Oh, I love Excel so much, how could I NOT! Since I can't get to my computer easily to look stuff up, I don't group them by use. I just look at them. I do have:
"Color/Name": for anything from brush number, color name, or foundation shade
"Texture": for everything except brushes (those either have nothing for regular, or the name of the collection they came from if they're SE)
"Type": Blush? Shadestick? Got it! :-D

Oh, and I made it a list so I can use the drop down boxes to seperate my eyeshadows if needed.

Could export to Access, but not sure if I need to.... yet. :-P

I use word to make a list of all the products I currently have, a wish list of products I want, and a list for all my hauls so I can keep track of how much I spend. My niece called me a make-up nerd the other day, but I still believe such a thing doesn't exist!

ok - i did this today, it being a public holiday and me being all alone while SO is off in the USA (buying me lots of presents lmao)

created an excel spreasheet with the following columns:

Brand
Product type (eg - blush, foundation)
Product Name
Shade (used as bristle material for brushes)
Description (of shade for e/s etc, of type for foundation + brushes)
Finish (frost, matte etc)
LE?
Discontinued?
Repurchase (where i say yay, nay or undecided)
Comments (my thoughts on the item)

entered all my products, then sorted by brand and type, then put in a filter so, say, if i want to select all eye shadows i just pick eye shadows out of the drop down list.

the second worksheet is my wishlist. columns are Brand, Product Type, Product Name, Shade, LE?, Comments.

i feel like a dork... and i sincerely hope my SO never sees this. he would not understand.

I have a list on Makeupalley that needs to be updated. But it keeps track of how much you’ve spent on what brand and what category (eyeshadow, lipgloss, etc.). I don’t think it keeps track of shades. You have to put in the prices themselves, but I think after the first time it does auto complete and you can double-click on the price already entered.

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excel is way too confusing for me...but at least in using excel, you can total it up a lot easier to estimate your collection's worth :/ i had to do it the hard way:

i just use a word document and sort my products by lip/eye/face/misc.
and put everything out under that by sub-category (i.e., lipglass, prolongwears, etc.), and then all of what i own is listed, alphabetically, so that i can add stuff when i pick it up, or whatever. so to total it, i added up how much i have in each sub-category by price of the item (i just did it by retail price currently, since some of the stuff is from the CCO or bought a few years ago when it was cheaper), and the added up to each other category. i've been doing this for a while now, so though it seems a little confusing, it's pretty simple when you just look at in the file. hth

i use excel...here's how i keep track of my stuff. This is an example of spreadsheet for my MAC single e/s. I just type in the forumla in the cells..and when i add new stuff the spreadsheet automatically updates how much i've spent.. hths. I've not finishin creating the spreadsheet for all the rest of my stuff..as u can see i've only done up the spreadsheets for my MAC single e/s (haven't done quads and eye palettes yet) and blushers. I suck at excel...so this is the best i can do.

But it's pretty scary to see how much i've spend JUST on e/s alone for the past 10 months

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...sinventory.jpg

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My M.A.C collection and reviews

Its probably too expensive for private use, but filemaker pro rocks the casbah! You can basically build the database to your own specifications, I use it to catalogue my boss's art collection. If I could buy it for myself, I'd build a database for my m/u & clothes too :-)

I've started doing something similar to what someone else mentioned in this thread for my meager collection, just to be sure that I don't buy the same thing twice by accident. I have an Excel workbook with six worksheets - Eyes, Face, Lips, Pigments, Tools and Wishlist. I break each worksheet down by Category (eyeshadow, shadestick, foundation, fluidline, etc.), Product Name, Description (I'm having a hard time finding shade descriptions for stuff not on the MAC website though), Formula, LE/Discon?, Purchase Date and Notes (usually where I bought it and notes about use).

This is such a great idea! I'm gonna have to do this!!

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Ladylocks no more, I'm back to regular hair again!

Ha ha. I'm such a geek. I built a database where I can store what I own, a picture of each color, and I can create product lists for looks and a picture of the look. I can also print a face sheet with the color names already filled in (with optional shade swatches next to the name)

WOW! You just took this to a new level . Do you mind me asking what type of database you used for this? Access, SQL Server ...?

Oh man... I've been thinking about this for a while but my PC skillz only go as far as Internet, email, CVs and letters...

If anyone has some spare time I'd personally love a blank spreadsheet... and I'm sure there would be a number of other less PC compatible takers too... *looks lovingly at fellow Specktra whores*

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Don't play with fire if you're corrosive.

you're welcome.

thanks Electrostars im typing in my stuff right now...its lookin crazy already lol

hahaha. i hear that.

you're welcome!