Burberry Trench eyeshadow — still have a couple backups left! I also have some backups of Urban Decay Rebel (the brand sent me several after hearing I loved it) and haven’t used them all up yet.
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ABH Modern Renaissance
MAC lipsticks in Real Redhead, Amor Prohibido, Freckletone
MAC blush in Tenderling and Full of Joy
Wet n Wild Coloricon Eyeshadows in Creme Brulee. Cleared out my local dollar tree and dollar general of the old formula
Almost all of them! Makeup takes so long to use. Pressed powder and mascara are the only ones I seem to get to!
NARS tinted moisturizer. I always had this in stash, but the last backup I purchased wasn’t even touched so I binned it along with the open one which was smelling dicey. If I’m looking for quick base, I reach for the luminous version of iT CC cream.
Backup of TFBTW concealer… and then I tried GA stretchable which is my current HG and I have a backup of it as well ?.. time will tell. I haven’t had a single itch to try any new concealers.
I’ve had a brand new Gosh Copenhagen brow powder set for ages – it used to be my fave back in the day and I bought a backup when I still lived in the countryside where I had no chance to buy makeup whenever I wanted or needed to. I never really got around using it since I then found Anastasia diprow pomade! I also have backups on Urban Decay Vice lipstick and lipliner in shade 1993. I loved that shade so much back then I got extras when they were on sale, but I still haven’t touched those new ones. The original lipstick is starting to get so old and nasty that I’ll probably start using a new one soon, but I don’t think I’ll ever finish all the liners.
I am trying really hard not to buy more than one backup of anything anymore. A few years ago, Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation appeared to be discontinued because all of the stores in my area stopped stocking it, and the few stores that still had a couple of jars left put them on clearance sale, so I bought whatever I could find and wound up with about six jars that never got opened after I discovered the miracle of EL Double Wear.
I currently have two or three backups of ABH Brow Wiz and one Dior Brow Styler that I bought during a sale awhile back, but now I prefer Colourpop Precision Brow Gel. I’m going to make myself use the ABH and Dior pencils every now and then just so they don’t go to waste.
I also have about four backups of NYX Proof It Waterproof Eyeshadow Primer that I bought when they were on sale, but I do think they will be used eventually because it’s one of my HG products. I just can’t allow myself buy anymore of them!
There are some I haven’t used “yet” (the Estee Edit Radiance Activator, for example) but they are products I will use – just haven’t needed to open them yet.
UD x Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette, UD Electric Palette, UD Naked Basics Palette, Sephora Collection Rouge Cream Lipstick in Cougar, and Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadow in Autumn Flower. I think I still have one bottle of Lady Gaga Fame left. I recently bought backups of Maybelline Loaded Bold Lipstick in Gone Greige; NYX Wicked Lippie in Trickery; and Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black, Bourbon, and French Grey.
I want to come to your house and use your back up makeup girl!!
LOL! Thanks. I only buy backups of the ones I love the most.
I have Dior pink holo glow highlighter and urban decay game of thrones highlighter palette, but I haven’t been through my first ones. I’m still happy I have them though. I get a new highlighter and they keep coming out with them so I use them a few times to see how they work. I’ll be running out of both those highlighters soon so I’ll absolutely use my back ups
I love this question haha!
I have 6 drawers with backup skin care and makeup. My obsession with backups started when my favorite lipstick of all time – Chanel Ruby Slipper – was discontinued without warning. So now I hoard makeup, only some of which is a legitimate backup I’ll use. I probably need help accepting the reality I can’t go through it all. Maybe this will help!
The makeup, this is not everything, just what comes to mind:
– 2 LE Amrezi highlighters – considering the 10 highlighters currently in rotation, and that I buy every A/A+ highlighter (which is like half of the ones released in any given year) .. I should declutter
– every Pat McGrath palette – I have barely made a dent in any of the ones in rotation.. but 4 have been discontinued (Mothership IV, and the 3 Opulence 6-pans)
– almost every ND palette – the only one I’ve hit pan on (9 shades, I use this for face also) is Star and I have 2 on backup – none have been discontinued yet
– ABH brow wiz – I bought 5 medium brown and 5 soft brown when it was 50% off @sephora and will make my way through them in the next 2-3 years
– 6 mascaras brands I haven’t tried plus 3 Pat McGrath – I keep buying them on sale..
