In the first years after getting into makeup, yeah, I had some, especially anything I really loved or was loved by others (but I didn’t LOVE) so I worried I might “learn to love it” later. These days, no, not at all!
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Yes, absolutely. If it’s from a collection I loved. I esp have a hard time letting go of high end or luxury makeup bc I have spent money on them. It took me a while to part with ABH Soft Glam even though it never worked for me bc it was expensive and it’s ABH lol
Ha – only ALL THE TIME! Unless something is spoiled (I actually had an Estee Lauder e/s palette that was questionable from the start – odd smell, odd stuff happening behind the mirror finish – and the smell just got worse and worse) I tend to hang on to it. I figure that a few unused eyeshadows and blushes, a couple of palettes (okay, maybe more than a couple, though every one of them does contain some shadows I still use) don’t really take up all that much room so what’s the harm in keeping them?
All the time. I have a lot of trouble letting something go if I had high hopes for that item, but realized it wouldn’t work out. Usually I will check a review of the product, especially for someone with my skin tone and concerns. If that product definitely won’t work out for me, it will be hard to accept that as pretty as it seems in the pan, it’s just not going to work for me.
Only discontinued lipstick colors. I hung onto an older Guerlain lipstick that smelled absolutely terrible and was over 10 years old because I couldn’t find a comparable dupe for years. I didn’t wear it, but wanted to match it. The reason was that color scheme was considered out of fashion and no one made anything close. Toffee Shine. I remember it fondly.
Ditto on the discontinued lipsticks that I’ve almost used up or have. I’m not a real lipstick person, but when I have a few that I do use, I’m a tad sad not to be able to replace it and so, like you I’ll not want to let it go. Only when I’ve scraped out EVERY LAST BIT will I throw out the tube. Funny, like you it’s a Guerlain, Kiss Kiss Strauss Beige Mousseline 340 that will be there soon. 🙁
There are some eye palettes I keep around for nostalgia or because I like some of it and feel like I can probably use it eventually (you know, when the apocalypse happens and we can’t buy any more makeup – hah). I don’t feel GUILTY about it at all though. I think if one feels guilty about having products they might not use much then that is an issue they may want to look into. If there is space and one doesn’t mind/get overwhelmed with excess products then that is, overall to me, a positive mindset and if you enjoy looking at it or the memories that are associated with it keep it!
I am very ruthless with everything but eye shadow these days. I used to hoard lip colors, but that did make me overwhelmed and unhappy so anymore if I have a lip color I won’t use or really dislike the formula I pass it along to someone who can use it. Life is too short to wear bad lip products, foundations that annoy you by the end of the day, highlighters that get streaky, flaky mascaras, eyeliners that won’t stay in place, etc 🙂
Same. I have only had a hard time letting go of my first Urban Decay palettes. I think eyeshadows are pretty safe…powder can be sanitized more easily. At least that’s what I tell myself, lol
Not if it doesn’t spark joy.
Not just m/u. As I try to downsize everything, I realize that I have been way too acquisitive. I have many, many clothes that fit the same niche in a wardrobe. TMS in everything. I have become far better with m/u. All low end lipsticks, gone. Going to glambot a bunch of palettes, etc. I may also eBay some items that I see have value, like the Besame Snow White bag and book. In my family, you didn’t sell, you gave away, so selling is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Sadly, there is no one to give my ‘louder but still good’ products. The lighter ones can go to a young person I have given m/u gifts, for practice and play. My aim is to be able to fit everything in an (albeit, still too large) tool chest. I will still keep some iconic products/items for nostalgia’s sake. I should have been d/c ing all this stuff all along. And I realize I have been massively overindulgent. Embarrassed, really.
Yes! Always. When I finish something up and am throwing it out for that reason, it is truly a satisfying feeling. I am fine with feeling this guilt and think it’s natural. These days I’m not able to regift old cosmetics, so I am much more selective about what I buy.
I have become very good at decluttering stuff. I just did a massive declutter and most of the products left behind are products are purchased within in the past two years. I do have a few things left like an hourglass palette I bought years ago that I am giving a few more months in my collection. I couldn’t part with it because the highlight is too pretty, but generally I don’t find it too hard to part with anything anymore. Most things aren’t holy grails. Still if they ever discontinued mac pro-long wear concealer. I would freak.
If it is a spendy item yes I tend to hold on to it, otherwise no it’s out.
I still have issues with letting go products that don’t work for me, I find it very wasteful. Especially if it’s something I can’t donate, recycle or gift to someone else who can enjoy it.
