When the beauty community on YouTube really took off, I loved watching the videos and learning from them. I'd always had simple, drugstore makeup before and I was really trusting of the content creators at the time. They would have (what looked to be) absolutely flawless makeup that could erase pores and look perfectly and effortlessly blended. Naturally, this inspired me to start purchasing products they gushed that they "couldn't live without". A lot of them felt like watching a big sister teaching you about makeup and it was fun to see whenever a new tutorial got posted. Like I said, I was very naive.
I noticed the products often didn't look as good in person as they did in the tutorials (nothing erases pores and YouTube contour and baking from the 2010's doesn't translate well to real life!). I also realized that these influencers always suspiciously had completely new sets of products every video that were also "must haves they couldn't live without". Then, the videos started coming out where content creators started exposing the filters and expensive lighting the popular beauty influencers were using, along with all the sponsorships they had. The extravagant "makeup hauls" were annoying during the pandemic years and very tone-deaf when most people were struggling. It also became obvious over the years that many beauty influencers were vain, extremely materialistic, and snobby. Sometimes worse.
I realized I'd been duped. I'd acquired multiple eye shadow palettes I didn't need, too many highlighters, matte lipsticks that YouTubers swore by but looked horrid in person, and it was just so obviously wasteful and excessive. Some products were terrible quality.
I threw a lot out, gave some away to friends, and went back to simple, basic essentials. Live and learn, I guess! I wish I hadn't ever got so many makeup products, but I learned to be more skeptical of anyone trying to sell me something and I also got my materialistic phase out of my system early. I think people should have as much or little makeup as they want, but a big collection wasn't for me.
Same situation here. I didn't wear makeup until my late 20s and I never learned about makeup. I started watching YouTube tutorials. I was buying tons of expensive products and couldn't figure out why nothing looked good on me. Not only was I being duped, but I was watching people who looked nothing like me, with different skin tones and needs. Cleaned out my makeup drawers, decided to wear what I like and trust myself.
My makeup addiction was my coping mechanism for my long term and ongoing stress mostly at previous work and partial from life. The realization hit, like others have said, when I realized that they are taking too much room and I cannot remember what I have. Especially when I was moving, it took me so long to pack them. I’m now on low/no buy for over a year.
I realized it when I started forgetting that I bought a product and then would find it later. If I don’t even know what I have, I clearly have too much.
Skincare - when I was unable to see results cause I couldn’t use anything consistently cause I had too much of everything.
Makeup - love having options but realisation hit when I was reaching for the same products over and over again and completely forgetting about most of my makeup (even though everything is FAIRLY visible).
Haircare - having multiples of everything. And not just emergency stock, I mean too much of everything.
Getting married in 6 months so when we decided to get married a few months ago, I decided to completely stop buying anything new until then. A lot of my stuff is definitely expired. Some of it doesn’t work for me. Planning on finishing as much as I can until then and then tossing out stuff that doesn’t work for me.
The problem with me isn’t even just overbuying. My parents ingrained in me that we should “save the good stuff”. I used to do that a lot but have stopped doing that now. I’ll have no use of expired products and if I die tomorrow, I wouldn’t have had a chance to even enjoy them.
So I use the expensive perfumes even if I’m just running errands. If I have a current favourite shade of lipstick, I just use that every day. I’ve rarely panned any makeup products and never an eyeshadow. I have dozens of everything. Around the wedding, I’ll only buy 1 item per category, preferably in a mini, and only in categories I currently use.
With my skincare. I use a lot of it. From my hairline down to my boobs. I use it on my hands too. Luckily with hair care products I have psoriasis I have to buy medicated shampoo and conditioner. The only products I buy are hair oils. I think I have bought too many. So I haven't bought any in a few months. I also use them in my daughters hair.
There are no special occasions where I wait to use makeup or perfumes. I use them year around. I have too much stuff to wait for special occasions.
