Hi my friends! I'm SO SORRY if you got cut off while watching the first upload of this video around noon today. Something went wrong with the initial upload (there was no video after the first sixteen minutes) and it's taken me the rest of the day to solve the problem. I ended up having to upload in a roundabout way, so the quality might be a bit lower that usual, but luckily it's just a check-in and not a makeup demo. Everything should be back to normal on Wednesday. Thank you for watching! xoxo!
Five years later in April 2023, I am catching up on your no-buy year. And I took your advice to pause your video to read Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath. This is exactly why I love your videos. No-buy, less but better, beauty, brains and heart. I am grateful that I found your channel. ❤
Watching this made me realise that when I bought things, I'd always think at the time that it would be my final purchase and then my life would be complete and perfect. Of course "stuff" doesn't have that function so it never worked. It's taken me decades to reach this conclusion, but it's never too late to change. Thanks for your thought-provoking videos.
I don't know whether you'll see this comment so long after this video's upload date... But I wanted to write here, as this video in particular touched something in me. I've seen you guest on Lacie and Georgia's podcast and heard NisiPisa namecheck you for months, but only in the past week started making my way through your content, chronologically. Thank you so, so much for being on this platform. Your relation of buddhist meditation (as an antidote) to compulsive consumerism via craving was what I needed to hear. I'm so grateful to have found another brainy, bookish, drag-worshipping, beauty-loving, dance-adoring, woman-cheering, gender-investigating, poetic soul. Like, the combination of those aspects in you actually makes me emotional, because I don't meet many of us in the world, let alone on RU-vid. Thank you. And those Plath lines are some of my favourites in all of poetry. I laughed out loud at the half rhyme with your usual No-buy Year intro :D
Knitting and sewing are those things for me. Taking the time to create something beautiful that I wish to own is such an antidote to the immediate gratification of shopping. It genuinely makes purchasing things a bit of a let down, so fleeting and ultimately so much less satisfying.
I am so thankful that I went back to watch your beginning videos. I started by watching your later decluttering videos. I, too, have always had a spending problem and am on my second no buy month journey. It's a very eye-opening journey, realizing that you don't need as much as you want. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Ugh this is so real. The toddler in me wants to shop and wants what ALL the things. Glad I’m giving back the power to adult me :) So thankful for your insightful channel. I’m now on an indefinite no buy (only repurchasing essentials if I run out and have nothing that can duplicate its purpose.) my goal is no longer to be a blind sheep consumer. My life, my hard earned money is worth more. I’ve been binge watching your videos and can absolutely see the growth in you from abstaining from the immediate gratification of shopping and I cannot wait to reach this in my personal journey as well. Thank you for your content!!
change will definitely come! I've been amazed at how much the seemingly simple act of stopping shopping has changed me. Congrats on starting your journey!
thanks for this comment, Julie. It actually made me go back and watch this video, and it really helped me to remember what was going on back in April. The last few months of the year have been so frenetic that it's been hard to keep hold of the broader mindset that I was developing during the calmer months of the year, and I needed the reminder!
Your channel has become one of the treats that I indulge in because it brings such joy and life. Each morning I pour myself coffee and choose one past video and enjoy the peace of listening to someone who loves makeup talk about all the ways this love relates to the rest of life in large and profound ways. I never realized how much my shopping behaviors were related to my desire to rid my life of unpleasant or uncomfortable moments, to shove them aside and not deal with them. It is especially profound given that I have been working on NOT doing this in every other aspect of my life. But now I see how makeup is related, and I am excited to find new ways-ways not related to shopping-that allow me to enjoy my makeup hobby. As always, thank you for this space you’ve created. It is beautiful.
First!!! You are a breath of fresh air in the beauty community, your introspection encourages me and you lift the veil on luxury brands. For me, they were somewhere in the clouds and i was not cool enough to own any but that wall in coming down. If you could touch on the other aspects of your no buy, that would be interesting to me. And also what your family thinks. I have been subbed since the first video and i am so excited for your success but not surprised at all 😊👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Hi Laura! That's so funny about luxury brands, I know what you mean. By "other aspects" do you mean the clothing and homewares part? I'd be happy to talk more about those. Thank you for your comment! xoxo!!!!
