SIC: What I've Been Spending $ On!

I haven't done a SIC 'Shopping in Control' update in a LONG time - mid October to be exact!

If you'd like to see my previous ones, you can check out the SIC Tab on my blog OR:

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Purchasing!

Tips to Control Spending

My friend Mary created a Makeup Spending Plan for 2013, and that reminded me to update my blog on purchases I've been making lately for this series.

In my prior  updates in the Fall, you can see I was very much dedicated to clothing, fashion, and shoes. I was constantly going to Goodwill for thrifted finds and looking online window shopping all the time. I would jump at the chance to buy something on sale.

A goal of mine for the year specifically clothing wise is to spend money on something I love and know I will wear, even if it's a little more expensive, rather than buying a bunch of things on sale. I purchased a sweater from River Island (Asos) in November, originally $60 (I got it for $42!) that I LOVE and I wear it all the time because I love it. So far this goal is going well for the few clothing pieces I have bought.

That brings me to what I've been spending the most on lately - Home Decor and Makeup!!

Since I purchased the Chevron blanket at Tjmaxx that you can see on the chair in my January Favorites, I have been obsessed with looking at home decor. I won't so much look online, but at tjmaxx, target, etc - now I will always go to the home decor section in a store before/INSTEAD of the clothing section.
And, I love that when I buy something for our room - I can look at it all the time rather than a piece of clothing I'll wear once every month.

Makeuppppp!

I think Wheatenbeauty1 with all her Postman Cometh videos made me jump on the bandwagon to getting into pigments, as well as the Cream Shadows I tested out.
The other thing I've been spending money on is makeup, specifically pigments and shadows! I have been LOVING doing my eye makeup and experimenting (you can see some looks in my Eye Looks of the Week post). I've been ordering from a lot of indie companies a lot, but when I buy makeup - I will never buy more than 5/6 pigments at a time because I love to try the new shadows first rather than buy a TON at once. Lately I've purchased from The All Natural Face, Shiro Cosmetics, Pumpkin and Poppy, and Silk Naturals! I'm waiting for a shadow I got from Geek Chic (their collections have STICKERS!), Darling Girl Cosmetics samples, All Natural Face cream blushes and LOTS of things for a giveaway (shh!) and a larger Silk Naturals order with some lip products this time. My ANF cream blush collection is coming too!

What are your favorite shadows to use lately? And your favorite companies to buy pigments from?!
Please share!!

SIC SAVING Update!

Hi guys! I thought I would do a SIC post since I haven't posted an update in awhile!

This month so far I have come to the conclusion that I now am able to resist buying things online more than I am in-person at a store. When I'm at a store, I feel like it is the end-all-be-all and if I don't buy it then and there, I won't be able to get it ever again. A little dramatic, I know.

Lately with online window shopping, which I still do A TON, my pinterest board has really been helping me of course, but what I have been noticing this month is that if something doesn't almost "take my breathe away" (more drama, okay!), or it is too expensive (I'm REALLY trying to save), then I won't buy it. I'm trying to wear the clothes and shoes I have. Since I've been having bad pain in my arch, I've only been able to wear my sneakers and crocs, thus putting boot shopping to a halt for the time being.

There is a sweater I have been wanting for a while that is originally $61. Even with the sale price of $55, I haven't convinced myself to buy it. It's still in my cart and I go back almost every day to look at it - but considering $50 is half of $100 (duh!) it just feels like a lot for a sweater.

There are also shirts online that I REALLY like - but I'm just not willing to spend the money on them.

Overall - I think I'm FINALLY really understanding what it means to truly save my money for things I REALLY like. There is a scarf on etsy that "takes my breath away" that I DO think I'm going to buy, but I really do spend time thinking about my purchases online.

Now when good sales come around, that's a different story. I should be scared for my bank account on Black Friday.

Hope you all are doing well on your track if you are trying to save as well! :D

SIC: Questions to Ask Yourself BEFORE Buying!