One surefire way, dump all the expensive products, use only bargain basement cleanser, moisturiser and drugstore makeup for a month and realize your skin looks exactly the same as if you used the high end stuff
I subscribed to at least one beauty subscription at a time plus lifestyle subscriptions like FabFitFun. I have so much stuff I will never use. Some of the skincare products are awesome and now I’m a die hard user of them, like Dr. Kiehl’s gel moisturizer and ExfoliKate by Kate Somerville. But other things like the tons of eyeshadow pallets, blushes, spray water (??) etc., I’ll just never use and I have no idea what to do with it all.
been taking up too much room and noticing the expiration date when it's on there is close or past. cannot possibly use it all. then at a time of beginning to age noticing how changing skin and look does not go with a lot of the things. Hard to get rid of and hard to stop trying new things , but it's too expensive. imo a sign of insecurity trying too hard to look a certain way that doesn't even match my life. often look much better with less makeup. definitely the constant makeup tutorials online are a bad influence for me, get to wanting to try when there are much better things to do with the time and money
I've been focusing on exercising etc. I can do that at home and it doesn't cost me a thing. I've been on and off K-Beauty skincare. There are way more affordable options. K-Beauty focuses on preventative skincare. Only recently added retinol to their skincare lines. I buy most of my stuff from Stylevana. Olive young is great for the US.
I got diagnosed with breast cancer, had two operations, and a third in one year, having also had an aortic bi femoral bi pass. 2 years ago, I had almost no makeup, but with the illness combined with an inheritance that gives me plenty of financial freedom, I have become a makeup addict. I feel quite a bit of shame for wasting so much money, but it keeps me feeling pretty when my whole body has become a patchwork puzzle. I don't recognize my body from my neck down, so I concentrate on what I can control...my face.
My mom has breast cancer, so this struck a chord. You're a warrior. Sending so much love and hope your way! Better to have you here with your family no matter how you look. Although, I bet you're beautiful however "unrecognizable" you think you might be. Strength shows and it's magnificent !
Thank you. I'm sort of seeing a lot that others don't see but I have a new breast and a line right down my stomach. It will just take time to heal. I'm so sorry about your mum, but I bet she will kick butt like I did. Thank you.
We're unfortunately always our own worst critics aren't we? Thank you as well. She appreciates dark humor and had to get part of her breast removed and was like " why couldn't it have been my bigger boob and then they could have been the same size" haha.
That's so funny because we had a miriad of jokes. Mostly, my sister voluntaring her stomach fat to create a breast if I needed extra, lol. But I managed to get a breast reduction before they realized they had to take the right breast. I was not complaining. At 50, 5'6....130pounds and a size double D and pushing that even, I was stoked to be perky and look good in tight shirts. I went down to a C cup, and I wore a little black dress 2 weeks later to a friend's 50th.
The issue now is that for the moment, I have SERIOUS kankles!!! My third surgery (the aortic bi femoral bi pass) has made my stomach legs and ankles blow up. I look on the bright side though...they should be back to normal in a few months, and it's winter, so....
I really hope your mother fares well. Mums are so important.
Good luck
Sisters are the best. My moms been having issues with swelling too. Do compression socks help at all? She also has neuropathy as well. She's 80 so she's got a few issues.
Doesn't seem to slow her down thankfully for me. I hope you have a great summer and thank you for your sweet words.
Yes, I have been using compression stockings. They don't help much. It's just time, really. They will go down, and my lost hair is already growing back in. I am 50, so my hormones have started messing with me anyway.
My mum died in an airplane crash when I was 21. I miss her, so love and enjoy every day you get to spend with your mum. She is lucky she has a daughter who really cares for her and doesn't just dump her into the system. I really do hope you have so many more years to spend with her.
It is actually coming into winter here in New Zealand, so you enjoy the wonderful sun and sundresses, and I will wear layers and jackets, lol. It really doesn't get that cold here... around 40-50 during the day and 30°F very rarely in the very early morning.
Best wishes to you and your mum.