I've been thinking a lot about how to enjoy myself, even when I'm alone, WITHOUT eating things I don't need to eat or buying anything. Long walks are great; taking photos of things I see on the walk; keeping a diary and doing stretching and solo tango exercises are all things that work for me. Also, walking while listening to music or a really good podcast.
I know this is an old video (currently binging through your year lol!) but some things I do to avoid less healthy behaviors include RU-vid yoga videos (there is endless content!) and making lists on paper or digitally- I recently made a spreadsheet of all my beauty products and another of all my lippies, with info included about price and if I would repurchase- so eye opening!
I find lists incredibly helpful to show how much I have - and how much I have spent along the way... It has saved me from (expensive!) impulse purchases.
Hannah - what a joy it is to watch your videos and hear your voice... I am literally laughing out loud at your imitation of the toddler/little girl within, and especially loved the image in my mind of her "dancing as the confetti rained down upon her head!" Your choice of words and your ability to paint a picture or express an emotion are such a rarity these days, and are such a gift to all of us who share the privilege of watching you!
This no buy year project is really hitting it home. I admire how brave you are for sharing all of your introspection so gracefully on the internet. Love your content! It’s truly adding value to your views lives!
Hi, I’m checking in from the future! You’ve inspired me to do a no buy year this 2024. A lot of what you’re talking about resonates with me. Thank you for sharing your journey and encouraging us along the way. Will be borrowing the book from the library. Was already a fan of Sylvia Plath.
Getting caught up on your old videos and I screamed when you mentioned Tara Brach! She is my QUEEN. I listen to her long talks in my car often and they help so much, but I've had a hard time actually sitting down to meditate. You've inspired me to be more consistent about this!
Arg, I love her so much! the 8-minute meditation "Letting go of control" is the one I use. It's short enough so that it doesn't feel too difficult to make time for it.
I really didn't think that how bad it has become until I got a fungus infection on my lips and I had to see a doctor because I used a super old lip tint a couple of days ago. For the longest time, I have kept buying for different reasons until the amount of makeup I have is more than I can ever use. Now I just felt so lucky that I discovered your channel and I got the chance to re-discover what I have had in my makeup collection. Thank you so much for doing this. :)
Totally not a boring check-in! It’s incredible to think how much beauty and spending tie into our overall wellbeing and identity. This really resonated with a lot of things I’ve been untangling recently.
Yes, it's all so interconnected! I'm glad this resonated and wasn't boring, haha...I find it all endlessly interesting but I can never be sure :) Thanks for commenting! xo!
Omg. Your thought process and information is so relevant. Shopping for makeup was my escape from life. All I did in the past 10 months, though I stopped drinking alcohol, was to search and shop for makeup. However, the activity is the same escape as was indulging with alcohol. Now that I have removed Shopping from my reach, I recognized that goal setting within myself and with members in my family is what I thrive and look forward to (like family game nights, no popcorn during the week, gym time 5 mornings a week, and so on). I find it that anything to better oneself, and declutter unhealthy habits, can only be healthy. You’re so right about others placing opinions on a personal goal. What I’ve learned in my journey is at the end of the day, my life and my choices is to me my own expectations, not expectations of others. This revelation has given me peach and self power to make my own choices based on my own needs. Lol. Now I’m babbling. Again thank you for the work that you do and for sharing your work with us 💕☺️👍🏼❤️🙌🏼
I am binge watching your check-ins right now as sort of a preparation for my no-buy year... And I enjoy it so much. Helps to motivate me as I get a glimpse into what this will bring me! ;) I did read Lady Lazarus as you suggested... Not a fan of poetry such as yourself but I did enjoy it! I find poetry hard to read in English as it's not my first language... Being a huge fan of reading myself, I think I will seek out my local library to get a subscription card, as I don't want to throw the money I'll be saving into buying books... which I tend to do! ^_^
I love Lady Lazarus. I was recently in contemplation of it as I was cleaning and thinking about something I'm writing. Probably because I saw a volume of Ovid by Ted Hughes, who I independently like, but when I think of him and Sylvia, I have been known to hiss at his books. Okay, back to no buy rewatching!
