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Friday, November 28, 2014

Final Make-up & Skincare Declutter of 2014

I've wanted to squeeze in this final purge of my make-up and skincare stash while it's still November; there's an epic empties post and the last update on my Project Make A Dent awaiting before the year's end, so I wanted to space out the collection-reducing content just a bit for you (also, I couldn't wait to get rid of this stuff, just sitting in my drawers and taking up precious space). Are you ready to see what's headed for the trash can?
Yes, this isn't a huge number of products - for which I'm quite glad, in fact. Throughout the year, I've given my unloved products that were still in a usable condition to friends and family to enjoy, including some lipsticks, blushes and eyeliners that I disliked the formula of, had dupes for, or that weren't a very flattering shade on me, and some gifted skincare I wasn't willing to try because of the ingredients. So this is really just the stuff that has been left behind and really isn't good for anything or anyone anymore, gone straight into the garbage after I took these photos.

Let's start with skincare, shall we? We have three expired sunscreens here, two from Poland and one from Paula's Choice. In fact, only one of these is mine and nearly empty (Paula's Choice SPF 45), the rest are really old bottles my family left behind after visiting us. I should have probably insisted they take these with them (well, if their luggage wasn't already at the weight limit), because I have no use for any sunscreen that's below SPF 30, and these are a laughable 10 and 15. A lesson to take away from this is NOT to have multiple back-ups of sunscreen because they do expire quite quickly.

I'm also finally getting rid of Tolpa's Dermo Face Sebio Light Mattifying Correcting Cream and Reviva Labs Light Skin Peel mask, both of which I disliked and are nearing their expiry dates anyway. I'm also throwing out a deluxe sample of Clarins One Step Exfoliating Cleanser and the Fortune Cookie Soap sunscreen stick that came in one of their Soap Boxes, because I hate both and life is too short to waste on mediocre products.
Now for the interesting part: make-up! You guys, I went back and forth on some of these for a good fifteen minutes, I just hate wasting products (and money!) so much. However, four of these were gifts, so none of my own money's been wasted here. The Urban Decay Complexion Primer Potion sample, Graftobian Luster Creme in Orchid Odyssey and Murad Eye Lift Illuminator were all gifts with purchase and don't work for me for various reasons, plus I'm sick of looking at them lingering in my make-up storage.

The Sleek True Colour lipstick in Cherry was very well loved and a part of a make-up swap with a dear blogging friend, but it's unfortunately gone off; you can even see in the photo that the bullet looks a bit suspicious. I won't be replacing it with anything just now because I have some similar shades, including Wet n'Wild Dark Wine and Lancome Wine Party, but I may think about a closer subsitute next year. I used to really like the Revlon Colorbust Lipgloss in Papaya, but came to realize I dislike lipglosses with large shimmer particles, and haven't worn it in over a year, and my trusty NYX dual sharpener has gotten an upgrade via the Urban Decay Grindhouse, so I feel it's time to say goodbye.

And that's it! I'm much happier now that these products have made their way out of my stash. My decluttering efforts, combined with beauty shopping limits and regular empties, have really made a difference in the size AND quality of my collection. I definitely feel that I'm coming closer to having a well edited, versatile, well loved and manageable stash without random products and multiple back-ups causing me to feel guilt and anxiety. How about you? Have you jumped on a decluttering bandwagon this year?

12 comments:

  1. I need to do this! I'm officially setting aside two days of my xmas vacation to do this!

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    1. I want to see what you pick out - please do a post or video! <3

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  2. I've been in decluttering mode too! I wish I had more friends who wore makeup and nail polish, but at the moment, it's one friend in particular who receives my unloved shades. I've also become better at recognizing what product/color categories I'm unlikely to wear and forcing myself not to waste my money on them. There are lots of beautiful eyeliners and lip glosses out there, for example, but I almost never wear eyeliner or gloss. Decluttering in advance, you might call it. There's a great pleasure in limiting your collection to the things you really love.

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  3. Wow, that lipstick is truly out of it's date I guess. It hurts me to see products go to waste...but project pans will do the trick! We should do some sort of project pan for 2015- collaboration :D

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    1. Hahah, poor little Sleek lipstick ;) Project Pans scare me a little bit, I find the Project Make A Dent more doable - less definitive, if you know what I mean :) But I'm always open to collabs Sara, just shoot me an email with your ideas! Thanks for thinking about me!

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  4. Sounds like you're making excellent progress! Good going, Monika.

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  5. What an inspiration! I think I've slowly declutter some of my samples and some full-size products but I want to be more productive. I used to put an empty box next to the makeup drawer for decluttering, maybe I'll start doing that again just as a regular reminder. I really need to pare down on my nude lipsticks now that I don't wear lipsticks all that much anymore. Well done, Monika!

    P.S. How do you like the PC's sunscreen?

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    1. Oh, sorry for the late reply, Claire! A decluttering box is a great idea by the way, or at least a running list of products to be tossed/ given away.

      The sunscreen was ok I guess, but not as lightweight as I would like; for example, sand would stick to my sunscreened feet, and it had an almost dry/tight feel on my shoulders and arms. I wouldn't repurchase this one, but I think it's discontinued anyway. I have another PC face sunscreen still to try.

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  6. oh my, that lipstick does look dodgy. Don't you just feel lighter after a declutter? Cant wait to see your next project-make-a-dent update.

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  7. Great effort!! I'm not worried about my skincare stash because I always use them up. It's the makeup that's accumulating but I've been good at keeping them at a certain size. Anything more and I'd review my stuff, give some away or purge some old stuff :-) Still, it's satisfying being able to actually use up some stuff rather than giving them to someone else!

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  8. I need to do a huge declutter, it's actually affecting how much I'm enjoying my stash as I'm often distracted by mediocre (for me) products that I know others would appreciate so much more than I do. I have a tendency to hoard things for no reason and that is a terrible habit to have when you are a makeup fiend I think. I might try to duck into my beauty room today and pile out a few goodies to share with my sisters...

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  9. lol yes, i agree that the mediocre stuff just needs to go! Sometimes I'm good at ditching it, and other times i'm just not! and i suppose there are varrying levels of mediocrity that make things hard to give up? haha

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