2016 Skincare No Buy and Make-up Low Buy Update #2

Another three months have passed in a blink of an eye and it's time to update you on my beauty shopping freezes. I know many of you are trying to limit your cosmetics purchases as well, and ramblings from other sufferers can be both helpful and motivating, so I like sharing my progress with you - please comment if you're doing anything similar this year, I'd love to hear from you!

Let's start with my make-up low buy, which consists of limiting myself to purchasing no more than two products per month, with the possibility of rolling unused purchases into the next month. Soooo... You guys, I haven't bought any make-up in the past three months. Nothing. Nada. I don't know exactly why it turned out this way, because I wasn't actively trying to go on a no buy - it just kinda happened that I wasn't too terribly tempted by anything, and the things I've tentatively put on my wishlist in the meantime, I decided to purchase at a later date - maybe for my birthday in September.

I couldn't however resist the Sephora 15% off sale in April, even though I said in my last update that I wasn't planning to shop, or would only get one utilitarian thing, the Beautyblender Solid Cleanser. I did purchase that, along with a fresh Beautyblender (mine's on its last legs but I'm still refusing to trash it), some skincare for my husband, a new hair brush as we left ours in a hotel in NoLa, and lastly - I'm feeling a tiny bit guilty over this - I cashed in my points for the Laura Mercier lipgloss mini in Bare Baby, because I've had one before and enjoyed the formula. I was also somewhat tempted to purchase two Wayne Goss brushes from Beautylish since I've been really enjoying the one eye blending brush (I believe it's number 06) from his range that I own. But then, I was able to convince myself that these brushes weren't going anywhere and Beautylish doesn't really do sales or promos anyway, so there was no rush to get them then and there. I have also downsized my nail polish stash by further 13 bottles - I have snapped a shot of them on my Instagram if you're curious - I just figured those shades weren't exciting me much anymore and I was happy to see that when I brought them to work, every single one found a new home rather quickly; even our security guard took some for his wife to try out (I believe he called them nail make-up :).

Overall, I'm very happy with my progress, but what makes me even happier than the result itself is the fact that I wasn't really obsessing over any new products in those three months. I still watched YouTube beauty gurus and read blog posts about new releases, but personally, I wasn't too interested in any of the products. What I think helped the most was shopping my own stash, especially when it comes to eyeshadow (here's a recent bronzy/ orangey/ warm brown swatchathon), coming to some realizations on my personal preferences while using the products I already own, and also distracting myself with past times not related to beauty. In April and May, I completed shopping for my maternity wardrobe, and then going on vacation also helped to occupy my mind elsewhere. I have also been spending more time in the kitchen, trying out new recipes. This week, I'm planning to bake my first sourdough bread in two years (I've made bread a couple times in the past but wasn't satisfied with the result) and try my hand at making apricot jam. (*Update*: My first sourdough bread was a complete fail, most likely due to a poorly starter, while apricot jam turned out wonderful!) The abundance of summer produce is making me feel inspired and curious to experiment with new things.

Back-up drawer in March 2016.

Now when it comes to skincare for the face and body, I think I've been equally successful. Above is a shot of my back-up drawer from March, and the one below is what it looks like currently. I have replaced some of my recent skincare routine empties with those back-ups, used up quite a few bar soaps as well as skincare minis, and I've also been focusing on using my body oils. Again, I have also received a number of new PR samples, so the drawer may look nearly as full to you overall; I'm however succeeding in finishing older products from my stash before moving on to the fresher stock. Two factors that have been helping me in moving products out is the fact that my husband is now more into skincare and uses a cleanser, moisturizer and an oil from my stash, as well as my attempts at using up the bar soaps by making them into a countertop cleaning spray and possibly a liquid hand soap (haven't tried that last project yet but it's on my list).

Back-up drawer in June 2016.

As for skincare purchases, I have bought one skincare product in the past three months - an exfoliating mask - but since I've used up all my other masks with that same purpose, it's a replacement and doesn't break my no buy rules. I was a little tempted by some organic bodycare from an Icelandic brand while we were on holiday, but in the end, I didn't think the products were all that special and I resisted. I bought an Icelandic wool hat and a silver necklace from a local jewelry designer instead :)

I think that's all I wanted to say! Maybe it's not the most exciting update since I wasn't really torn over anything in the past three months, but that's just how it is: if you're just starting out with a no buy or low buy challenge, it does get a lot easier as the time goes on. I'm thinking part of it is just getting used to the new self-imposed rules, but perhaps a bigger part is learning strategies to cope with lemmings and getting to know one's preferences and priorities a lot better. How have you been doing with your minimalist challenges? Any major breakthroughs or lightbulb moments you'd like to share?

Shop My Stash: All That Warm Brown, Coppery, Peachy, Orange Eyeshadow Goodness

Warm brown eyeshadows of varying depth and finish are all the rage this year - just look at the palettes that have come out in the past 6 months or so, be it from mainstream or more indie brands. In the past, I tended to shy away from very warm tones on my eyes, because I find them to be rather tricky on very fair, cool-toned complexions. While a metallic copper halo smokey eye looks smashing on someone with a medium/ tan skintone, on me it looks like I'm suffering through a stye or a case of rabid rabbit eyes - I'm sure you know what I mean if you're a fellow pale girl.

However, I've recently been feeling swept up by all the orange/ peach eyeshadow hype; I think it's partially the weather finally warming up, but mostly overdosing on ALL THE TAUPE in the past 2-3 years. I have nevertheless promised myself not to purchase another neutral eyeshadow palette, even if it features some new-to-me shades (as discussed in detail in this post) - and while I'm still allowing myself to pick up a single eyeshadow or two where I think it may benefit my collection, I decided first to shop my stash and see what I already own in the general category of warm neutral shades. I actually really enjoy pulling out all my freeform magnetic and premade palettes on a day off and getting busy swatching and rearranging them into new color combinations, so I thought I'd take you along for the ride; maybe you too will be inspired to browse through your collection and rediscover some forgotten eyeshadow gems.

I first started by selecting some of my favorite warm metallic shades that have remained in my stash after various declutters. I've mostly focused on single/ depotted pans from my Z-Palettes for this post, which means that I do in fact own more of this shade category but the eyeshadows are scattered throughout my premade palettes (you know, the ones I haven't subjected to fire + a sharp tool yet). I've also pulled some lighter warm shades I would use as an all over lid shade, and finally some dark warm browns for the outer corner/ lash line. All swatches were done with a finger on bare skin and photographed in indirect natural light - also, let me know if you prefer the shadow names as a caption under the photo or in the actual photo, like today. Let's start by the lightest warm shimmery shades, and medium matte transition/ crease/ blending shades:

Ah, MAC All That Glitters, that old chestnut. I was actually intending to declutter this shade as it tends to pull rather warm and peachy on me, but it's perfect in this subset, isn't it? Stila Spontaneous, from the In The Moment palette (reviewed here) is one of those shades that I tend to forget about easily, even though it's a beautiful color with a stellar formula, possibly the best one out of the whole palette. Too Faced Honey Pot from the Natural Eyes palette is the only true gold remaining in my stash - if you own the original Urban Decay Naked, Half Baked is nearly identical.