Hi guys! I've been doing really well purchase-wise since my last "haul" and justification post. Up until yesterday I hadn't purchased ANYTHING for a whole week!! I bought some basics from H&M (2 dresses, bracelet, skirt) last Wednesday, and yesterday (Wednesday) - I purchased the Jane Iredale Active Light Concealer. I have been looking around for a brightening concealer for a LONG time - I love the RMS beauty concealer for everything but the fact that it could be lighter. Anyway, on to the questions.

What questions should you ask yourself BEFORE purchasing an item?

1. Do you LOVE it at first site? 

You'll know if you truly love it at first site. It should be a sign. You'll get that 'stop in your tracks' feeling where your heart stops and your brain thinks OMG HAVE TO HAVE IT. That happened with my denim/lace shirt from Forever21 2 weeks ago, and when my good friend Jen saw her new teal bag from Target (Her blog!)
If you get that feeling immediately when looking at it - chances are you may have to get it. BUT make sure to give it a good think if it's expensive AND ASK:

2. How many times will I wear/use this? Will I get my money's worth?
Yes - I had that LOVE feeling about my Rebecca Minkoff neon pink and brown bag I bought in the Spring. Even with the steep price, I only debated for about 4 days before buying it - and I've worn it ONCE. I'm ashamed to say it just doesn't go with anything in my closet :(  SO - unless the item is a basic (cami's, bandeaus, plain dresses/skirts - LOVE H&M for those. $5.95 skirts) - give it a good think. AND - if the price is high as well - will the price be justified by how many times you wear the item? My Adrina crocs are $40, which compared to some more expensive shoes, is cheap. But they are my go-to shoes and I know I'll get good use out of them.

3. Can you RETURN IT? 
I've been returning things quite a bit recently to try and get my money back for things I decide I don't really like for the money OR things that don't end up fitting. Unfortunately, some and a lot of stores ONLY do store credit - which sucks. F21 being one of them. Take that into consideration when buying something. For the concealer I bought last night, there was a seller on ebay selling the concealer for $20 but explicitly said "if you order the wrong shade, I won't accept a return" - so I sucked it up and ordered the concealer full price ($27) on the official Jane Iredale website. Their return policy is that they will switch out the color to match OR return your money if you don't like it.
--If you're stuck with it OR you're confident you might be able to make some money on it (more than you spent) - try ebay. I sold some Michael Kors wedges I didn't even know I had for $110. I also purchased some Silver/Clear Tory Burch Flats (picture is in my first SIC post) that didn't end up fitting. I made $30 selling them back on Ebay!

These are all the questions I have now! I'm sure I'll think of some more soon :)

Hope you guys enjoyed!!

SIC: Tips to Control Spending

Tips to Control Spending

Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed my last Shopping In Control Post - Haul style. I thought I would include some tips as part of the SIC series for how to control spending and anything that pops into my head. Today I have 2 tips.

1. Start a word document at the 1st of the month to keep track of your spending. If you do online banking, check your statements every few days for the info. If not, keep receipts from where you shop. Include WHEN you bought the item, where from, what it was, and how much you were charged. Then, add up the numbers every so often. I'll add mine up every 4 transactions or after every week. I also recommend including what the total for the previous month's spending was in the corner as a reminder of how MUCH you spent and to not do it again, or how well you did and to stay on the same track!

2. I recently got into pinterest this summer and have made all sorts of fun boards. I recommend creating a board of things you want to buy. (My board is titled WANT). That way, when you look at the board, you'll realize just HOW MUCH you do want to buy and that you can't possibly buy it all. It'll put the items in perspective and you can decide what you really want most out of everything, or you might decide you don't really need to buy anything at all.

Here's my board if you want to check it out!! http://pinterest.com/iluvjesse444/want/

Please share your board with me if you start one! 

And leave any of your controlled shopping tips below :P

Shopping in Control #1

Shopping in Control Post #1

Hi guys! 

So this starts my 'Shopping in Control' series. 

Basically the inspiration for this series comes from the fact that in June I decided to total up the amount I had spent a few months before in a Word Document - when, what I bought, and for how much. WELL - the amount was SHOCKING to me. I thought how is this possible? 

As most of you may know, I am a Stylehaul partner on youtube and do make money for my videos. It's money enough that I didn't have to get another job on the side this summer, but in terms of actually SAVING money - that's not going so well.