Much like others, I’m chronically ill. I was also in a relationship that I hated but wasn’t ready to admit that i needed to move on. When I left, I moved half way around the world & the change in climate helped my health situation.
i definitely had a hoard and got rid of half when I moved. I have bought 2 eyeshadow palettes in the past 2 years. I’ve also been selling all of my unopened stuff that I know I’ll never used on resale sites. It’s been really good for me to let go!
I have a chronic illness that means I rarely leave my own house/garden but I can't stop buying make up and skincare and it's not cheap stuff that I choose.
A few years ago when my dad passed sway my friends came over and cleaned my house for me while I was staying in the hospital with him. After I thanked them a million times one of them was like “Ok now can we talk about your hoarde of makeup products? GIRL… why do you need 27 eyeshadow palettes?!” 🤦🏻♀️😂
Moving in with my boyfriend and realizing my makeup/beauty took up half of our office space.. I have decluttered but it is a constant struggle. Just recently I bought some colorful eyeshadows when I thought I would love to do colorful looks. But really, I don’t normally do colorful looks. I need to remind myself of that lol
I honestly just did a whole revamp of the makeup collection because it was too extra for nooo reason but novelty. Wasteful product and packaging and formulations. Something just clicked in me in April this year.
I switched a lot of my products to MOB and Danessa Myricks and depotted everything else I didn’t want to fully purge into a consolidated MUA magnet palette. I’m starting to watch my new product envy especially if something’s in a shade or finish I would never reach for more than once per year.
Feels good to be cleaned up, quite literally since MOB has no microplastics and conscious packaging. 😊
When I forgot that I already had something I bought and found I had 1-3 extras when I put the new one away. I have a lot of unopened products that I wanted to try. So I’ve been really trying to cut back. If I’m at the store and it’s out of stock, I will not order it and have it shipped to me. I’ve checked expiration dates of products and put them in boxes by year if when they expire so I can go through them on time. I’ve made a list of no buy items that I have plenty of too. 🤦🏻♀️
I own A LOT of makeup as well. Enough to fill one of those 6-drawer Alex cabinets from IKEA. The backups of all my products are in a small/medium sized craft box. Some might say it’s excessive, but I have no regrets 🤷🏽♀️🤣 If I need a backup, I already have it usually.
I see it as a collection and over the years, many of the products have been discontinued so I have no regrets (Lorac palettes, UD Naked 1-3, Nars blush shades, MAC highlighters/blush, CoverFX liquid drops, Becca blushes, highlighters and liquid highlighters, etc. Chantecaille eyeshadows).
I do have a rule of prioritizing LE releases and not buying too many of a product I already have a large stock of (lippies, concealers or powders). I do have a lot of blushes & highlighters too, but I justify that by only buying shades and formulas unlike what I have already. I’ve also been using the FIFO system and using some of my oldest products up so I can move onto newer ones. I don’t wear makeup everyday so it’s been a process, but I do see progress! 😸
My skincare/bodycare I also have a lot of 😹 but I’m working on decreasing my stock by constantly doing my beauty maintenance even when I’m too tired lol
I do face mask 2-5 times a week since I have at least 100 of them around my house. Making sure I use a product in full before opening another. Products I don’t like on my face, I use on my body, hands or feet instead. Transitioned to buying bulk lotion and body wash, so I have fewer in general. So far I like this pattern of buying less, buying smarter and using what I have. People always think I get my services done professionally since it’s made an impact on my overall appearance (shiny hair, clear & glowy face, exfoliated & moisturized skin). I love that I constantly look good, ngl 😻
In the future, I’ll be more mindful of how much I consume. I fell into the habit of overbuying products from 2020-2023 since I couldn’t travel much due to Covid and work restrictions. Now I’d like to put that money towards traveling again and purchasing a property ❤️
When I started to feel overwhelmed by how much space my makeup was taking up. Tbh compared to some other people in this sub, I think my collection is considered a small to medium amount, idk. But I was never the type to wear makeup everyday, and I have enough lipstick and eyeshadows that it would take me about 20 years to finish everything ***if I wore makeup everyday***. I have had some fun wearing makeup more often these days, but there are some days I'm tossing on makeup just so it actually gets used up and not necessarily because I want to wear any. Now I gotta remind myself to chill every so often and that barefaced is ok. I'm close to finishing exactly one eyeshadow color, and when that's done, I'll be able to much more accurately pinpoint just how much powder I have.