Inglot Matte 337 is one of two matte medium browns in my stash, and despite the appearance in the pan, it pulls almost peachy on the skin. TheBalm Sultry from the Nude'Tude palette is slightly deeper and more yellow. I threw in Catrice's blush in Rose Royce (reviewed here) to show that you really don't need the Limited Edition Too Faced Perfect Peach palette, if you're still lusting after one - I'm sure most of us have a matte or satin peach blush in our collection that can be easily worn as eyeshadow in the crease to warm up the look.

Now, those medium depth shimmery/ metallic shades are what I consider the eptiome of warm neutrals. I've roughly divided mine into two groups: the upper row in the photo above (and the first three in the arm swatch) are all more yellow/ orange toned, the bottom row all pull more red/ pinky peach. If you still own the LE Wet n'Wild The Gilded Age trio (shown here), all the shades in there are right on trend, especially the Eyelid and Crease Shades (the latter is shown in the next grouping). BareMinerals Truffle from LE The Finer Things palette (reviewed here) is another save from my declutter box; it's a gorgeous cognac/ chestnut shade that I'd like to incorporate into more looks. Lastly, the bronzy shade from LE Visee Bitter Brown quad (featured here) is the most neutral and sheerest of the bunch, so probably the most effortless to wear for my personal preferences.

Now, as for these pinky coppers, I actually find them easier to wear on myself than the previous three. The Eyelid shade from LE Wet n'Wild Dancing In the Clouds Trio (shown here) is a stunning penny copper with silver microglitters. Too Faced Push Up is my favorite shade out of the entire Natural Eyes palette; if you don't own that, I believe Urban Decay Toasted or MAC Sable are quite similar. Lastly, Fyrinnae Witchy Woodland Creatures may appear quite neutral compared to these other shades, but it does have a strong pink lean that warms up any eyeshadow look.

Dark warm browns - I only own satins and low shimmer finishes - is my smallest subset, and something I may potentially look into expanding in the future. I would mostly use these shades in the outer corner or very sparingly into the crease, or to smoke out a lashline. Look how gorgeous these are in a concentrated arm swatch!

BareMinerals Fate from the Truth quad (reviewed here) appears quite neutral or even cool-toned in the pan, but on my skin it definitely pulls very warm - yet another bM shade I forgot about, but it's going to be perfect for those warm neutral looks. Stila Whim from the In The Moment palette is a stunning chocolatey shades with almost burgundy shimmers, but the formula is a bit dry and not terribly pigmented. Now, another shade from that LE Wet n'Wild The Gilded Age trio; this one is the most shimmery of the bunch, again with those beautiful dark red shimmers. And lastly, the dark brown shade from Visee Bitter Browns - I'd say this one is more neutral than warm-toned, but I wanted to remind myself what it looked like when swatched.

And here's what my small Z-Palette looks like after this swatch session. I still use my theBalm Nude'Tude that I'm trying to pan this year every time I wear eye make-up, but I like to keep the small Z-Palette on hand to have more variety in my looks - I tend to rotate the shadows in it every couple of months or so. The only additional shades inside that haven't been discussed today are Too Faced Heaven, a matte ivory, as well as Velvet Revolver and Sexpresso from the Natural Eyes palette.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Shop My Stash - I need to do these posts more often, it's a lot of fun to go play with my collection! What eyeshadow shades have you been reaching for recently? Do you arrange them in your Z-Palettes or reach for singles and specific palettes?

I'm Never Buying Another Eyeshadow Palette Again.

How's that for a click-baity post title, my dear readers? But hear me out, I think I'm onto something here. I will freely admit that I'm a neutral eyeshadow palette lover. After getting my greedy little paws on the Urban Decay Naked palette all those years ago, I fell down the rabbit hole of finding THE PERFECT neutral eyeshadow palette. There's just something about palettes as a make-up item that ticks all the right boxes for me: the packaging and design is often beautiful and well thought-out, they're wearable and practical for every day, they have variety for creating different looks, they often contain Limited Edition 'unique' shades, and the value for money is hard to beat. What's not to love?

I did manage to contain my initial purchasing craze quite a bit in the past year and a half, but still. In this wishlist post back in 2014, I talked about lemming after the Naked Basics palette, which in the end I did manage to resist, but instead purchased a Physicians Formula matte quad in Canyon Classics (here) - all because I was convinced I needed more basic mattes to compliment my neutral eye looks. Last year, I bought bareMinerals READY 8.0 palette in The Posh Neutrals (here), because somehow bareMinerals' pressed eyeshadows became 'my thing'. And then I also got Makeup Revolution's Death By Chocolate large neutral palette (here), because I didn't own any of the original Too Faced Chocolate Bars and thought that this drugstore version suited my color preferences much better.

ANYWAY - right now, I own 4 premade eyeshadow palettes (the two mentioned above + discontinued Stila E! On The Red Carpet and the currently panned theBalm Nude'Tude), and 3 larger magnetic palettes (two Z-Palettes, one old MAC 15 Pan) filled with singles and depots from other premade eyeshadow palettes I used to own. I also have one small Z-Palette and just a couple quads and quints. It doesn't seem like an excessive amount for a palette junkie like me (especially when you compare it to my Eyeshadow Palette Collection post from 2014), and I can honestly say that one of my reasons for embarking on Pan That Palette 2016 challenge was to get as much use out of my Nude'Tude as possible within a year, and then promptly replace it with a shiny brand new palette. But now, I don't think that's gonna happen.

After using theBalm Nude'Tude almost daily for 4.5 months, I have a lot of thoughts and feels about eyeshadows in general and palettes in particular. Even though I've been blogging about beauty for 7 years now and have always loved wearing eyeshadow, I don't think I have ever had such a clear understanding of what works for me and what doesn't. You may remember me saying at the last Pan That Palette update (here) that I wasn't happy with how three of the darkest shades (marked with an 'X' in the photo above) - Sophisticated, Silly and Sleek - would all end up looking the same shade of muddy charcoal once blended out on my eyes. In a palette with 5 dark shades (which I wear as either outer corner or lash line definition colors), I'm down to just 2 that I enjoy working with: Sexy mostly in the outer corner, Serious to line the eyes.

Clockwise from top: Too Faced Sexpresso (from the old Natural Eye palette), Stila Captivate from the d/c In The Moment palette, theBalm Serious, theBalm Sleek, bareMinerals Apropos from The Truth quad, Inglot Matte 326.