SO - I will do these posts every so often, maybe once or twice a month - post pics of what I bought, when, and most importantly, WHY! I'm attempting to cut out frivolous shopping and I hope this will inspire you guys to keep track and really justify your purchases.

August 27th - September 3rd
(I will admit - the fact I bought all this in the span of 8 days is a little crazy. But Labor Day SALES!)

I have been looking at the Tory Burch Caroline nude flats for awhile - so many beauty guru's have them! I don't own a nude pair of flats, and I'd heard such great things about them and that they were comfy. I went into Nordstrom to try on my size and see that I actually wanted them - they were SO COMFY and adorable. I found them gently used on ebay for $80 less than the original price ($225).









*I picked up another sample size of my Ayelet Naturals SPF eye cream - LOVE it for underneath concealer and have been using my first one since April(?): http://www.etsy.com/listing/95798099/under-eye-cream-with-zinc-green-coffee
Total was $6.50

                                 I went to Goodwill to see if there were any cheap finds for the fall - and any shoe deals I could find to sell on ebay.
I found a pair of xhilaration wedges for $10, but I think I'm going to take them back!
I got a leopard pair of jeans for $3.75 - I've been into leopard lately and that was a great price for them.
Peach Izod sweater for $3.75, and an Old Navy tank top for Fall layering for $3.75. I got a skirt for $3.75 but it fits pretty awkward on me so I decided to try to sell it - I may end up taking it back.

I've been on an ebay ROLL lately since I've started selling. You can find some great things for CHEAP on there.

Well, since I saw my TB Caroline flats, I was kind of keeping and eye on some of the other flats, and these ones caught my eye. They are the TB Silver Audrey PVC flat. They are so unique looking, and I love the look of the clear sides and almost 'jelly' look to them. Trying to look them up online, I found hardly any info but they seem to be very rare. Originally $225 as well, I paid $77. IF they don't end up fitting or I don't like them, I'll resell them because they're rare :P 

I popped into F21 this weekend for some basics. I wanted to get some jeans for cheap because I gained quite a bit of weight last year in college that I want to LOSE - but for the time being, I got some jeans for $10.80 at F21. I also got some jean shorts for $12 that are lose around the thighs = what I need!

This amazing shirt caught my eye with the (fake) denim and lace. I got a size M, got home, tried it on, and it was really tight around the arms - so I went back yesterday to get the L. I'm soo in love with it.

I also got some skinny waist belts and a maroon zipper bag for the fall for $20. All will definitely be used A LOT!

At the mall I also popped into H&M to look at the scarves there and I found this grey leopard one for $12.75. It's large and fluffy and a neutral! Scarves were on my wish list for fall :)

(The pic is from instagram on an outfit I'm thinking of wearing it with!)

Last week I smelled the new perfume from Juicy, Juicy Couture   La Fleur. I looked it up online and found a joined rollerball - 1 'la fleur' and one regular Viva La Juicy. I went to see if Sephora had it on my mall trip, but they just had a rollerball of the VLJ - OMG. BEST SCENT EVER. I found it for $11 including shipping on ebay! I haven't purchased a perfume in FOREVER and I'm excited about having a new one. I literally was smelling my wrists all day when I had this on...

If you know me, you'll know for the past year I have been OBSESSED with my Adrina Crocs (flats with the bubble holes in them). I have wanted the Carlie flats (above pic) for the LONGEST time. They sold out the $25 ones on Amazon, so I saw them on sale WITH 20% off for signing up on the email for $15.99!!! I'm so excited. I love my crocs flats. Mwahaha.

I also got the Kadee Leopard flats because they were on a good sale as well, for $27 I believe. I don't know how I feel about the holes in the sides, but reviews on Amazon say they are a lot more cute in person and I have been wanting a pair of leopard flats. 

SO - that is everything I have purchased recently. I hope some of you that think this idea is interesting will join me in for shopping in control :P Tweet me or post a comment if you do!!

MY WISH LIST:

Free People Flag Scarf!

-Some Bandeaus from Amazon

-Thick leggings from Zara 

(The one's that are $35 are as thick as pixie pants = good dupe!)