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What's one type of product you know you purchase too often?

Highlighters! I just love a good highlighter — something about the powder’s texture and then how it looks on the skin.

— Christine

121 Comments

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Penny Thompson Avatar

Eyeshadow. Hands down. Takes up two full drawers in my Helmer. And I’m always on the lookout for more. Palettes, singles, refills, stick, cream, powder, in between. Doesn’t matter. I love, love, love eyeshadow.

Tracey E. Avatar

Lipstick. By far. It’s the one makeup item I always wear unless I’m sick. I buy too many and have a few backups, too. I do go through them, but the buy rate is greater than the finished rate. 🙂

Katherine T. Avatar

*Red lipsticks/glosses – After sorting through my stash and realizing I had 2 drawers full, I finally had to put a no buy in place, unless something is really unique or LE, but I’m still looking for a few matching lip liners
*Khaki olive green shadows – I love this color, and see a thousand variations in shade, have to resist buying every shadow I run into

Katherine T. Avatar

I have Sumptous Olive, and it’s pretty, but looks like a bronze khaki brown on me. My collection is a lot greener in color, more khaki olive. If you’re interested in khaki olive colors, I love Milani Bella Khaki, Colour Pop Hammered, Sephora Mild to Wild Khaki palette, UD Moondust in Vortex, Giorgio Armani #6 Green Iron, and Chanel Tisse D’Automne.

Pearl Avatar

Eye shadow! I just love it. Cream or liquid or powder, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got to rein it in though because I’m starting to look at other brands just to be able to buy something. I’m pretty selective about brands I buy for certain products – it keeps it simple and streamlined for me – but I’ve been considering a few others just because I haven’t been seeing anything that’s been catching my eye lately from the brands I normally buy eye shadow. When there are lulls between collections or when something new is released and it doesn’t appeal to me, I still want to spend the money I set aside on something. Which is ridiculous because my collection is exactly the way I want it, so why buy something just for the sake of buying when it’s going to go untouched and collect dust? Sounds mental when I’ve typed it all out. 😐

Lipstick would be a distant second, followed by highlighter.

Nancy T Avatar

Oh, I don’t know! Eyeshadow? Lipstick? Nail polish? I’m an addict?
Most likely eyeshadows. To the point that I am overwhelmed pretty much. And literally have dupes of dupes of other dupes! I may need an intervention at this stage! LoL, but also scary as shizznits! And as I write this, I have 6 more CP Super Shock eyeshadows in my cart, and a bunch on MAC, HUGE wishlist for MUFE…all just waiting for one of my momentary lapses of sanity. ?

Momo Avatar

Highlighters and bronzers!

I have slightly more highlighters than bronzers, but those two products undoubtedly dominate my makeup collection…and it always will.

Do I need more of them? Probably not.
Do I want more of them? Yes, ma’am! Yes. I. Do!

Lys Avatar

It used to be nail polish… I still have a big box left after getting rid of half of my nail polish bottles last year. In 2015 I think it was blush- probably tripled my collection in one year’s time!

Jodi Avatar

Eyeshadow palettes. They’re so hard to say no to. I have more eyeshadow than I could use in ten lifetimes but I always manage to justify just one more palette.?

Nicole Avatar

Eye shadow! I didn’t wear any for years and now I’m obsessed with it. Of course, I keep buying shades that are pretty similar, but oh well.
Unfortunately, I keep buying lipsticks too, but for a less fun reason. Cant find a moisturizing, lasting, good brand/color for me this winter.

Julia Avatar

Palettes! Especially eyeshadows, but also blushes and highlighters. I think they just visually appeal to me, and it’s nearly always “such a good deal” when you look at the per color or per ounce cost compared to single pans (I will always find a way to justify the purchase!).

Gillian Avatar

Lipstick! I have hundreds. It’s my secret addiction…no one but my parents know about it! I just can’t help myself. I’m a bit better now that I can tell myself not to buy ones I have dupes for but I should stop buying them altogether. It’s all these new formulae that I want to try. Oh dear…. ?

MissJae1908 Avatar

Highlighters! I only have one face. who needs 40-ish highlighters? Apparently I do. I also have an issue with purchasing every purple lipstick known to man. I have a serious probably…lol

Crystal Avatar

I have the same problem. Lol. If it’s purple I have to have it. It’s such a pretty color. I prefer MAC but I will buy any brand if it is purple. Also have to have every purple nail polish.