That discovery was quite interesting to me, because to the naked eye, Sophisticated, Silly and Sleek are all very different in the pan. That in turn got me thinking how I'm rarely very excited about any of those dark browns (or greys, or khakis, or plums...) in any of my neutral palettes, and I was hard pressed to come up with a favorite outer corner shade from the top of my head. I sat down at my vanity and laid out all my larger palettes, and decided to swatch some - not all - of those dark matte (or semi matte) shades to compare.

L-R: theBalm Sleek, theBalm Serious, Inglot Matte 326, Too Faced Sexpresso, Stila Captivate, bareMinerals Apropos. Stila Captivate was the driest, least pigmented and most fall-out prone, and I've decided to declutter it.

And SURPRISE SURPRISE: they're almost all the same. Even if they appear quite dissimilar in the pan, or even in my heavy, packed on swatch, once blended out on the eyes, they're virtually identical. But you know, maybe I could just ignore all the dark defining shades in the different eyeshadow palettes on the market, and instead concentrate on those shadows that I use a lot more - let's say, matte highlighting shades. Everyone agrees they're an absolute staple and a must-have in a well-balanced palette, am I right? Back to swatchy swatching, then.

Counterclockwise from the top: bareMinerals Five Star (from d/c The Finer Things palette), Too Faced Heaven (from the old Natural Eye palette), matte ivory from Physicians' Formula Canyon Classics quad, bareMinerals Seredipitous from The Truth quad, Stila Cinema (from d/c E! On The Red Carpet), Stila Desire (from d/c In The Moment palette).

So yeah, okay, they're not all the same - with the exception of Too Faced Heaven and the lightest shade from Physicians' Formula Canyon Classics quad, which clearly are dupes. But again - once I blend them out on my eyes, the end result is pretty much the same. And before you guys say that matte off-white shades and matte dark browns don't make a palette, that often constitutes half of the shades provided. And I could easily continue this exercise with matte transition/ crease shades (except I'd have to split my comparison into cool, neutral and warm-toned; idea for another post, perhaps?) AS WELL AS any of the shimmery lid shades. Champagne, taupe, gold, bronze - you name it, I already have it (as evidenced in this and this swatch post, for example).

L-R: bareMinerals Five Star, Too Faced Heaven, Physicians' Formula Canyon Classics, bareMinerals Serendipitous, Stila Cinema, Stila Desire. All swatched better with a finger than a brush, the Stila shade from In The Moment palette was again the worst formula - but I'm keeping it for now.

I guess you could always decide to simply collect these neutral eyeshadow palettes as pretty toys to take out once in a while and admire, but that's not the reason why I personally love and use make-up. Or you could just treat every palette as a completely separate being, without worrying about overlap between them and having multiple dupes of basic shades. But I value variety - I don't want to feel like I just spent my hard-earned money on the same thing all over again. And AGAIN.

I don't think I'll ever go back to purchasing those premade palettes; as you can see, I usually end up ripping them apart anyway, giving away shadows I don't like or have plenty of dupes for and keeping the remaining depots in my freeform magnetic palettes. With the amount of eyeshadow I own, I hardly see how a just-released neutral palette can possibly bring anything new to my collection.

Let's consider two eyeshadow palettes I've been lemming for a while: the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye palette and the Tarte Tartelette in Bloom. As demonstrated above, I don't need any more matte highlighting or defining shades - that's already about 50-70% (depending on their actual depth on my fair skintone) of those palettes proven superfluous. Now for the lid/ medium depth shadows in between, I was mostly excited about playing with a matte warm rusty peach transition shade, and a rich reddish chocolate brown for the outer corner. A quick search on Temptalia, and I could easily get those two new-to-me shades of eyeshadow via MAC's single pans in Soft Brown, and maybe Swiss Chocolate. Or something from Makeup Geek. Or Inglot. Or Anastasia Beverly Hills.

But in the meantime, armed with my newly flexed swatchy critical analysis skill, I'm actually going to sit down and fish out some shades from my existing palettes that may fill that lemming before blindly ordering two more shadows for my already brimming collection. Like with my three most recent palette purchases - I actually already owned similar shades in other palettes in my stash. I had had dupes for all the four shades in PF Canyon Classics, and dupes for about 70% of the bareMinerals Posh Neutrals and Makeup Revolution Death by Chocolate. And judging by how quickly I'm able to use an entire pan up, that's enough eyeshadow for another decade. It really is.

So that's what I've been recently pondering about. I'm not actually vowing to never purchase another eyeshadow palette - some shadows get old and may need to be replaced eventually, or I may find myself a neutrals-only girl no longer and lusting after some colorful blues and greens. But for the foreseeable future, I'm not going to buy another palette, or most likely even a trio, quad or a quint. What is your opinion on neutral eyeshadow palettes? Is it something you love and will always be drawn to, or do you find them boring and repetitive? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

2016 Skincare No Buy and Make-up Low Buy Update #1

Since my various shopping limitations have somewhat decreased the number of review posts that have been going up lately, I thought I'd compensate by sharing my experience with my 2016 Skincare & Bodycare No Buy (read the introduction post here), as well as my continuing Make-up Low Buy I implemented over two years ago now.

So far, both of these projects have been a success. Let's start with the make-up part, because it's the more challenging for me personally, and I think more interesting to hear about. My low buy consists of allowing myself to purchase no more than two make-up products a month, including nail polish but disregarding make-up gifts with purchase, gifts or PR samples. I haven't purchased any make-up products whatsoever in all of January and February, but I did have four drugstore products (two from Bourjois and two from Kiko) I purchased in Warsaw late last year. I wasn't sure how to count them in - I decided to transfer them into the new year count, which would max out my limit for two consecutive months (Jan and Feb). Since then, I sold one of those products in a blog sale (Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist), leaving me with one product below limit for the year.

In March, I purchased two products from a friend's blog sale, but out of the two, I decided to keep only one and pass the other to a friend as it wasn't a lipstick shade that suited my complexion very well. I have also placed an order at Ulta, prompted by a few things: a) expiring points - a $3 discount, b) 5X the points for my anniversary of being a reward member, c) husband requesting some new skincare items - would you like to see what he uses some time? d) an awesome bareMinerals gift with purchase - if you ever need to place an online order, wait until Wednesday, which is when Ulta usually sends out an email with a link to a deluxe GWP. It would all be well if I stuck to just purchasing products for my husband, but then I remembered that I also needed a travel-size dry shampoo for an upcoming trip, and Ulta had a special discounted price for Lorac glosses I've been hearing good things about, and then if I only purchased one or two more drugstore items, I could use the $3.50 off $10 coupon...

So in the end, I also ordered a new concealer from Catrice that Polish Youtubers have been raving about, and the Lorac Alter Ego Lip Gloss in Seductress. That puts me at three products for March and exactly within the limit for the year. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to keep Seductress - I may end up gifting it to someone instead. So yeah, I indulged a little bit; but I'm working on using up two concealers from my stash, and then the gloss just looked like such a pretty color; I didn't need it, but I wanted it.

