I technically broke my No-Buy …and I feel great!

How to make consuming feel good without being excessive

I have made no secret of the fact that I think my No-Buy has increased my happiness in many ways.

I feel like my relationship with purchasing has completely changed.

Lately, I have even been feeling a resistance to buying, rather than feeling like I have to hold myself back. That’s a positive sign, but I also want anyone reading this to understand that buying in and of itself isn’t a negative thing. Considered purchases can maximise the joy of acquiring new things and enhance our lives.

Whilst I don’t want to be in the cycle of excessive acquisition, I also don’t want to fall into the opposite extreme of associating any purchases with being “bad”. We will inevitably buy things over the course of our life, and I don’t want to feel guilty every time I do so.

As I write this, I am sitting at a little sidewalk bar, snug under a heater with a glass of rosè, watching the world go by and soaking up the joys of a wonderful wintry afternoon spent smelling lots of good things. The sun is starting to disappear but it is still quite early and the after work crowd have not yet hit the restaurant strip. However, the tables are slowly starting to become occupied.

Right now, my body heat is pushing up notes of aoud, orris and peppery rose from the Amouage attars I applied to my skin earlier at our local parfumerie. These scents mingle with the comforting smell of leather from my jacket and the remnants of Shalimar Philtre de Parfum still on my scarf from this morning.

I miss doing things like this. Solo dining, people watching and leisurely enjoyment of an afternoon of smelling perfumes, as though I have all the time in the world and nowhere to be. Sampling things, window shopping without pressure to buy, or NOT buy.

These days, opportunities like this are limited, thanks to Poppy, our 2 yo Vizsla – who is definitely NOT okay with being left at home alone for long periods of time.

I digress.

So, it was my birthday today and this month I have been debating over whether I would allow myself the opportunity to buy a perfume. I have stuck to my no-buy for over 6 months and I am feeling good – part of me does not want to “ruin” my success streak.

However, part of me is also curious to see whether “buying” feels different now, because I am surprised to discover that NOT buying has become rather effortless.

Well, yesterday I made the call and decided to put some money down for a bottle of Honour 43 that someone was selling in one of our local Facebook groups. I felt comfortable making the purchase given I was saving several hundreds of dollars on what is a circa $750 bottle and I have been through two small samples of it this year already. I am pleased to know I will have it for the warmer months

Matt also bought be a perfume for my birthday, having sourced one from my wishlist – Ambre Narguile by Hermes. Ambre Narguile is a gorgeous, gourmand-leaning amber with lots of cinnamon that is often referenced as smelling like apple pie.

It arguably isn’t the most unique amber, nor the best performing – and the price does raise my eyebrows, but at the same time I cannot deny – I simply love it. I have been wearing it after hot yoga classes all winter and I feel like I have created such a strong scent association with it that I don’t want to be without it now.

So, it was a big day of perfume for me, I also received some samples from my friend Pep in relation to the new perfume releases for Miskeo Parfums, and I also spent a couple of hours at our local parfumerie this afternoon just smelling new perfumes. I would say my favourite discoveries of the day were Precious Forest by Keiko Mecheri and the Orris Wakan Attar oil from Amouage. I will definitely be doing a review of the former, as I was able to secure a sample to take home.

How strange, two new bottles perfumes in one day seems so excessive now! 6 months ago I would sometimes acquire up to 10 in a month, and not even batt an eye.

Now, it feels GOOD to be able to add two things to my wardrobe that I KNOW I love. I know this because I have worked through samples and/or decants of them in recent months. I have no desire to keep the spending spree going. In fact, I am back on my no-buy.

It is an interesting to note that before my No-Buy, a purchase like this would have simultaneously left me feeling very guilty, whilst also looking for the next “fix”. Now, I genuinely feel content with the ones I have just acquired and I am excited to start wearing them.

My takeaway from 6 months of No-Buy?

• I have learned to prioritise acquiring only the things I truly want in my life.
• I have learned to identify what items I either really need/or want a deeper “relationship” with.
• The purchases or gifts I receive now feel more special and precious – the “joy” factor is amplified.
• I no longer feel guilt or shame when I do actually decide to bring something new into my home.

Happy weekend everyone.

C x