Fran Avatar

There are two kinds of product I purchase *way* more of than I could ever possibly use up — eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks. I think it’s because I adore color and want to have one of every shade in every finish that looks good on me. I have at least become more discriminating with time, and usually only purchase/keep ones that I truly love now, but every once in a while an impulse purchase sneaks in. For some reason I ordered the Urban Decay Vice Ltd Reloaded palette when you posted the link, Christine, even though my history with Vice palettes is mixed. It came yesterday, and I do love the four greens (Acid Rain, Mildew, Shallow, and Misdemeanor) and UV-B and Asphyxia and Freakshow, and there are other shades I’ll use, so I should at least enjoy playing with it for a while.

t Avatar

lipstick. I justify it because it’s the only makeup I wear (besides just like a little bit of foundation + filling my brows) but I have over a hundred shades at this point, and am always eyeing more

Claire L Avatar

At the moment it’s blushers/cheek products! I have more eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks than I know what to do with, too! But to be fair, I had to scrimp and save for years and now I like to treat myself! I just adore all the colours and textures that are out there.

Lacey Avatar

Lip products in general, but especially glosses. I have so many, it’s difficult to use them up before they need to be tossed. I’m only slightly better with lipsticks and lip balms. The only lip product I manage to keep under control is liner!

Valerie Avatar

Eye shadow is by FAR the product I purchase too much of. With lipstick and blush following closely behind. Granted I do use those products so in my mind I need that many different shades and formulas. If you we are judging by how often the products get used vs how much I have then the answer is highlighters. I don’t have many, but more than I need when compared to how much I wear them.

alice20c Avatar

Everything. For the numbers of mornings that I’ll actually wake up early and put on makeup, I should only own a sunscreen, mascara and a chapstick. But no, I have multiple highlighters, primers and backup lipsticks.

Stephanie Avatar

Blush-I don’t own more of these than I do other products, but the ones I already have will never get used up in my lifetime, and I keep wanting more pretty things.

KJH Avatar

Might be able to answer the opposite, what don’t you buy every last variation of, and that would be highlighters/contours. The worst offenders would probably be eyeliners, I guess, though eye palettes, blush, and lipstick are not far behind. Take Catrice liners. Tried one in each formula, then bought every last shade. Thank god, it’s cheap. It’s like that old saw about shoes, if it fits, buy it in every color. At least I have reined myself in on Audacious. MUG and Nars blushes? Every color I would wear. Sephora liners, almost all. It’s easy to see why I am afraid to try TF and Rouge G. At least CP won’t break the bank, and if I dither enough, it will be …. poof! So, yeah, all of it. I try to rationalize that I’m old, so have a lot of stash. But actually, I am addicted. Hey, better than cocaine or heroin, right?

Cheryl Avatar

Eye shadows palettes, it doesn’t take much to convince me I NEED the newest and the latest even though I haven’t even touched the last 2 palettes that I absolutely NEEDED!!

Alison Avatar

Lipstick and highlighters! I love them…I can’t help myself! I also seem to buy the same colors just from different brands. Who needs 10 red lippies? This girl!!

IRockFaces Avatar

Probably eyeshadow since it’s my favorite makeup product to wear. I can wear it everyday in any color and be happy. I have a few palettes and all of them are different but I actually do wear 98% of it. So I wouldn’t say I buy too much even though I own a lot of it.

Juni Avatar

Definitely matte deep red Lipsticks! I pretty much wear matte red lipstick everyday — alone or with light make-up looks. Red lipstick instantly boosts my mood!

l_rodo Avatar

I go through phases. For a few months, I’ll somehow get onto a bronzer bender. Then, before I know it, I’m off on a torrid highlighter streak — creams, liquids, pressed, poured. Same goes for foundations (oh my god, 2015 was the year of the foundation!), blushes, lashes, lipstick, nail polish (especially iridescent and duo-chromes… oh my goodness!). I’m a cycling nut.

But I think the mother of all my addictions, the one that’s *always* switched on, is eye shadow. I am out of control when it comes to eye shadow. I need every unique looking thing I see, it seems. I’m a little picky about brands, and I don’t like too many dupes in my collection, but other than that, I’m a beast! 😛 And if a thing is limited edition by a brand I love, oh I’m definitely here for that! This gets worse around the time new seasons/ product launches get going. It’s a sickness, but I love it! 😀

JESSIKA Avatar

Eye shadow and Liquid Lipsticks. I am simply obsessed! I don’t care if I already have something like it, I want it anyway. I can’t get enough. I just can’t.

Roxy Avatar

I have to say highlighters, too! I have way too many and I keep getting more. There’s nothing like a good highlighter to really wake up my complexion so I’m addicted! I’m happy because I’m about to actually finish one – Kevyn Aucoin Candlelight. I’m trying hard not to repurchase because I have so many others (Becca, Josie Maran, etc).

