Beauty and Bentley

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post sharing different tips and tricks I find useful for decluttering my wardrobe, today I'm doing something similar but with my make-up collection. I mentioned in my previous post, which I will link here, that I'm going to be moving house in the next few months (assuming everything goes to plan) so I'm slowly trying to work my way through my belongings to get rid of anything I don't need/use. Today I'm sharing some advice for decluttering your make-up, the steps I took and the products I'm trying to use up.

The first thing I would do is go grab all of your make-up and set it out on the floor, this will allow you to see your full collection and allow you to decide how much you want to scale back. Don't forget to check handbags, pockets your bathroom or any other place you might have make-up items lying around. 

The first thing you want to do is remove all your favourite products that you use every day as this will be the easiest step. Once you've done that, pick out the make-up that is too old to donate, I will include a guide below on how long you should keep make-up products after it's been opened but if I'm honest I don't follow these strictly, I would suggest you look out for changes in the product to tell you when it's gone bad. If any of your products have a change in scent, texture, consistency or application and its gone beyond the guidelines listed below then it's probably ready for the bin!

Bonus Tip  - I find powder products are the items that can be stored safely for the longest but if you are concerned and want to give them a quick sanitise, spray over the powder lightly with some isopropyl alcohol.....don't use too much, a light spray will do the trick.

Finally, go through everything that's left and decide if you want to keep or donate to friends/family, just because you don't like a product or it didn't work for you doesn't mean it won't for someone else. 

Here are a few questions you may want to consider when deciding:

Do I like this product and how it performs?

Is this the right shade/finish for my skin tone?

Does this colour suit me/ will I ever wear it again?

Do I know someone who would love this much more than I do?

You can stop at this point if you wish but I have an additional step that I have been trying recently that's perfect if you have a lot of make-up that you don't want to go to waste/donate. Find yourself some sort of container, I use a little basket that I got in a pack of 4 from Poundland, and fill it with the products that you want to use up, then set yourself some sort of challenge. I have agreed with myself that I must use at least one item from the basket every day that I apply make-up, ideally, I will try to use multiple products and hopefully, that will get them used up in the shortest time possible. Whatever container you use needs to be kept somewhere that you can't forget about it, either store them on your dressing table or right beside all your favourite make-up.

Okay, so, I thought it might be fun to include everything that I'm currently trying to use up and give you a mini review of each product and my reasons for wanting to get rid of it.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Mono Blush
I've had this little blush in my collection for the longest time and I always forget that I even own it probably because it's so small and I don't tend to wear a lot of blush. I've decided I really need to use this up purely because the length of time I've had it, I do think this is a really pretty natural blush that can be built up and doesn't look patchy or uneven. The only thing I don't like about this is the packaging, it looks and feels so cheap and plastic, it reminds me of kids make-up.


Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer
I have this concealer in two shades and I've decided I want to use them up because although they aren't bad they aren't my favourite. I don't think these concealers have enough coverage for my dark eyes plus they also contain tiny particles of glitter to reflect light and give you that you that wide-awake look which I'm not a fan of. On the plus side, these concealers don't look thick, cakey or dry under the eyes so they might be good for anyone who likes a lighter coverage and dewy skin.


Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick
I have these lipsticks in the shades Hot Pepper and Nude-ist which are beautiful colours but I never reach for them because I have so many other lipsticks that I love more. The texture of this liquid lipstick is very velvety, it almost feels like a thin mousse, it doesn't dry down and set in place so it's not the longest wearing and I find the texture makes it difficult to get a precise application. I prefer to apply the shade Nude-ist then blend away with my fingertips to leave behind a soft blur of colour.


Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo
I have written a full review of this product which I will link here but basically, I think the highlighter is pretty rubbish (it's chunky, glittery and blends away to nothing) and the contour shade isn't my absolute favourite so overall I don't think this is worth the high price tag. I've decided to completely ignore the highlight shade and only use up the contour to give my skin some extra definition.


NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray
This is another product that I've had for the longest time and just never end up reaching for, I really don't have any opinion on it. I don't feel like this keeps my skin looking matte but it works fine to set the face. This is one of those make-up items that just never left any lasting impression, good or bad.



Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner
I received this mini in a beauty advent calendar last year so I've decided it's time to get it used up. This little eyeliner works fine, I just prefer a liquid liner with a brush tip as opposed to the felt tip style this liner has. It goes on pretty smoothly and dries down matte which I like but I do struggle a bit when I want to create a precise, fine wing.



Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made Palette
I was given this eyeshadow palette a few years ago for Christmas and it was the first Anastasia product I got to try, I must say I was pretty impressed. This is a quality eyeshadow palette with pigmented shades that blend well, some of the shades I use more often than others but I want to try and use it up because I have quite a few newer palettes that I now use so this was getting left behind and sitting in a drawer.

These are my tips for giving your make-up collection a declutter and all the products I'm currently trying to work my way through if you like I can keep you updated on how it's going, I'm thinking of setting a time limit before I need to admit defeat and throw them out.


Do you have any tips or tricks to help with the decluttering process?