"Trying to squeeze my life into looking a certain way and when it didn't I would feel like a failure. Letting go of control. Sitting in a car watching your life go by knowing it's all okay." Hannah, I really needed to hear that and I identified so much with what you were saying I cried for half of the video. Thank you for being you.
I found you on that subreddit a couple weeks ago, and I am so glad! After I watched a few of your videos I felt I’d “met” a kindred spirit. Thank you so much for sharing so much of your world and your philosophies with us. It’s wonderful to see such a classy, articulate, intelligent woman on RU-vid. PS: I’ve always loved that Plath poem. I’m also a natural redhead but I’m currently portraying a brunette!
Thanks, Paulette! I'm so glad you are enjoying the various dimensions of these videos. I worried that nobody would want to watch if I didn't stick strictly to makeup, etc...but it turns out I'm incapable of doing that, since everything is interconnected, so I stopped worrying about it. But I really appreciate the support. xoxo!
I shop for similar reasons - I yearn to be at the pinnacle of experience, elated and in the fast lane. Much like your most ‘glamorous’ life observation. Thanks for this lovely philosophical video and for all the juicy poetry and book recommendations. Xx Erin (from Melbourne, Australia)
I know this is an almost tear old video, but it really was timely for me. I've been in extreme anxiety and fear lately. There are situations that are eating me up and I don't want to just drug over it or develop a habit that just makes it better momentarily. I immediately ordered the book you recommended and will look into meditation. It's something I really was interested in, but hadn't really been making a focused effort to do. My current anxiety is driving me crazy. My effort to control a few issues that make me feel so out of control and needing to stuff down is literally ruining my life. I really needed this. Thank you.
Your hair and makeup is so pretty! Congratulations on your new subscribers, you deserve it! Your thought process, insight and delivery is wonderful and refreshing and will be very helpful to many people! I’m on a low/no buy, depending on the type of product and my rules are clear. When I reach my limit of a low buy item, it’s then a no buy until that category is significantly reduced or if I need to replace a specific item. Any purchase is carefully thought out, and I don’t make impulse purchases. I don’t feel bad or deprived for not being able to purchase something, nor do I feel guilty purchasing something as part of my low buy. I’ve taken my thought process into other areas outside of makeup too! I may be saying this early but most likely I will be continuing this project into next year. Shopping my stash has become a fun activity. I enjoy and appreciate the products I have, the fact that spent good money on them, and how long it takes to use up a product. I’ve finished some items and I’m close to finishing up a few more. It’s a great feeling!
Hi Lisa! Your low buy/no buy sounds perfect. I love how your rules are clear but just a bit flexible, so you can hold yourself accountable and resist impulse purchases but at the same time you are able to buy something from time to time without breaking your rules. Fantastic. And I agree, shopping one's stash is THE BEST! I love it so much! xoxo
Hi Hannah I know that this is an older video. I love your channel because you focus on how are our internal feeling and how they relate to shopping or other behavior we have. I like this because you move us to explore the feeling if we don’t then a no buy year is just something to do. Thank you Hannah, I will be starting a low buy year I hope I can change my habits and explore my feelings.
I know this is an old video, but I just discovered your channel and have been binging on every video up to this point. This video and the one on letting go of perfectionism nearly made me cry. I can relate so much this and it feels good to hear someone talking about these things out loud. I would describe your channel as a slap of fresh air; absolutely refreshing, but a complete shock to my system. A shock I think I needed. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. I'm so happy to see your channel has grown so much since this video and I hope it continues to do so in the future. ❤️
Love your channel! Your videos are thought provoking. I’ve joined your no buy this month and I’m pleased with myself...haven’t bought any makeup for fourteen days now. Thank you for EXCELLENT content😃
Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody equated his wild parties / activities were “distractions between moments.” This resonated and I equated it to “shopping” like activities. 🤪
You're starting a revolution! I watched Angelica Nyqvist's video and Elle S's video about their Low Buy year projects and they were inspired by yours. They inspired me. I also know what I need, and I just need tho do it! I'm joining the Low Buy today. I've set up my rules, and I'm ready! I don't NEED every pretty eyeshadow palette that comes out! It is serious, this buying thing! Right now I keep my makeup in one of those red mechanics tool boxes, with an additional tower of drawers next to it! I have every color of nail polish under the sun! I have a room full of Coach bags! I have stopped buying the bags and nail polish and now I must do the same with makeup.
