My Nail Polish Collection and One Last Declutter

Uhm, well, at least I *think* it's the last declutter for a long while... I've been itching to further edit down my nail polish stash for weeks and thought it would be fun to share my purging process with you. I personally enjoy watching others downsize their beauty collections, but more than the actual products, I'm always really interested in how exactly we determine what to keep versus what to let go of, and I'll attempt to illustrate in this post what my decision process looked like this time.

Before we dive right in, here's a little back story on my nail polish collection. In college (when I still lived in Poland), I used to have about 5 bottles at any given time - sometimes I would toss a shade when I noticed its quality had deteriorated, sometimes I would buy a new one when something caught my eye at the drugstore, but overall, I only did my nails occasionally and nail polish wasn't something I was very drawn to. Fast forward to when I graduated/ moved to Washington state and became an avid beauty blog reader (and a blogger myself) and surprise surprise, my stash started growing - I'd pick up a color every few weeks at the drugstore because it seemed like an innocent treat, and everything looked new and exciting - so why not try it out for myself? My nail polish amassing ways peaked when I started working in beauty retail; not only was it important to present myself well by always having an impeccable manicure, but the store I worked at also carried a wide selection of OPI, Essie and China Glaze along with all of their Limited Edition collections. I bought A LOT of bottles myself in the 1.5 years I worked there, but also received a good number as gratis.

Another small #nailpolish #purge: 14 bottles going out. I've bought 1 new nail polish within the past 12 months. #downsizing #declutter #bbloggers

Zdjęcie zamieszczone przez użytkownika Monika (@rocaillewrites) 18 Kwi, 2016 o 11:56 PDT

But ever since I quit that job and we moved to New York City, my passion for nail polish has been on the decline. In late 2013 and early 2014, I still polished my nails pretty regularly, and even thought about trying out some more nail art; but in the end, I proved too lazy for it. I would buy a few new shades here and there but already felt my stash had grown too large and overwhelming. Now, through all of 2015 and the first half of 2016, I purchased exactly ONE new nail polish. I gave a lot away though - last year I passed on 4 to various family members, tossed 2 older ones and used 2 up (can you tell it was still difficult for me to let go of my pretties?) and had roughly 68 bottles remaining, in April I gave away 15 to my coworkers (Instagram photo above), leaving me with about 53 bottles - that is, until yesterday.

I wanted this declutter to be a lot more thorough this time and my loose goal was to whittle the stash down to the point where it could all fit in one Birchbox lid; even though I haven't been subscribed to the service for over 3 years now, I still use their boxes to organize my beauty stash. I don't know why I pictured exactly that amount in my mind - it just seemed like that would give me the most variety without becoming overwhelming or holding on to shades that were alright, but not my favorite. You can see in the first photo in the beginning of my post what I started out with: 2 Birchbox lids in the front (but one of them holding only my 'manicure kit': files, tools, thinner, base and top coats) and 4 manufacturers' boxes for 6 bottles each in the back of the drawer.

The 'Before' photo of my stash.

I started by dividing my stash into color families so I could both see how many I had in each group, and also be able to compare and contrast shades more easily. I took photos of each grouping and also swatched them all (one coat only) on some sticky tape against a white background - I realize this is not an ideal representation of how those shades would look on my actual hands but it was enough to jog my memory, and much less time consuming than applying everything to my nails.

L-R: OPI Alpine Snow, OPI Ski Slope Sweetie, Essie Urban Jungle, OPI Don't Burst My Bubble, OPI I Theodora You

Let's start with my palest shades of white, ivory, pale pink and nude. I decided to give away OPI Alpine Snow and I Theodora You - the former I only ever used for nail art when I needed a pure white, and the latter just wasn't super great on my skintone, on top of needing at least three coats to look decent. Decluttered 2 out 5.

L-R: OPI Pedal Faster, Suzi!, Zoya Julie, Zoya Megan, Essie Chinchilly

Pink & purple pastels and grey neutrals. Out of this group, I didn't part with any bottles, even though I've never worn OPI Pedal Faster, Suzi! - maybe because I was focused on I Theodora You instead ;) I wear the other three regularly. Decluttered 0/4.

