My closet is organized by fabric weight. I still wear the same dark wash jeans four days a week. I keep buying tailored trousers hoping I will suddenly become a woman who wears them to the grocery store. It has not happened yet.
The fifty dollar limit A few years ago I noticed I was spending serious money on serums that smelled like citrus but did nothing. I cleared out my bathroom shelf and started over. Now I test foundations on half my face for a full day. If a budget concealer creases by noon, I write it down and throw the tube away. I keep track of the prices and tell you exactly what to skip.
Shoes you can walk in I do not recommend a heel I cannot stand in for three hours. I buy them on sale, wear them to dinners, and take notes on the friction points. You will find plenty of talk here about insole padding and arch support. It is not glamorous, but it stops you buying garbage.
Checking the seams I log the wear and tear on boots after a full winter of use. I wash the knits to see if they shrink. If a familiar brand starts using cheap polyester instead of cotton, I post the fabric tags. I am just trying to find things that last without costing a month of rent.