– multiples of all my favorite PMG lipsticks – about 20 in total – they were on sale last year and I got nervous they were being discontinued like Paradise Garage, a few are LE that have been discontinued (several starglaze blitztrance)
– 4 YSL Or Cuivre(340) a spectacular Bronze and 2 Le nu (70) Rouge Pur Couture – i thought they were being discontinued because they were on sale @YSL online
– 2 Dior Hologlam
– Benefit dandelion – 3 or 4 – I’ve gone through 6 of these
– 1 Tom Ford glow stick – almost done with 1 and I think they’ve been discontinued
– 3 ABH LE/discontinued Mario palettes – formula is amazing and I’ve made dips from somewhat light use
– 1 Hourglass Mood Light
– 2 Chantecaille LE highlighter de Gournay – I sometimes buy extra LE stuff and then end up giving away to friends – this will be a giveaway
– 5/6 MILK liners in CEO and Boss – I go through a few of these a year, and buy them on sale
– 1 backup of every Pat McGrath eyeliner and multiples of the lip liners in the lighter nude shades, 3 Bronze astral lip balm, and various glosses
That’s probably enough for now. Writing this out helped. I need to start decluttering and ask, am I going to use this in the next 5 years. Thankfully, most should survive because it’s not preservative free, nor “clean” makeup – so it’ll last!
WOW! Are you a MUA?
Same with me regarding Burberry Trench and UD Rebel. Also have Burberry shade Midnight Brown, extra EL Modern Mercury, eyebrow powder and pencils no longer made and some other things. I still plan to use them when I run out of the current ones I’m using and have no regrets buying backups since the stuff is no longer used. In the case of eyebrow powder and pencil shades, it’s extremely hard to find the right darker color for my cool-toned gray eyebrows, so I’m glad I bought the extras. I think I’ll be dead or won’t care by the time I use them up since I don’t wear makeup every day.
I have a couple of ABH Brow Definers that are collecting dust. I bought them while they were on offer, not knowing that a few months later I’d just be using tinted gels… Whoops!
I’ve got quite a few lipstick, eyeliner pencils, and lipgloss backups sitting in my refrigerator just waiting to be used should I ever use up the OG’s! UD Catfight, Streak (in the Revolution formula), MAC Ultimate Lipstick in Marque, Royally Riotous and Taraji P Henson VG lipsticks. Plus, MANY backups of DC’d Sephora Contour Pencil Eye Liner Pencils in Go For A Ride, Fairytale, Purple Stilettos and Diving In Malaysia. Also, I hoarded several WnW Reserve Your Cabana powders as soon as I got wind that WnW was DC’ing them. Oh, and a few skincare items, too!
I have some backups for lip products that I never used, the reason being I haven’t finished the first ones. I have backups for Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil and also for their Lush Lip Tint. Why they discontinued these excellent lip products is beyond my understanding. Given the nature of the ingredients in these two (organic oils and components), I don’t have multiple backups as I fear they may go bad sooner than their counterparts loaded with parabens etc.
Bite Beauty Lush Lip Tint : I have backups for Juice. Gorgeous shade, super hydrating and with some great ingredients.
Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencils: backups for Tulip, Amarone and Heritage. I also have one in Zinfandel (a coral that pulls orange). Tulip is my go-to during summer, the perfect pinkish-coral. Amarone and Heritage are my fall colors. These lip pencils are so great, and you don’t need any lip balm underneath. And because there is no dimethicone, once they are applied, the oils sink into the lips and the color remains on the lips a long time.
I love the Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencils too. And now they’re discontinuing their Amuse Bouche liquid lipstick formula too! Puree is what I wear when I want a non-matte MAC Chili.
I just buy backups of staples, so I use them all eventually.
