I can now report that my two-month clothes shopping ban and capsule wardrobe have been a success! Wait, WHAT? How did that happen?! Well, I had little interest in shopping for clothes overall and then, on the rare occasion that I considered breaking the ban, I stopped myself. Wow! Go self control! I won't lie though--I did buy some clothes (and a beautiful ring and some bracelets) in Chicago, but I'm not counting those things here because vacation=fun times! I'm just not allowing myself to wear the new clothes until April 1, since I did commit to sticking to only things already in my closet for the two month capsule. (Rats.) Other purchases this month included:
- Medina amethyst studs: $24 (Chloe + Isabel)
- Tiara midi ring (or normal ring, in my case!): $28 (Baublebar)
- Constellation ear crawler in rose gold: $32 (Baublebar)
- Baggu canvas duck bag: $26 (Amazon)
- Reviva Labs Hyaluronic Acid serum: $22 on sale for $18 (Ulta)
- Reviva Labs Firming Eye Serum: $19 on sale for $16 (Ulta)
- Target patterned duffel bag: $34 on sale for $10 (can't seem to find it now!)
Total: $154
Total remaining in quarterly budget: $161 + $8 (leftover from JM exchange below) = $169-154= $15
(I wound up returning the Josie Maran exfoliating powder I bought last month because it wasn't the sort of thing my sensitive skin could handle everyday. I exchanged it for the new YSL lip oil that everyone seems to be in love with!)
Favorite purchase(s): I LOVE the ear crawler set; it's so cute and different without being in-your-face. I love shy statement jewelry :) I'm also really impressed with the hyaluronic acid serum thus far. I happened to be verging on a breakout when I bought it, and after using just the serum and moisturizer (i.e., no acne-specific treatment) for two days, I was shocked to see those zits totally soothed and healed! My skin is a constant battleground of dryness, redness, breakouts, scarring, huge pores--ugh!--so I'm always looking for that amazing fix-it-all product. Could this serum be it?!
Most disappointing purchase: After reading rave reviews for the Baggu duck bag, I expected to be thrilled with it. It's not bad--definitely light-weight and able to be crammed full of stuff (as my bf and I promptly discovered when we used it to smuggle candy into the movies!)--but the strap is waaay too short to be an effective crossbody. I love when a bag can pull double duty, so that revelation was a bummer.
Linking up with Franish's Budgeting Bloggers!
Ok so can I ACTUALLY spend only $15 next month?? After a two-month long clothing ban with spring fashions now available?! That seems... challenging. I've actually begun to rethink how I budget, as it's sort of started a "deprivation then binge" cycle--I beat myself up for how much I've spent, hold myself strictly to the budget at the end of the month (when I've gone over) and then buy a million things once the budget resets (and feel guilty). NOT FUN. I need to come up with some way to shop responsibly without feeling deprived. Geez, this is starting to sound like a diet gone wrong! To end on a less depressing note, how cute is the ring I found in Chicago (while singing along to Janis Joplin as Timmi was picking out crystals)?!
Hearts are my jam, and the fact that it is perfectly imperfect just seemed so approp, in light of Rebirthday #2 :)