I have been trying to appease my guilty consience by telling myself I probably won't shop for any beauty products in April, which means I may not take advantage of the annual Sephora's spring 15% off sale. There's nothing I particularly want or need from Sephora at the moment, and I feel like I can hold off until their 20% off in November. The one thing I'm curious about is the beautyblender Solid Cleanser - I may purchase that in-store during the sale, using the remaining balance on a gift card. We'll see.

As for my Skincare and Bodycare No Buy, I have been 100% successful, and I haven't been tempted to shop almost at all. I have however some mixed feelings about my progress: on one hand, I've used up a whole lot of products already (empties post coming soon!), but on the other... I received some very generous PR samples, which have increased my stash almost to the starting point.

I've used up a lot of skincare minis (top left corner of the drawer) and am now able to store my bar soaps in that space.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm very grateful to receive products for review, and I think it's very helpful in posting reviews for you guys, and alerting you to some brands or products you may not have heard about previously. However, it does somewhat negate my efforts to downsize my skincare stash. I have come across the opinion that accepting PR samples while attempting to simplify via decluttering/ using things up is hypocritical and pointless, but I don't personally see it that way. To me, such train of thought would suggest that there is only one 'correct' way of reducing your possesions, and it's all or nothing - either you only keep one of each of everything (the right way to downsize), or it's a free for all and you can keep ALL TEH THINGZ. I guess my position is somewhere in the middle: I want a smaller stash I can manage, but as a beauty blogger, I'm not going to escape having a couple products in each category. It's okay - to be honest, I'm feeling a lot more laid back about my products, even when I realize something may not get finished before it expires.

All that being said, I have been able to transfer my back-up bar soaps to my main skincare and bodycare back-up drawer and I now keep my base oils in the bathroom cabinet, so I got rid of one extra storage box; I much prefer having everything in one space (you can compare what my back-up drawer looked like in November 2015 here). I have also selected just a few products to pass on to a friend - I simply realized there's no way I'm going to be able to use them up in time, and I'd much rather have her try them and see how she likes them. It's not exactly 'one in, one out' strategy, but it makes me feel like less of a hoarder.

And that's it - all in all, a rather satisfying quarter. If you're just embarking on a shopping ban/ limit for the first time, I promise it does get easier; in the past, I was constantly tempted by new product releases, and deciding not to shop a Sephora sale - any Sephora sale - was absolutely out of the question. So, how are you doing with your low buys and no buys? I'd love to hear about your thought process in the comments below!

Minimalist Monday: Updated KonMari Drawers & Tidying Up Q&A

It's been about a year since I first purged my clothing according to the KonMari method and I thought we were due for an update. You can click here to see what my dresser looked like back in May, when I decided to document it for all of posterity, and some things have changed a little since then. I just finished another round of more intensive decluttering a few days ago (as a consequence of reading Marie Kondo's newly released second book, 'Spark Joy' - would you like a separate book review?), so again I'm all fired up on the subject and full of different insights. I had this idea of doing this post as a Q&A - not that anyone has actually asked me these questions, though just for clarity's sake, this format may be easier to follow. But first things first.

The basic organization of my drawers hasn't changed all that much in a year's time - except that I now own even less clothing, so I've shifted stuff to make the drawers look fuller, but not stuffed. I'm not showing you my underwear drawer, but I have arranged all my bras the same way they stock drawers at Victoria's Secret, and I've put in a small divider for panties. I've made some room in my sock drawer so that I was able to fit in another box with my thights and stockings; I used to keep them in a separate bag deep in our closet, which made me never wear skirts or dresses in the cold season. The organization of this drawer makes a lot more sense now, and everything is easy to grab in the morning.

I also culled even more tops from my t-shirt drawer and thus decided to transfer my pjs into it as well - I keep sleeveless and short sleeve tops on the left, long sleeves in the middle, pjs and camisoles on the right. I have also recently color-coordinated them, keeping lighter colors in the front and darks in the back, and while I felt quite silly doing so, it does make the drawer look a lot prettier.

My sweater and scarf drawer has changed the least - I gave away a few more scarves and decided to store my belts in that free space (top right of the photo), but it's nearly the same.

The second drawer from the bottom, which used to house my sportswear and pajamas, now contains... some empty storage boxes and a basket. Sure, there's plenty of things other than clothing I could store in it now - back-up skincare, nail polishes, or purses - but for now, I'm happy with having that one empty drawer. I don't recall ever having an empty drawer, and it feels luxurious and full of possibilities.

Lastly, the bottom drawer contains jeans, pants, lounge leggings, and sportswear. This is my fullest drawer, and while I would like to have some more space in there, for now it's alright. I'm sure I'll find some more stuff to get rid of down the line... :) Now, for the Q&A part:

1. Have you rebounded?
If you've read 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up', you may remember that Marie boasted an absolute zero rebound rate after helping her clients tidy up their homes (although in her second book, she does admit that there is now one client - a participant in her TV show - who went back to their messy ways). I was personally extremely skeptical about that perfect score; how many times have you discarded unloved items and reorganized your drawers only to find them reverting to their cluttered selves only a couple weeks later?

However, this time I must have done something differently - I can honestly say that since my large tidying up session a year ago, I have kept probably about 90% of my possessions organized and clutter-free. I still struggle with some trouble spots; leaving dishes in the kitchen sink instead of putting them directly into the dishwasher, amassing piles of mail in the doorway, draping clothes over chairs; but all in all, my home remains quite neat and tidy.

2. Have you replaced the discarded items with new things?
Generally speaking, no, I haven't. I've decided to upgrade a few things - mostly cooking utensils, some basic layering tops - but I haven't been shopping much at all. It's been one of the things I've been very conscious of, because I really didn't want to fill all those carefully organized drawers with stuff again, and I wanted to prove to myself that all the extra things I used to own were just that - extraneous. And it worked.

3. Why did you need to do another round of decluttering? Shouldn't you have done it just once and for all, in 'one fell swoop', like in the KonMari method?
Well, yes, if I was following Marie's advice more closely, I definitely should have been able to do just one big decluttering marathon and be done with it ever since. HOWEVER. When I first purged our stuff before moving to our current apartment, I got rid of a lot of stuff, but I did not get rid of everything that didn't 'spark joy'. Things that I was hesitant about, things that I've had 'just in case', things I wasn't crazy about that I had bought or been given not too long ago - I kept all of it at that point. Why?

Bags of stuff we donated to Goodwill on Saturday: mostly clothing, books, some kitchen stuff.

Because I felt too guilty and/or scared to donate them at the time. Deep down I knew they were probably things I wouldn't be using, but I just couldn't part with them at that point. Which is why I've been decluttering in smaller increments since, and just completed a somewhat bigger declutter a few days ago - I keep getting better and better at discerning what I love and find useful and what just sits there with absolutely no purpose. I've gotten rid of a mixologist set we got as a wedding present (we love making cocktails at home but for whatever reason, this set contained tools we've never found a need for - a special knife for slicing citrus fruit, anyone?), our spare snowboarding pants (like we need spares now that we go snowboarding once a year...), a whole lot of books we were never going to reread.

