Ashamed of my beauty product hoard!

[IPokeBadgers]

I have spent some time this morning trying to sort and tidy my beauty and toiletries cupboard and I am actually feeling very and at the sheer volume of stuff that I have, much of it lovely and expensive and unopened!

I reckon it could take me a couple of years to get through it all!

Buying make up as well as lovely bath and shower stuff seems to have become my go to/default pick me up when I want to impulse buy...... but seeing the hoard has brought me down.

anyone else like this and are there any threads that would encourage me to stop buying stuff and use all the lovely products that I have?

please tell me I am not the only person like this?

I haven't been on here in ages as I got my bathroom situation under control nicely and was just concentrating on makeup.

In terms of buying things I haven't done too badly - I did break my lip product ban for one perfect nude lipstick but compared to what I would have bought this time last year its pretty good!

I want to show you my progress on the Naked 2 palette - I really haven't used anything else since March and for reference it was basically like new back then.

There are a few shades I've barely touched but I wanted to get some out of the way first, so now I'll move onto the browns/greys for Autumn.

BEHOLD!!! 2 completely used up and two on the way out!

Another empty - a Clinique total turnaround serum sample bottle that I've had for ages. Now I'm on to the Clinique laser repair serum. I find I am getting through some things faster than others.

annarose amazing! well done you. i'm no where near the end of mine. and had an email the other day about a new urban decay pallet....damn them.

Well done Annarose!! I am in awe of your self-discipline!

But isn't it a little scary that you have used those colours almost exclusively and it has taken months to get that far?

Makes me realise that if I never bought makeup for the rest of my life I probably still wouldn't get through it all. Obviously things will get chucked eventually just from a hygiene point of view but have to admit, I'm not too good at doing that....especially with eyeshadows.

I may or may not be wearing eyeshadow today that is from a palette I bought at least a decade ago

Oh, forgot to say, I have another empty. A big Cath Kidston hand-cream [300ml] that I had on my desk in work. It was Cherry Blossom or something but had an almond scent which I wasn't too keen on, so wont repurchase.

But it was very good hand-cream. Unfortunately the pump bottle it came in gave up the ghost when there was still over 100ml of product in the bottle. So had to hack it open and scoop into an empty body shop container as I couldn't use up the hand-cream any other way.

Annarose that is very impressive! I know how much dedication it takes! Good luck with the rest of it.

I have hoarded quite a few eye palettes. What works for me: I pick a palette every month and use that for my daily makeup. If there is a party that requires something else, I am free to explore other options but my default choice is the palette of the month. I used one palette for three consecutive months and then picked another for July and August. This way I get some seasonal variation and don't get too bored. Hitting the pan takes quite long, after three months the lightest shade was about halfway gone My mornings are much faster and easing because I am not spending any mental energy on what to wear.

I've also storaged most of my lipsticks and eye pencils and keep just a few in my bathroom cabinet. When there is a limited number of choices, everything gets worn more and will eventually be finished. I am trying to finish a Benefit Dandelion blush by the end of a year by wearing it daily. I've hit the pan long ago but there is still quite a lot of it left. The packaging is bulky and not very portable so getting rid of it will be a relief.

I feel I make fewer impulse purchases these days. Each item is a big commitment so I take some time to double check that I do not own a similar item already and also read reviews much more carefully.

Did buy a chubby stick in U S A and mascara but half price

But isn't it a little scary that you have used those colours almost exclusively and it has taken months to get that far?

God, yes. Its really only by doing it that it has sunk in how much I can pretty much never buy another eyeshadow again!

I have four Mac nude shimmery eye shadows to use. Four. The same ones. Sigh.

this is why I now check what I'm buying

Another travel-size toothpaste gone! Moving on to full size ones, somehow ai have accumulated eight or nine tubes

Sorry about sloppy typing, need more coffee...

I'm back with a slightly new name in frustration at having to change it due to the hack.

I've fallen off the wagon I'm afraid and bought a few beauty boxes. It's terribly exciting when they arrive But I've cancelled. I'm still working through things; I also sorted dhs bathroom stuff last night and found about 8 aftershave balms (Armani code Gucci sport etc) and also about a dozen hair products, he uses the one John frieda product so I've asked him to be honest as to whether he will ever use the rest and if not just bin them.

