• Reviewing My 2023 & 2024 Beauty Expenses

    November 18, 2024

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m reviewing my beauty expenses for 2023 and 2024. It’s already mid-November, I didn’t buy anything from the recent Sephora sale. I don’t think I plan to buy anything beauty-related for the rest of the year. If I do, I’ll update the graphs and table.

    Check out my previous beauty expenses posts:

    2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

    My 2019 Beauty Budget

    Categories20172018201920202021202220232024TOTAL SPENT (from 2017-24)
    Makeup1300160011007025065090105070
    Miscellaneous250––160304003050920
    Skincare45050070023090550300902910
    Total20002100180046037016004261508900
    Planned Purchases21%50%70%85%78%40%75%55%60% on average
    Impulse Purchases79%50%30%15%22%60%25%45%40% on average

    I didn’t buy many products in 2023 and 2024, so instead of my Top 6 Most Expensive Purchases, I will do Top 3.

    2023 Top 3 Most Expensive Purchases

    1. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer – $49
    2. Peace Out Acne Mega 2.0 (60 Acne Healing Dots, 1 travel pouch) – $48
    3. Kiehl’s Centella Facial Sensitive Facial Cleanser – $30

    The Laura Mercier concealer was a repurchase. It’s great for covering up blemishes. I didn’t care for the Peace Out Acne Healing Dots. I prefer the Rael patches (see my pimple patch comparison post). The Kiehl’s cleanser is a nice cleanser, but I don’t know if it does anything special. I just got it to top up my order for free shipping.

    2024 Top 3 Most Expensive Purchases

    1. Dear, Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream – $37
    2. Takuminowaza Japan High Class Stainless Steel Nail Clippers G-1114 – $27
    3. Isntree Onion Newpair Sunscreen – $23

    I haven’t tried the Dear, Klairs cream or the Isntree sunscreen. I know I really like the Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel, so I thought I’d try the Onion Newpair sunscreen. I’m still using the Hyaluronic Acid one. The Takuminowaza nail clippers are nice. I heard about them from my sister who mentioned that they’re in a reddit thread called BuyItForLife (For practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last). I decided to try them and they’re so much quieter than the other ones I have because they’re sharper. They’re big and you barely need any pressure to squeeze the clippers to trim your nails.

    Love,

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  • Reviewing My 2022 Beauty Expenses

    August 29, 2023

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m reviewing my beauty expenses for 2022. I know we’re more than half way through 2023, but I realized that I forgot to do last year’s beauty expenses.

    Check out my previous beauty expenses posts:

    2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021

    My 2019 Beauty Budget

    Categories201720182019202020212022TOTAL SPENT (from 2017-22)
    Makeup130016001100702506504970
    Miscellaneous250––16030400840
    Skincare450500700230905502520
    Total20002100180046037016008330
    Planned Purchases21%50%70%85%78%40%–
    Impulse Purchases79%50%30%15%22%60%–

    As you can see from the graphs, I started spending money on beauty products again. There was a significant decrease in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID. The majority of the skincare purchases were the Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser. I’ve been lucky enough to receive skincare products to review. So I haven’t bought many skincare products for my face, but somehow I spent $550 on things like hand cream, body scrubs and pimple patches.

    My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2022:

    1. Sephora Collection PRO 8-piece Brush Set – $92.80
    2. Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize Cream Eyeshadow Trio – $70.20
    3. Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (Value size) – $52
    4. Uoma Beauty Say What?! Foundation – $50
    5. Youth to the People Dream Eye Cream with Vitamin C and Ceramides – $49.60
    6. Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Palette – $48.80

    After seeing how much I spent last year on makeup and skincare, I’m actually quite surprised. It didn’t feel like I spent that much on beauty products. Since we’re in August 2023, I can say that I’ve actually tried my 6 most expensive purchases and I like all of them. I think I’m starting to prefer powder or cream foundations though, so I probably wouldn’t repurchase the Uoma foundation. I like all of the other products though. I haven’t opened the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm, but I’ve used it in the past. I really like the Sephora Collection PRO brushes. They’re so soft and fluffy. The ABH eyeshadow palette is a classic, I still need to use it more. I haven’t used the Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize shadows as much as I’d like. I chose more smokey shades and I’ve mostly been going out during the day and prefer to do a natural eye look in the morning.

