Spring (makeup) cleaning
As a makeup artist, I admit to owning way too many makeup products—more than I could ever possibly use on all of my clients and myself. I often justify my constant purchases since, after all, it’s my profession! Then I began thinking about my personal collection of products that are based on my everyday use and lifestyle and started to consider how many I actually use on a regular basis.
As a big fan of the Marie Kondo method, I began organizing my products by category: lipsticks, lip pencils, eye shadow palettes, mascaras, foundations, moisturizers, serums, etc. Once that was done, I started by tossing anything that had expired, which both simplified the process and surprised me in how many there were! What was left were my current favorite items I use almost daily, which makes the process of getting ready and out the door that much quicker.
If you’re having trouble letting go of some of your cosmetics, asking yourself these two questions may make it easier:
Is the product past its expiration? Many people underestimate the amount of time a product has been in their possession. Pay attention to the open jar symbol on the container. This symbol indicates that, once opened, the product is most effective for that length of time.
Have I used this product in the past week? We all have that festive lip or eye shadow color that we purchased for a special occasion. These items tend to expire before we can finish the contents. To avoid waste, save splurges for your favorite everyday items and purchase those special event cosmetics from a more affordable brand, often sold at drug or general merchandise stores.
Once you organize your collection, you may be surprised at how many items you actually use, and the amount of money you can actually save—I know I was!