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?

Ipoke
Perhsps we should set up make up hoarders anonymous
I have my dds 1and 2 primed to get rid of it if i die unexpectedly as dh would just go 'J C*. WTF'
Mind you he can't talk as he has a very expensive suit and shirt habit.
Said dds sometimes raid it.

i could have written the OP. it makes me feel quite happy to open the toiletries cupboard and know I'm stocked for years to come. unfortunately this doesnt stop me from buying more

This thread has inspired me to tackle this sanctuary spa body soufflé that has been lurking in mycupboard for quite some time. Was slathering it on after my shower and the current MrBadgers asked how long I had had it. Had to (shamefacedly) admit that it had been a gift from his predecessor, ex-DH . The current MrBadgers and I have been together almost 6 years!!! (And the ex had been out of my life for a good bit before we met...before anyone asks!)

This bad boy must have been in my wardrobe for about 7? years..... I was convinced it was going to be rancid but when I opened it, it was absolutely fine..... Not separatedseparated or gloopy, and has a gorgeous fragrance. Quite enjoying it!

I am determined to use this up!!

I love sanctuary stuff. I'm currently working through a big tub of body butter. Since I starts determinedly using my stuff on teh back of the last use it up thread, I finished all the body lotion and butters I had. I made a decision as well that if I didn't like something very much I wouldn't use it, I wouldn't keep it either so it goes to the charity shop now unless dd1 wants it.

I also got through all Thr assorted cleansers I had and now I all I have is my Clinique. unfortunately I have a pump action bottle I bought, a pump action bottle a friend brought me from new York, a tube that came with my Clinique sonic brush at Christmas and a travel sized one from bonus time but still yknow, down to the one KIND of product and the one I use at that

Curious coincidence Badger, I opened a drawer that I've been trying to forget and found a jar of souffle consistency SPF facial cream. Back from the days when adding SPF to daily products, not to mention souffles, were still a new thrilling thing.

I expected it to be off but it has still a fluffy Miracle Whip consistency and smells pleasantly of apricots. I have vague memories in loving this product in mid-2000s... The date on the bottom is 2009. Sell by? Anyway, I have it all over my body now and it is lovely - quick-absorbing and not clammy. Did I mention that I have backups

Anyway, keep me posted, your body souffle has a friend...

Oh all right, I suppose I'd better join too. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

I have a huge makeup supply, though I'm not ashamed of that. I regularly sort out the things that I don't and won't use and sell them, give them away or toss them. I do keep some things for sentimental reasons (the Bobbi Brown Essentials stick foundation from 1995 that I bought when I was a broke backpacker in New York. I'll never use it again, but can't bear to throw it out). Eyeshadows are my big weakness, but I love them and use them.

I live in NZ and there are a lot of brands that we can't buy here, or are really expensive, so a lot of my stash has been bought when travelling overseas, or hunted down over the internet. I consider them souvenirs .

I have a bit of a problem with skincare, if I find something I like, and my skin isn't fussy so I like lots of things, and it's on special offer I do tend to stock up. Then I stash them all over the place so I forget what I've got. I've just hunted everything down and put them all in a big box beside the bed so I can see them and visualise them whenever I'm tempted to buy another cleanser or body lotion.

This year I'm going to focus on using up my big box'o'skincare, and make sure that I use all of my makeup to both justify spending so much money on it, and to help work out what I really like and what isn't quite right for me. hopefully it will help me resist the next new eyeshadow palette (Nars is my kryptonite). I've got a few half-full bottles of primer that I'm going to plow through, and several opened mascaras that need a good hard look at.

No empties to report today. Gutted. I suppose the empty tube of toothpaste doesnt count?

I have formulated a plan to get through my body lotions/souffles/butters/creams. I am going to slather them all over as soon as I go into the bathroom in the morning. And then wash, do teeth, brush hair, moisturise face etc. And maybe then it will have sunk in enough for me to dress.

This needs to be my plan for at least two years for me to get through my stash. Such huge amounts of money has been spent by me and on me on all of this, and it has made me feel ashamed that it would have ben wasted.

WellTidy I am going to do the same. Started last night, repeated this morning. Face creams sink in very quickly and feel gorgeous. I actually feel a bit pampered although it is a busy day!

The toothpaste does count!!!

Oh and Zachary welcome, I love the box idea! I keep a few things I want to finish on my nightstand!

Frugal, I try to rotate them but do have a few favourites. The most used is Bobbi Brown's Nude on Nude eye palette, despite owning many nude themed palettes this one is my preferred choice. Another is Laura Mercier's Bonne Mine Healthy Glow palette, a creme palette of subtle bronze, blush and glow shades for face. I also picked up a lovely YSL lip palette in duty free recently which is perfect for stashing in the handbag.

I have also started to keep a tube of hand cream in teh glove box of the car. When we're all out, it is DH who usually drives, so I can sue the hand cram and allow it time to sink in.

I also like the small box on the bedside table idea

Zachary, I am in NZ too and have the same thing - many items have been painstakingly hunted down over the internet to avoid paying extortionate prices. Do you use YouShop at all? My stash has definitely increased since I discovered I can use it to shop Nordstrom in the U.S.

I have a box in my bedside drawer, on my dressing table etc. Alot of my stuff has been presents. I was given a huge basket of sanctuary stuff which I am using up.

I don't buy too much make up but never use up eyeshadows etc.