I’m on my last Kat Von D Basket Case Eyeliner. I bought 3 after using the first one and loving the formula on my waterline. I really hope they make this formula permanent. I’d get it again even though Von D’s an anti-vaxxer (yikes). When I run out, I’ll go back to using the Sephora 12hr Colorful Contour Eyeliner in Black Lace.
Good question! I have a Roses de Chloe, LM Caviar Stick in Amethyst, Givenchy Magnolia Organza, Chanel mascara (Nordstrom 3/2 sale), Shiseido cleanser and toner (HGs for me), Fresh Rose toner, Fresh Rose mask, Chantecaille LE 2012? highlighter (what was I thinking?), Decleor skincare (little finds here and there because the company no longer sells in USA), several hair products accumulated from salon sales, Shiseido cotton, and I know there’s more that I can’t remember right now. I now have a shelf dedicated to backups — so I know I’ve been accumulating them. Backups are one of my favorite things if I can buy them on sale and know I’ll use them (and for the most part that really has rung true). It actually makes me happy to open up a backup. Like — how smart was I? Lol.
That’s a big part of it! Look at me, I saved! ?
Mac Honeyflower and Freckletone lipsticks.
I actually have an untouched backup of the Dior Garden Party Palette, which has green, yellow and turquoise– rare back then. I should probably sell it. Also the Viseart Bridal Satin but still using the original purchase, damaged top and all. I have backups of the Suratt liquid eye liners in various colors, and the recent Suqqu liquid eyeliner in Khaki. Back up of the Tom Ford Brow liner in Taupe. Backups of TF mascara from Nordy sale. Backups of all my favorite eye primers and concealers, UD Eden, Edward Bess, and Armani stretchable. I just found the TF Traceless Foundation stick in my shade at a CCO @ 60% off– and got 2. And during the PMG lip sale, I just ordered a backup of PMG BlitzTrance in Electra which I reached for constantly so now I can use it all I want. (This is an embarrassing topic but it helps to see I am not the only hoarder.)
I already commented but just wanted to add that I’d be curious to know what other things people buy backups for. For example, my household has backups of some clothes. This started several years ago after both my husband’s and my favorite brands/styles of underwear were discontinued and couldn’t be replaced. Also after observing that the quality had gone down and/or availability of certain things was limited such as all cotton flannel pajamas (which, if available at all, tend to be higher priced than most pajamas), good knee socks for women that aren’t all synthetic, etc. So we’ve managed to acquire a small collection of clothing backups. It doesn’t help that several of our basic items are also sold only at stores closing (such as Sears) or will probably close (such as JCP), but fortunately there aren’t many items sold there that we buy and love (which is probably why the stores are closing ?). Needless to say The Container Store loves us.
I have never bought makeup backups because I always want something new. But on a trip to Europe a few years ago I bought large amounts of La Roche Posay cleanser and micellar water because it is cheap to begin with and they had two giant bottles bundled together. I did use up the micellar water but the cleanser just sat there because my skin stopped liking it. I sent it to Project Beauty Share before it was set to expire.
I have backups that I have never used but not because I didn’t want to or intend to but rather because I haven’t finished the original yet. I stopped buying backups quite a long time ago primarily because I won’t ever use them given my current age. I suffer with FOMO for other things but not for makeup that I already have, anymore. That isn’t to say I didn’t when I was younger and even up to a few years ago when I realized that there was no way I was going to use up what I have. I think the most recent backup that has not been used is the original UD Revolution Catfight lippie. Keep it in the refrigerator so that it will still be good if I ever get around to it!!
My answer would be back ups that I have bought but *haven’t yet* used as I love each of these products enough that I feel like I’ll go through them, but with my purchasing patterns and my love of all things new and shiny who knows if that will actually happen.
OFRA in Pasadena: My first duplicate purchased, the first liquid lip shade I fell in love with.
UD x Kristen Leanne Beauty Beam Highlight Palette: I hit pan and panicked when I saw it was sold out on Sephora/ Ulta. I found a sale at Nordstrom Rack and bought 3.