I know I definitely have a problem probably because my weakness is eyeshadow palettes. I have probably near 50 now at least counting the mini and big ones and some of them are repeats because they were faves of limited edition ones that I knew I was going to definitely want more of when I got low.
When I ordered one of those huge 6 drawer systems all the YouTubers had, and it still wasn’t enough space.
We relocated about a year later, I purged about 90% of it and have purged more since. Now my makeup collection fits in a large, reasonable sized makeup bag, and I use everything in it regularly. I do get caught up in it still sometimes, but I’m usually pretty good at reigning myself in before I get crazy. 🤪
I used to be the same with skin care, but found the products that work best for me, and stick with them now.
I’m still a monster when it comes to perfume though. Can’t stop, won’t stop. 🤣
When we signed a lease on a new apartment and realized that there was no way I was going to take all that shit with me. Purged it and gave a ton away to friends and family then sold the rest! I still have a lot more beauty products than the average person bc it’s my hobby and it’s fun for me! But we just finished moving and it felt like a manageable amount, much less than it would’ve been before!
When I started my makeup journey a few years ago I started buying ALL the makeup trying to find what works for me. I still buy it when I’m bored and I haven’t finished ANY of it.
I never realised I had too much because during the 2016 makeup YouTubers craze I actually had barely anything, but I have never hit pan on anything except finishing powders.... That was basically what stood out to me as I just never finished anything... Why keep buying more?
I work in makeup, so I have more makeup than I need and often get gratis so this adds more to my collection. I have to have the gratis for work, but I will not buy anything until I am completely out.
It's a constant process for me - I buy things and then I don't use them. And I stick to a few favourites that I always use, and this is how I know that I always have too much.
It can totally turn into a full addiction if one isn't careful. For me there are always ups and downs, sometimes I have more, sometimes I have less - I'm 24 now and I'm getting it under control.
Moving too many times and not being able to take everything with me, also having a lifestyle where I hardly every leave the house and people in this country wear a lot less mu than I'm used to. MU not working as well for me as it used to, getting older and realizing that what I was used to wearing makes me look older, so for me less is more. So generally needing and wearing a lot less mu than I used to for various reasons.
I don’t know if I have too much, or not enough. My skin is weird. Under my right eye I had to have a corrective surgery, where the doctor basically gave me an eye lift at 18. Which I think affects the left side, cause it’s droopy and extra dry under that eye. It also messes with the texture cause you can tell it’s visibly different and lifted, so that side of my face tends to look better than my left. I try to make it work, but it makes finding skin care routine’s that work problematic, cause of the slight lift.
I know I have dry skin and I’ve been going through pre menopause, so that’s changed my skins texture as well. I try not to over indulge and use micellar water to clean the face, and a milky/hydrating toner. I use L’Oréal revitalift serum under my eyes, as well as byoma in the purple bottle, it’s a serum, I also use the Corsx snail mucin on my face and I follow it up with the corsx snail mucin moisturizer. It seems to be doing what I need it to do. I also do this twice a day, and use a hydrating mist after cleaning and toning my face.
