Thanks for saying this again! I've been dealing with heavy breakouts for the past ten years and I've really suffered several times, so I definitely should keep that in mind even more. I'm paying a lot of attention on having fresh face towels each morning/evening and a fresh pillow case really often, and I do take care of my brushes, but I tend to forget about the products themselves because of my former hoarding, I guess. Of course, I do keep my brushes clean regularly, but I don't use sanitizer or clean my brushes for powdery products every single time. It's just makeup, not surgery, so I had the opinion it wasn't necessary to sanitize the products itself. I guess my approach is just fine for people with an average number of makeup items and "normal", but I think as a result, if I don't wanna use a spatula each time and wash all brushes daily, I should pay more attention on my products' shelf life and, most importantly, let things go when their time has come. So again, we can see that hoarding makes no sense.
ompom: Small victories! That's one of my older powder products and I'm glad I'm using it up! Maybe this means I can hit pan on a blush, that'd be awesome!!
I fully agree with you on the advice you're giving here. And concerning the lines in bold letters: That's so true! At the moment, I think I'm not ready for buying nothing at all, but looking at my "collection", I could. I even got about 20 mascara samples, so I guess I'd only need face products (Foundation/Concealer/Powder). After giving away 21 lipsticks, I don't miss a single one although I liked them all. It's really tough for me these days to recognize I spent about 400 euros on these, thinking what else I could have done with that money. And there's so much more sitting in my Helmer drawers. So I get the impression that I still own too much stuff - each day a little more. I do know it's silly and ruining my progress that I still buy some ittems from time to time, but I hope that I can improve on this, too. I've gone from "BUYALLTHOSETHINGS" to buying one or two pieces per collection (and no online/Mac store collections at all), so I might be really close to skipping even more.
Thanks for saying this again! I've been dealing with heavy breakouts for the past ten years and I've really suffered several times, so I definitely should keep that in mind even more. I'm paying a lot of attention on having fresh face towels each morning/evening and a fresh pillow case really often, and I do take care of my brushes, but I tend to forget about the products themselves because of my former hoarding, I guess. Of course, I do keep my brushes clean regularly, but I don't use sanitizer or clean my brushes for powdery products every single time. It's just makeup, not surgery, so I had the opinion it wasn't necessary to sanitize the products itself. I guess my approach is just fine for people with an average number of makeup items and "normal", but I think as a result, if I don't wanna use a spatula each time and wash all brushes daily, I should pay more attention on my products' shelf life and, most importantly, let things go when their time has come. So again, we can see that hoarding makes no sense.
I think just realizing that you're so well stocked can be really eye-opening. It's a major step to go from buying everything to limiting your spending for each collection, so be proud of your progress! As soon as I started a realistic limit that's when things became so much easier for me. At first I limited myself to 5 makeup items per month, then I slowly added in other things until I got to where I am now which is 5 non-essential material items per month (I still let myself purchase food, drinks, fitness classes, the occasional craft project - mostly consumable things). I feel comfortable with my current goals and it's still slightly challenging sometimes, but maybe in the future I'll be ready to work on more. Keep making those small, incremental changes and you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish!
That's too bad that you've been experiencing breakouts! I get so frustrated with my skin sometimes too, mostly hormonal issues.. I need to keep reminding myself about the pillows and sheets thing though! I know I don't wash mine nearly enough. What really stuck with me too is that as soon as you touch a brush to your eyes or face it's already got oils, skin cells, product residue, etc. on it. If you were to then dip that brush back in the product to apply more to the other side of your face.. it's already contaminating your makeup! Washing your brushes and sanitizing your items regularly definitely helps, but eventually the preservatives age and deteriorate to the point that they can't keep bacteria from growing. My mantra is that using expired makeup is not worth the health of my skin or eyes, so I will make the effort to buy quality, buy less, and replace more often. Even with tossing powder items after 2-3 years I'll be spending way less than I used to, and the amount of variety is probably close to the same since I tended to buy dupes or wear the same colors anyway! Plus I have a better chance of actually using things up because I'm regularly using everything I own.
Quote: Originally Posted by mel33t
So I'm pretty excited, I was doing my makeup this morning for work, nothing special, just the usual. And I looked down at my NARS Laguna bronzer and realized I had hit pan.
Small victories! That's one of my older powder products and I'm glad I'm using it up! Maybe this means I can hit pan on a blush, that'd be awesome!!