    I’m interested to see my beauty expenses for this year. I think I’ve bought more clothes than beauty products, but we’ll see what happens in the next few months when the Sephora sale and Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales come around lol.

    Love,

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  • Reviewing My 2021 Beauty Expenses

    December 28, 2021

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I’m reviewing my beauty expenses for 2021!

    I don’t know how useful these posts are for readers, but they are helpful for me to track my progress. It also keeps me accountable for budget goals because I’ve written it for everyone else to see.

    In previous years, I made budgets for each makeup category, i.e. spend $50 on primer, $20 on eyeliner, etc. This year, my plan was to just stay under $500 like I did for 2020.

    Check out my previous beauty expenses posts:

    2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020

    My 2019 Beauty Budget

    Categories20172018201920202021TOTAL SPENT (from 2017-21)
    Makeup130016001100702504320
    Miscellaneous250––16030440
    Skincare450500700230901970
    Total2000210018004603706730
    Planned Purchases21%50%70%85%78%–
    Impulse Purchases79%50%30%15%22%–
    Beauty Expenses from 2017 (lightest shade) to 2021 (darkest shade).

    Earlier this year, I did a bit of a declutter with my makeup. I realized that I didn’t have some products in certain categories (like a spot concealer or a highlighter), so I bought some items that have been on my wishlist for a while.

    My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2021. Most of these are products I bought during the Sephora sale in November (prices listed are the approximate sale prices without tax):

    1. Charlotte Tilbury Easy Eye Palette – $58
    2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer – $55
    3. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter – $42
    4. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer – $36
    5. First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser – $35
    6. Sephora PRO Highlight Brush – $28

    I have quite a lot of unopened makeup. I’d like to open those products before buying anything more. I might buy a new foundation. I’ve had my eye on the UOMA Beauty Say What?! Foundation and I just found out that some of their products are sold at Shoppers Drug Mart!

    PAST GOALS

    In 2017 and 2018, a good chunk of my purchases were from Winners. If you’re not Canadian, Winners is like a TJ Maxx. They sell clothes, accessories, home items and beauty products. The beauty products are usually items that are older stock/discontinued. They also sell brands that I’ve never heard of and brands that aren’t as accessible in Canada. From what I can remember, there wasn’t anything I bought from Winners that I absolutely loved. Also, since it was probably a discontinued item, it would be hard to find again.

    I also don’t really understand how I was able to purchase more than 100 beauty items in 2017. In 2019, I bought about 85 items. In 2020, I bought about 20 items and 2021, I bought about 15.

    FUTURE GOALS

    I still haven’t been wearing makeup regularly, but once I do, I’m hoping to stick to a reasonable amount. I think $1000 was definitely too much since most were impulse purchases. I think between $200 and $500 would be a good amount. For skincare, I think staying under $500 would be good too.  

    I would also like to make an effort to buy makeup and skincare from independent brands, particularly BIPOC-owned brands. It’s hard to find brands that even ship to Canada. When they do, shipping and duties costs more than the product! That’s usually why I stick to bigger retailers, it’s just easier for me and more cost effective. Hopefully more brands I want to try will start selling at Canadian retailers.

    Did you make a budget for 2021? Do you plan to make one for 2022?

    Love,

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  • most expensive beauty purchases of 2019

    Reviewing My 2019 Beauty Expenses

    December 11, 2019

    Hi Everyone!

    As the new year approaches, I thought I would review my 2019 beauty expenses since I don’t plan to make any beauty purchases in the month of December.