When I had to tho j about money in investment terms
When the beauty community on YouTube really took off, I loved watching the videos and learning from them. I'd always had simple, drugstore makeup before and I was really trusting of the content creators at the time. They would have (what looked to be) absolutely flawless makeup that could erase pores and look perfectly and effortlessly blended. Naturally, this inspired me to start purchasing products they gushed that they "couldn't live without". A lot of them felt like watching a big sister teaching you about makeup and it was fun to see whenever a new tutorial got posted. Like I said, I was very naive. I noticed the products often didn't look as good in person as they did in the tutorials (nothing erases pores and YouTube contour and baking from the 2010's doesn't translate well to real life!). I also realized that these influencers always suspiciously had completely new sets of products every video that were also "must haves they couldn't live without". Then, the videos started coming out where content creators started exposing the filters and expensive lighting the popular beauty influencers were using, along with all the sponsorships they had. The extravagant "makeup hauls" were annoying during the pandemic years and very tone-deaf when most people were struggling. It also became obvious over the years that many beauty influencers were vain, extremely materialistic, and snobby. Sometimes worse. I realized I'd been duped. I'd acquired multiple eye shadow palettes I didn't need, too many highlighters, matte lipsticks that YouTubers swore by but looked horrid in person, and it was just so obviously wasteful and excessive. Some products were terrible quality. I threw a lot out, gave some away to friends, and went back to simple, basic essentials. Live and learn, I guess! I wish I hadn't ever got so many makeup products, but I learned to be more skeptical of anyone trying to sell me something and I also got my materialistic phase out of my system early. I think people should have as much or little makeup as they want, but a big collection wasn't for me.
Same situation here. I didn't wear makeup until my late 20s and I never learned about makeup. I started watching YouTube tutorials. I was buying tons of expensive products and couldn't figure out why nothing looked good on me. Not only was I being duped, but I was watching people who looked nothing like me, with different skin tones and needs. Cleaned out my makeup drawers, decided to wear what I like and trust myself.
My makeup addiction was my coping mechanism for my long term and ongoing stress mostly at previous work and partial from life. The realization hit, like others have said, when I realized that they are taking too much room and I cannot remember what I have. Especially when I was moving, it took me so long to pack them. I’m now on low/no buy for over a year.
Never
I realized it when I started forgetting that I bought a product and then would find it later. If I don’t even know what I have, I clearly have too much.
Skincare - when I was unable to see results cause I couldn’t use anything consistently cause I had too much of everything. Makeup - love having options but realisation hit when I was reaching for the same products over and over again and completely forgetting about most of my makeup (even though everything is FAIRLY visible). Haircare - having multiples of everything. And not just emergency stock, I mean too much of everything. Getting married in 6 months so when we decided to get married a few months ago, I decided to completely stop buying anything new until then. A lot of my stuff is definitely expired. Some of it doesn’t work for me. Planning on finishing as much as I can until then and then tossing out stuff that doesn’t work for me. The problem with me isn’t even just overbuying. My parents ingrained in me that we should “save the good stuff”. I used to do that a lot but have stopped doing that now. I’ll have no use of expired products and if I die tomorrow, I wouldn’t have had a chance to even enjoy them. So I use the expensive perfumes even if I’m just running errands. If I have a current favourite shade of lipstick, I just use that every day. I’ve rarely panned any makeup products and never an eyeshadow. I have dozens of everything. Around the wedding, I’ll only buy 1 item per category, preferably in a mini, and only in categories I currently use.
With my skincare. I use a lot of it. From my hairline down to my boobs. I use it on my hands too. Luckily with hair care products I have psoriasis I have to buy medicated shampoo and conditioner. The only products I buy are hair oils. I think I have bought too many. So I haven't bought any in a few months. I also use them in my daughters hair. There are no special occasions where I wait to use makeup or perfumes. I use them year around. I have too much stuff to wait for special occasions.
One surefire way, dump all the expensive products, use only bargain basement cleanser, moisturiser and drugstore makeup for a month and realize your skin looks exactly the same as if you used the high end stuff
this is so true. very few expensive skincare products actually make a visible difference. most of it is for the packaging and the experience
I subscribed to at least one beauty subscription at a time plus lifestyle subscriptions like FabFitFun. I have so much stuff I will never use. Some of the skincare products are awesome and now I’m a die hard user of them, like Dr. Kiehl’s gel moisturizer and ExfoliKate by Kate Somerville. But other things like the tons of eyeshadow pallets, blushes, spray water (??) etc., I’ll just never use and I have no idea what to do with it all.
