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

Categories	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	TOTAL SPENT (from 2017-22)
Makeup	1300	1600	1100	70	250	650	4970
Miscellaneous	250	–	–	160	30	400	840
Skincare	450	500	700	230	90	550	2520
Total	2000	2100	1800	460	370	1600	8330
Planned Purchases	21%	50%	70%	85%	78%	40%	–
Impulse Purchases	79%	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:

Sephora Collection PRO 8-piece Brush Set – $92.80
Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize Cream Eyeshadow Trio – $70.20
Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (Value size) – $52
Uoma Beauty Say What?! Foundation – $50
Youth to the People Dream Eye Cream with Vitamin C and Ceramides – $49.60
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,

Reviewing My 2020 Beauty Expenses

February 22, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Today, I’m reviewing my expenses for 2020! I bought makeup in January before our first lockdown happened. So I have some unopened makeup sitting in my drawer. The rest of my beauty purchases were all skincare or hair related.

Check out my previous beauty expenses posts:

2017 | 2018 | 2019

My 2019 Beauty Budget

Category	Budget	Actual
Skincare	500	230
Primers	150	0
Foundations/Powders/Sprays	150	0
Concealers	120	0
Eyeliners	50	0
Brows	50	45
Mascara	50	0
Lips	100	20
Blush	60	0
Highlighter	60	0
Bronzer	60	0
Miscellaneous	250	–
– Makeup Tools	–	10
– Makeup Remover	–	30
– Haircare	–	105
– Perfume/Deodorant	–	15
TOTAL	1600	460

As you can see, I spent just over a quarter of my planned 2020 budget. I only purchased makeup in January and I also spent less on skincare. I’m not exactly sure why the skincare expenses went down too. I am still using skincare on a daily basis whereas I haven’t used my makeup in a year.

My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2020 (all products purchased from Sephora during VIB sale at 15% off, prices are approximate):

Volition Beauty Snow Mushroom Water Serum – $75
Volition Beauty Helix AM/PM Eye Gel – $62
Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector – $52
Briogeo Be Gentle, Be Kind Banana + Coconut Superfoods Shampoo & Conditioner Hair Pack – $53
Briogeo Scalp Revival Soothing Travel Kit – $29
Glow Recipe Papaya Enzyme Smoothing Cleansing Balm – $28

Out of the products listed above, I would repurchase the Volition Snow Mushroom Water Serum, Clinique Even Better Eyes Darck Circle Corrector and Glow Recipe papaya Enzyme Smoothing Cleansing Balm. You can read my review on the Helix AM/PM Eye Gel.

For the Briogeo products, I didn’t like the Scalp Revival Soothing Travel Kit and ended up sending the products to my friends. The Banana + Coconut Superfoods Shampoo & Conditioner are nice, but I’m not the biggest fan of the scent. I might consider trying the Be Gentle, Be Kind Matcha + Apple Replenishing Superfood Shampoo and Kale + Apple Replenishing Superfood Conditioner.

2018 was the year I spent the most on beauty products. I bought a lot of makeup at Winners back then. In 2018, I had 340 makeup items (including nail polish, perfumes and makeup remover). The majority of those were eyeshadows (I counted each pan instead of the number of palettes). I decluttered a bunch of makeup/nail polish by the end of 2018. Since 2019, my makeup inventory has been under 100 items. I’m hoping that I can get my inventory down to 30-50 items by the end of this year. I know it sounds counterintuitive as a beauty blogger, but I’m just not as drawn to new launches as others. When new products launch, I don’t HAVE to have it immediately. I actually prefer to read the reviews on products and wait until the hype has died down to see if others actually like the products and continue to use them in their daily makeup routines.

For 2021, I hope to spend the same amount on beauty products (around $500). I doubt I will buy much makeup this year, but maybe I will buy a few items just so I can have some new reviews on the blog. I know last year, I didn’t write many blog posts and I’d like to get back into it again.

Love,

My New Beauty Budget | 2019

December 19, 2018
Hi Everyone!

Today, I’m going to share with you my new beauty budget for 2019 that I’ve calculated for myself. After reviewing, my 2017 and 2018 beauty expenses. I’ve spent about the same amount each year (about $2000). I’m going to aim for $1800 for beauty expenses for 2019. If I get to the end of the year under $1800, then that’s even better! I’ve looked up how much the average woman spends on makeup and skincare each year and most articles said about $3000-5000. I think those numbers include things like manicures, haircuts, waxing and other treatments. I usually only get my haircut once a year and I rarely get manicures.

If you read my posts on my 2017 and 2018 beauty expenses, you’ll know that I spent $2000 (give or take). I am aiming to cut it down by $200 and hopefully as the years progress, I can get my beauty expenses down to $1000! One thing I want to change about my spending is WHERE I spend it. In 2017 and 2018, I bought a lot of products from drugstores and Winners. Discount prices from Winners are great, but they tend to be impulse buys. Also, if I don’t like the product, I can’t return it and although it’s cheaper than a high end product, it still adds up. When I make purchases from Sephora, I can easily return things. A lot of my impulse purchases are ones I’ve regretted (read my post on Products I Regret Buying).

Right now, my expenses are high because I’m trying out different products to find what I like and what works for me. I’ve found a few products that have become favourites, but obviously, your favourites can change and you find new products you love even more.

