I do a more extensive inventory process every year or so, if I can manage to do so! But luckily, now, most of what I have is archived right here on the blog.
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Photographic memory! Not kidding. This has worked for me for the longest time. That, plus my having OCD stemming from mild Asperger’s Syndrome. Now that my stash has grown rather exponentially over the past few years, I may need to do a back-up to my memory. As in setting up my computer, still packed since my last move, and doing an Excel spreadsheet of everything. Doing so may also have the added benefit of encouraging me to put more items in regular rotation.
The photographic memory part is awesome, right? =) I told my son that my photographic memory allowed me to ace my college classes and he said, “Isn’t that cheating?” LOL
Hi Christine, my stash is not too extensive, so no tracking needed just yet. I made a list of Bobbi Brown products that I’ve purchased through the years mostly due to a changeover in MUAs at my local counter. I can see keeping a list (spreadsheet) of lipsticks and glosses in the near future or for historical knowledge if I move away from one brand to another for core items like foundation, corrector, concealor.
I organize visually by color and product type.
*Eye shadows are all organized by color and stored in drawers. Everything is stored flat, so I can see the color right away and grab it. For example, 1 drawer has blue shadows, 1 has brown, 1 has green, etc. If I see a blue shadow that I like online, I pull out my drawer full of blue shadows and check to see if I have any dupes before buying.
*Eyeliners are grouped by color into clear plastic cups.
*Glosses, lipsticks, and lip pencils are organized by product type into clear cups and acrylic holders so I can see them easily.
I’m a collection tracking junkie, I do it for all of my stuff on google spreadsheets (also handy for insurance!). I also have allergies so I also track ingredients. If I have any reactions the I can cross reference between products. I have also been using pinterest as a photo inventory for makeup (with swatches) and nail polish so I can just do a lookup when I’m in-store to see if I have that shade or a similar palette.
I LOVE the pinterest idea!
I use the app called snupps. It has shelves to organize your things but I just use it for makeup, as do a lot of poeple! It’s really efficient and easy to use. It even allows me to write public and private details on each product.
I just started using Snupps. It is a good way to track my makeup to include the purchase date, cost (for more recent purchases) and a photograph.
I use Pinterest. More specifically, I created a few “secret” boards (eye makeup, face makeup, etc) and I simply Pin my purchases and delete those I gave away or used up, etc.
That’s a good idea!
When I first got back into makeup, I made a list and alphabetized everything, but that didn’t really help because I still had drawers and drawers full of makeup. Eventually I de-potted all of my eye shadows and most of my blushes and put them into pallets arranged by color. I have my lipsticks alphabetized in acrylic organizers.
Having everything laid out visually works a lot better for me and it’s very easy to keep track that way. Plus I rotate through my stash regularly and I give things away if I’ve stopped using them or haven’t used them within a few seasons (okay let’s be honest, more like a year). The purging was really hard at first, but it makes room for new and (most of the time) better products so it’s a win-win.
My whole stash fits in two palm sized makeup bags, plus a smaller makeup bags for lipsticks.. so that is pretty easy to keep track of 🙂
At first, I didn’t have a system to track my items. My makeup inventory had been committed to memory. It’s rare that I’d buy a duplicate product, but every once in a blue moon, I’ll have a slip-up. As my stash continued growing exponentially, I knew I had to do something about keeping my items properly organized.
Earlier this year, I constructed an extremely intricate Excel spreadsheet to archive and organize my stash. It had worked well for a while, despite having about 50% of my makeup stash logged (approximately 300+ items), but I started to feel as though it wasn’t enough; spreadsheets are limiting at times. Just the other day, I started using the app Snupps, which is a cataloging and socializing program for collectors. Unlike the spreadsheet, I’m able to add an image of my makeup item to my log, and I’m also able to share my collection with other users. I’m not sure if I’ll continue to use Snupps, because certain features still need a bit of refinement (or maybe I’m not used to it). I’m thinking about creating my own makeup stash blog and list all my items there. It will probably be a huge and arduous undertaking (like when I had built my complex spreadsheet), but at least I’ll have a lot more control over my own content. We’ll see.