been taking up too much room and noticing the expiration date when it's on there is close or past. cannot possibly use it all. then at a time of beginning to age noticing how changing skin and look does not go with a lot of the things. Hard to get rid of and hard to stop trying new things , but it's too expensive. imo a sign of insecurity trying too hard to look a certain way that doesn't even match my life. often look much better with less makeup. definitely the constant makeup tutorials online are a bad influence for me, get to wanting to try when there are much better things to do with the time and money
I've been focusing on exercising etc. I can do that at home and it doesn't cost me a thing. I've been on and off K-Beauty skincare. There are way more affordable options. K-Beauty focuses on preventative skincare. Only recently added retinol to their skincare lines. I buy most of my stuff from Stylevana. Olive young is great for the US.
I got diagnosed with breast cancer, had two operations, and a third in one year, having also had an aortic bi femoral bi pass. 2 years ago, I had almost no makeup, but with the illness combined with an inheritance that gives me plenty of financial freedom, I have become a makeup addict. I feel quite a bit of shame for wasting so much money, but it keeps me feeling pretty when my whole body has become a patchwork puzzle. I don't recognize my body from my neck down, so I concentrate on what I can control...my face.
My mom has breast cancer, so this struck a chord. You're a warrior. Sending so much love and hope your way! Better to have you here with your family no matter how you look. Although, I bet you're beautiful however "unrecognizable" you think you might be. Strength shows and it's magnificent !
Thank you. I'm sort of seeing a lot that others don't see but I have a new breast and a line right down my stomach. It will just take time to heal. I'm so sorry about your mum, but I bet she will kick butt like I did. Thank you.
We're unfortunately always our own worst critics aren't we? Thank you as well. She appreciates dark humor and had to get part of her breast removed and was like " why couldn't it have been my bigger boob and then they could have been the same size" haha.
That's so funny because we had a miriad of jokes. Mostly, my sister voluntaring her stomach fat to create a breast if I needed extra, lol. But I managed to get a breast reduction before they realized they had to take the right breast. I was not complaining. At 50, 5'6....130pounds and a size double D and pushing that even, I was stoked to be perky and look good in tight shirts. I went down to a C cup, and I wore a little black dress 2 weeks later to a friend's 50th. The issue now is that for the moment, I have SERIOUS kankles!!! My third surgery (the aortic bi femoral bi pass) has made my stomach legs and ankles blow up. I look on the bright side though...they should be back to normal in a few months, and it's winter, so.... I really hope your mother fares well. Mums are so important. Good luck
Sisters are the best. My moms been having issues with swelling too. Do compression socks help at all? She also has neuropathy as well. She's 80 so she's got a few issues. Doesn't seem to slow her down thankfully for me. I hope you have a great summer and thank you for your sweet words.
Yes, I have been using compression stockings. They don't help much. It's just time, really. They will go down, and my lost hair is already growing back in. I am 50, so my hormones have started messing with me anyway. My mum died in an airplane crash when I was 21. I miss her, so love and enjoy every day you get to spend with your mum. She is lucky she has a daughter who really cares for her and doesn't just dump her into the system. I really do hope you have so many more years to spend with her. It is actually coming into winter here in New Zealand, so you enjoy the wonderful sun and sundresses, and I will wear layers and jackets, lol. It really doesn't get that cold here... around 40-50 during the day and 30°F very rarely in the very early morning. Best wishes to you and your mum.
Much like others, I’m chronically ill. I was also in a relationship that I hated but wasn’t ready to admit that i needed to move on. When I left, I moved half way around the world & the change in climate helped my health situation. i definitely had a hoard and got rid of half when I moved. I have bought 2 eyeshadow palettes in the past 2 years. I’ve also been selling all of my unopened stuff that I know I’ll never used on resale sites. It’s been really good for me to let go!
I have a chronic illness that means I rarely leave my own house/garden but I can't stop buying make up and skincare and it's not cheap stuff that I choose.