L-R: Essie Absolutely Shore, Zoya Neely, Essie Bikini So Teeny, China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le, OPI You're Such a Budapest

Pastel greens and blues - some of my all-time favorite shades to wear. However, as you may be able to see, Essie Absolutely Shore and Zoya Neely are so close that there's no excuse in keeping both; there's no way I'm going to need a 'back-up' in the next 5 years. I opted to keep the Essie because Zoya was a touch darker and more muted. Which was the same reason I parted with China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le; it's not really a pastel on me, more of a light denim blue, and I prefer both Essie Bikini So Teeny and OPI You're Such a Budapest to it. Decluttered 2/5.

L-R: Essie In the Cabana, Essie Butler Please, Revlon Royal, OPI Into The Night

Darker blues. I'm currently sporting Essie In The Cabana on my toes after not wearing it for over a year, and I love it so much that there's no way I could part with it - just need to remember to wear it more often. However, both Essie Butler Please and OPI Into The Night haven't been worn in 2 or 3 years and I don't think I want to wear them now; Revlon Royal is quite close to Butler Please anyway, but somehow more visually striking. Decluttered 2/4.

L-R: Essie Cute As A Button, Essie Off The Shoulder, Essie Pink Grenadine, China Glaze That's Shore Bright, OPI Pamplona Purple

Bright pinks and purples. I believe I used to own a lot more coral pinks in the past, but somehow Essie Cute As a Button is the only one remaining now after various culls, and I'm not letting it go now - it's always beautiful for a summer pedi. However, Essie Off The Shoulder is just a bit too pink for me and I never reach for it. As for China Glaze That's Shore Bright, it's one of those colors that I love to admire in the bottle, but it's just not 'me', and I don't think I've worn it more than twice. As for OPI Pamplona Purple, I have still never worn it, but I think it's more because I was distracted by other shades and not because I dislike the shade. Decluttered 2/5.

L-R: Essie Head Mistress, OPI Lost on Lombard, China Glaze Merry Berry, Orly Star Spangled

Reds. Now, this is an embarrassing category. I've never ever worn Essie Head Mistress nor China Glaze Merry Berry. Why? Because every time I wanted a classic red - which is usually around the holidays - I would reach for Orly Star Spangled instead, which as result has only half a bottle remaining and is now thick and gloopy. I finally trashed the Orly and am now left with a brighter cool-toned red (Head Mistress), darker berry red (Merry Berry) and a strange, muted, slightly brown cream red I absolutely love in the autumn (Lost on Lombard). Decluttered 1/4.

L-R: Zoya Toni, Zoya Jem, Zoya Payton, Revlon Perplex, OPI Muir Muir On The Wall, China Glaze Naughty and Nice.

Vampy purples, wines, burgundies. First of all, I had no idea I have so many in this color family - but then I love me a dark manicure in the fall and winter. I knew right away two of these had to go: Revlon Perplex because I haven't worn it in more than 3 years (looks muddy and grey on my skintone), and Zoya Jem because I've worn it too much thanks to the splendid idea of including it in a Project Pan. Yes, you can be overexposed to a certain shade, and yes, you can burn yourself out on it even if it used to be one of your favorites. My current opinion is that I will never try to pan another nail polish ever again, especially if it's a nearly full 0.5 fl. oz. Decluttered 2/6.

Misfits and metallics. Here I also knew right away what needed to go: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard because I haven't worn it more than once and don't intend to in the foreseeable future, and the Wibo peachy orange - it has too much orange and too little white for my skintone and I'm never completely in love when I wear it. Decluttered 2/5.

Maybelline Precious Pearl, China Glaze Champagne Kisses, OPI The Living Daylights, China Glaze Mrs Claus, OPI Polka.com

Glitters. I used to own many more, but have steadily been getting rid of them in the past few years; not because I don't love looking at them in the bottle, but because I never wear them, mostly dreading the removal process. I think I've worn Mrs. Claus two Christmases ago, and that's about it for how often I now wear these. My two least favorite were chosen to go, but I think that at the end of the year, I'll have to let go of Mrs. Claus as well - I only have about half a bottle left and what used to be a mix of red and silver glitters now appears to be just one mass of light pink. Huh. Decluttered 2/5.