I love your channel! I'm a high school English lit teacher + beauty addict + going on a no buy month so it's like your channel speaks to my soul. Here from reddit ;)
yay, amazing! I'm always a bit sheepish about including the literature (can't help myself!) so it's great to hear from people who enjoy that aspect. Thanks for the encouragement. Are you joining no-buy May? I just uploaded the "welcome to no-buy may" video!
Hannah Louise Poston definitely joining no buy May, I'm booked solid for socializing this month so I know I'll rather use the money on going out with friends!
love your content, so inspiring! i'm starting my own 1 month no buy and your videos are really motivating me! also thanks for Lady Lazarus, it's beautiful
Found you through Reddit as well. I love your content and you are so inspiring! You have inspired me to start my own no-buy as well. I really enjoy watching your videos when I’m feeling the pull to buy things!
Yay, I'm so glad the videos are helping you to resist the urge! As you can tell from this video, I think a no-buy is incredibly rewarding (I keep being surprised by the different rewards as they unfold). It's worth it! Good luck! xoxo
Your videos have really changed my perspective on Makeup. I now look at my collection which I would say is similar to your size except the lip products I have maybe twice as much. Anyways... I now look at my collection with excitement and really want to play around with it more and get to know it. I’ve realized especially with eye shadow palettes that I don’t know them well. There are many shades I haven’t even tried within my palettes Bc they are out of my comfort zone. Now I find myself really wanting to spend some time getting to know them. I’m choosing two at a time for about a month period where I’m really using them and getting comfortable with them. Right now I am doing the warm neutrals viseart palette and the Anastasia renaissance palette. I’m really tying to use the bright pinks in the renaissance and the bright oranges in the viseart palette. I plan on going on a Makeup and skincare no buy in 2019. Thank you for inspiring me to enjoy what I already own!
I'm SO happy to hear this, Yelena! It's amazing how we are able to buy and buy makeup without really loving it and using it (I did that for years). Like you, I feel so much happier using my makeup now that I'm really focusing on what I have. Thank you so much for commenting! xoxo
you have such a soothing voice, I love just putting on your videos and listening to them as backgroup "music". Have you ever acted? I think you have a lovely energy for reciting poetry or monologues. I would totally watch you! Thank you for your wonderful advice, I'm really glad i found your channel
Oh my goodness I looooved this video of yours(I’m binge watching you haha) regarding filling your life with pleasures of other activities other than eating sugar or online shopping! 👏🏻👏🏻 Perfect action provoking thoughts for me! Ahh, love it, love it! 💜
Hi Jess! Glad you are enjoying the videos! I know, online shopping and eating sugar are surely the most tempting but least happy-making behaviors...the struggle is real :) xoxo!
So happy for your channel's growth! Congrats! I'm actually at the part of my May no buy rules where I'm listing what to do instead of shop... I think it will be easier now that the weather is warming up in the Midwest- I can break out my bike, go to the forest preserve, garden.,.. etc. Only 1 day away!
This video was wonderful! I know it’s been a while since you posted it but I only just found your channel and have been watching from the beginning. It’s been so cool to witness your mindset shift the further into the year we get but something about this video has really spoken to me. While you were talking about creating a fulfilling environment for yourself I wrote my own little rules list. It’s not really a no but or a low buy, but it sets boundaries for shopping as an outlet and I’m really excited :)
Hi there, another person here via MakeupRehab. I enjoyed this video a lot and am looking forward to catching up on your content! I declared 2018 a no-buy year but I fell off in a major way last month. Your channel is inspiring me to give it another go for the rest of the year. I already knew that I can replace shopping with other healthier and more fulfilling hobbies, including reading fiction and also fandom (which is what my YT channel is for), but while watching this video it dawned on me that I use shopping as a substitute for relationships since I moved away from my home town (and country) a few years ago. My spouse and I have been working to develop new friendships but it takes time, and watching your video helped me understand that even more. I’m going to check out that Pema Chodron book! I just discovered Tara Brach as well a few weeks ago so I enjoyed seeing that shoutout! And it’s very cool that you can really get something in a new way after so many reads/listens, because of where you are in your life.