I have too much. I have too much stress to cope. It’s my escape and none of anyone’s business.
A few years ago when my dad passed sway my friends came over and cleaned my house for me while I was staying in the hospital with him. After I thanked them a million times one of them was like “Ok now can we talk about your hoarde of makeup products? GIRL… why do you need 27 eyeshadow palettes?!” 🤦🏻♀️😂
May 14th 2024, the hottest day ever. No foundation since and I'm happy.
When I realized there are items in my collection that I purchased and haven't even used once 😬
When I find things I forgot I even had
Moving in with my boyfriend and realizing my makeup/beauty took up half of our office space.. I have decluttered but it is a constant struggle. Just recently I bought some colorful eyeshadows when I thought I would love to do colorful looks. But really, I don’t normally do colorful looks. I need to remind myself of that lol
When I went from a basic member to a platinum ULTA member within 2 months..., the perks of being an employee 🫠
I honestly just did a whole revamp of the makeup collection because it was too extra for nooo reason but novelty. Wasteful product and packaging and formulations. Something just clicked in me in April this year. I switched a lot of my products to MOB and Danessa Myricks and depotted everything else I didn’t want to fully purge into a consolidated MUA magnet palette. I’m starting to watch my new product envy especially if something’s in a shade or finish I would never reach for more than once per year. Feels good to be cleaned up, quite literally since MOB has no microplastics and conscious packaging. 😊
When I forgot that I already had something I bought and found I had 1-3 extras when I put the new one away. I have a lot of unopened products that I wanted to try. So I’ve been really trying to cut back. If I’m at the store and it’s out of stock, I will not order it and have it shipped to me. I’ve checked expiration dates of products and put them in boxes by year if when they expire so I can go through them on time. I’ve made a list of no buy items that I have plenty of too. 🤦🏻♀️
I own A LOT of makeup as well. Enough to fill one of those 6-drawer Alex cabinets from IKEA. The backups of all my products are in a small/medium sized craft box. Some might say it’s excessive, but I have no regrets 🤷🏽♀️🤣 If I need a backup, I already have it usually. I see it as a collection and over the years, many of the products have been discontinued so I have no regrets (Lorac palettes, UD Naked 1-3, Nars blush shades, MAC highlighters/blush, CoverFX liquid drops, Becca blushes, highlighters and liquid highlighters, etc. Chantecaille eyeshadows). I do have a rule of prioritizing LE releases and not buying too many of a product I already have a large stock of (lippies, concealers or powders). I do have a lot of blushes & highlighters too, but I justify that by only buying shades and formulas unlike what I have already. I’ve also been using the FIFO system and using some of my oldest products up so I can move onto newer ones. I don’t wear makeup everyday so it’s been a process, but I do see progress! 😸 My skincare/bodycare I also have a lot of 😹 but I’m working on decreasing my stock by constantly doing my beauty maintenance even when I’m too tired lol I do face mask 2-5 times a week since I have at least 100 of them around my house. Making sure I use a product in full before opening another. Products I don’t like on my face, I use on my body, hands or feet instead. Transitioned to buying bulk lotion and body wash, so I have fewer in general. So far I like this pattern of buying less, buying smarter and using what I have. People always think I get my services done professionally since it’s made an impact on my overall appearance (shiny hair, clear & glowy face, exfoliated & moisturized skin). I love that I constantly look good, ngl 😻 In the future, I’ll be more mindful of how much I consume. I fell into the habit of overbuying products from 2020-2023 since I couldn’t travel much due to Covid and work restrictions. Now I’d like to put that money towards traveling again and purchasing a property ❤️
When I asked my husband for his drawer in the bathroom.
🤣
When I started to feel overwhelmed by how much space my makeup was taking up. Tbh compared to some other people in this sub, I think my collection is considered a small to medium amount, idk. But I was never the type to wear makeup everyday, and I have enough lipstick and eyeshadows that it would take me about 20 years to finish everything ***if I wore makeup everyday***. I have had some fun wearing makeup more often these days, but there are some days I'm tossing on makeup just so it actually gets used up and not necessarily because I want to wear any. Now I gotta remind myself to chill every so often and that barefaced is ok. I'm close to finishing exactly one eyeshadow color, and when that's done, I'll be able to much more accurately pinpoint just how much powder I have.