The last group is my base and top coats and other treatments. I didn't think I was keeping too many unnecessary things on hand, but still decluttered the OPI Chip Skip (never use it, don't see the need for it - you could just clean your nails with a remover before you start), a Trind nail balsam thingy, and some old argan oil cuticle concoction. I will soon be tossing out the mostly used-up bottle of China Glaze top coat; see how red it's gotten? But I'm working through a coral red now so I'll use it a few more times and then call it done.

Here are all of my nail polishes swatched (in the same order & color families as photographed above), with the 'X's marking the bottles that are leaving my stash. Overall, I've decluttered 15 nail polishes and 2 nail treatments. This is actually not more than my polish declutter earlier this year, but I feel that this round was a lot more difficult because I enjoyed nearly all of these shades at some point, and found them all very pretty to look at. But realistically, was I actually using them? No.

And here is my 'After' photo. As you may be able to see, I haven't quite reached my goal - I did manage to get rid of all the boxes in the back, but my actual nail polish colors spill out a bit from one Birchbox lid to the next, which used to house just the treatments and tools. That's okay though; they all fit easily in there anyway, and I can see all of my stash at a glance. I currently own 29 nail polishes, compared to about 70 last August.

Do I ever regret owning as many as 100 bottles at some point in the past? Not especially. For me personally, I think those couple of years of collecting nail polish (or beauty products in general) were very important in exploring the beautiful variety and richness of shades, and then in turn figuring out what I liked and what suited me best. If I've never experimented, I wouldn't have had so much fun in discovering my individual preferences. However, I am now content and confident to follow my taste exactly and don't need to hold on to my 'experimenting tools' any longer. Plus, I'm pretty sure my family, friends and coworkers were all very happy recipients of my rejects :)

I hope that you enjoyed this very lengthy post and thanks for sticking with me to the very end. I would love to learn more about your decluttering process if you care to share, and especially what you personally consider to be 'ideal size' for a nail polish stash. Please let me know in the comments!

Minimalist Monday: Half-Yearly Make-up and Nail Polish Declutter

Using the same make-up products daily through my Make A Dent and Project 10 Pan challenges has really brought home how much I'm actually able to make good use out of what I own. In short: NOT. AT. ALL. And I'm not even talking about completely using stuff up, but simply feeling like I gave that pretty shiny thing I bought the love and attention that it deserves.

Which is why I quickly started to feel overwhelmed again with the size of my make-up and nail polish stash. While I have been purging my collection here and there for the last three years (see my last declutter post here), passing lots of goodies to friends and family and occasionally tossing something in the trash, this time I felt that I needed to be more ruthless, and really ask myself two questions: whether I was going to use the product more than once or twice just to assuage the feeling of guilt, and whether it was a unique shade I didn't already have at least two dupes for in my stash. What emerged from the culling process was a rather sizeable pile of stuff that I thought I'd share with you.

First off, and what you see in the first photo, is a palette full of various depotted eyeshadows and blushes I knew I wasn't using for a while now. The palette itself used to have a foam insert for round pans the size of a MAC shadow (here's what it used to look like), but by removing it, I was able to both cram more inside as well as put together pans of all different sizes and shapes. It now houses MAC (Deep Truth and Solar Force), Inglot (the square satin pale peach, round dark grey and metallic silver), DIY pressed pigments from NYX and Barry M, two Too Faced eyeshadows from the Natural Eye palette, one shadow from Physician's Formula Canyon Classics quad, and two La Femme blushes. By decluttering all these pans from my Z-Palettes, I was also able to go ahead and depot the Stila In The Moment palette (review & swatches here; look who's talking about having too many palettes back in 2012...), pictured above. I usually find that by depotting my less reached for palettes, I'm able to make better use of the individual shadows housed within.

Continuing with the eyes, I decided to pass on most of my bareMinerals 7 Ways to Bare Eyecolor set (review and swatches here); I simply DO NOT reach for loose eyeshadows, even in lovely neutral hues. I also went ahead and included some of my pencil liners in the giveaway pile: Urban Decay 24/7 pencils in Binge and Mildew (swatched here) and a brand new, unopened Milani Liquif'eye in Brown. I simply have other eyeliners that are very near dupes, and while I do manage to use up an entire pencil occasionally, these things do dry out - so no point keeping back-ups in my stash, they're going to be unusable sooner rather than later.

