No Spend June 2020

As No Spend June moves into its fourth year, it has taken on a completely different meaning this year as I haven't been on a mad spending spree prior to No Spend June starting. As this June commences we have been under lockdown for over two months with the majority of shops being shut so it has not been as easy to shop as it would normally be. In addition I have only been trying to purchase when I need to rather than when I want to. This means I haven't seen excessive amounts of beauty products coming into my collection like I normally would but I am going to continue with No Spend June as it has become a yearly tradition.

No Spend June

During what would be considered a 'normal' year I would usually have lost my saving mindset that I had started the year with and I typically would have gone a little bit crazy on the shopping but this year is a complete departure from this. As I said I have been much more savvy with my purchasing.

Not only have I been considering the items I have been buying more but I simply am not leaving the house so all of the money that would normally go on food and brunches has been left alone in my bank account, ready for a different day. It actually feels odd to have money in my account for once but it is something I am going to try and keep doing as this lockdown has really made me realise that I really do not need as many things as I think I need. Plus we have all seen the warnings of a recession, we are all concerned about our jobs, even if they seem secure at the moment you never know what could happen and that plays on my mind a lot. I want to make sure I have a bit of a safety net in case anything happens which is one of the reasons I want to continue with No Spend June, I want to continue to save money.

In June it looks like the restrictions that have been placed on the lives of the general public (not ministers or advisors apparently) look to be eased and with the easing of restrictions comes the freedom of spending and I do not want to go mad. I can feel myself getting the scent of freedom and spending tons simply because I can but I do not want that to happen. I want to take what I have learnt from this whole experience and carry it on because after all if we do not learn and take something positive away from this experience, we will just have the miserable memory of being stuck in our houses for months on end.

If I take June and continue this saving mindset, especially when things start to open up, hopefully it will be a mindset that lasts and I will be a little bit better with my money. I do think that might be a little bit ambitious but at least I'm giving myself something to aim for. However I don't just do No Spend June for the saving factor, there are a few reasons that I do No Spend June.

Excess Amount of Products

I feel like I should make it clear, No Spend June is a ban on buying Beauty products and I try not to buy any products all month. I have always been a little bit more lenient on other items but I still try to cut down on them too. However June is typically sale season which really throws a spanner in the works when it comes to fashion buying. I prefer to buy some of the more expensive pieces I have been eyeing up in the sale so I am not buying lots of fast fashion but also so it is more reasonably priced. If there is something I have wanted for a long time, I am going to buy it even though it is No Spend June.

The reason I call this No Spend June rather than No Beauty Spend June is because I do try to extend this rule to all of my spending but sometimes this isn't entirely realistic. I am quite strict on not buying any beauty unless it is completely unavoidable. Beauty is one area in which I can afford to be more strict on my purchasing and there are multiple reasons for this, the first being that I normally have an excessive amount of product anyway.

My beauty collection has always been a bit ridiculous for someone who is not a makeup artist but I just can't help it, I love trying new products. During the lockdown I have been committing myself to using the products that are in my draws rather than buying new products so there are some items that I am running low on such as Body Butters and hair products but I'm sure I have ones tucked away in my draws that I can use and would normally just ignore. I want these products gone and I should use them so they aren't wasted which is why No Spend June is so important; it forces me to use these products that I would normally not pick out.

New Ways of Using Products

Not only do I end up using products that I wouldn't usually reach for but I also find new ways of using different products. For example I will use brow pencils as eye liner, blushers and bronzers for my eyes and I will use concealer for a lighter base instead of foundation. Normally I would just head straight out to buy whatever it is I need but quite often there is an alternative within my collection anyway.

Not only do I find new ways of using products but if I finish these products that I would normally get half way through and bin them. If they are finished, they can be recycled so there are environmental benefits too.

Samples

Somehow I amass quite a stash of samples and there is no better time to start using these than during No Spend June. I get samples quite a lot with orders I have placed and I also receive some from the Glamour Beauty Club. Quite often samples go straight into my sample box for a different day and I then forget about them. I should really make it easier to see the samples I have as they might be used a little bit more if I knew what I had. Instead I use them during No Spend June to fill any gaps I might have in my collection but also so that I still try new products during the month.

I don't just buy new products to review them on my blog, I buy them because I want to try them and because they intrigue me but during June I am not allowed to do this. However this curiosity still exists and samples allow me to be a little bit more adventurous without spending any money. I haven't looked at my stash yet but I know I have a lot of perfume samples and there is some haircare. I am not sure what I have in the way of skincare samples so I guess I will see if there is enough for a skincare sample post this year. Either way I have a lot of samples to test.

I will admit, I did do quite a large shop in Boots prior to June but that was because we had been in lockdown for a while and I had run out of quite a few essentials so I did buy a lot of the items I needed. To be honest at the time I forgot it was almost June. I cannot believe how quickly June has come around. I definitely thought this whole Rona thing would be over by now but at the moment it doesn't look like much is going to ease up soon.

To be honest I don't know how much of a struggle this is going to be this year, I feel like Rona has been preparing me for this for the past few months so this doesn't feel like as much of a challenge. However I have been struggling with my mental health and one of the ways I deal with this is treating myself and beauty is one of my favourite things to treat myself to so I guess we will see how I get on. This could end up being my worst year yet. As always I will be documenting any purchases in a post at the end of the month to give you an update on how I got on.

P.S. There will still be reviews for products that I haven't spoken about before but they will all have been bought prior to June, unless it states otherwise!