By BR Kellie
Is your beauty collection out of control? Do you have so many eyeshadow palettes that you could live ten lives and still be working your way through them? Do you own twenty nude lipsticks all within a shade or two of each other? Do you find yourself reaching for the same old things time after time because it’s easier than rustling through your towering mountain of makeup? Do you need to grow three extra pairs of hands to get through all your hand cream before it expires? In fact have you had a product expire before you’ve even had a chance to open it? Then perhaps it’s time you got your declutter on.
Don’t panic. Don’t hyperventilate. Breathe. Breeeeeaathe. BREATHE! It’s okay. You can do it. Decluttering your makeup, haircare and skincare collection can be actually a really enjoyable thing. Honestly. Truly. I’m not lying. I know, because I’ve done it. Twice now. The first time I chose the ‘Spark Joy’ method of decluttering, which had some interesting results. You can read about that here. More recently I had another clear out, but approached it in a more methodical way, and the results were most satisfying - and not just because I could fit all my makeup on one shelf.
So what does one need to do if one's serious about decluttering. First of all. Get it all out. Every single lipstick. Every foundation. Every eyeshadow. Every lotion, cream and serum. Put it into piles before you based on categories. In my recent clean out it was at this point I realised my primer love was out of control. Who needs nine primers? Seriously! Out of control. Once you've got your piles sorted then begin to pass judgement on everything in them.
Is it old? Chuck it. Unless it has beautiful packaging you refuse to part with, then display it.
Is it expired? And this is different from old. Some products have shorter life spans than others - sure a mascara may look and smell fine at eight months old, but it's meant to be tossed at three to four months after opening. So if it's expired, get rid of it. Here's a handy article on how to tell whether something is expired or not.
Once old and expired makeup has been dispensed with, it's time to think about 'do you really need this'.
If the product is already opened you have two options, keep or biff. So ask yourself, do you use it? Do you love it? If you had to pack one makeup bag would this be coming with you. Ride or die. Holy grail. If the answer is no, say byebye. If the answer is maybe, do some soul searching and if you still can't cope with the thought of it ending up in a landfill, then keep it. I don't regret moving on from the palettes I decided I could live without. But if I'd chucked the Stila I'd planned to part with then had second thoughts over, I would have been sad in the long run, because while I was ho-hum about it then, I use it a lot now.
Once you've dealt to the opened stuff, move on to the sealed products. Again, ask yourself if you really need each item. If the answer is yes, keep them. If it's not, here's where you can turn this heart-wrenching exercise into a heart-warming one. You see there are organisations like your local women's refuge who will gladly take new unopened makeup, skincare and haircare off your hands. So not only will you be doing yourself a favour by decluttering, you'll be helping others too. Now doesn't that warm the cockles of your heart!?
So do tell.. are you in need of a beauty declutter? Are you inspired? Do you declutter your beauty stash often? What's your process? Chat away!
I tend to declutter my beauty stash basically every quarter when I do my wardrobe. Amazingly in this time I find I will have accumulated even more goodies, often things I've only swatched or plan to use but then forget about. I find a good declutter cathartic.