It’s November 15th, which means it’s time for my No Buy November check in! Side note – can you believe we are already halfway through the month?!
I’m happy to say that my no-buy is going…pretty well! I know, I know, the title of this post is kind of a contradiction in itself. But if you recall in my first post about No Buy November, I said I was going to allow myself to shop during the Sephora VIB sale. And I’m happy to say that aside from that sale, I haven’t purchased any other makeup or clothing, which are normally my two main vices! I’ve saved a lot of money and was able to totally pay off both my credit cards just a few days ago, so I’d say it’s going well! 🙂
Oh, except… I did buy one other thing…and it was kind of a big thing…..my new Christmas Dooney & Bourke bag.…..oops. My excuse for this one was that I was afraid it would sell out so I didn’t wanna wait to buy it. Which is kind of a lame excuse…but I worked a ton of overtime the past few weeks and I deserved a gift to myself OKAY!!!!
Anyway. I thought I’d also use this post as an excuse to share what I bought at the Sephora VIB sale! I prepared my selections in advance so I was ready to order when that beautiful email arrived:
From what I can tell, people have lots of different approaches to these sales – some use it to stock up on products that they already use and like, while others use it as an opportunity to try new things. I kinda did a bit of both. My order hasn’t arrived yet (I’m sure I’ll share on instagram when it does) but here’s what I decided on:
Kat Von D Tattoo Liner
You may (or may not, idk who actually reads this lol) remember I received a deluxe sample of this eyeliner in my September Sephora Play box. Well…I’ve used it literally every day since then. The sample is still going strong, but I thought this sale was as good an opportunity as any to get a full size to keep as a backup. I’m seriously so obsessed with this eyeliner, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to use another one again!
Belif Bestsellers On-The-Go Kit
This set sort of fell into my lap and I’m kinda thrilled that it did. I received the Belif Aqua Bomb moisturizer in my October Play box and really like it, and was considering getting the full size during the sale. Then I stumbled upon this set that contains that moisturizer along with a toner, a serum, an eye cream and a cleanser. It just so happens that I JUST ran out of my eye cream AND my toner…so this set seemed like a great way to replace those as well as try some new things. AND it was only $16 on sale! I really think this is gonna be a great set and I’m excited to try everything out.
Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer
This came as a recommendation from my friend Ana. I struggle a LOT with the dark circles under my eyes – I feel like no concealer has enough coverage or it ends up creasing or looking cakey. Ana recommended this to me and I’ve never tried an undereye primer before, so I decided to give it a shot. I’m hopeful that it will help me fix my creasing concealer…we’ll see what happens!!
GlamGlow Gravity Mud Firming Treatment
This was by FAR my biggest splurge of the sale. I ask for a sample of this pretty much every time I go into Sephora and I just love it so much…it’s one of the few skincare products I have where I feel like I see immediate results after use. It smells so refreshing and it’s just such a great luxury product. I can’t wait to use it when it arrives!
Shiseido Facial Cotton
I’m almost out of the cotton rounds that I use to apply toner (of course that’s how it happens – during the month I’m not supposed to buy things, I run out of EVERYTHING AT ONCE) so I threw these on the pile to buy while they were on sale.
Throw on a few additional items for friends, and that’s all! Mostly skincare products really – I’m starting to feel like my makeup collection is more curated and I don’t really NEED much more of anything to complete it. Other things I considered: a new shade of my fav Kat Von D liquid lipsticks (but I have MORE than enough as it is), a gift set of the Sephora sheet masks I love (but I have a bunch to go through already) and the Guerlain Météorites Pearls (but I really, really don’t need them lol)
So really, in conclusion…I’m doing pretty well, I think. I don’t plan to buy any makeup for the rest of the month, or really much of anything aside from food and Christmas gifts! So far I’d call my no-buy more of a low-buy, but I’m still saving a lot of money which was the goal of the exercise. We’ll see how I do for the rest of the month! 🙂
thanks for reading! see ya next time,
xo Kaela