I no longer struggle with the concept of letting go because I don’t like being confronted by my ill considered purchases every time I look in my makeup drawers. I do accept that the money spent is gone and won’t comeback. If it is the type of product that Project Beauty Share takes, then I have no problem destashing it. If the product would end up in a landfill, it is much harder to let go and sometimes I will just hate pan it. I am thinking of biting the bullet and just paying TerraCycle to take away the stuff I can’t give away and will never use.
I did not know about TerraCycle until I read your comment and looked them up. This is great news! I don’t have a problem letting things go but I don’t want to just toss stuff that I can’t sell or give away. TerraCycle sounds like a great option. Thanks!
I am pretty ruthless. Even if it’s a discontinued/limited edition item, if I’m not determined to use it up then it goes to someone who will. I derive a kind of satisfaction from a curated collection, I guess. I like knowing that everything in it is representative of me, if that makes sense.
Oh yeah! Too much so, in fact. I’m borderline makeup hoarder. I simply just cannot easily let go of anything that is still usable and hasn’t turned. And it’s become such that I’m now scared to add much more due to serious lack of space to store anything. My nail polish collection has to be the worst offender as I haven’t even worn nail polish in 6 months, and there’s well over a hundred bottles!
Nope! I declutter twice a year and have never had any regrets about tossing something out after it’s passed its prime or if I don’t really enjoy using it. Mascara gets tossed every three months but I usually keep everything else a year or two depending on the type of product and how much use it has gotten. Formulations, textures, finishes, colors are constantly evolving and it’s fun for me to keep my stash current. Occasionally, I’ll keep something as a color reference until I find something I like even better, but that’s pretty rare.
Story of my life hahaha. I’ve never really done a true destash!
Hi Christine, this topic is related to something I’m really struggling with right now. How do I reconcile with the idea of keeping or using talc products after hearing about the Johnson & Johnson lawsuit? When I heard about it, I was panic-induced to de-stash all my talc products but that’s a huge portion of my collection that I don’t want to part with or stop using (including Laura Mercier loose powder and A LOT of my blushes and eyeshadows). I then remembered that you also wear a lot of talc products and wondered how you deal with it. If it’s too personal for you to share, perhaps you could share some references that I could read up on?
I find it hard to let go of anything makeup related but there are some circumstances where I force myself. If I have literally run out of storage for more of those products which for me is lipsticks. I have to do a declutter at least once a year although this year, I haven’t had to since I haven’t purchased much makeup. I also am good with letting things go to other people who will love the product and I prefer that to throwing it away, which I never do. There are products that are practically unused and I discovered that it wouldn’t work for me for some reason so I give them away. It gets easier if you do it all at once. It is kind of like, I let that one go and this one so why not this one too.
I had a Tom Ford lipstick go bad and I literally had to break the lipstick part off so that I wouldn’t go dig through the trash later to put it back in my collection again! Letting go of expensive, luxury makeup is very hard!
Not really – it’s only lipsticks and eyesahdows that I have an abundant of. Any lipstick that has broken or on its last legs gets tossed.
For eyeshadows – if the formula turns out to be ordinary – it goes too. The trouble is that now I read this blog, and only purchase what gets an excellent review, I have lots and lots of palettes that are of perfect quality….and I am quite religious about using all of them.
Oh yeah. I’m a pack rat who gets emotionally attached to *stuff* as it is (probably the only time my bedroom, from getting one at 6 to moving out of my parents’ house at 21, wasn’t a mess was when my grandma was living with us and we shared it!). And when I’ve PAID for something?! I feel like I’m literally throwing away my money. ? I’m sentimental!!
Anything palette, in particular eye shadow palette! I only let go of an old (perhaps the second one though) Too Faced Natural Eyes palette a year or so ago and I think it came out back in 2014 “ish.”
Well, first of all I understand and totally agree with the fallacy of sunk cost. Secondly, it doesn’t help. Usually destashing means coming to terms with the fact that I didn’t use something as much as I thought I would, or that my judgment just wasn’t there etc. Not destashing means not having to deal with all that discomfort and I end up rationalizing myself into keep things thinking I’m really going to use them this time. Newsflash: I don’t. It’s a cycle, and I hate it. It’s getting a little easier to let go of things now that I’ve found a few charities that will accept certain gently used cosmetics, so while I still have to come to terms with my self criticism at least I know my donations might brighten someone else’s day.