Today was the last day of my No Buy and I'm happy to say I didn't break any of my rules (except once accidentally but I'll get into that later). I thought I'd share with you what my experience was like and what I've learned.

Pretty early on during my No Buy was that I found it really easy to not buy things. For example, I have the BeautyBay app on my phone and every so often I would get notifications about whatever sale or offer they were promoting. I also get quite a lot of promotional emails everyday from various different companies about new releases or offers. Occasionally, I would click on it just to see what I was "missing out" on and every time I did, I never wanted any of it. It really felt like these companies were doing their best to tempt me but I never cared enough.

In August there was one brand that restocked the some items I wanted to purchase from them but I hadn't managed to pick up when they had been available before. This was my first proper "test" as I have been thinking about these items for months already at that point. However, I didn't mind not buying them immediately as at that point I'd already waited so long to buy them anyway. Other than that I had no real urge to purchase things, I was content with planning my wish list.

Halfway through August I felt like I had cleared my head and didn't feel the urge or the guilt I had felt purchasing so much during the summer. At the point I had been on my RONB for about a month (officially only 2 weeks but I started early) and I felt really good about it. I still had new products to play with in my collection that I was saving for product reviews so I didn't feel any urge to purchase anything new.

In mid September I had a few days where I was feeling down and the thought of buying some makeup crossed my mind. However, I chose to do other things that make me happy instead as a form of self care. The impulse didn't last too long, as I recognised it for what it was and didn't struggle with talking myself down. I think at this point I realised that I don't actually think I have a problem with my makeup consumption habits per se, more so that I was afraid I may become someone who relied on the dopamine kick of purchasing, I'm still far more excited by the makeup itself.

My theory at this moment was that I might benefit more from trying other ways of keeping my consumption under control, things such as a budget or even a low-buy, wherein I'd only be allowing myself a couple of products a month. There are other projects out there that centre on using and enjoying what you already have in your collection and I like the idea of focusing on using products that I love. At the end of the day, makeup makes me really happy and there are so many exciting things I want to try but I know I can survive not owning everything immediately.

In October I accidentally broke my no buy. I bought a replacement setting spray thinking I had around a third left, when actually I had over two thirds left. I felt so stupid when I went to put the replacement in my drawer and picked up the almost full bottle that was already lying there. This was genuinely as mistake, as I hadn't been wearing setting spray a lot because I've been wearing less base makeup, I didn't reach for my setting spray and somehow got it into my head that I didn't had any left. So that was frustrating but because it wasn't something I bought on purpose.

I think in general it's been good for me to take a step back and really think about my purchasing habits. I do feel more clear headed about makeup purchases. I've always liked the idea of having a curated collection where I only own things I love and not buying anything for a while just reminded me of that. Even though I don't face the issues influencers feel when it comes to having to keep up with new releases in the makeup industry, I still feel some pressure to have content to post every week. I really like this hobby so I want to make sure I don't get swept away overextending myself or my budget.

Now that my RONB I feel proud that I completed it, although I didn't find it too difficult it was nice to be able to prove to myself that I could do it. I believe that I might benefit more from having something like a budget or a limit to the amount of products I could buy a month. I think I'll experiment and try to figure out what works best for me but I think I'll wait to implement those until 2021. I think it would be fun to let myself enjoy Black Friday (responsibly of course) and I have some many gifts to buy for other people anyway so there won't be much point in limiting myself as I already don't plan on spending too much on myself. If any of you have suggestions on budgeting my beauty habits let me know.

Thanks for reading and happy Halloween!

On of the things I have wanted to do during my no-buy is to compile a list of different palettes I'm drawn to and have been drawn to for a while. I wanted to see the common trends between them, as well as figuring out if I'm just caught in the hype or if I genuinely want them. So here is a list of palettes I don't own but would love to own.