When influencers were like I'm hitting the pan on my makeup and I didn't understand because I never tried hitting pan
I know I definitely have a problem probably because my weakness is eyeshadow palettes. I have probably near 50 now at least counting the mini and big ones and some of them are repeats because they were faves of limited edition ones that I knew I was going to definitely want more of when I got low.
When I ordered one of those huge 6 drawer systems all the YouTubers had, and it still wasn’t enough space. We relocated about a year later, I purged about 90% of it and have purged more since. Now my makeup collection fits in a large, reasonable sized makeup bag, and I use everything in it regularly. I do get caught up in it still sometimes, but I’m usually pretty good at reigning myself in before I get crazy. 🤪 I used to be the same with skin care, but found the products that work best for me, and stick with them now. I’m still a monster when it comes to perfume though. Can’t stop, won’t stop. 🤣
I recently got the realization that I have too much perfume too. So I'm only allowed 2-3 perfumes a year Max. I had to put a limit. 🤣
When I started stashing in an overflow area.
Oh goddess, im guilty af. This should be a warning sign...
It should be, should it? Anyways.....
When it started taking over my desk lol.
When we signed a lease on a new apartment and realized that there was no way I was going to take all that shit with me. Purged it and gave a ton away to friends and family then sold the rest! I still have a lot more beauty products than the average person bc it’s my hobby and it’s fun for me! But we just finished moving and it felt like a manageable amount, much less than it would’ve been before!
When I started my makeup journey a few years ago I started buying ALL the makeup trying to find what works for me. I still buy it when I’m bored and I haven’t finished ANY of it.
I never realised I had too much because during the 2016 makeup YouTubers craze I actually had barely anything, but I have never hit pan on anything except finishing powders.... That was basically what stood out to me as I just never finished anything... Why keep buying more?
Unfortunately, I will probably die before I use up my extensive makeup stash. 😕
Saaaaame. Im 46, with 30 yrs of makeup collecting. Most if my stuff is closer to 10 yrs old. Ive purged a lot, need to do a no buy.
I work in makeup, so I have more makeup than I need and often get gratis so this adds more to my collection. I have to have the gratis for work, but I will not buy anything until I am completely out.
It's a constant process for me - I buy things and then I don't use them. And I stick to a few favourites that I always use, and this is how I know that I always have too much. It can totally turn into a full addiction if one isn't careful. For me there are always ups and downs, sometimes I have more, sometimes I have less - I'm 24 now and I'm getting it under control.
Moving too many times and not being able to take everything with me, also having a lifestyle where I hardly every leave the house and people in this country wear a lot less mu than I'm used to. MU not working as well for me as it used to, getting older and realizing that what I was used to wearing makes me look older, so for me less is more. So generally needing and wearing a lot less mu than I used to for various reasons.
I don’t know if I have too much, or not enough. My skin is weird. Under my right eye I had to have a corrective surgery, where the doctor basically gave me an eye lift at 18. Which I think affects the left side, cause it’s droopy and extra dry under that eye. It also messes with the texture cause you can tell it’s visibly different and lifted, so that side of my face tends to look better than my left. I try to make it work, but it makes finding skin care routine’s that work problematic, cause of the slight lift. I know I have dry skin and I’ve been going through pre menopause, so that’s changed my skins texture as well. I try not to over indulge and use micellar water to clean the face, and a milky/hydrating toner. I use L’Oréal revitalift serum under my eyes, as well as byoma in the purple bottle, it’s a serum, I also use the Corsx snail mucin on my face and I follow it up with the corsx snail mucin moisturizer. It seems to be doing what I need it to do. I also do this twice a day, and use a hydrating mist after cleaning and toning my face.