Winter Makeup Purge: The BIG Clean Out!

Not Sponsored: Winter began December 21, 2023 and it lasts until March 19, 2024. Pretty soon (if not already, for some brands), you'll to start to see Spring makeup collections. New stuff! Yaaay! I love buying new makeup, but I have some treasures from the past that I still use. This past December, I did a thorough purging of my makeup room. I'm not going to worry you about expiration dates. I think we all know about expired makeup by now. This post will focus on some other things to think about when purging your makeup collection.

Image by Simona from Pixabay

Lipstick Colors & Textures

Do you have a lot of lip products? I have lip balms, lipsticks and liquid lipsticks. I have three drawers of lip products! I'm a lipstick girl :) And I use a majority of them. Companies have sent me lipstick collections in the past. I have bought lipsticks on my own. They can accumulate. Well, not all colors work for me (as this probably also happens to you). Whether companies send you lip products or you purchase lip products, if you don't like the color or texture ... throw it away. For me, I threw a lot of sparkly, super glossy, colors that didn't do anything for me, and those I-might-use-this-lipstick-once-a-year-for-Halloween, in the trash. I also narrowed down my lip balms. I'm not too crazy about lip balms in a pot, except my treasured Emile Cordon NY lip balms. I pretty much know now, what works for my lips. You really have to keep an eye on liquid lipsticks. They go bad faster than the rest. So a slew of those got thrown away as well. So take some time and go through your lip products. That orange lipstick that was so popular 2-3 Summer's ago, may not be so fantabulous in your makeup collection anymore. As you get older, your tastes change. Don't hold onto anything that doesn't work.

Mascaras

There are so many different kinds of mascaras. What works for you? What doesn't work for you? I tested so many mascaras last year. One, I now only purchase Waterproof mascaras (due to the humidity, rain and heat in New Orleans). Two, there are certain mascaras I really like for my eyes. I love Lancome's Definicils, Hypnose Drama and Monsieur Big Mascara. I also like Too Faced's Chocolate Brown Mascara (they need to make this WP). So any mascaras that weren't waterproof in my collection, I ditched. I also had accumulated many travel size mascaras that weren't waterproof. So I threw those away. Whew! It definitely freed up a lot of space. 

Eyeliner

I had so many eyeliners! Every color under the rainbow. Even some with glitter. In real life, I don't line my eyes much. And when I do, I use black. I kept a few colors, but got rid of the rest. And liquid eyeliner? I never got my technique down applying it. Out it went! As you're going through your collection, ask yourself if you're USING IT!?! If not, let it go.

Bronzers and Highlighters

Do you guys remember that big bronzer and highlighter phase? I had a drawer of bronzers and a drawer of highlighters. Did all of them work for me? No. So, I went back to some old blog posts, swatched a few on the back of my hand and really had a heart-to-heart. Which ones do I love? Which ones give me a natural vibe? I no longer want my nose to GLOW like Rudolph. I've toned things down. Nor do I want a I've-Been-Out-In-The-Sun-A-Really-Long-Time-Look. Sunkissed works for me... Hello Natasha Denona Glam Face Palette. Hello Natasha Denona Tan Bronze & Glow Palette.

Makeup Brushes And Sponges

Oh Goodness! I threw away so many makeup brushes. I love my Luxie and Elaina Badro makeup brushes. I also kept my battery powered brushes and travel size brushes. But all of those singles in the hopes of buying more from that collection and brushes that my skin didn't enjoy ... had to GO! I also threw away some makeup sponges. You notice little tears, discoloration etc. I do my best to take care of my makeup sponges, cleaning them and everything. Especially paying so much for them! But there will come a time, they have to go.

Nail Polish or Lacquer (if you're FANCY)

I only polish my toes now! HaHaHa Then some nail polish started swirling, breaking up and turning. No longer good! Had to go! Had to go guys! HaHaHa

Eyeshadow Palettes

I went through my eyeshadow palette collection. Palettes that had colors that I know I will never use, got thrown away. Any palettes that were too similar to one another, got thrown away. I decided which ones I loved the best and would actually USE and kept them. You have to be REALISTIC. Purple is nice, but am I going to wear it everyday? No. I'm a neutral girl. Not a color girl. That's just me. So a lot of palettes hit the trash can. 

As you go through your collection, be HONEST WITH YOURSELF. You know what works for you and what doesn't. Anything that doesn't fit, kick to the curb. I bought a lot in the past, because I was getting back into makeup. I had to try a lot of stuff to see what worked. Now, I pretty much know and I don't buy as much. You can look at things and say hey that won't work for me. You'll be a much better consumer. So I hope this post helps you. Happy 2024 Cleaning! And cheers to new things (that work)!