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Temptalia Asks You - How often do you purge your stash?

How often do you purge your stash? Do you sort through and throw things out regularly? Set aside things to give away/sell?

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I try to go through my stash every four to six months to figure out what products I’m using, which ones I can’t bear to give away to friends/family, and whether I’m close to finishing any. I also try to pull out old favorites that I’ve been missing, too, while sorting!
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35 Comments

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LoveeeeeMAC Avatar

im constantly trying to sort through my makeup
my vanity easily becomes a mess but
very rarely do i ever throw anything out
i could never part with my makeup :))))))

Cat Avatar

I would have to agree. I always organizing the reorganizing when things start to get to crazy/messy (like now) But to throw anything away like eyeshadows is rare…I know thats bad but other things like liquids i.e. foundations, concealers, primers and lotions, if I havent used it I toss it.

Annika Avatar

All the time! I don’t have a big stash because
a) I know what I like and what looks good on me (light neutrals, powder formulas, pinky peaches) and MAC! I cannot tell you how much I’ve saved since finding MAC and Lush, buying only one brand means you won’t be wanting to check out EVERYTHING that comes out in hope of it being better than something you already have – it never is.
b) I do a lot of research before buying anything
c) I don’t like to spend a lot on makeup alone (when there are clothes, bags and shoes to buy too!) lol
d) If I do buy something I’m not going to use, I give it away or sell it at a flea market

Kayc Avatar

Well, since I don’t have a stash as big as yours (Christine lol), I usually sort through it every month. I loooove lipsticks and lipglosses, but when I buy something that seems to look good in the store and for some reason when I get home I don’t really want it anymore, I usually give it away to my family (especially my mother — and her sister — gosh and even my grandmother lol). I use lipstick and lipglosses all the time so I go through them before the “expiry” date.
As for the others, I throw out eyeshadow and blushes when I have had them for about 2-3 years (which I believe is when powder cosmetics are recommended to be replaced). I usually only stick to one kind of foundation so that never accumulates in my stash. Mascaras, I replace every 3 months or when they have dried. I use eyeliner regularly so they’re used up before they go bad.
So overall I guess I purge my stash quite regularly and always look out for things I never/barely used to give away to my family. I also look out for items which are no longer sanitary to keep and discard them.

Tiadaria Avatar

I purge as I go. If I open a beloved shadow, and it’s not feeling up to par, I chunk it. Same for all my makeup. It’s a shame to toss it, but once it gets to a certain point, bacteria grows in it, and well, this is my face. I don’t want to spread bacteria on my face. ):

lisa Avatar

I try to do so every six months or so but usually i end up giving away stuff before that because when my sis or any relative comes over and they like a certain product i have i usually tend to give them it.

Eleanor Avatar

My collection is very small in comparison to yours Christine. Once I open my Ikea/Malm Vanity, I can see everything at a glance. Normally when a new MAC collection comes out, I have a look at what I have already so I do not buy something very similar. Only one of my lipsticks has gone off so far and I dug it out of the container and threw it away and back to MAC the empty container with some eyeshadow pots. Otherwise, I normally use up my products. As my collections is growing however, I will have to see how I fair in another year or so.

Katherine Avatar

I go through mine once every six months. But I usually have a hard time parting with high end items because of the cost even if I find it doesn’t suit me.

victoria Avatar

i’m the same like annika, i don’t have a large stash, i stick to a few brands. there was a time when i would try everything out there but after that i’ve narrowed it down to what works for me and what i consider the best. i hate seeing things not being used so i give them to family or swap them away for other things like hair products, fragrances or soaps. part of the reason why i keep my stash small is because my family moves a lot, i do the same with clothes and everything around the house, i’m a trained minimalist.

Melia Avatar

It depends for me. If I get something that doesn’t suit me, it leaves within the week, usually to a friend who will look amazing with it. I re-organise and throw out make up about once a year otherwise.
I try lots of brands, so during September when I clean out my stash, I’ll either call over some friends or we end up in my best friend’s pharmacy when her pharmacy is open all night and we have make-overs.

Cece Avatar

I go throw my collection every 3 months or so. Actually I’m always on the lookout for things i dont use or like. By knowing that MAC is my fave brand i can limit the amount of things i know i wont use or need. The only items i keep on a constant rotation are mascara. I throw that away once it clumps and dries on me.
I only have two foundations now so i know which of the two i like the best and wont be buying anymore until its all used up. My eyshadows, lipglosses, and lipsticks arent going anywhere unless i dont want them anymore ( which is rare) or they have gone bad. My collection is fairly new so i dont worry to much about bacteria-buildup, especially since i dont “dig” into my makeup on a constant basis.

