The Anti Make-up Phase

I confess: so far, I haven't bought any make-up this year. To be specific, I've only bought one beauty product thus far (Murad's Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum, mentioned here), so this post should probably be called 'The Anti Beauty Product Phase' - but well, that just didn't sound right and I'm all about catchy titles that actually reveal nothing of the forthcoming content (sometimes, anyway).

And this post isn't even about a make-up no-buy, which I'm NOT doing, by the way (so don't worry, I'll continue to blog about various beauty product discoveries!). In fact, it's about beauty products I've realized I don't need. Don't need, because I never use them, and have been able to satisfyingly cross out from all my beauty shopping lists. So, here are some categories of products I've eliminated, or I'm in the process of eliminating, from my beauty stash:

Foundation primers. I religiously reach for my NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base every time I wear eye make-up, but foundation primers are just so... meh. It might be that I just haven't found a game changer yet, but most of the time I just can't be bothered. You can see in the photo that I have a nice variety of samples to play with when I want to experiment, though I can't see myself actually purchasing a foundation primer for a very, very long time indeed.

Highlighters. I own two full-sized ones and some deluxe samples, and, uhm... almost never reach for them. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light (reviewed here) is definitely the best one I've ever tried and I like to apply a tiny bit here and there, but overall, I think I could really do without them; if need be, they could be easily replaced by a bit of highlighting eyeshadow, me thinks. I guess I'm lucky to have enough of my natural glow (shine, ekhem, ekhem...) to cover most of my highlighting needs.

Also a controversial omission from my make-up routine: eyelash curlers. I do own a great pair from Shiseido (raved about here) but I've come to realize I don't actually need them - my lashes have a natural curl to them! Adding the extra step of curling just makes them look strangely crimped, causes mascara transfer on my browbone, and makes them more brittle over time. So eyelash curlers... maybe not for everyone after all?

Lip liners. Fussy, drying, superfluous. I don't know you guys, I haven't actually noticed my lipstick ever bleeding outside my lip lines, and when I want a defined, long-lasting lip, I just carefully apply my lipstick with a brush, blot, apply again. I just can't be bothered to match a lip liner to all of my favorite bold lipsticks, and I can't be bothered with the extra step. So there.

And on the topic of lips - lip scrubs. I mean... just why exactly do we buy them? You can do all your lip exfoliating with a soft toothbrush, or a Q-tip dipped in some lip balm, or your regular face scrub, or like me, a damp towel. Or hey, you could even make your own scrub with some sugar and base oil. Why do we feel convinced that we need to add a lip scrub to our already lengthy beauty routines?

Self tanners. I know more of you are in the same boat with me - I embrace my pale skin. Gosh darn it, not even a full bottle of self tanner is going to turn me into a bronze goddess anyway; not with my coloring! I like bronzers for adding a subtle warmth to my face, and even with diligent applications of sunscreen, my body usually manages to get some sun in the warm months, and I think that's enough for me. The only time I feel like I could use some gradual self tanner is when I expose my white shins to the world for the first couple times in the spring - but these two samples you see here, mixed in with some body lotion, should be enough to last me the upcoming season at least.

Speaking of body care, I also don't use shaving cream - I actually don't have any to show you, because I don't remember the last time I bought one. I just find it's such an easy product to substitute: you could use a moisturizing soap/shower gel for shaving, or a body lotion, or a hair conditioner, or something like coconut oil. Why multiply the already numerous bottles in the shower? Multitask your products is what I say.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my stash reducing thought process! Are there any products you have succesfully eliminated from your beauty routine? Also, check out Beauty Reductionista's take on things she doesn't buy or need!