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?

AWholeLot - yes, I now swerve the Boots offers (triple points etc) as I know they're just tempting me to buy more. A few years back I'd easily spend £30 a month on Boots and use some/all of the products. No wonder I had so many advantage card points!

I generally tend to go by the if it looks rank/smells bad then ditch it.

You're not the only one!

A women's refuge near me recently advertised for donations of beauty items for residents to have a pamper evening. Might be a way of getting rid of some of you stuff if there's something like that near you?

My sister and I realised this at Xmas and have both started using everything up and no buying new stuff. Am getting great satisfaction out of this and spending nothing!

noddy it's good when 2 of you realise this... you get my mum who occasionally hoards shampoo etc but nowhere near my scale and certainly not makeup as she hardly uses any. then there are the minimalist people who although that's great for them you seem in comparison like some consumer beast who's vain to boot if you buy/keep makeup etc!

I did this last year - mainly body and skin care products. There is great satisfaction to be had to use stuff up.

I've actually just had to spend a chunky amount in boots for the first time in about 2 years.

One thing I did do is buy another mascara and cheap-ish foundation so that I can put together a makeup bag for the office. I often don't have time to put make up on in the morning and have tons of eye shadows and blushers etc. So I've spent 20 quid so I can have a full set of stuff in the office.

I also allocate one bottle to use up at a time. If I find myself avoiding using it, then I bin it or use if for a lower level purpose (body moisturiser for feet, facial oil for legs etc) and move on to the next one. What's the point of kee

I have never been so well moisturised!

I'm another one who have too many beauty products. I stopped the beauty box each month and desperately trying to use up my hordes.

The problem for me is, the more stuff I have the less I can justify buying new things that I like!

I'm trying to finish off a tube or bottle of something each week. Eye cream finished this week. Nearly finished a moisturiser too.

I just have too much stuff. I've bought some of it but most has been presents that have just built up over the years. I've started to step up the amount of body lotion etc that I use and I'm slowly working through it. I've probably got enough body butter to last me a couple of years though. I'll beat the clutter eventually.

Am tempted to keep a bag for the empties purely because I know I am nearing the end of a few products in the very near future: would it be cheating to take the empty tube of hand cream out of the kitchen bin to give me a headstart?!

I think I will focus on mindful usage of products and a ban on any new purchases for the next 12 months to try and reduce the stockpile substantially.

am also going to spend some time thinking about why I'm like this: again with the mindfulness and a bit of understanding might help me change my habits.

at end of day, i know there are worse vices to have.....

Badgers I binned an almost empty foundation today, then promptly de-binned it - I have do the work first.

A bag for the empties sounds great. For me, though, it is all about being able to let go. I'm going to wear Nars Deep Throat for a few days. It's my least favorite blush but perhaps I will learn to apply in a non-streaky way

I used to do this! Make up, hair products, perfumes, lotions. I also binged on colleges and lingerie, but that's clearly another thread! I was forced to change habits through the financial changes brought about through divorce so I ended up using all my stuff and now my "stash" is more like a back up product or two. And everyone knows nice toiletries are a good gift for me. In my most recent clear out I found a new tub of EA 8 hr cream which i've been using as a face cream this winter with great results. And i found a bottle... that brown bottle of face serum... can't recall the name. It did nothing for me so I gave it to my mother.

For those who are going to start an "empties bag" a good tip is to start with sample size items. You use them up quickly, the bag starts filling, and its very motivating.

Then go onto items that have only 1/4 or so left, either lotions or makeup. Make yourself use up all the opened stuff before the tantalising unopened stuff.

Another tip is that if you have various shower gels or lotions that are half full, pour them into one bottle, even if they're different scents. It reduces the bottle-madness.

Also, get a Sharpie and make a mark each week on the outside of bottled items, e.g. shower stuff, or face cleansers/serums/moisturisers etc, or foundation. Re-mark periodically. Otherwise it'll seem like the level is never going down!

Sharpen your eyeliner before every use rather than just when it wears down to the nub. It gives a much better/sharper look on your eye and you'll actually start to work through those never-ending pencils.

Remember that mascaras are only safe three months after opening (conjunctivitis). So bin at the start of every season.

And finally, its been said that an eyeshadow only takes 3-4 months of daily use to use up. Thats not that much, really. Definately doable.

I will join. I have so much stuff. Body lotions & butters that are rarely applied, loads of face creams, lipsticks.
I'm going to try & use them up.

One molten brown moisturiser used up- kinda sad as it smelled lovely.

After shower tonight used a bit more of a half empty Body shop body butter, also smells divine, and dog kept sniffing me

Have been using up a mini sudocrem (don't recall buying that) on my feet and after a few days they are so soft- No cloven hooves for me this summer!