I’ve created a breakdown of how I think I will spend the $1800 budget. This is a rough estimate of what the different categories might cost. I think giving myself an overall budget for beauty is easier than doing the $25/month for my monthly blog allowance. I feel like I end up blogging about most of my products anyway.
- Skincare products – $600
  - This category gets the most because I need acne products, eye creams, day/night products and toners
- Primers – $120
  - Most primers that I buy are about $40-50, I should probably be good until June for primers
- Foundations/Powders – $120
  - If anything, I will need to get a powder. I already bought a bunch of foundations last year
- Concealer – $100
- Eyeliners – $60
- Brows – $100
  - It takes me a while to finish a brow pencil, so this budget is probably more for my brow gel
- Mascara – $100
  - I only buy drugstore mascaras and I replace them every 3 months
- Miscellaneous – $600
  - Makeup brushes and sponges
  - Products to review for the blog
  - Products that I don’t necessarily NEED, but WANT, i.e. a new lipstick or eyeshadow palette
I didn’t include a section for eyeshadows, lip products, blushes, bronzers, nail polish or hair because I already have a lot of things that I should finish before buying new products in those categories. I didn’t include a perfume category, but whenever I need to buy one, I could probably include it in the miscellaneous section. Usually, I only have one or two at a time and I just bought one last year at the MAC Warehouse Sale.
Do you have a beauty budget?
Love,
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Reviewing My 2017 Beauty Expenses

November 19, 2018
Hi Everyone!

Today, I’m going to be taking a look at my expenses from last year. So, it’s going to get a little analytical and I have pie charts!! Earlier THIS year, I went through my receipts and I started an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my beauty purchases.

As you may have read before, I have an allowance of $25/month to spend on products to review for my blog. This allowance started this year. I didn’t really have an allowance last year. I think it’s a reasonable amount since I can buy 2-3, maybe even 4 products from the drugstore. I prefer doing drugstore products because it’s more accessible (financially) for everyone. The higher end products that I have reviewed are mostly products that I wanted to try myself, i.e. Lancome Skin Feels Good Foundation, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation stick, etc.

With my receipts and some guessing, I logged all of my makeup, skincare and hair purchases from last year and this year. For some products, I just rounded up to the nearest 0 or 5. So, my total 2017 expense could be lower than what I actually recorded.

In the excel sheet, I am only including makeup, makeup tools (brushes, sponges), skincare for my face and extra hair products (like masks and styling sprays).

I did NOT include things like soap, body wash, toothpaste, mouthwash, body cream, cost for hair cuts, eyebrow waxing, manicures, etc. I didn’t include essentials like bathroom essentials because those are necessary for good hygiene. I didn’t include things like hair cuts, waxing or manicures because I don’t do them often enough to need to track them. For hair cuts, I get one once a year (if that) and I haven’t gotten a manicure since last year for my sister’s wedding reception in Toronto because I mostly get my nails done for special occasions only.

In 2017, I spent a little over $1900 on makeup items and skincare. I am going to round it up to $2000 because there could be products I missed in my tracker or maybe I underestimated a price of something.

I’m pretty proud that I haven’t spent that much on a single item. My most expensive individual items are about $50. My 6 most expensive purchases were:
1. Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation Kit – around $80
  - You receive the foundation, primer and a foundation brush
  - Foundation retails for $52
2. Tory Burch Eau de Parfum kit (had a full-sized perfume, a mini perfume and a bottle of hand cream) – $80 (at MAC Warehouse Sale)
3. Sephora Brush Kit (3 brushes) – $60
4. Laneige Water Bank Serum – $46
  - I gave it to my sister, because my skin reacted to it
5. Make Up For Ever Step 1 Equalizer Primer (Redness Correcting) – $45
6. Tarte Bronze & Glow Double-Ended Contour Brush – $41
  - I have no idea why I paid full price for this when I could’ve waited for a sale!!
I was going to do my top 5 most expensive items, but I wanted to add the Tarte brush to mention how dumb it was to pay full price for a brush.

I split up the costs to see how much was spent on makeup and how much spent on skincare.
I spent about $450 on skincare, $250 on makeup tools (brushes, sponges, makeup wipes), which means I spent about $1300 on makeup. If you’ve read my MAC Warehouse Sale haul, you’ll know I spent almost $400 in September and then I went again in December and spent about $200, I think. So, almost half of my makeup expenses were from the MAC Warehouse Sale. I’ve decluttered quite a few of the products I bought at the sale because I just went so crazy buying lipsticks and I came home and realized the shades weren’t the same as when I swatched them. I’ve learned my lesson since then…the swatches will look very different from the actual shade because it’s hot in the warehouse and tons of people are touching them. Most of the shades looked more sheer when I swatched them. I bought a lot of shades that were too coral for me. Luckily, I could Back to MAC the lipstick tubes to get a full sized one (after returning 6 empties).
I bought 135 items in 2017. Only 29 of those purchases were (21%) planned purchases. After seeing this, I was shocked. When I say ‘planned purchases,’ I mean it was something I had wanted for a while and actually read reviews on it. That means the other 79% of my purchases were impulse buys where I was at the drugstore/Winners/MAC Warehouse Sale and decided, “I’m going to get this.”

Here’s a breakdown of where I bought the products:
It’s really interesting and eye-opening to track your beauty purchases. I know I can definitely cut down on the impulse buys. The makeup goals I set for myself have helped me a lot. When I was adding things to my cart for the Sephora sales, I went through and reviewed the products asking myself, “Do I really need this?” and “Let’s check out the reviews for this.”

Do you track your beauty purchases too?

Love,
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