Another aspect is that as time goes on, our perspective may change, and consequently our enjoyment or our decisions about the usefulness of things, may change as well. I think I will probably now always be vigilant about weeding out clutter, and I'll continue to do a larger purging session about once a year. It just sounds reasonable to me.

4. Has your husband joined you in tidying up?
Uhm, I wish. I love my husband dearly, but a) he's not naturally a tidy person, b) he has a tendency for hoarding. What saves us from drowning in clutter is that I balance him out with my OCD of having everything neatly put away and organized, and the fact that he hates shopping in actual stores - although Amazon browsing is a danger zone. He doesn't see a problem in clothing sprawled on the floor, overstuffed closets, books no longer being able to fit in our bookcase - and when I ask 'Can we get rid of this?', he usually counters by 'But why?! It's perfectly fine!'.

So yes, dealing with my husband's things is a bit of a challenge, and instead of this being his problem alone if he can't find a specific pair of socks or can't put away his laundry in a drawer, the problem is purely mine - I do all the laundry and I put it away, I strive to keep our books tidy on the shelves, I despair over a full closet where I can't see anything. The gist of the issue is that I care, and he doesn't. I wish it were different, but it's not, and it's most likely not going to change. So.

All that being said, I haven't had to resort to secretly discarding his stuff, and we've so far avoided a huge argument over keeping or throwing away a particular T-shirt. Most of the time, I let it go. If I truly think some stuff needs to go, I'll ask nicely if I can donate it, and if he doesn't want me to, I'll ask nicely again. And again, lol. I think that he has started to realize that the space in our apartment is limited, and if he wants 10 new programming books, or a new bike, or a hiking jacket, something else needs to go.

5. Has tidying up your home brought more joy to your life?
Yes!!! Two main aspects have contributed to my feeling happier at home - firstly, my level of anxiety has gone down, and secondly, I've been more motivated and able to focus on other areas of my life that are important to me.

Seeing a cluttered living room and kitchen first thing in the morning definitely makes me feel grumpier and less energetic, and consequently I do NOT look foward to the day, regardless of what I have planned. But getting up and seeing all the things I love put away where they belong, or clean and uncluttered counters in the kitchen, makes me feel more peaceful, and optimistic, and grateful for the new day. Really, the difference is night and day - you should try it!

Those tidy kitchen counters, and an organized fridge well stocked with supplies for the week, also makes me more motivated to prepare tasty meals and try new recipes. We only eat out about once every two or three weeks, and I'm responsible for all the home cooking - I'm also quite passionate about eating well (I like good food, people), and about eating right (clean, unprocessed food, lots of full grains, lean proteins and veggies). This resposibility of planning and executing our meals every day can get boring and repetitive really fast, but having a clean, well designed space that's peaceful and inviting makes it feel so much less of a chore. I may show you our kitchen some time, if you're interested - but cooking has been much more pleasant and enjoyable once I've sorted our space out. I've even started baking some quick and easy desserts again. Who would have thought?

Alright, I think I've waxed lyrical about tidying for long enough now. I AM still planning to show you our small walk-in closets, and like I said, maybe some of our kitchen cupboards and drawers if you're curious. Have any of you been inspired to declutter or change your storage after reading Marie Kondo's book? I find looking at other people's closets and storage spaces absolutely fascinating - you can see a tour of Claire's lovely closet and drawers here - they look beautiful, don't you think?

1st Project 10 Pan of 2016: Halfway Update

It's March and two months out of my four-month long Project 10 Pan have passed already! What better time to update you on my progress, am I right? The photo below shows all my products neatly lined up at the start of the Project in January... (click here to read the Introduction post):

And here's what they look like after two months of regular use:

Now, I realize I chose some pretty anti-climactic items that don't really show any progress, so I'm going to explain how I'm doing in more detail.

1. Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in PK-1: My Project goal is to use up half of the bottle (it was completely full at the beginning). As you can see by my sharpie mark, I only got down to the top of the lettering, which is not quite 1/4 of the entire foundation. However, I can't really fault myself - I've used the Aqua Foundation every single time I wore make-up in the past two months. I could probably speed things up by using more foundation each time, but I really like this one and I'm not in a terrible hurry to get it out of my stash.

2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light: I wanted to see a bigger dip in the middle, and it may not be quite visible in my photos, but on the right side of the pan where I usually tap my brush, there is a bit of an indentation. I'm hoping to make it a bit deeper by the end of this Project.
3. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Bluefin: I can't show you my progress since this retractable pencil doesn't wind down, but I've been pretty happy with my usage - I don't use it every single time I do my make-up, but I use it about 90% of the time, either on my upper lashline or to tightline.
4. NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base: It's difficult to judge my progress on this one: there's still plenty of product stuck to the sides of the tube, but I've been steadily scraping that off. Unfortunately, I think that after taking the stopper out, this product does begin to dry out more quickly, so it will be done by the end of April either way - I just want to get as much use out of it as possible.

5. NYX Powder Blush in Taupe: Yes, I've hit pan!!! That's probably my biggest success so far in this Project. I've been using this to contour my face every time I do my make-up, but also as a transition shade in the crease of my eyes - which is how I was able to hit that pan in the very middle. I have to admit though that it's not my favorite sculpting shade for my complexion - it actually pulls both a bit too warm and muddy. I will probably be saying goodbye to it after the Project ends.
6. Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector in Rose Shimmer: Now, I could be doing better on this one. When I hold it up to the light, I can see a lot of product missing in the middle of the tube, but there's still a LOT left. My problem with this gloss is that I can't really layer it over other lip products (it's too creamy and slippery) - at least not the ones in this Project, which is what I've been wearing all the time - and as a stand alone product, it currently makes me look a bit washed out. I've been using it in lieu of a lip balm at home, but not very consistently. Oh well - I'm trying.

7. Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie: Compared to my January photo, I think I've used slightly over half of the bullet, which means I should be right on track to using it up completely by the end of April. I'm still really enjoying this lip color - quick and easy to apply, and perfect to perk up pale, winter skin.
8. Revlon Superlustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow: I wear this lipstick about once a week, and reapply once throughout the day. That, coupled with the fact that this is an incredibly pigmented lipstick, makes my progress rather slow. But that's okay - I am still using it, I just haven't been feeling a bright lip all the time.
9. Zoya Nail Polish in Jem: This one is a bit of a fail - I think I only used it three times since the start of my Project. Not because I'm bored of this color; I just haven't been really painting my nails at all. I'm not sure why; I'm either too busy or find something else to do when I do have time. I'll try to do better in the next two months, although the weather is turning more spring-like every day, and I may shortly be in the mood for a different shade. We shall see.