    Check out my previous beauty expenses posts:

    2017 | 2018

    My 2019 Beauty Budget

    CategoryEstimateActual
    Skincare$600$700
    Primers120100
    Foundation/Powders/
    Sprays    		120225
    Concealers100150
    Eyeliners6020
    Brows100100
    Mascara10050
    Lips090
    Blush040
    Highlighter075
    Bronzer050
    Miscellaneous600350
    TOTAL $18001950

    For my estimated costs for 2019, I didn’t include a section for lip products, blushes, bronzers, highlighters, eyeshadows, nail polish or hair because I already had a lot of things that I wanted to finish before buying new products in those categories. I ended up buying products in the blush/bronzer/lip/highlighter categories though…oops! The miscellaneous section includes hair products, makeup tools, makeup removers, etc.

    As you can see, I went $150 over my proposed budget of $1800. I’m going to do my best to get the skincare category from $700 to $500.

    My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2019:

    1. Tula Illuminating Face Serum – $83.30 (15% off, bought on TULA Canada before they got rid of the Canadian website)
    2. Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel – $73.95 (15% off, bought during Sephora VIB Sale)
    3. Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer – $58.65 (15% off on Armani-Beauty.ca)
    4. Clé de Peau Concealer – $55 (more than 40% off, bought at Shiseido Warehouse Sale)
    5. Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado – $51 (20% off sale at Kiehls.ca)
    6. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder – $49.30 (15% off, bought during Sephora VIB Sale)

    Most of my purchases were from Sephora, the drugstore or a brand’s website (e.g. Kiehls.ca, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Smashbox). I only purchased a few items from Winners this year. I’ve tried to cut down on the makeup purchases from Winners because they’re usually discontinued items that I can’t review on Instagram or my blog.

    Did you have a beauty budget this year? Did you stay under budget or go over like I did?

    Love,

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  • Reviewing My 2018 Beauty Expenses

    December 10, 2018

    Hi Everyone!

    Today, I will be reviewing my 2018 beauty expenses. Last month, I reviewed my 2017 expenses and it was eye-opening. I was originally going to post this later in the month (closer to the new year), but I think I’ve spent enough money on makeup and skincare this year and I have all of the products I need. Last week, I started my self-imposed ban on buying makeup until next year. My goal is to not buy any makeup or skincare products until the next Sephora sale (the one they usually have in April).

    Check out my 2017 expenses!

    In comparison to my beauty expenses, I was curious to see how much I spent on clothing this year. I spent about $1200 on clothing, accessories and shoes (I think a good percentage of that was spent at La Senza – buying bras and underwear). My most expensive single purchase was my Michael Kors Daniela Large Crossbody Purse (almost $200 including tax- purchased on sale).

    My 6 Most Expensive Purchases:

    1. Sigma Essential Brush Kit (12 brushes) – $99 (from Winners)
    2. Tarte Maracuja Oil – $66 (25% off)
      • I got the super size bottle from Tarte (2x the regular size). It’s usually $88, but I got it during the Black Friday Sale
    3. Dior BACKSTAGE Face & Body Foundation – $50
    4. Lancome Skin Feels Good Skin Nourishing Foundation SPF23 – $45
    5. Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick – $44.80 (20% off)
    6. Lancome Teint Idole Longwear Foundation Stick SPF21 – $44 (20% off)

    I spent about $500 on skincare, $100 on makeup tools and $1600 on makeup for a total of about $2200. I bought a few foundations and primers this year, so I probably won’t be NEEDING any next year. I might be tempted to buy the Lancome Teint Miracle foundation next year, but I definitely don’t need any more primers.

    So, last year, 79% of my purchases were impulsive and only 21% were planned. This year, I did much better and planned vs. impulse purchases were 50/50. 

    Here’s a breakdown of WHERE I purchased my products this year. Last year, I purchased most of my products from the drugstore and the MAC Warehouse Sale. I didn’t go to the Warehouse Sale this year, but I have been purchasing more products from other websites/stores, i.e. Tarte, Tula and The Body Shop.

    Love,
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