How has your beauty spending changed in the last year?
I’d say it’s about the same as it has been since I just… review and review and review 😉
— Christine
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The dollar amount hasn’t changed, but the product type has. Between wearing less makeup due to a very busy schedule and not actually going anywhere, as well turning an age where I’ve decided I need to start paying more attention to skincare, most of my money has gone towards skincare and also perfume (primarily indie perfumers like BPAL). I’ve only purchased a handful of makeup items this year (mostly a couple Sydney Grace palettes during the last sale, Givenchy lip stains on sale, the ND multichrome in Ultraviolet, and hopefully a couple of CoverFx blush duos when they go on sale at Ulta next week – maybe an odd one or two items I’m forgetting) which is a drop in the bucket compared to other years.
Meanwhile, it seems like lately I’ve been buying ALL the skincare. Although I should be pretty set now for awhile so I anticipate a sharp decline in my spending for the remainder of the year except maybe the new ND palette and a celebratory order at Clionadh once I get through this major project I’m working on.
(Speaking of skincare, thank you for mentioning CosRx in your dermstore sale post. I probably would have never looked at their line otherwise and a good number of the new products I bought are from CosRx – along with some Verso, Versed, and The Ordinary. I’ve been really pleased so far.)
Awesome! What CosRX products did you get to try, Lucie?
I used to have very oily skin but it’s balanced out as I’ve gotten older to be a bit more combo normal/oily and less acne-prone, so my primary issue these days are a little bit of scarring and large pores. So I’ve been using the Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence that you wrote about (love it). I also got both the AHA and BHA power liquids (I use the BHA a few times a week and the AHA less frequently). I also picked up the B-5 D-Panthenol Cream for days/nights when I feel like I need a little bit more oomph than my typical gel moisturizer and I’m really liking that as well. It’s only been about three weeks with these particular products (and I do have a couple other serums I also use), so I can’t really claim my pores are definitely smaller, but I definitely feel like my skin is really liking the CosRx products and I’ll catch myself in the mirror and notice that as a whole I feel like my skin is just looking better in this sort of undefinable way but I like it.
I also have the CosRx overnight rice mask coming as an add-on with my fall FabFitFun box to try out, which I’m very excited to try out soon.
Woohoo!! Awesome to hear what’s been working so far 🙂
My spending has changed significantly since February, a lot of personal changes has happened. I have unsubscribed to plenty of mailing lists (any brand or retail store) within the last few months. I have also stopped watching pretty much every beauty channel that I used to watch, but I’m sure they don’t miss me. I intend to unsubscribe from them sometime when my schedule permits. I simply don’t need all of that noise in my life. The indoctrination is out of control. Thank goodness, my grandparents raised me in a foreign country. I came to America right after college graduation when I was turning 21.
The product should always speak for itself. I don’t need any of the creators or owners ”baggage.”
The beauty spending had already been going down the last couple years. I did buy quite a few SG shadows last year and a few this year, to fill in my shadow colors available. And I bought some pricey La Mer foundation very early this year to replace a 3-year-old GA one. If I count skincare, I do keep up with getting lotions and creams but this is usually things already used, with backups now that we’ve had one shutdown.
But even with all that sporadic spending, I’m the very lowest tier on Sephora, meaning that none of its stingy sales (available to my lowly level) have moved the needle for me there. With Ulta, it appears I’ll lose my Platinum status this year because I’m short about $350 and Ulta is carrying less and less of the products I use so I can’t see spending that much. Ulta has also completely discontinued its 20% off prestige brands sale since Covid which has meant its non-prestige products are too pricey compared to the same products at Walmart and Target. This means that I’ll be spending all of my Ulta points before the end of this year.
I should add that I have pretty much all the eyeshadow, blush, highlighters and other makeup that I need. And with mandatory mask wearing, I’ve found that even minimal foundation or concealer is pretty much unworkable, not to mention any lipstick. The dismal Covid theater of my local JCP Sephora (limited entry without escort, no touching of boxes unless given to sales associate for cleaning and quarantine) has made me avoid that place since my one visit, so there’s that too…
I should clarify that what I meant regarding Ulta is that when they do have the 20% off sale for non-prestige items, it’s been on just one item (not on entire purchase). Going in the store for just one item (or ordering just one non-prestige item online, with shipping costs being additional) just isn’t incentive enough for me. Also, frequently when I figure out the new price with discount, Walmart and Target are still cheaper!
I won’t make the tier status on Sephora this year, I have yet to make a single purchase. I’m even debating ordering some hair products just to get my birthday gift. I usually get the hair favorites sets and those minis last me a year or more. I just much prefer purchasing directly from the brands, most have regular 20% sales.
I’ve cut way back, particularly with non-essential color cosmetics. This is partially my own conscious decision at the beginning of the year, and now more due to changes in my circumstances. I moved across town in mid-March into a place where my rent a whopping 35% higher than my place over in Scottsdale. Add to this, my 15 year old Maine Coon Cat mix Scunci became ill, so now there is a looming vet surgery bill that also will cut into what I’d *like* to buy. This whole year has been one wild and uncomfortable ride!
Somewhat the same, maybe a little bit lower. But it’s also because I have become in the last years so efficient at tracking my collection and spending, that I am very efficient at taking advantage of sales and deals. ?
