At the start of the new year I set a goal for myself to cut back on consumerism. In early December I purchased a new vanity as my makeup collection had outgrown my set up at the time. By the end of the month the even the new organization system couldn't accommodate it. That's when I realized how out of control my collection was. It was rare for me to go to the store without coming back with a new product to test. Since early High School, I have been sent products to test from brands in exchange for review. I've also had a plethora of subscription boxes over time which all adds up. I love reviewing which is why I've been so drawn to the excess. Repurchasing makeup is rare for me because even if I love something, I feel the need to try a new product so I have more in my arsenal of comparisons. Items like eyeshadow and lipstick make sense for me to have a wide variety of, as my look varies from day to day. Foundation and other base products are a lot less justifiable. I had about 25 bottles of foundation sitting in my drawer at the start of the new year. I only liked about 5 of them and the other 20 just sat there. I knew I needed to make a change. I've been watching beauty gurus since 2006 and I feel like I've bought into the youtube mentality too much. I'm discovering this more is more mantra is deeply flawed. Having a ton of products is not better than having a select few you love. This may seem quite obvious to some, but to those of us with a stack of palettes all with the same shades it may be a bit harder to recognize. I'm not trying to insinuate that this makeup "addiction" is as serious as subsistence abuse, but the name of this potential series is pulled from a subreddit I've been frequenting throughout this process. I felt the need to clarify that.
The first step was decluttering, I went through and tossed any product I couldn't stand to have on my face. This was the oily foundations that separated instantly on my skin, orange bronzers, bleeding mascaras, painfully dry lipsticks and anything else of that sort. I did, however, hold on to items I didn't like that much in order to retry them with different application methods. If you plan to do this as well it would make sense to rid yourself of those too.
Next I went through and found everything that was nearly empty aside from my go to products. I kept the products I know I love at the ready for days when I wanted to be assured my makeup wouldn't fail me. After separating these near empties from the rest of my collection I chose a select few to use up first. I put the chosen ones in an acrylic organizer on top of my vanity so it would easy to grab for them on a daily basis. I tried to cover as much of my daily makeup routine with these products as possible, I hadn't used most of the products in this rotation in a long time so it felt almost like I was trying something new.
Shopping my stash is something I often try to do and fail. I pull out a palette or otherwise, use it one day and the next it falls back into the void. What I've done to combat this is choose one palette I don't reach for often and commit to it for a full week. I leave it out so when I sit down to do my makeup it's staring me in the face. reminding me of the promise I've made to myself. This has worked well for pulling in other unloved products. Say I pull out a cool toned palette for the week, as a result I rediscover cool toned lipsticks, blushes, etc. that I would otherwise overlook. I've been surprised by how many great products I've neglected
The key to this is going on a low-buy or no-buy. If you're constantly buying new products you're not going to get anywhere. I've chosen to stick with a low-buy because I feel like a no-buy wouldn't work for me. I would start off by reading this great post which gives you a crash coarse on low-buy/no-buy. I feel like it could greatly benefit anyone starting this process (read here).
I have an addictive personality. In recognizing this I know that if I don't find a way to get that little bit of validation I get from buying and posting about a new product, I will fall right back into it. To combat this I found a place where I can do the exact opposite. The Makeup Rehab subreddit has helped shift this desire from buying products to panning products. I can post about my struggles with low-buy, any small triumphs and even about the products I've finished. For me this has been key. Instead of saying "look at this new shiny thing" it's become "here's the progress I've made."
Since January 1st I've finished up 18 products and hit pan on about 4 more. I've more or less stuck to my low-buy with very minimal slip ups. I'm also trying to keep a running list of products I would repurchase as well as ones to avoid in the future. I'm hoping by the end I'll have a set list of baseline products I'd be comfortable sticking to. A primer, a few foundations with various finishes, go-to black liners, mascara, etc. My makeup will undoubtedly look better if I am consistently using products I like instead of gambling with it daily. The thought of having a solid base makeup routine is what motivates me. I am ready to have my base makeup always look good and serve as a base to let the real creativity shine through,