Lancôme Color Design Palette in Coral Crush (swatched and reviewed here), along with the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Golden Emerald (click!), Lise Watier Tartan Magique Ombre Soufflé and the recently reviewed YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer were also given the boot. All very decent products, but I just have too much - I still don't really wear green or teal on the eyes, and I chose the Sleek Oh So Special eyeshadow palette over Coral Crush for that warm peachy feel. Since I just recently got a smaller palette (Suqqu Blend Color Eyeshadow in Hanashoubu), I felt it was fair to pass on one quint to someone else to enjoy.

Culling my blushes was probably the most painstaking part of this declutter, and the most time-consuming. I swatched a whole bunch and wore a few on my cheeks for several days to see what my final thoughts would be. In the end, I'm getting rid of Revlon Photoready cream blush in Flushed (click, I own two shade dupes in cream blushes alone), Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine and Laura Geller Boysenberry powder blushes (click, both pull too orange on my skin for my current taste). The Benefit Watt's Up cream highlighting stick never really suited me, so I'm giving it away together with the Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in Lavish Lilac (click - sorry, forgot to include it with the eyes stuff - not my favorite formula, I won't be able to even make a dent in it before it completely dries out).

Lastly, lip products. Most of these have been swatched, reviewed in a lukewarm manner and worn maybe once or twice: Nature Republic Botanical Shine Tint (click!), bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Make Your Move (click!), Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge in N9 (click!), Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balm in Ripe Raspberry (click!), Bourjois Color Boost crayon in Red Sunrise (click!, I own too many reds), and an older tube of MAC Viva Glam IV (too frosty for my current preferences). There's also a brand new, unused tube of something MLBB mauvey from a brand I've never heard about that I received in a complimentary GlossyBox, but I'm not all that interested in trying it and would prefer for it to go nice and fresh to someone more appreciative.

Now, nail polish! That was a bit of a messy process. I had my eye on some bottles that I knew I haven't touched in over a year, but before getting rid of anything, I wanted to give them one last chance by way of a quick fingernail swatch, as you can see above. I decided to keep OPI Pamplona Purple (thumb), Zoya Pixie Dust in London (middle, never worn as a full mani - I want to see if I reach for it this fall/winter season) and Revlon's Perplex (pinky). I've decided to toss Wet n'Wild Shield (index, not into metallics anymore, an old bottle) and pass on Revlon's Black with Envy, as well as OPI Lights of Emerald City (both layered on my ring finger, LoEC always bubbles on me!).

I also said goodbye to OPI Kiss Me On My Tulips mini from the Holland Collection (I own a very near dupe from BarryM) and OPI Chicago Champagne Toast (never worn as a full mani in the two years I've owned it). While I was swatching and comparing my polishes, I counted my stash and it turned out that even after various purges and only one polish purchase so far this year, I still own about 70 bottles. Frankly, that's insane, and it's making me a bit sick to my stomach - I mean really, do I need this many?! I don't do nail art, I don't consider myself a collector, I'm not even that much into polish anymore... Just why. I'm seriously contemplating a nail polish no-buy for the foreseeable future.

These are three products from my stash I decided to throw out rather than give away; they were all too old and mostly used up.

The good thing about looking through my nail polish stash was that I also had a chance to do a bit of cleaning - I like to keep the necks of my bottles free of any dried polish residue so that the caps screw on more firmly and prevent the polish inside from drying out. I recommend a good polish remover and something lint-free for this task (meaning, not cotton wool); I used Orly's nail wipes intended for gel manicures.

There you go; I hope my purge pile was at least somewhat interesting for you. All of these products (minus the three tosses mentioned above) have now been divided into a couple pouches with a specific recipient in mind. A quick count reveals that I decluttered 22 single eyeshadows (powder & cream), 1 eyeshadow palette, 3 pencil eyeliners, 6 cheek products (powder & cream), 7 lip products (full size & mini), 1 deluxe sample of face primer and 4 nail polishes (full size & mini). Together with the throw-aways, that's 44 products less in my stash. I would say that's probably equivalent to a 'one in, one out' policy adopted by some, given that I'm allowing myself two make-up products and/or nail polishes a month (that's 24 a year, but doesn't include gifts, gifts with purchase and other freebies - and that stuff adds up quickly).

