My “No Buy/Low Buy” Journey – Jan to April 2021 - Plus Product Empties!!
We are now halfway through the year (wow, that went quickly), and it’s time for my first four-monthly roundup in my No Buy/Low Buy Journey. I’ll start as always with what I’ve bought (i.e. way too much!) and end with everything I’ve used.
January 2021
I don’t want to say I bought too much in the comments for every month, so let’s just assume it from here on - I bought too much!
The month started with a voucher I needed to use for Cult Beauty; I bought the newly released The Ordinary concealer and a Huda Beauty Demi-matte lipstick in the shade “Bonnie”. The NYX items all come Boots in their January sale, along with the Becca Highlighter and lip balm, which I got for around £10. The e.l.f Mint Melt collection and Barry M Fresh Face Foundation and Cheek and Lip Tint came from Superdrug along with their own B. liquid blush.
The Kiko, Bare Minerals and W7 all came from TK Maxx. I do regret buying the Queen Bee palette as I already have the Urban Decay Naked Honey palette - which this is a dupe of - but I just couldn’t resist the £3.99 price tag!
February 2021
February was mainly skincare focused, with the vouchers from my Holland and Barrett Advent Calendar running out at the end of the month and a sale on at e.l.f and REN.
The Holy Hydration Face Cream and Cleansing Balm were complete impulse-buys, and the cleanser was heavily reduced when I bought the other (I think it cost me about 40p). The Q&A items were purchased with a voucher along with the Dr Organic, and all the REN products were expensive impulse purchases because they had a sale on.
Makeup wise, I mainly bought new items from e.l.f I’d been looking at for a while. I’ve already used the Lip Shine several times and love it. All in all, I may have bought a lot, but I’m happy with my purchases and can see some of them being used up by the end of the year!
March 2021
Surprise surprise, I had another voucher to use up - this time for Mark’s and Spencer. I bought the two Pixi tonics and palette with 20% off and got the Rose Flash Balm for free. It was a great deal, and I absolutely love the Pixi skincare range, so I know I will eventually use these up.
The essence products come from Feel Unique. I’ve been trying to get this mascara for a few years now, so that was pretty exciting. And finally, the Mylee products; I’m nearly at the end of my first Magic Gel Remover, so bought this one as a backup, and the Essential Collection is nude colours to use on my nails to grow them out.
I also bought a Garnier Rose Micellar Water (not in the picture) as a celebration of them becoming Leaping Bunny Certified Cruelty Free!
April 2021
April was a much better month for me - and would have been even better had it not been for the e.l.f 40% off sale. I didn’t need backups of my two favourite moisturisers, but I am glad to have them in my stash.
The other e.l.f purchases were just completely impulse buys - I don’t regret them, but I know I could do better. Those No Budge Shadow Stick’s are fantastic as eyeshadow bases, by the way.
My Birthday
Bonus picture here for my birthday. I got some really lovely things from my family, including the ridiculously beautiful Sigma Enchanted Palette. Also really love the Ofra x Steph Toms Highlighter and while I no longer support the brand or wish to buy from them again, I will love and use this (btw I still support Steph!).
Beauty Empties
A staple in my nighttime skincare routine, I finished my first micellar water of the year. This Superdrug one has always been a favourite of mine, but with not going to actual shops and it being impossible to get online, I’ve started to love the Botanics one just a little bit more - I also have the Garnier one to try out!
I also really love these blemish stickers. Really great value for money, with minimal plastic packaging - not as good as Dots For Spots but the amount you get for £5.95 is pretty unbeatable.
Last two empties for these four months and the first is my always favourite deodorant from Dr Organic. I have tried a few other “natural” deodorants but keep coming back to this one. I would be more than willing to stick with this one if it wasn’t for the excessive and unrecyclable plastic waste, so I’m trying Wild Deodorant next.
The Original Source Shower Milk was very nice, but it seems to have been discontinued - probably a good thing because I’m trying to use up all my shower gel stash and hopefully move on to more sustainable bar soap.
Summary and Goals For Next Time:
I want to finish this post by saying that this is not about bragging how much I’ve bought, but more of a record for myself (and anybody who might be interested) of how much I am buying and using to hopefully become more sustainable. I get annoyed with myself and my lack of willpower - there is no way I need to have 10 hand creams in my stash and still be buying them!
Last years goal was just to monitor what I was buying and using with hopefully £100 worth of empty products, although I only managed just over £50.
This year I have been trying to put myself on product specific no-buys (at the moment I’m on a no eyeshadow palette plan until Black Friday!), I would also like to use up over £100 worth of products, which so far is at four items worth £16.93. This number will hopefully go up considerably in the next update as I have a fair few items nearly used up!
Thanks for joining me on this very hard journey so far, and I can’t wait to see you in my next update.