The Balm Nude'Tude at the beginning of the Project in January.

 10. theBalm Nude'Tude Eyeshadow Palette: I'm very happy with my usage on this palette - there's not pan showing yet, but you can see quite significant dips in the lighter and mid-tone shades. I'm quite decided that I want to pan this palette for all of 2016, although knowing myself and my eyeshadow-wearing ways, I'll have to exclude the darkest shade out of this palette, or only aim to hit pan. I'm just not going to wear a black smokey eye every day just to use up Serious - ain't gonna happen. But I am still enjoying using the palette and coming up with different color combos or layering options.

My palette after two months of consistent usage.

And there you have it! Overall, I think I'm doing as well as can be expected. I know that I'm not a panning rockstar, which most likely stems from the fact that a) I don't wear make-up every day, b) I use a small amount of product each time, but that's okay with me, as long as I feel that I'm giving these awesome products plenty of love. How have you been doing with your Projects? 

Beauty Blogging: What if I'm not that into make-up anymore?

Whoa, hold your horses, people. I'm not actually saying I AM not that into make-up anymore (Wait...  Am I?) - I'm just analyzing, or rather, overanalyzing the blogging fatigue I've been experiencing lately. I really enjoy how people do this random brain dump when they're filming their Get Ready With Me videos, so I sort of decided to do a blog version - although let's not kid ourselves, I am not getting ready at the same time I'm writing this - although some things here have occurred to me as I was struggling with my eyeshadow this morning. Ekhm.

As you may already know, this year I'm continuing my efforts to both reduce the size of my existing make-up collection and to purchase less make-up and hopefully no skincare products (explained here in more detail). I've been thinking a lot about this goal this month and here's what it boils down to: at the moment, it really isn't all that hard for me. I didn't think it would ever be possible for me to say this, but I may be *a little bit* bored with make-up.

I like the beautiful products I have in my stash and I enjoy the process of putting them on, but I just don't feel a lot of enthusiasm - and I'm not overly impressed with the end result. Sure, I look nice and put together, but the vibe is somewhat off. Similarly, I'm not at all tempted or excited over new make-up collections or product releases. Sure, everything looks pretty, shiny and sparkly, but it just seems like the same thing over and over. Matte lip trend? Here, have some more matte lipsticks from another five brands. Spring 2016 make-up? No problem, pastel eyeshadows and blushy pinks coming right up. I'm about 99% sure that if I were to purchase anything at this moment, I'd be able to find a near dupe already in my possession.

I believe this is both the reason and the result for/ of a more paired down collection. In order to squash our lemmings, we unsubscribe from brands' newsletters, stop following the latest releases, or talk ourselves out of the new stuff by comparing it to what we already own. As a result of striving for that smaller stash and appreciating what we have, we start not having as many lemmings in the first place. But have those efforts inadverently killed my love for make-up?

I guess this question boils down to whether 'love for make-up' is synonymous with 'love for make-up products'. Make-up isn't some abstract art - I guess you could have just a theoretical appreciation for it by admiring looks in photos - but for us practitioners (lol), it can't really be separated from its tools. You do need adequate products to practice your make-up art and it's awfully nice to geek out over the best ones available on the market, but I'm sure we'd all agree that it's definitely not all that there is to it. There's the skill, the variety of techniques and approaches, the experimentation, the different styles. Looking back, it was my fascination with this more intangible aspect that caused me to get into make-up in the first place, NOT the products - of which I owned very few and had very limited means of purchasing more.

My current feelings are the exact reversal of that first love; I spend lots of time, money and mental resources acquiring and analyzing products but I don't focus nearly enough on the creative aspect. Some would be quick to blame writing a beauty blog as a past-time, what with its constant focus on  new products, relationships with brands and prompt reviews of PR samples. This is why I think so many wonderful bloggers have been going on breaks or quitting their blogs - most of us who have been posting for years now experience a general malaise, like maybe beauty blogging just plain isn't fun anymore.

I still think it is whatever we make it out to be. If beauty blogging means product reviews, page hits and monetization to you, then to me that sounds more like (at least part-time) work, and work sometimes isn't fun, despite how passionate you may be for the subject. But I guess that if you're more like me, then it can be fun, it can be creative and it can be independent of whatever else is going on in the blogosphere or on the beauty market. We just need to take it back.

(A little bit of a disclaimer - this is not meant as an attack on any person or blog. I'm not trying to insinuate anything or pass judgement; it's just quite obvious to me that as with any area of human activity, people have different goals and motivations, and that's great. And obviously things are rarely black or white, and they rarely remain constant. I think it'd be accurate to say that Rocaille Writes is in that grey area, and that it keeps evolving. It would make me proud to say that.)

What all this rambling means for me and my blog is that I would like to go back to the beginning and post more about my make-up experiments and looks. If I'm not a 100% content with my current make-up situation, than it is in my power to change it around and see what I would like better instead. Doing Project Pans and/or similar challenges is actually the first step - using the same products day in and day out really gives you the necessary push to try out different things you may have not thought of previously. So expect to see some more Face Of The Day posts from me, or maybe some recreations of inspiring looks, or even tutorials. Let's see what I can come up with!

Have you been stuck in a bit of a make-up rut lately? Are there any new products you can't wait to get your hands on, or have you been unimpressed like me? What do you look for in a beauty blog? I would love to hear your thoughts!

My First Project 10 Pan of 2016: Introduction

Throughout my two Projects Make A Dent in 2014 and 2015, as well as my last Project 10 Pan, I've learnt quite a few things about my make-up preferences and my threshold for product fatigue. My biggest realization is that I really don't mind using the same products again and again, day in and day out, as long as I like them to begin with, and as long as I'm continuing to feel a given color scheme. This last part is quite important, and the main reason I've decided to introduce a few changes into my panning projects from there on out.

In my last Project Pan (here), I picked out quite a few summery shades: the bronzey Pixi Endless Eye Pen in Copper Glow, the Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in Watermelon Twist, a mint Orly Nail Polish in Gumdrop. The thing is, since I started the Project in July, I only had two months of summer left to enjoy those shades, and then as soon as the cooler weather hit, I was really over wearing them. My fall/winter skin also hated the two ultra-mattifying base products in that Project, the Revlon Colorstay foundation and the MAC Pressed Blot Powder. All of those things combined made me think that I would probably do much better with a shorter seasonal project... I feel that three months is a bit too little time for me to be able to see any significant progress, but I figured that 4 months would be just right. So my current project will run from January till the end of April, which is when I'll surely be once again in the mood for more spring pastels and warm summer shades.

Here's what I decided to pick out for this project after much thought and careful deliberation:

1. Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in PK-1 (review here): My goal for this product is to use up half of the bottle. Judging from previous projects, that should be doable, and since it's my current favorite foundation, and I'm no real hurry to get it out of my stash - it just needs some loving.

2. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light (review): There's a LOT of powder in this compact, so my loose goal is just to make a more significant dip in the middle. Again, I really like this product, I just want to make sure I'm using it.

3. Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner in Bluefin ($22 for 0.01 oz): According to my calculations, Stila Smudge Sticks have about a third of an average eyeliner's volume; that, coupled with a softer formula, should allow me to use the entire thing up in 4 months. I'm sorry that I'm not able to show you exactly how much I have or track my progress in any way, but it's a retractable pencil that doesn't wind down. At any rate, I really enjoy this deep blue glittery shade, and want to make sure it's used before it dries out.

4. NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base: I've already had to take the stopper out, so there's not much remaining in the tube. It's my favorite clear eyeshadow primer, but I've had it for a long time now and it's nearing the end of its shelf life.

5. NYX Powder Blush in Taupe (review and swatches): I'm not a huge fan of bronzer on myself in the winter (it just tends to look a bit off), so I would like to hit pan on this contour shade instead. I used it a lot a couple years ago, but it has recently fallen to the wayside, so I'd like to see some use there before it needs to be thrown out.

6. Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector in Rose Shimmer (swatches): Still one of my favorite lip gloss formulas. I would like to use up the whole tube, but we'll see how it goes - it has three times the amount of product as my beloved Buxom lip glosses, for example. I would say that right now, I probably have at least 2/3 of the tube remaining.

7. Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie (review): Due to the soft slippery texture, the Lip Butters get used up quite fast, and I've had good luck with the Peach Parfait shade in my previous Project. I'm hoping to use it all up (by the way, in the photos, both lipsticks are fully wound up).

8. Revlon Superlustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow (review and swatches): If Cherries in the Snow isn't a quintessential winter red, I don't know what is. Mine looks a bit mangled because I shaved some off to give to a friend to try - which also means I don't have as much remaining in the tube, and I'll be trying to finish it.

9. Zoya Nail Polish in Jem (nail swatch): The first shade from Zoya I really fell in love with. I doubt I'm going to be able to use up the entire bottle, but half of the bottle sounds good enough to me - plus, it may turn out then that it gets too thick and gloopy even with a thinner and will have to be thrown out at that point anyway.

10. theBalm Nude'Tude Eyeshadow Palette (shown here): Now, that's a big one. I've been contemplating doing a Pan That Palette Project for 2016, but to be honest, I really can't predict how well or how bad it will go. So I'm dipping my toes here by including Nude'Tude in my Project Pan, and I'll decide at the end of my four months if I want to roll it over to the next two Project Pans and try to use it up by the end of the year. Nude'Tude is probably the smallest by volume neutral palette with 10+ shades that I own, and the formula is quite soft, so I'm hoping to see large dips and maybe a tiny bit of pan on a couple shades by the end of April. Wish me luck!

There's no blush this time, and no cream eyeshadow, because I was getting a bit bored with those two product categories in my previous Projects - but I'm quite sure you'll see them back again during the summer and/or the winter challenge. I'm feeling quite good about this Project, and I'm actually looking forward to using my chosen products; as you could see, a lot of them are firm favorites of mine. I'm thinking I'll update you once on my progress at the halfway mark (two months in), and then of course I'll post a Project finale.

Have you planned any panning projects for 2016? Do you prefer doing personal projects in your own time or participating in seasonal challenges (Finish X By...) with other bloggers or YouTubers? Personally, I find community challenges like that a bit too stressful - my usage is too slow to fit in with those Projects, but I love following everyone's progress! If you're currently doing a Project Pan, please leave a link to your post in the comments - let's cheer each other on!

Capsule Collection 2015 Progress Round-up and Goals for 2016

It's New Year's Eve tomorrow, so prime time I think for a (probably overly lengthy) round-up of this year's attempts towards a smaller, well edited beauty stash in general, and a make-up capsule collection in particular. I'm very happy to say that in 2015, I've made some really big strides in downsizing my collection, and it's brought me a great satisfaction to learn more about my make-up preferences, curb impulse purchasing, and really use what I already own and love.

So what exactly have I been doing to reduce my stash? I've already discussed my various strategies in other posts on this subject, but let's rehash. I believe the key to my progress this year has been what I like to call a three-pronged approach. Firstly, I have been decluttering my vanity and passing on products that are no longer favorites to family and friends. Secondly, I've been slowly but surely using things up via Project Make A Dent and Project 10 Pan. And thirdly, I have stuck to my low-buy of only purchasing two make-up items a month. Alright, let's elaborate on these three points.

2015 could easily be dubbed 'The Year of the Declutter' in the online beauty community, mostly thanks to the popularity of Marie Kondo's 'Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up' (my thoughts on the book can be found here). However, this year has not been my first year of decluttering my collection. I believe I actually started going through my make-up with a fine tooth comb back in 2013, pulling products aside and gathering them into small pouches to give to coworkers and some family members. I also got rid of quite a few items towards the end of 2014 (read my post here). In July of this year, I did another bigger purge (documented here) on top of constantly weeding out smaller things here and there.

Box of products to donate, currently housing 4 face mask sachets, 3 blushes, 1 powder and 5 lipsticks.

I've now permanently assigned a box for products to give away that I keep close to my vanity, so when I pull out something I have not used in a while and after a few days of wear decide I don't care for it anymore, it doesn't go back into my drawers. This is how I would like to keep decluttering from now on - not in a some big way, deliberating on every single product I own, but on a case-by-case basis, only when I realize there's something in my stash I could definitely live without.

This year, I've also finished or very nearly finished the highest number of products since I started collecting (hoarding?) make-up 6 years ago. I have just published my Project Make A Dent 2015 and Project 10 Pan 2015 finale (here); I'm getting rid of 19 products through both of those challenges. I realize that for some seasoned make-up panners, that's not a very significant amount, but for me, it's an achievement I'm quite proud of. On top of those 19, I have also used up a fair number of other make-up products that I've been including in my quaterly make-up posts: there's been a whole lot of mascaras and lip balms as well as some face primers.

Box of finished make-up products from my panning projects.

In both of these Projects, as well as my Project MAD in 2014, I focused mostly on some older items in my collection, and while I'm happy to have them out of the way, I think for next year, I should include a lot more newer items; the thought of them sitting in my vanity drawers unused, gathering dust, makes me a little anxious. If there's one thing that panning make-up has taught me, it's that you need to make sure you're including firm favorites in your Projects; otherwise, you're forcing yourself to use mediocre stuff while your best products are going to waste, stashed away for hypothetical future use.

Lastly, in 2015 I have been really sticking to my make-up low buy of purchasing only two new products a month, which I started three years ago (I elaborated more on my low buy progress throughout that time in this post, if you're curious). One of the strategies that helped me the most was writing down every single make-up purchase in a journal. This may sound silly, but looking at how much I already bought this year, all listed in one place, month by month, often deterred me from placing another order. According to my notes, I actually purchased 21 products this year, so I came in just a little under my allowance; one thing I wasn't sure how to count were make-up brushes and gifts - some of them I included in my final count, some of them I didn't. I also didn't count gifts with purchase, but there weren't very many of them this year.