Thanks for this great comment! You can definitely get back on the wagon. I think oftentimes one bit of failure makes us determined to keep failing, and we just throw up our hands. I bet if you pick a start date in the near future, plan for it and gear up again you can make it through the rest of the year. Especially since you've learned more about how you use shopping. I moved to a new city about a year ago and you're right, it really does take time, and for the second half of 2017 I definitely used shopping as a way to acquaint myself with my new city, if that makes sense. Your channel looks cool! I'm a huge Buffy fan :)
Oh, I love guided meditation. My fave ones are on the 10% Happier app. One of the sleeping ones by Sebane is a go-to. Her voice is so soothing, and not distracting.
This comment will probably not be read or seen at all. Since I am so very late to the no buy project, but happy to be here nonetheless. I just wanted to say I genuinely redonate so much with you and feel like I am catching up with an old friend watching your videos as another aesthetic loving, art loving, bookworm, who also loves to ponder on the observations of day to day life. I follow your videos in present time as well, I just watched the video about using colour to make impactful outfits which suprise surprise, I absolutely love and think two colours is perfect and more than enough. Okay, I also seem to not get to the actual point of my comment 😂, but let me get to it now. I am literally reading Oliver Burkeman's 4000 weeks - time management for the mortals, and he makes this exact same point about us trying to make life into something we are not, among other wierd capitalistic obsessions we have about time. His book was so profound that ,I've basically been sitting in shock since yesterday when I started but I feel so so relaxed at the idea that this is my life. There is no coping behaviour or distraction that could make everything perfect. This messy life is just it. And waiting for a day in the future when you somehow have more control over your life, makes no sense! Imagine my absolute shock, when I was checking out your playlist about your no buy year , since I am on a low buy year myself now. And you echoed the exact sentiment that shook me to my core. And like you, it has literally sunk into me that trying to control everything is one of our biggest problems in life , eliminating which could make our lives so much more richer and deeper and just real ! I am just fascinated by how our thoughts connected across space and time ❤❤. I love you hannah , and am literally so grateful that your channel exists, thank you !!
That's the spirit! It can be so tempting to use failure as an excuse to keep failing, if that makes sense. But if you're determined to make a change, you can do it. Good luck, and keep us updated! xoxo!
I’m a shopping addict! I really need to change my ways. I’ve tried multiple times to do a no buy year but it just hasn’t worked out for me. What would you suggest?
Thank you! It was given to me by the Xbox deities years ago when I requested "generate random" while creating my account :) Also, at the risk of sounding creepy, I just have to say you are wonderfully eloquent.
Noticing your thoughts and inquiring..thats my meditation for 10 years. As you say its an ongoing process it takes practice but totally worth it. Check out thework of bk..
Hi Hannah, I have watched your recent videos from december to January 28 2019 and I was just doing my make up and decided to listen to this older one... It strikes me how similar we are in our behaviours (well, we meaning you in the past and me now) and that feeling of needing to be perfect and faminine and glamourous... I am thinking, could it be that your compensating for the fact that you could be wealthier (and more successful in the traditional sense) if you weren't pursuing your true passions? And now youre in a much difficult financial position and youre not quite there yet in your writing career so people may still look at you and say, "If only she used her masters in X, she will be earning six figures now." I feel that. I also pursed writing right after I received my diploma in accounting, and let me tell you I can barely afford to eat now and I was the star student in math and sciemce all thoughout high school and college and people look at me and feel pity, and I also cant help but compare myself to my peers now working in engineering and business firms... And I make up for that loss (or perceived loss) of dignity by being a perfectionist on my appearance which includes makeup. I feel like if I have this shade of red then I it would fill the gaps of my career and make me look like a professional too
Holy Hannah! Lol. I feel like you are speaking to me! About me. Thank you for saying how I feel at this very time. I have been watching you in no particular order since November, how have I not seen this video. Or perhaps the universe was waiting to show me when it would be heard. Anyways love watching your videos. Keep up the great channel you make a difference too mee 💜💜💙💙