Erin G Avatar

For most of my makeup obsessed life, I’d have to say lipstick, but for the past few months it’s been eyeshadow palettes! The colors, the packaging, the layout…I feel like a kid in a candy store! I’m almost afraid to let my husband see how many I now have in so short a time. I keep telling myself I can stop anytime I want to….the mantra of addicts everywhere.

Brittany Avatar

Definitely lip products and nail polish. I still wouldn’t say my collection of either is “huge”, especially since I watch YouTube and bloggers and know a few people with a lot bigger collections than mine, but I still buy lipsticks or polishes all the time. I have 30 blue polishes. Just blue! (to be fair, it’s my favorite color 😛 ) I think the last time I counted my lipsticks/glosses/anything that’s not balm, I had ~60+ and I could use a de-stash on some, I’m sure.

Jaimee Avatar

Definitely red lipsticks and highlighters. I always justify it by saying “Oh this is a new formula” or “I don’t have one like this!”

Gabs Avatar

Foundation is first, anything hydrating and long lasting. Next is eye-shadow, then blush ,finishing powders and highlighters. My husband just shakes his head and says “how can you give your kids an inheritance that has an expiration date??”. I lie to myself, but honestly in a few years my whole collection will probably be expired. That’s too umbearbly sad for me to internalize and own up to.

Connie Avatar

Omg the other day when I was buying a new eyeshadow palette my husband told me “hey what about the expiration dates of all that stuff!??” And I didn’t know what to say… Christine if you read this do you know for how long is safe to keep and use eyeshadows?? And other products? :0

Bibi Avatar

Eye pencils.
Shadow pencils, liners, kohl kajal, smudge sticks, you name it, I’ve got it.
Have to have them in all textures, finishes & colors as I wear double liner & an Arab or Indian style eye everyday.

VAL MARTIN Avatar

Nail lacquer. I think it’s because of all make up items it’s considerably cheap. I probably have about 200 bottles of OPI and feel I have to buy at least one from each collection that is released.

Jackie Avatar

Lipsticks and blushes…they’re my weakness. I have way too many blushes and way too many lipsticks but keep buying more because I can’t resist when something new comes out that catches my eye. I always have to try when some of my favorite brands come out with something new in shades that I like.

Katie Avatar

Nail polish. And nail polish. And more nail polish. My collection isn’t as bad as I know some people’s are; it’s more about my obsessive/ compulsive need to compare swatches, read reviews, pin, pin, pin every color, nail shape, etc. etc. I’ve had to cut back a bit due to budget constraints, and I also recently cleared out some of my older, barely used, thickened bottles and am hoping to replace them with newer, more fashionable colors very, very soon. Sigh.

Connie Avatar

Eyeshadow palettes. I have a lot more than I can use on daily basis but I don’t know what is wrong with me, I simply crave them and I have to have them :/

BonnieJ Avatar

Lipsticks! I love to try new colors, and it’s a (mostly) inexpensive treat when I need a little treat. The crazy thing is,, I wear the same ones over and over again— MAC’s Viva Glam IV, Chanel’s Gabrielle, and Mary Kay’s Raisinberry and Frosted Rose.

Natalia Avatar

Lipsticks for sure.

I am sooo easily sucked into the new shades and textures that I always feel like there is a shade out there that I need like now. I am a small scale makeup hoarder (limited budget 🙂 ) and am not ashamed to admit it (well, occasionally I do get that feeling of being a bit excessive), but after I look at my 21 lipsticks that I need to work through, I keep reminding myself that I will never be able to finish them all before some go bad, so I do not need anymore!… Next thing you know is I am standing at a makeup counter swatching away lip products like I need more 🙂 Ohh, the life of a makeup addict.

Nikki Avatar

Lip gloss is my absolute favorite makeup product ever! I love the combination of color and shine that gloss offers. Plus, I always enjoy trying new formulas.

Crystal Avatar

Lipsticks and nail polishes! I have way too many. And whenever I see an OPI or Essie on sale I have to have it lol. I also spend way too much time on YouTube looking at lipstick videos and then purchasing the lipsticks. I am obsessed with MAC lipsticks. I paint my nails every other day and wear a different lipstick every day. I think I have a problem. Lol.

Kam Avatar

Eye shadows. It’s a sickness. I think I’m at a place where I can pass on highlighters due to the hoarding there but I’m not sure so I’ll go with eye shadows. Final answer.

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