I suppose my one take away from this process would be not to wait before purging a product you know you don't really love - that way, you benefit from having an edited collection at all times, but also the products you decide to pass on are at their freshest for someone else to enjoy. I usually keep a donation bag in my closet for all the clothes I'm deciding to get rid of, and I'm planning to now have a separate box for my unloved make-up. Have you guys been purging anything lately, or are you over the decluttering trend? I'm secretly waiting for the pendulum to swing the other way and to see people start hoarding again, lol. How are you feeling about the state of your make-up stash?

A Cure for Nail Ennui: Glossique Deco Nail Wraps*

I've been so bored with my nails lately that I've been going a couple weeks before redoing my manicure. I don't know if that's a side effect of not buying any nail polishes (but I don't even want any new shades - I like what I have!) or just being very lazy, but here it is: a nail ennui, weltschmerz, lassitude, whatever you want to call it, has officially settled in.

Which is why I was doubly excited to be shaken out of my blahs by an email from a reader and a fellow Polish expat in the US (Hi Magda!), who recently started a nail wrap company called Glossique. I'm sure what I experience must be common to most bloggers and writers at large, but whenever I hear from a reader I get this fluttery feeling, equal parts joy and surprise. Yeah, after six years of beauty blogging, I'm still quite surprised that actual living breathing humans read my blog, and that sometimes they are kind enough to drop me a line to say they enjoy my writing, or to ask for advice. You guys, please write me more often - it's the ultimate blogging reward.

Glossique Cotton Candy* (left) and Purr-fect* (right) Nail Wraps in Regular

ANYWAY. Magda very generously offered to send me a couple of Glossique's wrap designs to try out, and review for you if I cared enough to share. I do care - it's very important for me personally to support the Polish community, and I think most of us like to support small businesses and women entrepreneurs. Glossique's site bursts with over 150 different patterns ranging from simple to whimsical, neutral to bright, abstract or designed around a theme. One sheet of Glossique Nail Wraps contains 19 stickers, which equals 3 manicures or pedicures, and retails for $13 on their website (free shipping on orders $50+). I chose four that I liked (although it was VERY difficult to make a decision, they are all so cute!), and Magda sent them to me in two sizes: petite to fit my fingernails, and regular to fit the toes.

Glossique Fly Away Nail Wrap in Petite*

For my first time application, I decided to go for Cherry Dots* - it just seems like the perfect summer mani, and I like that it comes with an accent in a different color. I'll be honest with you, despite clear instructions, it wasn't easy for me to apply the wraps evenly. It even says on the instruction card: 'As with anything new, there is a learning curve'. Like, no kidding. I more or less got the hang of it by the fourth nail, and my right hand, which I did after the left, turned out much better - which is why it's the one in the close-up shots :)

What I struggled with the most was getting the right size for each nail (I really dislike having gaps on the sides), and then getting the sticker to apply smoothly - I got lots of little air bubbles/ ridges on the sides and at the tip. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and that annoyed me enough to want to reapply the especially uneven nails. One of my nails is especially ridged because of eczema, and on that one, the sticker just wouldn't lay nicely - I tried three times, and it still looked like, well, a badly applied sticker. I also had some trouble filing away the excess; these wraps are much thicker than another brand I've tried in the past, and my crystal nail file wouldn't cut through these easily. I was also provided with the Glossique Nail Scissors for trimming the wraps (in the photo), which are very sharp and worked great, but I still found it necessary to file for a more seamless edge.

The application difficulties aside, I think Cherry Dots look beautiful on the nails. I wish the accent sticker was a bit wider as to fit my ring finger, but even on the pinky it looks rather cute, if I may say so myself. I found that the wear on the Glossique wraps really depended on how well I applied them to each nail in the first place; if I had a bit of an uneven edge at the cuticle, it would just get bigger as the days went on, resulting in the sticker lifting slightly from the nail. None of these came off completely though when I wore them for 6 days - I actually found them a bit challenging to remove. After taking the stickers off, my nails unfortunately seemed a bit worse for wear with some nails peeling slightly, but it was nothing a good buff and base coat couldn't fix.

