After struggling to follow a beauty low buy over the last 6 months, I decided to embark on a revamp my Beauty Low Buy rules. My beauty spending has been out of control, so it was time to take drastic measures. Please keep reading for my 2019 Beauty No Buy October Update.

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2019 Beauty Low Buy Rules Recap

After a miserable attempt at a Beauty Low Buy, my Beauty No Buy officially started on November 2nd, 2019. While on this No Buy, I cannot purchase any new cosmetics products between the dates of November 2nd, 2019 and November 1st, 2020. I am only allowed to buy new products if:

• (1) If a product is finished and I don’t have a suitable backup
• (2) If I receive a gift card, I will allow myself to use it, but I cannot purchase extra items that go beyond the value of the gift card. (side note: I have Ulta points I’d like to use before they expire at the end of this year)
• (3) If the Anastasia Beverly Hills Amreezy Highlighter comes back in stock and when Melt Cosmetics Releases their Limited Edition Amor Eterno collection.

This No Buy is specific to color cosmetics only. Skincare and haircare are not included in my shopping limitations given that I regularly work through my personal care products. Also, I will not cancel my 6-month Boxycharm subscription. Finally, I am still allowed to receive beauty-related gifts from friends and family or products from brands for testing purposes.

Please keep reading for a summary of what I wanted to buy in October, but did not purchase. Also, included is a summary of what I actually bought last month.

What I Wanted to Buy in October (but Didn’t)

ColourPop Mercury Retrograde 20% Off Sale

I heavily contemplated buying some ColourPop items during the 20% off sale. In fact, I watched countless hours of swatch videos and palette comparisons of the palettes that were most tempting. However, I refrained. None of the ColourPop releases currently felt unique to my collection.

Also, I realized that the hype around ColourPop releases fades so quickly compared to other brands. Given the speed that ColourPop releases products, many releases are quickly forgotten. Moreover, the brand discontinues products at a rapid pace. As a blogger, it is frustrating to talk about products that I know others cannot purchase.

Last, ColourPop was an easy place for me to overspend due to the extremely low price points. More than any other brand, except Sephora, ColourPop is where I shop when I just felt like spending money. Don’t believe me? Check out my ultimate ColourPop palette ranking, Monochromatic Palette ranking, or my epic ColourPop Super Shock Shadow collection.

Kylie Cosmetics 2019 Holiday Palette

The Kylie Cosmetics Holiday Palette looks like such a classic, Christmas-themed palette. As someone who loves wearing red eyeshadow and red clothing, this collection appealed to me instantly.

As of right now, this palette is on my Christmas list and I am hopeful that I will get it. This collection sold out instantly and faded into obscurity just as quickly. If you love Kylie Cosmetics, check out my Kylie Cosmetics High Gloss Review & Ranking.

Nabla Cosmetics Skin Glazing Highlighters

The new Nabla Cosmetics Skin Glazing Highlighters look visually stunning in the pan. These highlighters have been out of stock at Ulta for weeks. Based on the reviews I’ve seen, I can understand why. However, I stopped myself from buying the three on my wish list.

P.S. I eventually acquired two of the highlighters around the holidays, Privilege* and Ozone.* Read my NABLA Skin Glazing Highlighters review.

Stila After Hours Eyeshadow Palette ($52.00 USD, CF)

When the Stila After Hours Eyeshadow Palette came out earlier this year it received little fanfare from the beauty community. However, when I saw a BeautyDealsBFF post advertising that this palette was 50% off, I seriously debated purchasing this palette. (P.S. As of July 2020, this palette is on sale for $26.00).

I wish I could say that my 2019 Beauty Low Buy is what ultimately swayed me not to purchase this palette, but that wasn’t it. In the end, after watching and reading a lot of reviews, I lost interest. The reviewers were so-so at best. Also, I realized that this palette was not unique to anything else in my collection.

What I Actually Bought in October

Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Collection

As I stated in my rules, I planned to make an exception for the Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno Collection. This was very much a planned purchase and not something that was bought on impulse. So what did I pick up from the collection?