Jess Avatar

I purge a few times a year–usually when I look at my piles of makeup bags and think I only use stuff from two bags! lol then I go through and throw away old stuff and stuff I never use. I keep all my MAC stuff because that’s all newer and I really just starting buying it in the last year. Its hard though I feel like I wasted my money when I throw away stuff I barely used. But I feel way better when I only have a bag or two filled with the actual stuff I use.

Saira Avatar

I do this fairly regularly. Every so often, I’ll look through my make-up and see if there are any colours that I haven’t used for a while. Sometimes I’ll pick out a colour and think, ‘wow, that’s a great colour, why haven’t I used that for a while?’ and then start using it a bit more regularly. Other times I might find a product that I’m not sure if I’ll use anymore. I keep a small make-up bag on top of the box I keep my make-up in and when I find a product I’m not sure if I’ll use anymore, I put it in there. After a while, if I find that I start wanting to use it again, then I keep it and put it back in my make-up collection. If I find that I don’t feel the need to use it anymore, I normally just bin it.

Samantha Avatar

I don’t have a lot of makeup, but I do throw out my mascaras regularly (every 4 months) and I throw things out if they have gone bad, such as lipglosses. Like Saira, I also like to go through my old makeup, and if I find something I like that I had forgotten about I try to use it more often.

Lena Avatar

I try to keep a user friendly stash. I hate to not use some really great makeup items. I want to create a look with ease and not be rummaging through boxes everyday. That’s just too time consuming. I have everything labeled, so I can find something quickly.

I tend to keep my stash at a certain level. Otherwise, I could really feel overwhelmed and not be utilizing the real worth of my stash.

I will get new colors only if they are better than what I own. If they are better, I will ditch old stuff.

KaylaK Avatar

I go through mine about once a month or at least within every 2 months. I always like to re-organize everything or if any make room for some new stuff. My collection isn’t too big compared to others and I want to try and keep it reasonable as long as I can. I’m actually going to Wal-Mart soon to buy a 5 drawer sterilite to reorganize my stuff in lol.

DaniMae Avatar

Any time I find myself running out of space or realizing that I have a lot of stuff that I just don’t use and want anymore. It happens every few months. If it’s MAC I trash the product and Back2MAC it, if it’s another brand I just give it away to a friend or let my daughter play/destroy.

Sheila Avatar

I always try to throw stuff out, but everytime I do I think that I may use those items one day, and then stop myself. Last month I just threw out a bag full of makeup from about 8 years ago, which I haven’t used in about 5 years, so I know I won’t use it. But on a general basis, I don’t throw my stuff out that often.

Anitacska Avatar

Not very often at all. I collect quite a few high end brands (Guerlain Meteorites, Estee Lauder shimmer powders, Dior quints, Chantecaille, Mac Mineralize shadows and MSFs, etc.) that I would never chuck out. I did sort through my old cheap eyeshadows, face powders, lipstick and glosses about 5 months ago and either threw them out or gave them to my sister and mum, and might do that again soon, but I’m planning on using most of my things sooner or later, so will be keeping them unless something goes off (none of my powders and only a few glosses ever did).

cloudburst Avatar

Just once a year – although I should do it at least twice given the mountains of stuff I own. I do like to do it thought if even to pull out those old favourites like you mentioned.

Carrie Avatar

I sort out my stash by regularly (every few weeks) pulling out a handful of my oldest products to make sure that they get more frequent use than my newer stuff. Then I see if they need to get thrown out/B2M’d if I don’t like them, or if I still really like them, use them up as much as possible and make a note to repurchase or find a dupe if they are LE or DC. I’m currently on the hunt for a dupe of the DC’d Prescriptives Rain Gloss in Watery Melon…

A few times a year I will go through everything to see if I have any good items for swapping on MUA–items that I bought but never really used at all, so they’re still in good shape (though I don’t swap any used l/g or mascaras).

Beda Avatar

At least once every month. I’m kinda OCD about that. I mostly give the makeup/skincare products I don’t want to my family. I don’t like to sell my makeup because yeah, I already used it, lol.

Yaya Avatar

I did a massive throw out last year. I got an eye infection, and I had no idea which products I used, so I ended up throwing out most of my eye products.
Everytime I throw things out, I regret it. I’ve thrown out some old makeup, and I really wish I would have kept some of it, at least to match the color to something else.

cmferrets Avatar

i dont throw out any of my mac makeup/ i feel its my prized treasures. i did however throw out one of my old revlon e/s b/c it had some mold growing on it. ewww, dont know how that happened. but when it comes to mac (which i only now buy anyways) i dont throw it away, i think it will last forever! =)

Sasha Avatar

I purge whenever I feel it’s necessary. But more often it’s not so much a “purge” as it is a “rotation” – things I don’t use as much/at all anymore get stored away and “replaced” with other products. Obviously if a product has gone bad, I won’t hang on to it.

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