I keep track using accounting software, so I have an idea of how much I’m spending on a quarterly and annual basis. It’s most important for me not to buy an excessive amount of product that doesn’t end up getting reviewed (because then it’s such a waste of money!).
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I set a monthly budget and then write everything down. Everything I buy is pre-planned. No impulse purchases.
Through memory and “feelings” mostly. I’m pretty good about not actually purchasing makeup regularly anymore. Skin care though….that’s a tougher mistress. I scoop up what I can when it’s on sale (and will last until use) which means my expenses need to be more “fluid.” Though at this point I know what does and doesn’t work, so trying new things is less tempting.
I keep tracking of every single expenses, even if only a coffe, thus including beauty. I’ve simply an excel sheet on my smartphone for this, divided for month. At the end of the year maybe what I could do is make partial of yearly expenses divided by categories, including makeup, skincare and fragrance. With the pandemic I’ve strongly cut the expense in makeup of at least 5, if not up to 10 times. However, expenses in skincare have increased (due to effect on my skin of wearing 12-14hrs a day FFP2 mask for more than 2yrs). I’ve also strongly increased expenses in fragrances, which is something I’ve discovered during the lockdown (I used to smelt old fragrances sample vials- once used for travel- to lift my mood), since before I basically owned only two fragrances. So keeping account of expenses is a good way to ensure that my passion for the beauty (in larger sense) is under control and sustainable (in particular when your mood is bad and the impulse to purchase something nice is strong).
I don’t. If I see something I really want and feel I’ll get use from, I buy it. Because I don’t tend to go overboard, it’s just not an issue. Other, more “vital” expenses (car insurance or repairs, taxes, etc.) have never been at risk because of my makeup spending though I realize that other people may have a bit of a balancing act.
Basically, I keep a mental inventory of what I have already and then scrutinize whether or not something I’m drawn to is or isn’t easily duped within my out of control stash. I do try to keep a budget of roughly $100-120 per month, though being a shopoholic! And so, this is the reason why I’m trying so hard to choose just ONE eyeshadow palette between the very functional, yet perfectly curated “everyday” palette Nars Unrated or the super fun, but possibly a tad too light ND Pastel, but it would certainly work for the immediate few months because right now, I’m as pale as ever!
I track each of my expenses in a monthly spreadsheet, by category. I just put in whatever I spend on makeup, skincare and bodycare in a generic ‘Cosmetics’ category. I don’t have a monthly spending quota. On general I know that most of my shopping is done in my birthday month and around November/December, because I stock up during sales, while in the other months I might not even have to make one purchase.
I try to not think about it.
There ya go 😇 that’s my feeling also ! Truth be told as I’ve said often here my makeup collection is boring and small. I’m not easily enticed by YouTube or Instagram even though I view x several weekly. I just don’t think about it.
I rarely spend a great deal of money these days on cosmetic purchases. A lot of my products come from DS brands (foundation, mascara, eye brow pencils, lipsticks generally) and I get these when they are on sale – heavily discounted ones at that.
At other times I buy beauty products from Ozsale – an online retailer at heavily discounted prices and and only those that I will actually use and those that have been reviewed by you Christine and given a great rating. For example the Shiseido Visionary Gel lipsticks – I paid $15 for each of them (I ordered 4) and they retail at Mecca Aus for $43 each…..such is the mark up here.
For eyeshadow palettes – most of which I do order from the US – these have been given to me as birthday/Christmas/Mother’s Day presents by my adult children.
The only truly impulse buy recently was PMG’s Sublime Platinum Bronze (whatever) palette that I randomly saw in Sephora – which I am keeping for a Mother’s Day present.
As for skincare -now that’s another matter! I do take advantage of the sales in our beauty stores -Priceline and Chemist Warehouse to purchase either products that I know work well on my skin or to try out a new brand. This way I have found quite a few different products that have been the greatest benefit to me.
I buy absolutely everything on CC and use a specific card for my personal purchases. While I do not necessarily do a specific beauty breakdown, I have monthly budget objectives for personal items.
Being retired and not wearing makeup every day makes spending less on makeup easy but everything else creams, essences, serums etc. I will buy when there is a sale. If there is something I really want I will buy it, I do not have an allocated budget for my purchases. I just started keeping all our receipts to see what we spend every month just because our bills have gone up so much and we want to track them. I was pleasantly surprised at how little I was spending on myself. Now the dog is another matter!
As I mostly order everything since I moved from a city with most makeup and skincare available just 15 minutes away, I let AMEX and Klarna keep track for me. (Now I have a rather small makeup store about 35 minutes away, but by car, and petrol, gas is rather expensive here, so online it is.)
This month, I think for the first time in years my AMEX bill was 0! Yay! 🙂