I think these wraps are a really fun option to wear once in a while, but I don't believe they can completely replace nail polish for me. I'm sure that if I had more practice with the wraps, they would be quicker to apply than polish, but I will say that I found the first application to be a bit of a challenge, and my nails were a bit damaged by wear, making them more of a 'once in a while' treat.  Do you enjoy wearing nail wraps, or are you a nail polish-only type of gal?

Disclaimer: Products marked with an asterix (*) are  press samples I received from the brand's PR for review consideration. All links are non-affiliate. All opinions are 100% honest and unbiased, no matter if the products featured were purchased with my own monies or provided as free press samples. Thank you for reading, and thank you to Magda for kindly sending these to me to try!

Project 10 Pan 2015 Intro: All Make-up & Nail Polish

I've been thinking about this Project 10 Pan Introduction post for months now, and finally the time has come to reveal my products. As you probably know, I'm still continuing my Project Make A Dent, which is a yearly challenge, but since five of the products selected for it have already been finished, I decided to go ahead and start another panning project. I hope it's not too boring and/or confusing for you; if you're not so much into that type of content, please feel free to skip it in the future; for my part, I'll be doing my best to space these posts out with reviews or what have you to keep things interesting :)

Without further ado, here are my products: it's all make-up and nail polish! Starting with the face, we have Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Stay in Place Make-up in Intensity 1 (I'm estimating there's between 1/3 and 1/4 of the tube left) and Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin in Ivory (1/2 of the bottle left). These two give me a range of shades to work with, as well as different levels of coverage. To set my base, I've chosen the MAC Pressed Blot Powder in Medium Dark.

For the eyes, I've only added in my Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Copper Glow (click here for a review and swatches). The reason there aren't more eye and no cheek products included is that I want to keep this Project quite realistic; from doing my Projects Make A Dent, I know that it takes me absolutely ages to use up eyeshadow, blush or bronzer. I'm actually really counting on completely finishing my selected products and thus moving them out of my collection.

For the lips, I've opted for a variety of choices: the Elf Mineral Lipstick in Rosy Raisin (click!), a sheer nude, the Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait (lip-swatched here), a shimmery pinky peach, the Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in Watermelon Twist (click!), a lightweight but bright pink, and the Buxom Full On Lip Polish in Dolly (click!), a neutral mauvey gloss to pair with all of these or wear on its own.

I've marked my progress with a sharpie on the more liquidy products for future reference.

I've also never attempted to use up an entire bottle of nail polish before, so I'm starting slow by adding in these two mini Orly Nail Lacquers in Gumdrop, a mint green, and Rage, a metallic rose gold. Both have about 2/3 of the bottle left.

I'm quite excited about this new Project, and I'm looking forward to playing with these products on a regular basis - well, I've had a head start on some of these after finishing items from my Project Make A Dent, so I know a few of these should go pretty quickly and hopefully motivate me to keep going. I haven't quite decided how often I should update you on my progress; I'm giving myself till the end of this year to complete this challenge, so let me know your preferences on the frequency of updates.

Are you doing a Project Pan this year? If so, please link your posts in the comments, I'd love to follow your progress and cheer you on!

What I've Learnt About Myself Through Decluttering My Make-up Stash

After my last post in the Capsule Collection series, where I talked about my lifelong habit of saving my favorite things for later and trudging through blahs in the meantime, some of you lovely people suggested that maybe I just shouldn't use (and own) those mediocre products, full stop.

I can't lie, it's a valid point - so it prompted me to do another make-up and nail polish purge. But this time, I thought that instead of just documenting the stuff I'm getting rid of, I'll try to actually learn something about my product preferences in the process, so I may hopefully avoid poor purchasing decisions in the future. Here's what I've found out:

As a sweeping generalisation, I have a hard time getting rid of 'so-so' products - you know, the ones that don't suck really bad, but don't do if for you either - like this Murad Skin Perfecting Primer in the Matte Finish, but pretty much all of the things shown in this post fall in that category. Another important lesson: I don't use loose mineral products for cheeks or eyes (but I do make an exception for loose face powders or foundations). If it's in a messy little pot and I haven't yet been bothered to press it, it needs to go, as exemplified by the miscellaneous Coastal Scents blushes in the photo above - I actually used them a lot when I first got them, but they haven't been touched in 2 years probably!