I purchased 5 items from the Amor Eterno collection. This includes the Digital Dust Highlighter in Illuminacion ($39.00, CF),  the Fortuna & Santos Gel Liners $19.00 each, CF), and the Muerte Palette ($58.00, CF). As of July 2020, these items are no longer available on the Melt Cosmetics website.

I was proud of my restraint with this purchase. At the time, I legitimately toyed with purchasing everything in the collection except for the liquid lipsticks. However, I showed restraint and only purchased the items I originally set my heart set on buying. Read my in-depth Melt Cosmetics Amor Eterno collection review.

Huda Beauty Mercury Retrograde Palette ($67.00, CF)

The Huda Beauty Mercury Retrograde Palette* was the very last item that I purchased before the start of my revamped Beauty Low Buy. In fact, I purchased it on my last day of shopping freedom during the Sephora VIB Sale.  (sale price: $53.60)

Again, I am proud of the restraint I showed when I placed my Sephora order. The Mercury Retrograde Palette was the only makeup item that I picked up.

Total Spent in November: $188.66

Full Disclaimer:

As always, I started off the month strong. Then, a bad bought of anxiousness that triggered some major spending during this year’s Black Friday Sales. However, my family offered to gift me the items. In other words, they offered to “pay me back” for what I purchased by gifting it to me for Christmas. There, I haven’t included those items here.

Also, for as guilty, as I feel, I don’t feel as bad as I could feel. I decluttered a HUGE amount this month. Items in good condition will be going to friends, family, etc. Meanwhile, some nostalgic, ”old” items sake will be tossed.

2019 Beauty Low Buy October Update: Don’t Shop Just to Shop

The first realization I made during the first month of my revamped 2019 Beauty Low Buy is that old habits don’t just die. My declaration to go on a Beauty Low Buy didn’t kill all my deeply routed desires to shop. Despite unsubscribing from most brand emails and unfollowing all my favorite beauty accounts, I still sought out information on new releases.

This month felt particularly challenging due to the prevalence of so many amazing sales throughout the Black Friday period. At this point, online shopping feels so much like an involuntary a bad habit that changing my ways feels harder than ever before.

Second, I realized that outside of anxiety, my blog is one of the biggest influences on my overspending. As a review-based beauty blogger, I feel the need to try to keep up with all the latest releases. As a result my blog became a justification for my spending.

But in many ways, buying products for reviews never works out for me. In fact, I rarely post out about a product around its launch time. I am very thorough in my reviews and I test so many items that I am slow to post content about new releases. Also, as of this post, my blog is still not monetized.

Even though I am not afraid to do a savage declutter, my blog plays a role in my beauty hoarding. My blog is the reason that I hold onto products that I know I do not love. I may want to use feature certain products in a flat lay or compare formulas.

Final thoughts on my 2019 Beauty Low Buy October Update

I can already tell that 2020 is going to be a year full of learning about my makeup preferences. Although there are some ‘old’ favorites in my collection, there are just as many new items that I still have yet to try. As such, I anticipate that that 2020 is going to be a big year of decluttering for me.

Now that the sales have passed, it will be much less tempting for me to make extraneous purchases. However, I need to be better about avoiding sources of media that tempt me to shop. In layman’s terms, I should block TrendMood1 and BeautyDealBFF on Instagram.

July 2020 Update: I failed to predict the rise of a global pandemic that resulted in many ill individuals, a high death toll, and countless business closures. As a result of being stuck at home and many brands running *constant* promotions, 2020 turned out no better than 2019 in terms of spending. Overall, I struggle with sales.

Let’s connect on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin’ | Influenster

Did you enjoy my 2019 Beauty Low Buy October Update? Interested in following along with my No Buy Journey? Check out my  2019 Revamped Beauty Low Buy Introduction, 

Want a look inside my huge beauty collection? Check out my Blush Collection Ranking, Bronzer Collection Ranking, Highlighter Collection Ranking, and Primer Collection Ranking.

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Do you own any of the products featured in my 2019 Beauty Low Buy October Update? Have you done any shopping fasts? Please let me know in the comments below.

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