Kat Von D Thunderstruck: My HG eyeshadow. I bought 3 on sale at Sephora. Months later I found it for $2.49 at TJ Maxx and bought like 5. I’ve given a few away but am stocked forever.
Benefit Porefessional: Have 2, purchased on sale. Still tempted to buy more when it’s at a good price.
Tarte Paaarty Blush: My first Tarte blush (love the formula) and I thought it was a can’t live without shade, but have found I like other colors I have better. I’ll get to this one someday.
theBalm: Balm Springs blush and Mary Lou-manizer highlighter: Bought a bunch of minis from ebay while making stockings in 2017 and kept a handle of each of these for myself.
Thrive Mascara: Received via ipsy and was impressed enough to buy a backup
My makeup back ups collections is not as troubling as my back-up dresses. I have quite a few duplicates of my favorite dresses after losing/ staining ones I loved and being afraid I would lose them. All purchased on sale, of course, lol.
I really need to start selling/ clearing out my closet on ebay. More $ for makeup! 🙂
Urban Decay Naked 1 eye shadow palette. I brought an extra back in the day because I loved it soo much and it kept selling out. Then it was readily available so I gave it to my Mom. Now I wish I’d kept it because I still love it and you can’t find it anywhere. I also brought several backups of MAC lip sticks from the Aqua collection and the ones in the brown packaging. Those lip sticks are still unused since I never finished the first ones.
“the brand sent me several after hearing I loved it”
And they sent me NONE every time I mentioned that I couldn’t get it at all ?
Ahem. I have a few backups on hand right now of items that I use regularly that went on sale or I otherwise had a reason to spend money on “ahead of time” (points multipliers). The one that is the most superfluous is probably a mascara backup, because even though I have mostly escaped online orders that come with samples and gifts with purchase that *always* seem to include mini mascaras, they keep showing up in gratis!! I only have two eyeballs! It would be incredibly wasteful to open them all and only use them once or twice, so unless I’ve heard REALLY good things about a certain one, I just give them away.
Off-topic, but I love your Victorian gentleman Homer avatar!
The only backups I bought but never used were mascara purchases. I bought 2 Tarte Lights, Camara, Action mascaras during the 21 days sale at Ulta. It isn’t that I forgot about them, or no longer liked them but I just kept trying new formulas and those got old. I also bought a backup Monsuer Big that I just opened this week. It went straight in the trash. Way too gloppy. I waited too long to use it.
The only other backups I’ve bought but not used are powder products that I expect to get to. ABH Sultry Palette. UD Naked Basics and the original HG Ambient Lighting Blush Palette.
Not really a fan of backups unless it is something I have been consistantly using, have a high degree of confidence that I will continue using and then a sale never hurts. 😉
Fun! My backups are staple base products… things I know I can use up. In my drawer now: Sunscreen (2 tubes expiring late 2020), Becca Backlight Primer (2 travel sizes), Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector (2 travel sizes), WnW Reserve Your Cabana as finishing powder (4), Algenist Splash Hydrating Setting Mist (2), ABH Brow Wiz in Ebony (3).
I’m proud to have only 3 “color” makeup backups — an extra WnW Comfort Zone palette in the original formula (DC’d), a travel-size Cargo blush in Bali, and a Bite High Pigment Pencil in Chablis (DC’d). I hope I get to these some day… but not too soon because I love them!
Probably a couple of foundations that I used in the past, but I no longer do that now.
I have a few lipsticks that I bought backups for – Milani’s Candied Toffee and Bronze Beauty, but I haven’t used them yet.
Apart from some skincare I don’t buy backups, and the skincare that I do backup are mostly my sunscreen and my cleansing balm as I go through quite a few of those in a year.
I do have a grey toned eye shadow trio from Dior that I loved so much, it was a LE so I actually bought one more, I don’t know how long ago it was, but it’s still there, unopened. Maybe I’ll eventually open it, of I’ll just keep it as it is as a little remainder of days gone by. Now that I think about it, it could be somewhere between 20 and 25 years old. Oh, dear!