My stash is modest, but I do keep track of the eyeshadows that I have. I list them all by brand, name, finish, description of the color, undertone, color family, etc. This way, I can see what I lack in my collection or check if I already own a color without having to open my palettes :). Lately I also started to list the shadows/pigments I’d like to acquire and which received a good review :). I’m thinking about doing the same with my blushes and lipstick since I accumulated quite a few lately !
I don’t have a list of the products I have but I store them in separate makeup boxes (I have one for the face – foundations,primers,concealers etc. – one for eye makeup products, one for lip products and one for additional stuff like glitters, glues, facepaints). I also have tiny stickers, and every time I open a new product I put a sticker on it with the date. Then in every 3 month I go through the stash and eliminate the ones that expired. This is a really important thing since I’m working as a makeup artist, so I can’t afford any pigment failures, skin allergies etc. because of using old products.
I clean up my stash very regularly and I try to keep it (fairly) small. That helps me to keep an overview. I don’t need 50 pink lipsticks anyway.
I keep everything in my head 😀 I don’t have a very big collection though.
I go through phases where I am ridiculously organized, and others where my stash seems to be blowing up at the seams. Right now, I’m neck deep into the blowing up at the seams stage. It’s only a matter of time before I go completely apesh*tmad and whip it into shape again. I just finished re-doing my kitchen cupboards and counters last week.
I normally keep two kits – warm/cool. I keep colors in seasonal rotation handy in several bins in my bathroom. I was thinking about buying one of the storage systems you reviewed. I think it would work better if I did my make-up at home. I am a car gal 🙂
I love spreadsheets. I recently made a spreadsheet to track my empties for the year so I can reasonably see how much of each category of makeup I go through in a year like 4 foundations, 4 powders, 5 concealers, etc. This is to help calm down my spending habits lol. When I finished constructing that, I constructed a spreadsheet of my inventory that includes shades. I hope this makes me realize I need to calm down with shopping lol!
I go through my stash about one a month to week through products I have touched. Most of those items go onto my blog sale and swapidu but it helps me to know what I need or running low on as well. but my drawers are sorted by product type(s) as well.
Doing that refreshes my memory as to what I have.
But I agree my blog is a good archive on products I have used. 😉 I have 3 boxes of stuff I haven’t reviewed yet.
Well, for my MUFE shadows I started a list of what I have so I don’t get too many overlaps. For everything else, I just kind of know what I have and what I’m missing ( for instance, I don’t have a great satin midtone grey , nor a satin charcoal grey).
Part of it for me, is keeping my purchases down in the first place. I don’t need to have 6 foundations , for instance.
I tend to take inventory at least three or four times a week by visually and physically going through everything I have until I’m satisfied. It relaxes me to see everything being accounted for and re-organized. I know exactly how many of every product I should have, and if there is anything missing I know where to look to find it. I don’t let a thing go uncounted including my brushes.
I have a spreadsheet on Google Drive that I can access from all of my devices.
Hi Christine! I implemented a spreadsheet system back when I had more than I currently own. It’s a google sheet and it syncs to my phone and laptop which I love, because I can check what I have at a moment’s notice. (It’s especially wonderful for stymying any impulse/unnecessary buying everywhere •cough• Sephora •cough•. It’s got expiry/open dates and notes for whether I should buy again or if I had a reaction. Super anal retentive, but I love it!
Well, I keep track of a lot of it through Temptalia. I keep meaning to start a spreadsheet but I’ve never got around to it. It’s a daunting task! I’m pretty good at remembering what I have but having an inventory on my PC would help a lot. Maybe I’ll do it, maybe I never will! I can’t imagine how long it would take. 😀
I have a photographic memory for stuff like that. I keep everything organized by product type and, if depotted, color. If not, by brand. Most of my stuff is visible, as well: I have shelves with dividers for my eyeshadow palettes, and Zpalettes with eyeshadow singles, blushes, highligters, etc. All my ColourPop is in a little box, all my gel liners are in a box, etc. My eye- and lipliners are in cups on my vanity. If I’m not sure whether I own something or not, it’s easy to take a quick look.