@CrimsonQuill157 that's a great question, thanks for asking! Nope, I cannot replace any items, even if they are 'essentials'! I have three mascaras in rotation right now (two full size - one coloured and one black, and one mini mascara) & a backup full sized mascara and a back up mini mascara. SCARY I know....I'm super terrified that I'll run out during the year, but I think right now I have at least 2-3 or more months out of the ones in rotation. I've been using my mini for about two months now and it's slowly coming to an end, so a mini can last ages as long as you aren't applying like 3-4 coats every time. It's a good lesson on really maximizing use and getting a better bang for your buck, and I'm glad that I'm committed to not buying anything at all so I really focus on using it until it's 'last legs'. It's a lesson for me on how to not be wasteful and frivolous and to really appreciate the money that I'm spending on things. I have a backup pressed powder and a half used powder, along with the loose one I've been using. I don't use foundation & I have tonnes of eye primer and one concealer tube thing from NARS which I don't use every day, so I think I can make it on those fronts. Literally mascara is the only thing I'm scared of running out of!!!
I guess it also just increases the length of time and energy I have to expend dealing with that product, if nobody wants it to the point that I can't even give it away I would feel even more guilty for buying it. Sometimes selling takes forever and a lot of people here honestly just don't want used makeup and I don't really blame them. I don't think I'd buy/accept used makeup myself, I'm too paranoid about the conditions people keep their stuff in.. like in the bathroom. The bacterial thing is an issue for me definitely. I think part of it is a psychological issue. When I was younger, my dad used to go through the trash to make sure we weren't throwing away anything that was still "useful" (one of those habits from children growing up shortly after the war ended). He would get so upset at any food waste, etc. and try to keep things that were past their expiration date. So when I left home I kind of went in the opposite direction and tossed everything that was on the edge of being unsafe to eat/use. I still to this day can't eat food that I know is right on the expiration date or even a day past, even if it seems okay still. That being said, I don't use clean brushes every time I get into a product either, but I try to wash them once a week at least and I feel like tossing products after a few years is more realistic for me rather than trying to be pristine with my use. The reality is that bacteria can get in things from you just opening the product if there's any moisture on it - I'd rather play it safe and know that the preservatives are still doing their job. Anyway, I've tried selling/giving and at this point I just realized that those things don't work for me so if I get rid of something it's going in the trash. Fortunately I have way less to get rid of now, so it won't be nearly as frequent!
:welcome: Some of the others have given you some really good advice/suggestions. I'll add that photographing everything, or laying everything out, may help as well. Seeing your entire collection in front of you can be a serious eye opener.I am late but want to join this (and hopefully, turn this into as close to a no-buy as I can). [COLOR=0000CD]@veronikawithak fantastic posts. Very inspirational and you've hit on some terrific points. [/COLOR] Last weekend, I began my trek by sorting through my collection (which now feels rather like a burden). I found foundations that (according to the product batch codes) were over at 5 years old. Some were 10 years old.
I have to say, i too didn't want to '' give'' my beauty product for the longest time, for the simple reason that if I purchased this product it is because I wanted it at some point. If I give- or trash it, it mean that I have too much products (and i wanted to stay in denial for the longest time). 2014 was for me the realization, that I need to face the amount of product i had, and that amount was just too much for me (as well as my spending that became a little out of control) and that I did buy thing on the internet that was just not for me.Mascara is the one thing I'm going to run out of too. My plan for that is to order my non-makeup replacements from Sephora (like deodorant or cotton pads) and get a mini with either a promo code and/or my points. I have free shipping so I can make small orders. That way I'm not breaking my no buy but I can still get a few mascaras for however long I decide to continue my No Buy. If there's none I want to use, I'll just buy one and not be too worried about it. Maybe use some Shoppers points to stock up on the basics, I don't really buy much there anymore anyways. With just your backup full size and mini you could easily make it 6 months!
On giving/selling, this is obviously my own opinion and I think it's great if other people have found it works for them! But it's not for me. Personally, giving/selling used makeup makes me uncomfortable for a few reasons. First, I'm still somewhat embarrassed by my spending habits and I feel like I would get judged if I got rid of barely used, mid-high end products. I was getting rid of around 15-20 polishes before and a friend saw them sitting in a bag by the door and was shocked I was getting rid of them, commenting that they were so expensive, etc. She's sweet, but she's very careful with her money and I've really had to learn how to be more like that. I shame myself enough, I don't need other people to join in!
