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In January 2019 I declared starting a Low Buy Year (read about the rules and reasons here) and vowed to keep track of my expenses, both in terms of what I purchased myself and what I got sent by PR that I would have otherwise bought eventually.

 

 

To be honest, I am still not happy with the way I handle the PR side of things. I don’t think I can ignore it completely, as it reduces my need for shopping, but at the same time I would probably not have gone out and purchased a whole skincare collection in one month myself, even if I wanted to try all the products, but rather had spread out the purchases over the course  of the year.

For now I will keep it the way that I used to, adding the PR things I might have purchased myself to the beauty expenses, but if you have other suggestions on how to handle that, please drop me a line!

 

 

Even though I will not keep up my Low Buy as dedicated series (I will explain later why), I still plan to update you on what is new in my stash on a semi-regular basis, which is what this video is about.

 

 

Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Eye Serum and Night Cream

I started working with Murad mid-2019 and really enjoyed their products, so when they reached out to me and asked whether I wanted to try some of their Retinol Youth line, I was really excited.

Both the eye and the night cream come in great pump packaging, but so far the eye cream seems to agree much better with my skin than the slightly richer night cream. I will keep testing and report back.

 

 

Good Molecules

A brand that is new to me, but sounds really exciting is Good Molecules, a US brand that aims to provide efficient skincare for a budget, much like The Inkey List and The Ordinary.

I answered a few questions about my main skin concerns (premature aging and hyperpigmentation, if you are curious) and they send over the Niacinamide Brightening Toner (containing Niacinamide, a Vitamin C derivate and Arbutin), their silicone free primer/ moisturizer (containing shea butter and macadamia seed oil) and a serum duo, the Discoloration Correcting Serum (which contains Tranexamic Acid, an ingredient that I have been meaning to try for a while) and the Daily Brightening, a hydrating serum that contains Arbutin for brightening as well as several humectants.

I have just started using them, so I you need to have a little more patience before I can give you a thorough review, but first impressions are good.

 

 

Merumaya

You might have read my review on the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm, where I said that while I loved the product, I did not get along with the scent. Long story short, the brand founder contacted me on Instagram to tell me that they had since reduced the amount of fragrance and offered to send me their Intensely Youthful Eye Cream to test.

Again I have only tried it on my face for a short period of time, but the pump packaging is already convinving.

But back to the Low Buy 2019:

 

What did I purchase in 2019?

Let’s start with the most impressive number: The new beauty things that entered my life came at a total value of 2269,86 €.

That would make for quite a luxurious vacation!

If I break it down further, the amount I spend on makeup was 103,80 €.

For that I purchased two concealers, a corrector, a gel eyeliner and a mascara, all of which I use regularly (and in case of the mascara already used up, so I consider that money sensibly spend.

I received Makeup PR for a value of 87 €, but didn’t end up keeping much of it. Most went to friends and family as I am very much set in what I wear every day (as you can probably tell when looking at my videos).

Now let’s talk skincare – that is the topic of this blog after all. Here is where it gets interesting, PR wise.

Because out of the remaining 2079,06 €, 1226,40 € are PR.

If you then count in that the NuFace my husband gifted me for my 40th birthday makes up another 361 €, I only spend 491,66 € on skincare myself.

This is approximately 41 € a month.

And here is where my dilemma starts: Just looking at my own expenses, I did very well. But when I look at the reviews I published, more than half of them are PR.

So what would I have done without these products? Published less? Purchased more?

I admit I am not sure, which is why my final Beauty Low Buy Year Conclusion is:

A Low Buy is not really realistic as long as you accept PR.

Which is why I will not continue a dedicated Low Buy series, even though I want to keep being more mindful with my expenses and continue to shop my stash.

I will however be keeping you updated with what is new in my skincare stash on a monthly basis (should I have enough products to feature that is), I just need a new name now!

Any suggestions?