Do you ever go through a makeup rut? How do you manage to get out of it?
There are always days here and there where I think, “A lipstick is a lipstick is a lipstick! What more can I say?” but then I’ll look for dupes and am reminded that there are so many nuances to color and texture.
Thanks to Summer for today’s question! Have a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
I enjoy being in makeup ruts as I don’t have to think about what makeup I’m applying in the morning.
my makeup ruts are usually because of stress in other parts of my life, so my frustrations are displaced onto makeup. most times, I’ll suffer through them and come out on the other side fine and with a renewed love of makeup.
Yes. I will get in a rut for various reasons; sometimes, so drastically that I will seriously contemplate getting rid of my makeup. I usually snap out of it because I will put on something I haven’t used for a long time or I will go shopping and find new products that excite me, and then I will fall in love all over again with makeup. It’s when I remember how fun makeup can be or the vast array of new, fun products to try that reminds me I love, love, love makeup, and could never just stick to the same routine all the time.
This.
Last night I got all cranky and pessimistic and grouched to my husband that maybe I should just “throw it all away, because no one even cares, anyway.” That’s when you know you’re in a rut! Especially with all of my MAC eyeshadows that I would be throwing away. Oy! Definitely need to snap out of it.
I do and Christine I have to agree with you about colour variation. How do I get out of it? Hop online and lush over all the new products or visit my local pharmacy/grocery store, Sephora, Ulta or mall counters 🙂
I have around a dozen different red lipsticks and though some seem to be a ‘RED LIPSTICK’ each has it own hue/variation to it. I have more neutral eyeshadows than I can count … singles, sets, quads, paletts etc, yet each one has it’s own basic brown, tan, cream, gold, beige, ivory, taupe, black, gray, white (you get the idea *LOL*) and each one has a slight or strong difference.
Dupes are out there but I don’t think I could live life passing up a colour because I may have something close to it.
A makeup rut for me usually happens in the area of eyeshadows for work! It all feels like soft brown and champagnes colours, neutral ones that are work appropriate. So i try to incorporate just a little colour on casual fridays, with some colour under the lashline or a coloured liner on the waterline to give just a hint of colour!
UGH – all the time!!! I think that is partly why I have collected so many items that are similar to each other. I think that something new will help me out of my rut when really I just need to be more creative and courageous!!
Once in a while, it seems like such a pain to go through my makeup routine. It seems like even 5 minutes in front of the mirror is a colossal effort! When I feel like that, I’ll (painstakingly) do the bare minimum -enough to feel presentable. Then I’ll realize how much better I feel about myself when I put more effort in, and the cycle starts again.
Yup! I get in cat eyeliner ruts where that’s all I wear for a month. But it always passes and I’ll want some color.
couldn’t have said it any better than how you did, Christine! <3
I’m in a serious makeup rut right now, not just personally but professionally! I feel like every look I apply is just OK, and it could just be me being hard on myself, but in the last two weeks, I feel as though coloring is off, I’m not coming up with anything creative or fresh looking…everything just looks blah and it’s SO frustrating!!! I feel like the more I think about it the worse it gets…its almost like writers block for makeup artists! :-/ I’m trying to get out of it by just practincing at home…I’m contributing it to the fact that I’m OVER winter!
Always, LOL. I’ll pick up a new product and try to use it with a product I haven’t given attention to in a while. Sometimes I’ll rearrange my makeup organization to make it LOOK like I have new stuff!
HA! I do the rearranging thing too!
I’m very minimalistic with my “routine” anyway because I feel that look suits me better (I have pretty big eyes, so dramatic eye-anything tends to look silly on me) so no, not really 🙂
Yes of course! We probably all do at some point. I’ve come up with a plan to avoid makeup ruts (an idea I got from emilynoel83 on youtube), and that’s to have a seperate container for the makeup I’m using for the week. I keep all my makeup stored in one area of my room, but then I use a small caboodle and put the makeup I’m using for the week in it, and then I’m only allowed to use that makeup that week. Sometimes I’ll put in all bright colors and only a couple neutrals so I’m forced to try play with color. Other times I’ll only put in one eyeshadow quad to see how many looks I can get out of it. This helps me use up all the makeup I own, but it also keeps me creative.
Another thing that helps is to go onto blogs, youtube, or grab a makeup magazine or book and try to create the looks you find.
I am in one right now! I would like to blame it on the fact that I am 7 months pregnant and my skin is not the best right now.
Normally what I do is watch some tutorials on youtube and try the looks out; That normally gets me out of my rut.
I go through them, it’s good for my wallet when I do!
I definitely do as I work in a very small, secluded office. Since not many people see me daily, I tend to stick with the same simple look to save on time!
Yes, especially when I am busy. I end up using whatever I have in my makeup bag, and not even sit in front of my vanity….. but I usually get out of the rut when things go back to normal and I am not so busy anymore 😀