The next lesson covers my shade selections: I don't look good in pigmented plummy blushes (NYX Powder Blush in Raisin). My skin has enough of a cool almost purpley undertone, so anything leaning plum/ purple makes me look a bit bruised. I also don't use or look good in warm bronze shades, which is why I'll be passing on my untouched sample of the Rouge Bunny Rouge Bronzing Glow Liquid.

Staying on the topic of cheek products, I haven't been able to part with this Bourjois Pastel Joues Blusher in Rouge Corail for years, even though I'm afraid to actually put it on my face. I stole this blush from my mom years ago, who purchased it in Paris even longer ago - I want to say this blush is now 16 years old? I was keeping it for sentimental reasons: it's the first blush I ever owned, and it came from my mom, and it had that delightful old school make-up scent... But I figured that if I wasn't able to wear it (because it was just too old for my tolerance levels, not because the formula changed), I should let it go, and that my photos are enough to convey the memory of this product forever without it taking space in my collection.

Now for the eyes: again with the warm gold and bronze tones (also... red eyeshadow?!), they just don't look right on my cool-toned skin (Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in Eldorado, Wet n'Wild Khol in Bronze, a shimmery gold eyeshadow from Inglot) and I don't use loose mineral eyeshadows (Fyrinnae Kapir). There's also no sense in keeping eyeshadow dupes in an inferior formula (Annabelle Vanilla Chilla, a purple Wet n'Wild shade from one of the trios) - when am I ever going to reach for them? Certainly not when I finally use up the better eyeshadow these are dupes of, because... I never finish any eyeshadows.

I also need to remember that both cream eyeshadows and eyeliner pencils do dry out - so I shouldn't be stockpiling multiple shades. Ideally, I should only have as many on the go as I am able to use up within a year to two. Older than that, they become hard, stiff and difficult to apply. I'll be working on downsizing my eyeliner and cream eyeshadow collection further this year.

As for lip products - again with the dupable shades in an inferior formula (Wet n'Wild lipstick in Hot Paris Pink is nearly identical to my beloved Maybelline Color Sensational in First Class Fuschia), I'm just not going to get to them before they expire, so may as well let someone else enjoy them. As for lip glosses, my goal is to only keep a few around as I wear them much less often than lipsticks. My gloss preferences are as follows: I don't like lip glosses in pots where you have to dip your fingers in, I generally prefer no shimmer or glitter in my glosses unless it's undetectable on the lips, and I don't wear pigmented glosses in bold shades (NYX Mega Shine in African Queen) - they're just too messy.

Lastly, not too many lessons glimpsed through decluttering my nail polish stash - just again not to keep multiples of the same shade around, and that buying nail polish in little sets is a tricky business, because there's usually a shade or two in there that I don't like. For the same reason, I'm generally against beauty subscription services - you'll always end up with lots of minis that you have no idea what to do with, and they accumulate so fast; I still have my Birchbox samples that I received three years ago! I'd much rather save the money I would be spending on a subscription and just splurge on one full size product of my own choosing that I really want to try.

I've also realized, mostly through using up my make-up primer and perfume samples, that I tend to use very, very little product in one application. A 1 ml primer foil packet lasts me about 2 weeks, meaning that a standard 1 ounce/ 30 ml primer tube would be lasting me over a year of everyday usage, and I don't wear make-up every day; I'm sure the same applies to foundation for me. If I can only finish at most 1 bottle of foundation and primer in a year, I don't think I should be keeping more than two on hand at any given time. I don't know how realistic that is - I love trying new foundations, and I like to have different shade and finish options; but maybe having three would be an achievable middle ground? Either way, I need to keep in mind how slowly I go through my make-up products.

