As long as I stay away from counters, I’m more of a planner. If I just happen to be at a department store, I can be easily swayed!
— Christine
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I plan my purchases, & buy online. Once I’m in a store, I end up throwing my plans out the store door and getting what I planned to get and everything else that catches my eyes!
I’ve been trying alot harder to not impulse buy lately. The last several months I’ve been keeping a handwritten list of items/products I *really* want, and I update at least every few weeks, or when I know I’ll be somewhere that carries the items I want. Of course, there items I *really* want, and those I know off the top of my head, so if I happen upon a counter or store that carries it, I sometimes find myself buying it, even when it’s not the most prudent financial choice. My last haul a couple of weeks ago was one such time, but I have no regrets; I’ve just had to cut back on some other luxuries this month, like going out to eat.
I love your method.. when I go shopping at Sephora, I always have a list. One or two additional items inevitable ‘stray’ into my basket. I haven’t tried to keep just one list for overall beauty buys. I should.
I usually find myself focusing on one brand at a time, so that kind of helps me stay away from other items while at Sephora. Right now, I have 5-6 NARS shadows I “need”, then a few lipsticks, then I’ll be onto something else, LOL. Between the UD Vice & Smoked palettes, I may end up straying from my goal. Then there’s the Tarte gift set…
Yes, I am an impulse beauty buyer. And the same can be said with fashion. 😉
I definitely do my research and look at my favorite beauty blogs before deciding whether to purchase a product or not. On that note, every time I go into Sephora and see a product with attractive packaging, I instantly get the urge to make an impulse purchase. Particularly with brands like Benefit, who have amazing and fun packaging. It also gets me. I also like the idea of not knowing whether a product is good or bad, impulse decisions sometimes turn out good!
impluse! it sucks i just bought ben nye’s translucent powder right now
YES YES YES YES AND YES.
It’s really quite sad. At least half of the makeup in my collection was from an impulse buy. But they’re my own, my babies, my precious…. *twitches*
LOL!
LOL!! Totally get you!! 😛
I don’t meticulously plan, but I do know what I’m looking for most of the time. That said, other things jump into my arms and come home with me when making my planned purchases. Mostly though, I just go in to see what catches my eye. So guess I’m more impulse than plan.
Generally speaking, I’m not. Well, not since a few years ago I discovered beauty blogs and reviews. I used to pop into Sephora, pick whatever catches my eye and be done with it. Of course, I’d end up with a lot of products that either don’t suit me or are too similar to each other (I kept buying MLBB lipsticks, for example). Nowadays I do much more research and planning. I still succumb to an occasional impulse buy, but I’m more likely to go home, look for dupes in my stash, check reviews online and Temptalia’s dupe list etc. Of course, if there’s a discount/clearance/GWP, I find it harder to stick to my plan.
Well, to tell the truth I never stay away from counters ! And I am not trying to do so ( lol ) so yes I a am bit of a compulsive person.
me too 🙂
sometimes and mostly when i see great deals or when i fix an ideia that i have to have sometging! but that happens always on stores since i have to borrow a card for online shopping :p if i had one now, it would be my total disgrace…!!
I can be, but I’m a lot better than I used to be. Between my skin needing a proper testing phase in case of any more surprise reactions (nothing quite like going on holiday and finding out you’re allergic to the stuff the hotel uses to wash their sheets) and the fact that nothing’s really caught my eye in person in a while, I haven’t been jumping at make up lately.
OMG! That must have been a horrendous experience!
Sometimes I am. A few products I’ve purchased on impulse, I’m really glad about as the impulse that drew me to them was what makes them great to use. It’s funny, though – not all my “impulse” buys are those that take place at the last minute, at the store or counter – sometimes (most of the time, to be honest), it’s seeing something online that will create that burning impulse that has me thinking “I MUST have that; I MUST have that”! Sometimes, the impulse will slowly dissipate if I don’t have time to get the store right away, but other times, it gets more intense!
Not really. I almost always have to do some research about the shades (or at least the formulas) before I make up my mind. We can’t return anything here, so I have to be a bit more careful!
On nail polish only, and never more expensive than OPI (so less than $8.50). Otherwise I’d be dead broke.
I can identify with you Christine! I am a METICULOUS planner. Lots of factors HAVE to be considered before I purchase a product eg. temptalia’s review of the product, my budget, if I have something similar already, will I even use this product, heck maybe even the direction of the wind that day haha (joking!). I plan and even STALK a product in store and online for a couple of days before I make the decision to buy it (I move quicker if its LE). However, if I happen to find myself in a department store, I am known to do an impulse buy, although I would usually buy a product whose formulation I know is great…for eg. Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Glosses…I may not have read the review for the exact shade but I know the formula is stellar so I’ll purchase one anyway! I guess in this way, I never totally deviate from my meticulous planning!!!
Occasionally I will see something and buy it on an impulse, but most of the time I am a planner. The only thing I buy impulsively is nail polish.
