I’ve spoken before about my old makeup hoarding ways; being borderline obsessive with tracking down MAC limited edition items, yearning for a nail polish collection that could be described as the complete colour spectrum and dreaming of a spare room full of makeup. But this year it all changed. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but something just clicked. My focus moved to skincare and suddenly I felt a little embarrassed of my ever-expanding makeup stocks so I decided to downsize. You can see what my current makeup stash looks like here - ok, ok so it’s by no means the smallest collection out there but for a beauty junkie like myself it’s not too horrendous and it does quite conveniently fit into one drawer. So after your amazing feedback on that video, I thought I would put together a few little tips and tricks for downsizing your makeup stash. The anti-hoarding starts now…
- First you got to get into the mindset, this is where a little bit of inspiration helps. From browsing the web I think a lot of fashion bloggers have this minimal makeup thing down! Check out Mariannan and 5 Inch And Up for some minimal makeup inspiration. Also have a look at Pinterest and We Heart It for some pictures of pretty makeup (but remember to ignore the pics where there are shedloads of the stuff!).
- When you sit down and really think about, we only have one face at the end of the day. And how much slap can you really shove on throughout the year – unless you’re rocking the TOWIE look 24 hours the answer to that question is not really that much. These days I tend to prefer to focus on skincare (notice how this post is on downsizing your makeup and not beauty products in general, my skincare drawer is heaving at the moment, but let’s not go there), if you have a good base everything that goes on top is just a bit of extra decoration.
- As a general rule when I’m having a clear out I use the six month rule – if you haven’t used it in the last six months (a year if you’re feeling a little emotional), then it’s probably time to go. Also have a think about makeup expiry dates, that will gross you out and force to throw out some of your bits collecting dust away. Check out this post on Beautylovin for more about that.
- Not all of it needs to be thrown away. Cheaper things or products that are heavily used go straight into the bin bag but for higher-end items or things that are nearly new, I tend to pass these on. Right, now I’m going to start with the emotional blackmail here – when you’re going through everything think of your friends and family, who would like what, what colours would they look good in. I usually make up bags for each of my mates which as you can imagine makes them very happy chappies. Or you could do your good deed for the day and send a box of goodies over to a great cause like Give and Makeup, I’m currently putting a box together for them now!
- If you are really struggling with a few items, then create a little ‘Maybe, Maybe-Not Box’. Not the catchiest of titles, but in here I put things that I’m not too sure that I’m able to part with yet and leave it under my bed or in any hard to reach area for a few weeks. By the time I remember where I’ve hidden it I can see my own point that it’s not something I’m going to use so off it trots.
- So the final tip is for once you’ve got your makeup stocks down to a size that you’re happy with. I tend to adopt the ‘One In, One Out’ policy to ensure things don’t get too crazy in there. Buy a blush, get rid of a blush – seems like a toughie but once you’re in your anti-hoarder ways it isn’t too difficult to do. If you manage to crack this one, then you’re officially invited into the anti-hoarders makeup club – congrats!
Wow, just a few tips to keep you going then. Let me know what you think and whether you manage to make it into the anti-hoarders makeup club! If you have anymore tips then do please pop them below. Happy downsizing!
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