Ok - I've organised all my miniatures into one box. I've packed a wash bag for the gym with lovely miniatures in (might motivate me to go...) and the same with a "overnight" wash bag. As soon as I use one it'll go in the bin and be replaced and slowly the stash will go down.

I'm going to make a proper effort to use body butters, lotions etc- at least every other day. Then I'm never buying them again

I've just cleaned out my drawers of makeup and have filled a bag of stuff to give away and binned other stuff (that's ancient).

Now I just have to stop my beauty blog, Instagram and Pinterest addiction and I'll be fine... :/ I think my problem is that I just believe the hype about products and think I need them! Also, it's just so easy to pop into Boots on the way home from work to pick up something small as a treat. But doing that every week is a mugs game. Like someone else said I'm going to be more mindful about why I'm addicted to it! I envy people who find something they love and are loyal to it. I rarely finish anything! Hmmmm food for thought. Would love if this thread kept going as some sort of support group :)

One thing I do to delay any impulse purchases is that I create a "wishlist" on Evernote. I copy/paste pics of my obsessions. Then I look at them and coo over them.

After a few weeks generally my ardour has cooled, lol.

Why are we like this? Is it purely a female thing? My DH and every man I've ever been out with had shave foam, shower gel, deodorant, hair clay and after shave/Eau de Toilette. Never more than that. DH doesn't "get" but appreciates the lure of the makeup dept whenever we go shopping to the city centre. These counters draw me in....I don't even have to be buying. They're like jewels....

At the weekend, I had a big sort of makeup and discovered (and binned) stuff I bought and hardly if ever use or, products which, try as I do, just don't look "right" on me. There were lots of little freebies (curse you Clinique GWP and Boots 3for2) that simply are all wrong for me. I was aghast to find that I was binning a Nars blush, a Lancome Foundation which was totally the wrong hue, lippies (cheap & and a Bobbi Brown one) that drain me.... I was shocked!

I'm trying to only use what I've got and NOT buy anything else until I do. I think it's the "instant pick me up" thing. Where I might not necessarily be able to afford a new big item, "a little, colourful treat" is do-able. So I do.

Eliza - I think the beauty/hair business has it spot on when it comes to targetting women and their needs/wants for buying.

I'm sure I read somewhere that when a man shops he goes in and out rarely browses.

My brother hoards but it's either clothes/trainers/stuff for flat (posters, chairs etc!).

A lot of men tend to use up what they have already, some do hoard, aftershave etc (if not used).

Hello. I've been doing this this year. I have a complete ban on new products unless I need them.
Agree with lots of the good points posted although I have an additional rule in that I don't have to use up anything I don't enjoy using - it can either be gifted or binned
Life is too short and it has made the task much easier.

Katy

Loving the talk on why we do this.

I think women are taught to fritter away their earnings one going-out top and one lipstick at a time. I've been tracking my spending and changing my tendency to overshop for two years now. In doing so, I've realized that my wardrobe and cosmetics stash are quite pricey but really poor investments (near zero resale value).

After realizing this, I've changed my spending drastically and as a result I've recouped the dent in my savings that five years of maternity leave and part time pay created. It is going well: by rethinking my weekly spending, we've enjoyed some lovely trips and I'm planning to invest in a small apartment later this year. To me, that is more valuable than a spare room full of stale compacts and dated shoes

If you are starting to spend mindfully, you could start small. Save for a night out or a weekend trip or a holiday. I've realized that I only need a fraction of the products I've been persuaded to purchase. Too much choice is overwhelming too: I love having two or three options, but having more than that just slows me down and adds clutter.

also keep a pair of scissors handy to use up all the tubes. victory everytime I finish a sample or small tube and chuck it away. Less clutter.

I'm not so bad with shower gels, and face creams but seem to have loads of serums and odd things. I have definitely cut down in my purchases.

I agree FrugalFashionista I get so much more from a lovely day out or nice holiday than endless "stuff"

The 3 for 2 offers are tempting. I remember buying a mascara a few weeks ago and standing there looking for two more things I wanted. in the end I just bought the mascara.
At the time I felt a bit like I had cheated myself, but after reading this I don't. The fact is I spent £10 instead of around £20.

Sneaky marketing, yes but if it's some things e.g. shampoo then I know that will be used up quickly, so worth it.
It's working out the real bargains versus the waste of money/not needed.

Thank you for the reminder about the mascara - have given myself permission to bin the one in using! I've also sharpened all my eyeliners (about a dozen) so their lives are a few mm shorter!

I'm not in the UK, and almost housebound, so I do get a lot of stuff from qvc (when it turns up!) and usually only tsvs - however my husband travels a fair bit and often brings back some toiletries or cosmetics, at least 6 lipsticks and several mascaras and palettes have been presents from him recently. In fact he's away at the moment and has just text to ask if I need anything - I said no I'm ok thanks