I pretty much try to remember and sometime I don’t and have to run and check my stash. So, that’s why I order a lot online.:) I wish I was organized enough and had the time to do a spread sheet or something.
My stash isn’t big enough! I check my lipsticks before I buy though. If I have 3 or 4 color with different finishes but very close in color, I won’t buy another until I use something else.
I’m one of those hyper-organization types, so I have a place for everything and everything in it’s place. I try not to have too much of any one thing, and am pretty choosy about what I buy. I have the Alex-5 drawers and have things organized by type in there, which works well because if I’m thinking about buying another, say, highlighter, I can go check my blush/bronzer/highlighter/contour drawer and see if I already have something like it or have too many to justify getting another. I also have lipstick risers and nail polish risers (and am going to get one for lipglosses, as they are taller) so I only have a certain amount of space for them as once there aren’t any spaces left, I either have to get rid of one if I want to get another, or I have to not buy another lipstick. I also keep my face products like powders, blushes, etc stored flat and not sideways so they take up more room and limit the amount of each type I can have, as I do not need 20 blushes if I’m just using makeup to wear and not as my job.
Everything is in a dresser and sorted by type of product. I use old Glossybox boxes (without the lid on) as drawer dividers.
Top drawer: make-up removers, cleansers, exfoliates, and I keep a fully stocked bag for travel in that drawer
Second Drawer: Masks, serums, moisturizers, hand lotion
Third drawer: primers, foundation, setting power / spray, blush
Fourth drawer: loose eyeshadows (stored in a bead storage container from the craft store), mascara, liquid / gel eyeliner, pencil eyeliner
Fifth drawer: eyeshadow, eyeshadow, eyeshadow
Sixth drawer: nail polish
I rotate through my makeup stash weekly and store the current week’s items in a large hard sided train case that I leave on top of the dresser .
I have found someone who adores cosmetics but can’t afford very much at all. I have given her a lot of the products I had never opened – and this feels so good. She gets so excited and it makes it all so worthwhile. So no, I don’t need to keep up with a lot of products any more. It’s more fun to give some of it away!
Mostly, I remember what I’ve got – but I do have everything in a spreadsheet.
keep track? hahahahaha
I’ve actually been known to *ahem* buy backups of certain things.
I try to keep things organized in different colored cosmetics bags, like pink for my pink stuff, taupe for the taupe stuff, etc. It works in general, except for sometimes.
hahahaha
I’m so glad I’m not the only one! 🙂
I use a checklist app called Paperless. I have checklists by item types (i.e. Lippies, Eye Products, Face Products), then within that checklist by brand and item (i.e. MUG Eyeshadows, Kat Von D Liquid Lipsticks), then within that I list the shades I have and want and put an emoji by the ones I have. I like it because you can check off items that you have all the shades you want, or can leave it open if you are missing a shade. It’s also searchable which is really helpful and syncs between devices.
Simple. I compelled myself to declutter every few weeks until I had a stash where I could remember every single item I owned by name. So far it’s been working well, though I am debating letting go of my Naked 2 palette. I’ve had it for YEARS since it first came out and I just don’t know how much I am really going to use it. I may send it to a friend.
I have a make up bag for each of my eye shadow colours: one for green, one for blue and one for mixed. I only have one neutral palette – Naked 1. I have a bag for all of my lipsticks, but I do need to group them. Plus a bag for my most used items: eye brow pencil, mascaras, blush and setting powder. I have a plastic cup for my eye brushes. Reading some of the comments above, I probably should (really should) set up a pin board on pinterest or a spreadsheet.
