The biggest challenge in the life of every beauty junkie is, without doubt, using everything you own. Even if you have decluttered and organised until there’s no tomorrow, and even if you’re on a no-buy or low-buy (tips from blogger royalty Temptalia), it might become difficult to actually use that beautiful collection you’ve build. (And not only a handful of products.) Here’re some fun ideas to shop your stash.
Let’s start by dividing your stash up into some more manageable portions. First, Holy Grails. Those are the products you reach for all the time, because they work (here’re mine). And hey, congrats! You’ve just identified the no-brainer products that are great for a busy morning or taking on a vacation.
Divide! (and conquer)
Second, base products and the boring stuff like mascaras and brow products and primers. Chances are you own quite a lot of them. I’m quite iffy with those and always try not to have too many open products like concealers, foundations, mascaras etc. around. That’s not an ideal situation, because I know how long it takes me to use them up and my backlog is insane.
Identify!
Your approach could be different, though: Identify the different uses for products and use accordingly. So, instead of using that one primer or brow pencil because it kinda works all the time, try to identify situations in which another of your primers or brow products would work better. Say, a brow pomade for long days when you don’t want it to go anywhere, or a primer for dry skin when it’s extra cold outside. In short, identify your speciality products – and use them!
Play with colours
Third, the fun stuff, i.e. your colour cosmetics, like blushes, highlighters, eyeshadows and lip products. Incidentally, I own oodles of those four product groups. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to use quite a lot of them a few times this year, and I’ve enjoyed myself a lot in the process. It’s fun to re-discover hidden gems in your stash!
The weekly tray
I usually start the whole process when I’ve got a bit of time and when I’m in the mood for playing with makeup. I then go through all of my products from one group. Let’s have a look at highlighters: I usually go for MAC’s Lightscapade, and have been for ages. But instead using my Holy Grail for the umpteenth time, I root through my stash.
Usually, I find one that jumps out at me easily – that’s often one I loved when I bought it and haven’t worn for some time. I place that on my little makeup tray that holds all products I want to use the following week. I then repeat that with eyeshadow palettes, blushes and lipsticks, and presto, I have some kind of mini-capsule collection I try to mix and match during the following week.
Fun ideas to shop your stash
Mix and match products you haven’t worn for a while and create your own short-term use makeup bags every other week. Have fun in the process, and get creative with your picks! I’ve found it isn’t too far away from cooking with leftovers – you’d be surprised how tasty a few potatoes are when you add some fresh herbs! (Okay, stopping with the cooking metaphors now.) Wanna share any recipes? 😉
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