Re: Hitting pan and then going to buy a replacement - don't! Haha. There's still at least 25-50% of the product left and if you think about how long it took you to hit pan in the first place.. chances are it will be months at least. Plus that's months that something brand new is sitting around getting older. That's why I'm even waiting to turn in my B2M items until I've finished more lipsticks. I don't want to have brand new backups for my favorites sitting around.
Once again Veronika, such excellent advice. :clapping: I do think I will try to inventory my makeup. Something in me really dreads doing this but I agree, it will help me to get a grasp of how large my collection is. :shock: I like the idea of doing it in stages, I have them stored in categories, blush/bronzers, foundations, lipstick etc as well as a secondary storage area with my "high-end" items - these are stored by brand. Also, I couldn't agree more that this is creating a mental mire (so to speak). It impacts my state of mind. It's burdensome. I will definitely investigate the blog and youtubers you recommend. Thank you EDITED: To fix my bad quote abilities, I had somehow doubled up my quoted text.
Girl I feel you on the dry skin. My skin has been dry and have some serious breakouts. I think its a new moisturizer I'm using :/ Small victories. I got rid of products that were off this weekend or were just not working for me. I feel much happier with my collection, specifically the foundation and base area. I still have more than I'd like to, but I'm getting there.
My skin is actually behaving more than usual. Usually around this time of year I would have multiple red, raw, flaky patches (Eczema? No idea.), but my moisturizer has kept the raw skin from happening, it's just super dry. I've been using the GlamGlow ThirtyCleanse, Boscia Cool Blue Hydrating Essence, and Korres Yoghurt Sleeping Facial. Seems to be working the best it can.I got rid of products that were off this weekend or were just not working for me. I feel much happier with my collection, specifically the foundation and base area. I still have more than I'd like to, but I'm getting there.
$20 for the year is awesome! Good job! It's such an amazing feeling to not always be chasing the next product. I'm at about the same stage right now. I haven't purchased any makeup in almost 2 months and there's really nothing I'm even interested in until April/May. I've been focusing on using things up and for the first time I'm actually seeing a lot of progress.
Everything you said is so on point for me too! I could spend hours organizing.
Makeup fatigue is a great phrase! I'm with you there. I went to the mall today to exchange the only two makeup items I've purchased this year - my Hourglass palette because I think it's been irritating my eyes, and my Bite lip crayon because it fell out of the tube. I won't miss them too much. I thought I would love the Hourglass palette more but I was only crazy about two of the shades and they weren't so unique that I couldn't replace them if I wanted to. I'm happy with my two remaining palettes - Naked 2 Basics for neutral mattes and my Red Apple Lipstick palette for shimmer and color. With my one loose single shadow, that's only 16 total and I feel like I'm good.. I don't know what I was thinking before when I set my ideal number at 50. Obviously I wasn't thinking about how I only wear eyeshadow like twice a week.. Is it bad that I'm almost happy the lipstick broke so that I'd have one less product to use up? I'm down to 15 lipsticks now and I swear I've been trying to use a certain one up for months.. Needless to say I didn't buy any makeup today. With my exchange I got a couple of mascaras and some replacement skincare - things I'll actually run out of in the next few months. My total came to exactly $0. After that I browsed for some clothing. I found a skirt that would have been perfect for what I've been looking for but sadly they didn't have my size left. Mostly I just exercised my will power muscle.. which is getting strong enough that I walked out of the mall spending a total of ZERO DOLLARS. I can't remember the last time I've done that. I grabbed some dinner on the way out but I'm not counting that. Also, this means my makeup spending for the year so far is only $50 (for the two mascaras) which is almost a tenth of what it was last year with my excessive birthday haul.. Making progress!
I also like the look of mystery princess beauty powder. Maybe two years ago I'd have hauled more, lipsticks and glosses and more, but the prices are getting too high and the payoff of some Mac colours leaves a lot to be desired, so I can't afford to invest in so much Mac these days. So to try pacify myself I tried to make a Mac cinderella look with what I have: I had nothing similar to the eye gloss (hence wondering about dupes) so I made an eyeshadow look but it was too warm looking. I used my maleficent beauty powder in natural, which I'd just been applying to the top of my cheeks just to use it up tbh, but this time I applied it all over my face instead of my msfn and WOW! I loved how it looked! So playing with what I had showed gaps I wanted to fill and made me discover new ways of using what I had too I figure that high tea and plink lipsticks are close enough colours for the lip looks and I already have omega and quarry eyeshadows that are in the quad.