To sum all of these efforts up, I have definitely succeeded in reducing the size of my beauty stash in 2015, while both enjoying what I already have and occasionally treating myself to a new acquisition. I feel good about my progress; I think I'm pretty close to achieving my perfect balance of sustainable consumerism, lol - or being a make-up fanatic without so much waste, if you will.

For 2016, I want to continue my path, but focus less on decluttering and more on using up what I own as well as buying less. I will be doing more Project Pans next year (introduction post coming soon!) to move products out of my ownership, and I've already announced my 2016 Skincare (face and body) No Buy over a month ago (read more about it here), which so far has been a success.

As far as my 2016 Make-up Low Buy, I had contemplated making it even more challenging by going down to just one make-up purchase allowed per month, but in the end, I decided I don't want to do that - I think it may already be quite difficult for me with my skincare and bodycare no buy thrown in the mix. The 2016 2-item allowance includes all cosmetic purchases, as well make-up brushes and nail polish. It doesn't account for gifts from friends and family, gifts with purchase and PR samples. Rolling unused buys forward is allowed but not encouraged (by which I mean that if I only purchase one thing one month, I am allowed three products the next, but I'll do my best not to do that). I think these rules are quite fair and should definitely be doable for me. I will also continue writing all my purchases down - I have also applied this strategy to clothing and accessories purchases this year, and it's been very helpful.

And that's it! I hope it was at least somewhat interesting for those of you who are also trying to reduce; I would love if you shared your progress and plans for 2016 in the comments, or shared little tricks and tacticts that made it easier for you to work on your goals. Have fun tomorrow at your New Year's Eve parties - we need to celebrate our downsizing achievements, after all!

Vanity Tour: My Current Make-up Collection and Storage

I've been spending a lot of time lately talking about downsizing, simplifying, editing and curating my capsule make-up collection, but so far I haven't actually had the guts to show you what my current beauty stash looks like - maybe because, uhm, I wouldn't actually consider it a capsule. Just like my wardrobe, it isn't a capsule in terms of only having a small number of pieces you wear over and over again; although I kinda do that anyway by committing to the products in my Project Pans. I'm absolutely aware that my stash is way bigger than what an average woman would need to make her face up, because you know, I used to be that average, non-beauty obsessed woman with just a single make-up bag to house all of her product - imagine that!

However, make-up is my passion, and I get excited when I have an above average amount of products to rotate and play with - but what I'm trying to achieve is ensuring that every single item in my stash is loved and used on at least a somewhat regular basis. If it's not, I need to pass it on; I guess that's how I would define the goal for my capsule collection, which is a constant work in progress. I figured that it could be helpful to show you exactly how much I have (well, visually - I'm still not ready to do a numerical inventory), and how I store it, and maybe show you my collection again in a year's time. So, are you ready to virtually tour my vanity?

The vanity table itself is a popular IKEA Malm model I purchased around 4 years ago, and it's held up reasonably well - although the bottom of my drawer warped under the weight of things I was storing in it, and I have to be very careful with it now. The little chest of drawers on top is also from IKEA from around 6 years ago, I believe it's been discontinued. The plastic drawers under the table are from The Container Store, but I don't keep any make-up products there; I use them for back-up skincare, as shown in this post, nail polish (would you like to see that in a future post?), and my husband's out of season shoes, lol. The only two things I keep out on my counter is a simple mirror (again, IKEA) and my daily brush cup.

Let's start with the large drawer, since it mostly houses products I use on a daily basis - my biweekly/ monthly make-up basket, if you will. Anyone who's ever owned one of these IKEA vanities knows that this drawer has a VERY significant drawback - it only opens about halfway, which means that accessing the back of the drawer is a *tad* difficult (which is also why I had to take out this entire drawer and lay it on my bed to be able to show you the contents more clearly). I use the back portion to store rarely reached for things: my silver and gold jewelry, extra brushes I'm not using currently (I like storing them flat in a drawer as they get a lot less dusty than in a cup),  back-up/ not yet opened make-up (I'm working on emptying that box entirely and freeing some space there), and lastly some costume jewelry - all of the clear acrylic organizers are from The Container Store.

In the front of the drawer starting on the left, I store all of my lipsticks upright, roughly organized by color families, as well as a TATCHA box full of fat lip crayons and a few lip liners - well, the Guerlain space tampon doesn't fit into my lipstick organizer, so it's in there too. Next, we have cotton buds, Avene Thermal Water Spray to dampen brushes or mist my face, and my daily essentials in a little box; these are mostly products from my Project Make A Dent/ Project 10 Pan.

Next, I put aside some space in my jewelry organizers to display some more of my make-up stash: all of my pencil eyeliners, and some vertically organized compacts I'm currently using; a few powder blushes, a bronzer, a highlighter, the YSL Blur Perfector. The smaller compartments help to separate the lipsticks I'm using now. The last compartment on the left that's not filled with costume jewelry is meant mostly for smaller eyeshadow palettes I'm playing with at the moment. And that's everything in my vanity drawer!

Moving swiftly along to the small chest of drawers on the counter, it has three narrow drawers on top and two wider drawers in the middle and on the bottom. The top left drawer houses all of my lipglosses, liquid lipsticks/ stains and lip balms in the back. The small middle drawer has single eyeshadows towards the back, but mostly eyeshadow quads, quints and two bareMinerals READY 8.0 palettes, organized vertically. I've put all of my cream eyeshadows, both in glass pots and sticks, in the top right drawer, as well as random bits and bobs like eyelash glue, sharpeners, Inglot Duraline and eye primer samples.

The wider middle drawer houses face products: foundations, BB creams, face primers, setting powders and highlighters mostly in the box on the left, cream and powder blushes and bronzers on the right - I've shown you this drawer more close-up in my Addicted to Blush Tag post here. I organized all of my larger eyeshadow palettes (both pre-made and freeform like Z-Palettes) in the bottom drawer; you can see all of my eyeshadow palettes in more detail in this post, although I've since downsized some of the palettes shown there.

Phew! Well, I guess this post isn't quite as long as I was expecting, though it's certainly quite picture-heavy. Looking at the photos, my drawers seem a bit cluttered, but day-to-day and for my personal use, I find this set-up very practical and easy to navigate. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if you've spotted something you'd like me to discuss in more detail in a separate post - I'd be happy to oblige. I have to admit that I'm quite satisfied with my stash right now; I'm planning to use up some more products in the next year, but there are also things on my wishlist I would like to try, so I'm not sure how much further I can reduce my stash without giving or throwing stuff away - and I don't really want to declutter anymore, at least not to the extent I've been doing it this year. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at my make-up collection and storage, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!