Try This: Keep the Boxes

Some people genuinely enjoy every piece of their makeup's packaging, including the cardboard box it arrives in. I used to be one of them, especially with special boxes for limited edition products. I'd keep every tube and compact inside its beautiful sleeve, even though it took up a ton of space in my organizers. Initially, forcing myself to recycle these pretty boxes to free up space in my suitcases post-grad-school-move was a challenge. Now, though, tossing the packaging is just something I do reflexively. The card catalogue is the true beauty. Why clog it up?

So after doing some major damage during Black Friday 2018, I decided I'd curb that impulse and hold on to my boxes for a while. Every time I received a new product from December to today, I stashed its box, planning to create a helpful No Buy 2019 visual by arranging everything Tetris-style as above. But even before I pulled out the boxes and lined them up, the trick was working: the envelope I was keeping all of the boxes in kept overflowing and spilling all over my office floor. It was frustrating, and that frustration reminded me that I don't need more stuff. Hell, between the start of the year insanity at my jobs and several personal crises, I haven't even had a chance to test everything you see in this photo!

Hence, if you're like me and you're attempting a No Buy, or you want to curb your spending and you benefit from visual arguments, keeping the boxes for a while might be helpful. If nothing else, they make for an interesting photograph.

Lipstick and Blog State of the Union

We've finished moving and have settled in to our new place, so I think it's time to update everyone on the blog's status and to start a few new challenges.

First, the blog! Obviously I've been posting a little slower than I was in the spring, and I think that's going to be the norm for the rest of 2018. I'm currently working two jobs that require a lot of my attention and a good bit of writing, so spending an hour or more cranking out a blog post has become less appealing to me. I still enjoy blogging, of course, but it takes me a bit more time now that I'm doing more writing for work and less writing for fun.

Also, you may have noticed that I deleted my Twitter account. Frankly, I didn't use Twitter enough to justify keeping it and I got tired of it sending me emails. ("So-and-so just tweeted!" I don't follow them, Twitter; I don't caaaaare.) From now on, I'll add any announcements about charitable donations at the end of blog posts. I'd like to submit my ProLiteracy donation by the end of this month, for instance, so I'll put the confirmation picture in a late September or early October blog post. And thank you again to everyone who has donated!

As for the challenges: I've decided to go on a no buy for the rest of September and all of October. I don't think this will be too difficult for me, to be honest, because there's only so much room in my card catalogue and I'm rather content with what I have. That said, I'm easily suckered in by fall releases because #OctoberIsTheBestMonth, so I'd like to stave off the desire for more stuff just in case. There are a few new products in my collection that need testing, anyway, including several mascara samples and the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer.

My project pan is still ongoing, but honestly, I use so little product at a time that I'm starting to worry I won't finish any of it by the time December rolls around. I swear, that Laura Mercier shadow stick is BOTTOMLESS.

To prevent boredom during this project pan, I've decided to add another challenge: a new edition of the Lipstick Diaries. My motivations for this are threefold:

1. I have too much damn lipstick, and this challenge always reminds me of that so I don't buy more;
2. It's a popular series that many people say is helpful; and
3. It will prompt me to figure out the lighting situation in my apartment to make posts as consistent as possible.

I've completed the Lipstick Diaries twice already, and I'd love to know if you guys have any suggestions on how to improve the series. Is there any information I should add? How should I arrange the photos? Should I stick with two lipsticks per post? What should I include in the wrap up? The ball is in your court!

May 2016 Product Pileup

January 2015 Product Pileup

October 2014 Product Pile Up

August 2014 Product Pileup

June 2014 Product Pileup

April 2014 Product Pileup

March 2014 Product Pileup