept free products from brands if they are things I actually want to try. That has only happened  a few times in all the years I've been blogging.) I also want to start posting on my ancient beauty blog again, because I'm working on an article, and I think doing so will help me make my way through the research.

So what do you think? Do I need more rules? Are you conscientiously limiting your beauty purchases, or restricting your budget in another area more this year than you have in the past? Is it purely for financial reasons, or do you have other motivations? I'm curious to hear how many other people are riding this train right now, and how you conceive of what you're doing!

I'll be updating with my thoughts on all this as time goes by both here and on Instagram.