Photos taken from odenseye.se

This was actually the first product I ever saw from Odenseye and I almost bought this over their Älva palette. The only reason I didn't buy this one instead was that I heard that the shimmer formula in the Solmåne was more smooth and more satin-like (even though there not satins) so I went with the Älva instead. However spoiler if you haven't read my review on the Älva palette, I love the quality of Odenseye shadows and now I regret not picking this on up also. The tones in this palette are what I like in neutrals, this palette makes me feel inspired to use neutral shades and again, the formula from Odenseye is great. I think about this palette a lot.

Photos taken from natashadenona.com

This palette has been on my wish list for such a long time. I love the warm, murky mustard tones and hints of green- they are some of my favourite colours right now. I have never tried any eyeshadows from Natasha Denona before, so I really can't justify the price of this palette. It's so expensive! I've considered picking it up in the Black Friday sales but even then it's a lot of money. Maybe one day this will be mine but for right now I can't seem to buy it.

Photo taken from kaleidosmakeup.com

This is a palette I have been thinking about for about 2 years but I always manage to talk myself out of it as it reminded me a lot of the Dose of Colors x Iluvsarahii collaboration, which I own already. However, some of those shades didn't really compliment my skin tone so I ended up decluttering some of the shades from it. I feel like I probably would have been better off owning this palette instead as the tones would be more flattering on me. Also I have to just acknowledge how beautiful this packaging is.

Photo taken from kaleidosmakeup.com

Again, Kaleidos have the most beautiful packaging ever. I've realised one of my favourite shades to wear on my eyes are warm greens and this is colour story is such a lovely selection of those tones, as well as a nice pop of orange. I have considered buying the Melt Cosmetics Gemini instead of this but from what I've heard Kaleidos has the more reliable formula.

Photo taken from glamlite.com

This palette hasn't been out for that long and it is huge. I'm not usually into massive palettes as I get decision fatigue so easily, I tend to prefer palettes that have at most16 shades. However, I've heard such amazing things about Glamlite's formula over the years and I've been waiting for them to release an eyeshadow palette that doesn't have such insane packaging. Now that they've finally done that I'm still on the fence because it's so huge, but there are so many pretty pastel shades as well as some stunning looking shimmers.

Photo taken from beautybay.com

As I've mentioned a couple of times in this post, I love purple and green eyeshadows and this palette has such a lovely combination of those tones. I feel like it offers a lot of versatility because of this, as well as the inclusion of the neutral row too. Also I love the theming of this palette, it has a clear inspiration behind it that is reflected in both the colours and packaging. It's so cohesive. I've never tired anything from Lunar Beauty and to be honest I was hesitant to try it due to the owners past controversies but I feel like enough time has past for me to not feel conflicted about it.

Are there any palettes you've had your eye on but not bought yet? Let me know which ones would be on your list. Thanks for reading!

Throughout the years I have been pretty consistent in heat styling my hair around once a week. Although I've tried to not be so dependent on heat tools, I was never happy with the results. During lockdown I thought that I may as well try a couple different heatless techniques to decrease the amount of heat I use on my hair, This isn't necessarily a tutorial, as I have realised this is quite technique is very similar to what other people have already done.

With my hair about 80% dry I section it off down the centre into two parts and do a dutch braid on either side. I don't feel the need to make this look good at this stage so I'm not worried about how neat and even my braids are. I try to leave about an inch on the ends just so that the ends don't have a weird kink to them.

I then just go about my day as usual, I try to leave my hair like this for around 10 hours as I find the longer I leave it the longer the waves last. I then gently take out my braids and shake them a bit too loosen them ever so slightly. If any pieces look weird, or if it looks too obvious I've just slept with braided hair, I use my wave wand to tidy it up a bit. Usually I don't feel like I have to do that though as I tend to be quite happy with the results.

This is my hair after! I have to say that even once these waves start to drop I still like the way my hair looks so this has been a game-changer for me. I realise this technique isn't exactly rocket science but if you've never tried this, go for it!

Thanks for reading!