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How good are you at resisting temptation when it comes to new releases?

I’m fortunate not to be in a place where I have to do much resisting.
I’m pretty good about adhering to some of the limits and rules I’ve set for myself with respect to budgets,
what type of products and when, etc.

— Christine

26 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

Probably better than some but not as good as others (people I know who own 3 lipsticks, 2 blushes, a handful of eyeshadows!). I do wait for reviews here for most things (sadly, you don’t have access to Lise Watier but there are always testers and there’s Makeupalley). Now, I usually cave just for items that rate highly here and are unique because I have so many dupes for most things.

Marie-Estelle Avatar

Tricky question!

It mostly depend on the brand and colours theme (purple, rosy, peachy tones) or the type of product (eyeshadow) . Viseart, mufe are brands I have more issues resisting to when it comes to new releases. But I don’t do too bad now. I found enough HG products to be happy with what I already own!

Anne Avatar

I’m downright overjoyed and doing cartwheels when I find that gem of a matte eyeshadow single or the perfect color and formula for a new lippie. So, I agree: The thrill of discovery is huge. But, I’m so darn picky now, it’s truly like looking for a needle in a haystack. But when I find it, I feel like I should win a prize or something!

BonnieBBon Avatar

As my collection has grown over the years my ability to resist has slowly built up. I’ve gotten pretty good at tuning out hype. But there will always be things I’m going to have zero will power against like a beautiful lipstick in my color zone or something like the UD Basquiat collection that fused my brand goodwill and my love of the artist.

Deborah S. Avatar

I am getting a lot better. Last years no buy, which in reality was a low buy, helped me tremendously. Prior to that I would have no brakes on my makeup train. Now, like many with huge collections, I am looking for the truly unique products, shades and formulas that are reviewed very highly and work on my skin tone. If it happens to come in super luxe packaging then all the better. I do love beautiful products to sit on my vanity. I go to visit my mother and she seriously owns one lipstick, one blush and one powder compact. That is it. She waits for them to run out before she purchases more. She doesn’t care if her blush is orange and she is wearing pink. She grew up on a farm in Montana and they just didn’t value anything except the farm. Material things didn’t matter. Sadly, I am a material girl, to quote Madonna.

Deborah S. Avatar

Hi Seraphine,
I am not sure this will help you but it was a combination of things. First, I reorganized my makeup collection which had grown so out of hand and was housed in several different rooms in my house. I don’t have a dedicated “beauty room” so I decided to purchase a piece of furniture to house my makeup and then reduce my collection to fit into the space. It forced me to get rid of a lot of things that I just didn’t use and also made me think about what to purchase. I still have a ton of stuff but I tried to be selective about what I kept and when I purchase things now it is with the knowledge that it has to fit within the space I have. The chaos in my life was debilitating.
The second reason is that I have a trip to Europe planned for in the spring as a gift to my daughter for her college graduation, which occurred this past May. There were extenuating circumstances that kept us from going at that time but now with plans finalized I need to make sure that I have the funds available to make the trip what I want it to be. Consequently, setting this as a goal has helped me to evaluate when I am tempted whether it is worth giving up some portion of the trip.
Having become a little pickier has helped me to realize that many times I was just responding to the hype and if I could resist buying it during that period of initial hype I found I realized quite easily that I really didn’t want or need it. After I did that a few times I started to feel better about myself and that strength helped me to say “no” more often. Now I still have issues with regards to my daughter and buying her products. Baby steps, LOL.
I had a couple of issues with companies and their PR methods that occurred at that same time and I was tired of the games they played in an effort to sell their products. It made it easy for me to mark them off my list and opened my eyes to many questionable marketing techniques. I have developed more of a buyer beware approach to makeup and that led me to Temptalia.
Finally, reading Temptalia has helped me to evaluate products as Christine has done all of the hard work already. Comments from users who have more self-control has helped me also. I don’t want to be duped and readers comments gently nudge me to be smarter.
So, no real techniques just personal growth, I think.

Seraphine Avatar

Thank you for taking the time to post such a great reply. I’ve been into makeup all my life, but since joining Temptalia, I’ve gone a bit crazy with the buying. It’s just that the reviews get me so excited to try new products. But what I need to do is learn to just enjoy reading the reviews and comments on this site without feeling like I have to buy every pretty new thing that comes out. If I’m being truly honest with myself, I know I already have a lot more than enough products to do every type of look that works on me. And I don’t really have room for more makeup, so I want to make a serious no-buy effort for the coming year. If I can keep resisting the KVD Saint & Sinner palette, I will have made a great first step.