So yeah I've moved on to picking on other peoples stashes now too!

I bought more clarins. But for dh. Not myself. And as a birthday gift.

I managed to be good and although the clarins lady is v persuasive I didn't buy anything for me!! Win.

Well done Ememem! I've just cleansed my cushion compact, planning to refill it with some Revlon Colorstay. I love how quick and un-messy it is on busy mornings and also enjoy the natural, sheer finish.

I did buy a couple of things from Boots today as I had a voucher. I have used a clarins cleanser, a small l'occitaine shower gel, a visionaire sample, a clarins face cream so I do feel like I am getting there.

Was able to bin the empty Colorstay bottle after filling my cushion - yay! I tried a bit on my nose and so far so good but the real testing starts tomorrow.

Back from holiday and managed to be quite restrained in Sephora while away. But not perfect - did end up with the glam glow cleanser .

I used up a few bits and bobs on holiday- a Nude cleansing oil which was lovely and is on my repurchase list for later. Also the Tata Harper cleanser, which was OK, a bit scrubby for me. The Tata Harper revitalising spray was lovely. The Body Shop vitamin E night cream is also gone; I liked that one and will repurchase when my current one is finished- seems I have only one night cream in the house.

Epic fail here.
Nothing used up. Was given Chanel rouge noir nail varnish plus pink sparkly Chanel lip gloss.
Have bought myself purple sparkly eyeshadow, a lip crayon, soap, a lip liner, eye liner, eyebrow pencil.
Oops!

Not a lot of progress on make-up, but trying to focus on a single bottle of liquid foundation to finish, hopefully in next couple weeks. Have however finished a mini-Dove antiperspirant, a can of compressed Sure anti-p, and a boots no 7 mascara. All run of the mill stuff that contributes to the general clutter so every little bit helps.

I used to be like this and it was made worse by being able to access continual free supplies of the stuff too. When even your friends start refusing giveaways from you, you realise there's a problem!

I have ruthlessly edited down what I use. I don't mean the India Knight method where each week she appears to tell you about THE product which is the UR product she's used for yonks. I mean I've identified the products that work and please me aesthetically. It was tough as I used to be a beauty magpie, putting them on display etc.

I don't have to dust so much either!

A few more empties:

Body Shop Nutraganics Cleansing oil gel thing: will not repurchase. It's okay, but not as good as the nSpa Melting Cleansing Gel, which is cheaper too. It's also a bit of a bugger to get off with just a flannel so have to have an extra rinse to make sure I've got it all.

Soap and Glory Ultimelt: another cleanser. Nice smell but otherwise very meh. Won't repurchase.

Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Hydrator (trial size): this is bloody lovely and have bought the full size. The trial size cost £9.50 and lasted for absolutely ages. The SPF is a total waste of time, but such a nice base for make up. The only day cream I use now.

I'm halfway through a revlon bb cream. And am not convinced I like it. It does make my face look smoother. But makes it feel "wetter" if you know what I mean. Not convinced. Not sure I will rebuy

Another empty - a Johnson and Johnson face cream. It didn't suit my face and brought my face out in a rash so I used it on my neck and it made the skin nice and soft. Contained spf 15 too. I bought it on a 3 for 2 offer and so have another two in the cupboard to get through.

Have binned an Avon Supercurlacious mascara from my desk drawer in work: it was very dried up. Although to be fair, it had been in there a long time and I did use it quite a lot [I often don't have time before leaving the house to get my face on so do it at my desk]

Quite liked it but unlikely to go out of my way to actually buy it, unless I was having a go at ordering other Avon products. Think it came free with a magazine ages and ages ago, so from that point of view, it was a pretty good freebie. Will have to check out the stash to see what is next, maybe bring in one of the ones I already have opened at home.

Empty!!
Finished up a clarins highlighter pen thingy. Cheaper (I think) than touche éclat and just as good. I have a spare in the stash so wil work on using this up. But will deff buy again.