A bit of both, actually. I do plan many of my purchases, but I also get sidetracked and spontaneously add one or two items. This inevitably happens to me at Sephora. My eBay purchases are typically far more spontaneous and occur when I’m looking for something which is no longer available, or I want to get it on the cheap.
It takes me weeks of research, including, most heavily, your reviews, in order to let myself buy a new product. Especially with high end products, I do not want to be dissapointed.
yep. I work at a big retailer, and I am usually there when we get new arrivals. I am notorious for buying most of the eyeshadows on the display LOL. I figure if it works , I keep it . If it doesnt work , I take it back to the store to get my money back.
I’m pretty meticulous and always go into a mall knowing exactly what I should be buying, if anything (if I’ve been shopping a lot recently or I don’t need anything, I won’t even look at cosmetics). Sometimes I’ll stumble across things that suit me so well and I’ll splurge on them, though it’s only ever on products I’ve read about before. For example, I just bought a Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream on an impulse since I loved the color so much, but I’d heard a lot about these eyeshadows before and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed with the product. If it’s something I’d not heard of before but I am interested in, I’ll remember the name of it and look up reviews online before I go back and buy it.
I have a serious makeup shopping problem. I basically can’t be around makeup at a store or I’ll walk out with a huge bag full of it lol.
When it comes to higher end stuff, I do plan ahead of time, because I’m a college student making just above minimum wage and I have to budget out my money. I generally don’t buy something high-end without doing my research…Sometimes I do end up making an impulse purchase if something’s a really good deal on Hautelook, though.
Drugstore stuff is a big problem for me though…every time I go to Walmart or Target I end up with at least 3-4 impulse beauty items. Yesterday I went to Walmart for shampoo and laundry detergent and left with 3 revlon lip stain balm things and several sinful colors nail polishes. Could probably save a lot of money if I’d stop doing that!
Every six months or so, I allow myself a few hundred dollars to splurge on makeup. Other than that, I make lists of what I need and plan on what date to buy them just so I never run out of my kit essentials.
I rarely impulse buy. I research products and read reviews from as many sources possible before I make a decision. I’m reminded of a recent experience in Macy’s. I went to the Clinique counter to restock my toner and the sales lady told me about some new eye cream. I asked her for a sample and she stated that there are no samples because Dr. Oz said it was good on his TV show and it just flies off the shelf! I guess these sales people count on the fact that most people are idiots but I’m not going to buy a product because some TV MD supposedly said something about an eye cream. She was probably full of it anyway. I could see how an impulse buyer with no previous knowledge of a product would get suckered if they just blindly believe whatever they are told.
Dr. Oz is a cardiologist so I don’t think I would be relying on his word for skin care products.
Cardiologist or not… I had a good laugh when I left her counter. Bless her.
Yes and no. I impulse buy but usually I have a list of products I want, and when I buy I usually pick up something on that list. However, there are times when I just grab things randomly off the shelf 🙂
I’m an occasional impulse buyer, but in general I am a heavy researcher and a huge bargain hunter. I am going to price check items and if the retail price is the same everywhere then I will look for discount options available (store coupons, store rewards programs, gift with purchase options, pro discount programs, etc)…if I am determined to get something then I will get it at the place that offers me the best value. Exceptions would be if I need it immediately or if the place with the best price is also the place with the worst customer service experiences lol. But…like my MAC purchases recently, sometimes I am talked into impulse purchases if I let the salespeople talk to me for too long when browsing lol.
It is extremely rare that I buy a product simply on impulse. I tend to be a planner in every area of my life, so I usually spend a good amount of time looking at online reviews and pictures and playing with a product in person before I ever spend any money on it.
I’m impulsive towards clothes, shoes and purses. But for jewellery and cosmetics – not so much. I also do some research and looks up reviews before buying them – especially if the products are expensive, but if it’s inexpensive and has cute packaging, I probably won’t pass up on it.
Oh definitely. In fact I went into ulta today for some nail polish remover and ended up buying not only that but a lipstick, cream blush, an eyeshadow, a nail polish, and a powder lumizer
Yes, if I look and have money, I’m gone!
Oh god yes!! To a fault, totally. I really should start up a Makeup Addict Anonymous group or something…
I like to tell myself that I’m not. I only buy things that I’ve heard about, read about, and have been planning to buy.
Problem is, I hear and read about and plan to buy a lot. -_-
LOL!!
hmm.. For high end i’m 100% a planner.
For drugstore i’m kind of impulsive 🙂
I´m a little less of an impulse buyer today thanks to beauty blogs and reviews. Like many here have said, I am careful when I´m considering a higher-end product – I definitely give it a lot of thought. If I know I´m going to the mall or a drugstore, I take with me my “wish list”. The problem is when certain products/collections are already there and I have not read any reviews….then I confess I do some impulse buying based on my budget and a hope I don´t choose a total miss product!
sometimes I have hard time with self-control 🙁 If I know something is coming out it will help me plan better. I’ve been working on that thanks to this blog. Thanks Christine!