I keep an Excel spreadsheet of the things I tend to hoard: MAC lipsticks and shadows, OPI and China Glaze nail colors.
Aside from the absurd amount of lipglosses I’ve collected over the past year and a half, I know everything I have and where it is located. I may sometimes not think about using something because I can’t see it, but I wouldn’t accidentally purchase another one. I really need to invest in another storage system, especially considering that I have no idea where I’m going to put the things I’ll be receiving for “insert festive holiday of your choice”. 😉
I keep my makeup in clear acrylic draws. i have cream eyeshadows seperate from powder ones and in seperate drawers according to colour, i do the same to blushers. Lipsticks are in lipstick holders and my brushes are in pots, foundations and primers are in draws or in holders , i have taken over one of my bathrooms for my stash. my palattes i keep in bathroom tidys and i love organising and reorganising them. sad i know.
I don’t track it but it’s a modest stash so I can remember what I have and don’t have.
What I want to do soon is get more familiar with my palettes and how the colours actually look on the skin, to better know which I should be using when I put on eye makeup. With a couple neutral Naked-inspired palettes a lot of the shades look very similar in the pan and no doubt a bunch will look similar on the skin so I want to figure out which ones are the best so I can focus on those instead of being completely lost as to which shade to try!
I don’t have a tremendously large stash (enough to fill about 3 alex drawers to the brim), so it’s fairly easy to remember what I have or what I need/want. There are a few occasions when I go through my stash and find something I havent used in a hot minute, but I never forget about it. I always try to go through my stash often to find dupes, potential dupes for products I’m looking to buy, and switch up the routine a bit by incorporating product that has been tucked away for a while!
I have a list that synchs to all devices for Make Up For Ever eyeshadows that I have (I wish they had colour names in addition to their number codes–I would remember them more readily) and have them listed by finish, which MUFE certainly makes easy. I also keep a list of blushes I own, and of other individual eyeshadows. I don’t keep a list of pre-made palettes I own because I can keep track of them without requiring a list.
Where I like my organizational system best is that I keep a list of things I have a wish to own and try. I also have a list of foundations I want to check out. There’s something about putting it on the list that satisfies something, and stems the need to just buy it right away. Also, I I now keep a list of foundations I’ve tried and didn’t like with a quick note on the reason I didn’t like it. E.g. Marc Jacobs concentrate serum: clung to dry patches and settled into pores. I find this useful because I get reseduced when I hear someone rave, and this helps keep me focussed!
I wish I was as good at spreadsheets as so many of you are! I’ve got a pretty good memory for what I own, but I’m not much of an organizer. I do have my makeup organized by type (eye products, lip products, face products) but it still ends up looking like a mess. I’m happy to say that I haven’t bought dupes without intending to, though.
I have a decorative photo book (5 3/4″ x 7″) from Michael’s that I carry around in my messenger bag on days when I know I’ll be in a store with makeup. I bought near-skin-color paper, and I’ve swatched my eyeliners, cream eyeshadows, lip products, and shadow bases (as these are the items — especially lips and eyeliners — that I’m most likely to buy on impulse at a store). I don’t have my extensive eyshadow collection swatched anywhere, but I do all that shopping online, so I have my stash next to me to reference when I’m buying. I also have every cosmetic I own in a pinterest page, with swatches from all over the web that I feel best represent my experience with them. I also (almost done, I swear) have a similar Michael’s photo book with all my nail polish swatched. Whew.
I use the app My Beauty Cache so I can see photos of all of my products. I’m still looking for something that will let me cross reference, keep photos, and add tags to photos. I’m hoping my husband can create the perfect app for me some day!
I do inventory on all the things I use. I make a list of everything in my makeup arsenal and stick to everything on the list. If something is discontinued, I make a note beside of a specific product that it could be located online only. As for everything else, I note the stores where I can find my favorite products as well as the price of each product. I prefer doing my inventory in the spring/summer months so when fall/winter comes, I’m all set.
I haven’t quite mastered that yet LOL I always seem to lose something