Holiday Time!

Christmas is a little over a month away, however someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. The weather here is southwestern Ontario has been amazing. Yesterday, we got to 13C, and as we were outside getting some yard work done, Marc took off his sweater and was walking around in a t-shirt. I don't remember the last time we were able to do that, and I'm definitely not complaining. I know this weather won't last long, so I'm going to make the most of it while I can.

We also spent this past weekend cleaning our house from top to bottom. We washed floors, washed walls, and vacuumed every crevice to get ready for the festive season. My mom and dad had a saying when I was young – “Santa doesn't come to a dirty house.” It definitely stuck with me, and so we knew it would be a perfect time to give this place some love, especially since I want to start decorating soon!

A lot of people I know have also put up their Christmas lights, and have a tree up as well. I feel like that even with this warm weather, it isn't dampening everyone's spirits. In fact, I think that everyone is starting earlier this year. I know I have, especially when it comes to my Christmas shopping. I have made a good dent in my shopping so far for everyone on my list, and only have a few more gifts to go.

It's been quite an eye opening experience shopping for others without having any urge to pick up something for myself. I was never one to go crazy on myself over the holiday season, but there would be times where I would want a new sweater for Christmas morning, or a new lipstick for a holiday party, and that's when it would be 3 or 4 items for myself, along with gifts for others. This year has been strictly gifts, and it has felt great.

My family has decided this year that we are not going to get too carried away, since none of us really need anything. I want this year to be about spending time together, and enjoying each other, rather than stressing about finding the perfect gift. I cannot wait to start baking with Marc, and my sister, Carrie. I think that is what I look forward to most this year. 

Let the holiday season begin!

Project 10 Pan - Update #1

It's almost been a month since I posted the products for my P10P, and I wanted to give an update as to how it's going.

I officially finished 1 product - the Sephora Anti-Shine Primer. I'm on to another one, since I have 4 or 5 backups of this. 

Unfortunately, I didn't finish my MAC Viva Glam lipstick, however it needed to go. One day I opened it, and noticed it smelled like plastic - which means it has spoiled. It was scraped out, and is in my Back2Mac bin. Kind of a fail, however I'm glad I didn't put it on my lips. The thought just turns my stomach.

Here is the progress of my other products - 

I only included the products that you could see pan on, to give you an idea of where I am. The other products aren't quite done yet, but I know I'm very close to being done with my NARS eye primer. 

I'm definitely not as far along as I was hoping. I am definitely not wearing as much makeup as I used to, and therefore don't reach for things as much as I thought. Hopefully by next month I'll have something else finished. 

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On a side note -  I can't help but be addicted to watching more of Christine, aka Pinksofoxy, on Youtube. She had this great video that was recently posted. She made a vlog about her lifestyle makeover for 2013. 

Here is the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvlb8TGhGJk&list=UUg9f9knI31hrUYBN8ey0m6Q&index=6&feature=plcp

I am definitely inspired to follow in her shoes. It was interesting to listen to her talk about her makeup collection, and what triggered her clean out I had mentioned earlier. I agreed with her on so many levels, and even though my collection is minimal compared to most, I felt the need to join her in downsizing for next year. 

I haven't figured out the details. I figure one step at a time. First, P10P, and my NO BUY, and then we'll go from there. :)

"Less Stuff, Less Stress" Part 2

... and here is the final purge.

Let me just say that I am wicked proud of myself. I set it all out on the table because I wanted to take a look again just to make sure that everything I am parting with won't be a regret. I am the queen of getting rid of stuff, but then I always seem to "need" it 6 months down the road. I know I won't miss any of this. 

I picked through it, and have almost a full bag to give to the receptionist where my dad works, and the rest will go to family when I see them over the holidays. I somehow lucked out with local friends who could care less using any of this, but a few of my cousins seem to love it. 

I continued on with it today, and also cleaned out my closets. I ended up having an entire garbage bag full of clothes that I can donate as well. We have a ton of drop boxes within our town, so that stuff will go to charity. 

I thought a lot about my no buy when I was cleaning everything out today. I might even make this no buy stretch until March, which is my birthday month. I'll only repurchase necessities, and hopefully by then I'll be able to use up WAY more than 10 products. It's definitely worth a shot.

"Less Stuff, Less Stress"

This morning I was puttering around on the internet, and came across a video series on YouTube that I thought was a fantastic idea. I was watching a Beauty Guru named Pinksofoxy, and she has a few videos up called Declutter Vlog: Less Stuff, Less Stress. 

They can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ17a7nRzHo&feature=relmfu (this is part 5 so far, but you can check out other videos associated)

After watching a few of these videos with my morning coffee, I am becoming inspired to do the same. My P10P has also helped in this department as well, and since I wrote that blog post, I've also decided to do a NO BUY until the end of the year.

My rules and conditions are as follows - 

1. No makeup, or skincare. None. I realized that I am fully stocked until the end of the year, and will not need to worry about my mascaras, etc.
2. No clothing or accessories. This includes handbags, which is so difficult for me, since I'm such a bag whore.
3. No nail polish. My base and top coat will be fine until the end of the year, although I will need more cotton rounds, which can be found at the dollar store, so they will be allowed. 
4. If there is something I think that I need, it goes on my Christmas list, end of story.
5. I am only allowed to purchase items for Christmas presents - which is something that will need to be done   since it is creeping closer and closer every minute.

Along with watching these videos, I've realized that it is time to go through my makeup collection, and downsize. I've been really enjoying shopping my stash, and every so often I'll pull 1 or 2 things out to be given away, but it's time to get serious. I've realized that as much as I love my collection, it does need some tweaking. I personally don't feel that I need 9 foundations in my collection, regardless of how amazing I think they all are. It's okay to have just 2 or 3, and would love to be able to pass them on to someone who will really appreciate them.

I've been fortunate enough as well, that a lot of my collection was free product, so giving it away makes me feel a little less guilty, however even if I did pay for it, I still would give it away. There are so many people out there who would really appreciate having these items, and I think it is important to stop being so greedy and superficial, and focus on more important things.

Now, that doesn't mean I'm giving up my collection all together, I will still continue to enjoy what I have. The point is to use the products that I love, and purge the rest. I will definitely be posting photos of the products that don't make the cut.

Here we go!