Deborah S. Avatar

I know what you mean about the Saint and Sinner palette and I was seriously tempted but the size was off putting to me. I need my makeup to be versatile and I didn’t want to buy a palette that I couldn’t travel with as I go away for long weekends, etc. I know some were purchasing with the idea that they would display it on their vanity but I don’t have room for something that large. I also recognize that there were quite a few shades that I just wouldn’t use and many of the others I had dupes for so in the end, once I got past the initial hype, it was an easy pass for me. Good luck resisting. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

Erica Avatar

I set rules for myself. I do not need every little thing that is released and I like to be a more well rounded person than just someone who is into makeup. I try too to be like only when I’m up to a 1000 points, I can get such palette. I can only buy when I have a VIB coupon etc And then it helps that I’m on a no buy for certain things like mascara and foundation. Cannot buy until I use what I have. Helps keep me in check

Anne Avatar

Well said. I think that’s basically me, too. It takes a lot to impress me, basically because I really love what I have. So, when that something special and different finally comes along, I usually cave and buy it!

AB Avatar

Pretty well, since lately I have come to realize I have all I need several times over. This said lately I have been thinking I might explore contouring so I am probably less likely to be able to resist any new and well graded such product is released.

Pearl Avatar

Better than I used to be, but it’s still hard for me. It was a learning curve. The fomo still gets to me and if I don’t buy, I still go back and forth with myself for a couple of weeks. It’s helped that I only buy from a few brands and that my collection is curated, but even when it’s something I know I won’t wear all that much, if at all (i.e. Chanel’s Road Movie – but wait, now that I’ve mentioned it, it’s back on my radar and let the back and forth begin) I have a hard time not adding it to my stash ‘just because’.

Anne Avatar

If you’re a red head, my guess is that you’ll cave sooner rather than later. But, it’s permanent, I think. So, you have time to torture yourself. Lol.

Janeen Avatar

I have gotten better overtime when I have realized that even though I LOVE make up, I don’t wear it enough to warrant my huge collection. In a way I missed when I had one or 2 blushes and waited until they were almost done to get another. Now I have a drawer full of lipsticks and another drawer full of blushes and many tend to fall by the wayside because they get hidden. I have given a lot of my make up to my cousin this year and it hasn’t even made a dent. I’m a sucker for eyeshadow palettes even though my eyelids are super oily and I tend to not wear much eyeshadow because I’d rather have 0 eyeshadow than creasy eyeshadow. So I’ve given a lot of those away and just kept what are known as staples in the industry or ones I really love. My last buy was the Morphe JH palette that I got with a coupon through Ulta, and I do love it and don’t regret that purchase ($30 isn’t bad). I need to place myself on a no buy unless it’s primer or foundation, because I really don’t need to buy anything else..probably ever again, hahaha.

However, I will always want to try new things that are marketed for oily skin, whether it’s new foundation or primer or powder, because I’d like my make up to last 14-15 hours during work without becoming an absolute mess.

Nancy T Avatar

Oooh, not as good as I wish I were. While I rarely make an impulsive buy, if ever, I sometimes do impulsively buy something once I see that it reviewed well, has shades that call to me and that I believe (however misguidedly) that I will use to death. I’m really trying to wait things out a bit longer in an effort to self-talk myself out of it by checking my stash for dupes. For instance; yesterday, with some help from you, I managed to completely get over my lemmings for the JP Saharan and the ND Aeris palettes. I did find enough dupes around here, along with one that will be in the Lila Palette, that I most definitely do not need either of those!

Brittany Avatar

If it’s nail polish, it’s a bit hard to resist, especially from indie brands that I like. New makeup has been easier to resist lately since I’ve been wearing full faces or eye looks less frequently. I’ve also tried to become a bit more frugal or selective on new purchases, but I think buying less makeup has just led to buying more polish. 😛

Iron Maiden Avatar

It’s been easy lately because I haven’t seen much that interests me. The new releases are so much alike lately–more shadow and highlighter palettes–that nothing’s calling my name. But if I find myself going back to look at an item repeatedly, I’ll probably end up buying it.

Genevieve Avatar

Pretty good actually – it helps when the makeup ‘fashion’ doesn’t work for you – the colours/shades just do not suit me at all and haven’t done for quite awhile now.
When it comes to lipsticks, I generally don’t spend a lot of money on them and wait for my favourites to go on sale – ditto for skincare and all other makeup products.
I think you shouldn’t have to pay full price for pretty much everything makeup related because sooner or later it will be on sale – even the so called limited edition items.

Nicole D Avatar

I am pretty good; in my case, it’s because I don’t like the idea of being dependent on anything material. I like to know about the latest trends in fashion and beauty but I’m not so keen on buying the latest/new releases. The fact that I can put a distance between myself and anything material gives me a sense of freedom.

Tracey E. Avatar

I’m quite measured when it comes to new releases as I want to ensure they’re worth the money and prefer to purchase during a sale or gift card promotion. If I buy a new release with little information, it will be due to the brand’s reputation for high quality products and a concern that the item might sell out.

Tammy Avatar

I’m an impulse shopper and I find it very difficult to avoid new releases. I might swear on a stack of Bibles that I’m not going to buy a certain item, but I can’t stick to it. Five minutes later it’s in my cart and I’m typing in my card number.

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