I haven’t used any of these backups yet because I’m not done with the firsts but I do plan to use them!
Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk Foundation (x3, sitting in fridge)
MAC Oh My Passion Pearlmatte (x1)
Estee Lauder x Victoria Beckham Modern Mercury highlighter (x1)
MAC eyeshadows Soba, Swiss Chocolate, Folie, Kid (x1)
MAC Warm Soul (x2)
RCMA No Color Powder (x5)
MAC Patrick Starrr Powder (x2, 1st edition, not holiday ripoff)
NYX Sand Beige lipliner (x10, am on my 2nd from this last haul)
Tom Ford Something Wild lipstick (x4, they are sitting in the fridge)
Tom Ford Cocoa Mirage, Nude Dip, Body Heat, Virgin Orchid, Suspicion and Double Indemnity quads (x1)
Guerlain Meteorites Perles (x4, everytime there is a Sephora sale, I pick one up)
Lancome Bi-facil (x4, everytime there is a Sephora sale, I pick up the large size)
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Highlight 01 (x4 – everytime there is a Sephora sale, I pick one up)
MAC Extra Dimension eyeshadows Silver Sun, Sea Worship, Grand Galaxy, Sweet Heat, Stolen Moment (x2)
MAC Liptensity Smoked Almond, Doe lipsticks (x1)
MAC Craving, Lip Blossom lipsticks (x2 in fridge, just finished my firsts over the summer)
NYX Thalia lipsticks (x3)
Chanel Empreinte Du Desert quad (x1)
Chanel Codes Subtils quad (x1)
Sonia G eye brush set (x2)
Wayne Goss eye brush set (x3)
OPI Tropical Punch nail polish (x3) – my go-to for fingers and toes
Cirque Colors Rockaway (x2)
As far as bought and not touched because my needs have changed (and very soon will be donating):
MAC Blacktrack and Dipdown fluidline (x3) – any eyeliner I wear now is shimmered taupe-ish and smudged and blurred. Stark or heavy lines don’t suit any longer.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes Whisper of Gilt, Show Gold, Beaming Blush, Double Gleam, Soft & Gentle (x2) – this is painful! I LOVE them but I like everything subtle and barely there these days. They are just a bit too glinty for me anymore. The way I barley apply them, my firsts will last me decades.
Ah… At the end of last year (the start of my severe low-buy) I bought a second hand, but pristine back-up of Empreinte du Désert from Chanel. And then… Stress got me. I realised how little eyeshadow I use and that I would have to use my first EdD quad for a year or more to be able to finish it and leave alone all of my other beautiful shades. Since I love rotating my collection (I chose a different theme or quad or colour every month) that seemed so boring to me that I resold it for the same price. The other EdD fans out here will think I am crazy! September will be green and gold themed, so I can use my old quad again. 🙂 No more eyeshadow backups for this girl!
Ah, and a back-up of Revlons lipbutter in Pink Truffle, I finished one, but this one’s for sale as well now. No one wants it, so lesson learned.
I usually acquire backups when things are buy 1/2, get on free. This usually happens at Nordstrom’s. I currently got two of Bobbi Browns face balm/primer. That stuff saves my skin during the winter. I always keep a backup of two of my three fave mascaras…UD Perversion and Guerlain. The one palette I bought backup for was PMG Sublime Bronze Temptation. That one is my favorite and I snagged it at 50% off. I foresee myself hitting pan within the year with my current one.
I’m kicking myself for not backing up on the Lululemon deodorant last time in the mall. My husband through a relative gets a nice discount there. I will next time.
I bought a back up of Candy Yum Yum… but I think it is permanent now sigh. I need to wear it more so I use it up.
I bought a backup UD Electric palette from Nordstrom Rack a few months ago. So far I haven’t used any of the pigments yet (the pigments from the first one are still working well), but I started using the brush right away because I lost the brush from the last Electric palette.
Being a Green Day fan, I once bought a second KvD Basket Case eyeliner at Sephora for the express purpose of keeping it boxed in case it ends up becoming a collector’s item.