That's about it for now; it's amazing how many things you learn about yourself when you analyze your habits. Looking at my little list of preferences, I'm able to squash some lemmings in the bud: no Colour Pop eyeshadows until I use up some (at least two or three!) of my creams, none of these new liquid lipstick thingies from Anastasia or NYX because they're just too high maintenance! Do you also try to reason with yourself in a similar way when new products are being released? Have you observed that you now know more about your personal tastes than when you first started collecting make-up?

My Five Favorite Fall Nail Polishes

Burgundies, plums, purples - give me all the vamps for fall. While I like the cheerful colorfulness of warm weather nail polish shades, I've really, really missed the moody darker shades of fall and winter. I thought it was only appropriate to share my current favorites with you; mind you, none of these polishes are new but in my mind, that's for the best: you can often find these older treasures online for a lot less than MSRP.

Let's start with a bang - the darkest of five polishes I'm swatching for you today. This is China Glaze Naughty and Nice, originally released with the 2012 Holiday collection and first mentioned on the blog here. As you can see, I still have it and it's definitely been well loved, both worn on its own or as a dark base for glitter toppers. With two coats, it's basically a reddish black with a high glossy finish: simple and stunning. After two years, the formula is still on point, even and just the right thickness.

 

For a newer favorite, I thought that OPI Muir Muir On The Wall from the 2013 San Francisco Collection was just too beautiful to pass up. It's a charcoal black base with green, copper and burgundy shift - I had not really seen anything like it before and it really reminds me of the changing foliage in the fall. Unfortunately, the multichrome effect is not as strong on the nails as it is in the bottle and the formula is a bit on the thin side, but ultimately still worth it in my opinion.

From the same collection, I also got Lost on Lombard, a warm darkened red with a cream finish. Warm reds usually are not very flattering on my cool skintone, but Lost on Lombard works for some reason, and I quite like the brown undertones - I think it's a great red for fall, a bit more muted and subdued than the sparkly festive reds of the Holiday season. The consistency is on par with my other OPI creams and these polishes also last very well on me.

Jem was the first nail polish from Zoya that absolutely stole my heart: I ogled swatches online for a good couple months before finally deciding to pull the trigger. Jem is a dark plum base with copper and gold foil - the shimmer particles are bigger than those of OPI Muir Muir On The Wall. It looks absolutely stunning in the bottle, but again, the beautiful shimmer is much subtler on the nail than in the bottle, and there's not much shift between gold and copper. But, the delicate foil gives Jem some depth and I still find myself reaching for this shade again and again. The formula is easy to work with but not as long-wearing as the OPI shades.

Lastly, a bit of fun: this is Zoya Payton, an eggplant purple jelly base with holographic micro glitter. The holo effect in Payton isn't very strong: at most angles, it reads as scattered silver shimmer, but when light catches it just right, the micro glitters turn all the colors of the rainbow. I previously swatched Payton here, and I still very much enjoy wearing it; I also like it a bit better than Zoya Aurora, another purple with fine holo glitters. I layer two coats of Jem for full opacity and I find it wears very well on me.

You most likely haven't noticed, but the top of my index finger has been cropped out of four of these photos - it's not because I can't shoot a good frame (well, maybe - but it's irrelevant here) but because the cuticles and nail bed on that finger are thoroughly f*cked up. Here's what happened: in August, I started getting particularly bad eczema flare-ups on that finger, so much so that I had to resort to using topical steroids again. Now, I'm used to steroids absolutely destroying the skin and cuticles on my fingers (think, 90 year old's hands), but this time, the nail got damaged as well, and it's been looking very, very wrong for at least a month now. I'm telling this sickening story not to make excuses for the quality of my swatch photos, but rather to inform my fellow eczema-sufferers, and in hope that maybe something similar has happened to one of you (in which case, I'm sorry!) and you could share your experience. I don't know if my nail & nail bed will go back to normal eventually - I'm hoping the damaged nail will just grow out in time. And speaking of eczema on my hands, would you guys be interested in a separate post on triggers and things I try to keep it at bay?

That huge tangent aside, I hope you enjoyed looking at these stunning fall polishes. Do let me know what you're wearing on your nails right now, or your all-time favorite shades for fall - I can never have enough of these vampy varnishes!