I still continued with my minimal make-up collection (one of each except color, replacing items only as I finish them), purchasing mostly old favorites. Maybe I saved a little on lipstick. I still tend to choose products more on the expensive side, I rarely bought drugstore this year.
Also, I am wearing makeup each work day, just to preserve some kind of sense of normal… so I use items at a regular rate.
Skincare wise I purchased almost the same.
I am spending a LOT less, partly because I have so much already (and I’ve said this for quite some time) but also, not being able to get into stores and now, even though stores are open, not being able to see or sample/swatch items makes me unwilling to purchase things that are new to me. For the most part, I’ve only bought “replenishing” items to replace those I’m on the verge of finishing. Because I was able to see the NARS mini palette I got recently in-store (Sephora has products out but they’re all labelled as “not for use/only for visuals” or something like that), I didn’t hesitate to buy it when I saw it marked down at Winners. But I’m reluctant for the most part to buy something “untried” so I’m saving a fair bit of dosh.
I meant to add that the Pandemic and the hardships faced by so many people have also helped me have a more realistic and sensible approach. The $70 I spend on an eyeshadow palette can be put to so much better use providing groceries for a food bank or going to a charity for the homeless who are so especially vulnerable now.
I probably spent the same amount as in past years but much less of the total went to Ulta and Sephora. I am Platinum again at Ulta but only VIB at Sephora and I can’t see how I would get to Rouge again. I spent a bit more at Nordstrom. I bought a lot more from brand websites and got much of my Asian skincare from a local shop.
I’ve really changed my spending habits this period as the pandemic settled in, and I realized I don’t need new makeup at all. I do need to use what I already own (currently)!
My spending hasn’t changed much but I’m moving away from the large retailers like Sephora and Ulta toward the brands themselves. They usually have promotions more frequently and of course, larger selections than the more edited offerings at the conglomerates. But weirdly I’ve also found that I’m less likely to do spontaneous shopping at the brands, compared to Sephora and Ulta. Retail psychology in action? lol
Very much down, this has been the year of using what I have. I think I’ve only bought sunscreen and face oil this year, and both were with gift cards/Sephora rewards, so no new cash spent so far.
I’ve gotten a better idea of how often I really should be buying new things. Like it will be years before I buy any new color cosmetics or fragrance lol.
Admittedly, I haven’t been spending a lot these last few years prior to the pandemic: I’ve gotten better about waiting until I’m at least halfway finished on a product (after all, cosmetics do have a shelf life and I try not to get backups). However, my beauty spending has actually increased since the last year but it’s possibly due to the pandemic. I’m seeing a pattern of increased frequency of online deals and a trend of discontinuing previously permanent items – I’m afraid of favorites disappearing altogether and that’s where I’m seeing my increased spending.
It’s gone down to $0 aside from skincare (and I’ve switched to cheaper skincare) because of the covid-economy and just trying to pay rent for me.
It decreased a lot. I don’t need as much, and mainstream releases have been quite boring for the most part. Even with my indie splurge in the spring, I’ve spent way less this year than I have in a long time.
My spending has gone up during the most recent year. After many, many years of using only Mac products, I was stuck in a bit of a rut. I hadn’t really purchased much for the last few years. Now, I am very lucky to be working from home and I am paying more attention to skincare and new makeup (no more Mac items!), so I have been picking up items, especially when there are sales. It turns out that I enjoy putting on my make-up and playing around with new skills and eye looks mainly for myself.
I am spending far less on beauty products – mainly because I haven’t seen a lot that I really, really love lately (althouugh the new ND Glam palette might change that!).
However I have spent probably a bit more on skincare – stocking up as there have been quite a few sales in products that I love or want to try.
Probably around a third of what I bought the past few years. Mainly skincare stuff like moisturizers, toner, exfoliations, etc. Have been using my GWP collection in terms of cleansers.
In terms of makeup, not that much. A couple of eyeshadow palettes, a bronzer, a couple of brushes to replace old ones.
I am not in the stores much and there is little to catch my eye or have a sales associate try to get me to buy stuff. Little impulse buying.
Thanks to Ms. Rona, I have bought less lip products and lipsticks and glosses are my weakness. On a positive note, the mask wearing is forcing me to use my clear balms and glosses I have collected over the years. I have added a few products to my Ulta and Sephora wishlists but I won’t buy until it’s safe to swatch in the stores again.
In times of uncertainty and recession, I try to spend as little as possible. So, I am whittling away at my ENORMOUS makeup, skincare, and fragrance stash.
I hardly go out so in turn I am hardly using any make up so I’m hardly buying any make up. Skincare is the usual. I would like to know the stats from the stores to know if their sales have slowed or heightened. For some people the pandemic hasn’t changed their lifestyle, they still have a job and income, other people have lost their job and their income.
I can’t really say whether or not my beauty spending has changed in the last year, because it’s always gone up and down. I’ve always been very thoughtful and careful with my beauty purchases, only buying things that really interest me or that I already use and usually taking a period of days or weeks to decide on buying them.
Skin care up, makeup down.
Even so, the bottom line is less.
I analyze everything now. Even on sale, I don’t need a lot, in fact I need NOTHING right now.
I’m rouge still, until end of 2021. But who knows after that.
I guess it depends on the world’s economy.
I’ve unsubscribed to a lot of emails and really have lost interested in influencers. There’s been a lot of drama this year and I can’t be bothered when there are so many more important issues.