I'm very much enjoying this thread, even though I'm not a hoarder of products. The reviews as you finish are great!

I think it's time to join this thread! I don't actually buy that much stuff but we travel quite a bit and I always bring home the little toiletries from hotels - ostensibly for my gym bag, but as I go to the gym about as often as I clear out the drawers in the bathroom dresser, they are not getting used up. I also seem to have acquired loads of sample sizes of stuff (DH gets me nice toiletries and perfume every birthday and Christmas, and the salesladies always seem to throw in a few extras! Don't know what he says to them.)

The small sizes are handy when we're flying with hand baggage, but then of course I always pick up more, so I need to stop. And I need to start using them as everyday things, rather than keeping them for trips or for that dusty gym bag.

By the way, if I have a centimetre or so of perfume left in a bottle that I can't be bothered using up, I leave the top off and pop it in my undies drawer or the airing cupboard. It gently scents the laundry while it evaporates.

Hi violet, I haven't used Youshop yet, but DH opened an account recently to ship technology (I told him I feel the same way about Nars as he does about Apple, so he's off my case) so it's very tempting. How expensive are the shipping costs? And have you had any trouble using a NZ credit card?

Mostly I use Strawberrynet, Asos, BeautyBay and HQHair. And I have a dangerous late-night TradeMe habit!

I've managed to finish off a few things this week - an eye cream, a small pot of moisturiser and a body spray. I had three eye creams waiting to be opened in the cupboard and four tubs of moisturiser. Even with this backlog of stuff I'm still tempted by a Body Shop offer I received by e mail.

Zachary, the shipping costs aren't cheap, but if you spend enough it pays for itself. It normally works out to be around $20-$25 per parcel plus there's a discount for multiple parcels. A high end foundation would easy be $50 more here than the US (I'm looking at you, Chanel!) so worthwhile. Plus it opens you up to stuff you just can't get here.

Sephora won't take international credit cards, but some department stores do. I've mainly ordered from Nordstrom as they have a good range and ship to the Youshop warehouse for free. In fact I just received an order from there the other week, which included the new Nars Narsissist wet/dry eye palette (which it seems Mecca won't be getting anytime soon, if at all).

Not that I'm encouraging you or anything....

Actually Mecca do have the new Nars palette for NZD125, though I bought it from HQHair for NZD95 2 months ago.

This isn't in the spirit of the thread, is it?

Zachary and violet I had to google Narsissist, very tempting, colors that I really love and wear
(and fair game after I hit pan on the palette I'm using now)

My sympathies to you NZ people! When I lived in South America, imported goods had a 300% tax, so I own a Bourjois blusher pot in Rose d'Or that was probably the price of two Nars blushers

Have been using my one of my non-preferred red lipsticks for a few days. It is a bit soft and can feather but the shade is perfect for my coloring and the invisible UD lip pencil in Ozone (my replacement for the Chanel one that is almost gone) controls it completely. I haven't worn red lipstick in a while and it's strange - when I do people make eye contact, wink and smile and talk to me men over 60 mostly but still

I'm definitely more innovative with makeup because of this thread! Stuff in the back of my cupboard is getting loved and worn. Thanks ladies!

And Lego that's quite a fest, well done!

Can't read whole thread (up to 4/3/15) but I am also a beauty product junkie. I've been trying to get on top of my hobby for years when I realised I got narky at birthdays and xmas when I would be gifted lovely products. Yes, I love beauty products. But it was all about the journey for me; identify a need, read reviews,make my assessment, buy and repeat.

My family still buy me products I wouldn't choose to buy. Would love advice as I too will never get through my backlog this way (and I'll not get my pleasure from buying new stuff til I work the backlog IYSWIM?!

Thank you for existing ladies, I too felt I may be the only one!

chablis what a great idea re the perfume, I have a chanel eau fraiche ive been carrying around the house to use when I get a chance then keep forgetting to spray it or am wearing something else.. Will pop it in my undies drawer right now!

I used to hoard samples, now I use up the best stuff on weekends and try and get through other samples on weekdays before using full size stuff
honeypot why don't you pass on presents to family or friends - I just pop them into nice bags and randomly gift them to people I think will enjoy them that way I don't have too much backlog
I am swapping on the other thread which isn't decreasing my product load but hopefully swapping for stuff I want to use

Thank you mowglik! There is hope! it's weird but I only regift things I'd want to use myself... Like, if I wouldn't want to use it, I wouldn't regift it. So I would pass on things I like, but not those I don't like, but feel compelled to like because someone who loves me thought I'd like it. Weirdly, a few times recently I've gone through the whole research-buy pleasure cycle to gift it at the end & stalk until I get a review!

Am going to scroll back up to 04/03/15 because you all have such great tips!

If you are trying to get minimalist ignore this but [recently read on Caroline Herron site you should always have a couple of all face products; cleanser, moisturiser etc - to use in a cycle. I'd love to find my holy grail but she says it doesn't exist. Is it ok to aim for say two or three of each product?!)]

It's taken me two years to use up all the body lotions and moisturisers I had. I kept getting them as gifts and they last forever. I asked my family to stop buying them for me and am now on the last one. I will actually be able to go out and choose one myself soon!

Pant! Gasp! Right, I'm all caught up and THANK YOU one and all! Sorry for touching on CH multiple cleansers etc topicagain! Her logic is hereby banished !

This weekend I am going to sort my collections out. I will embrace the joy and Give and MakeUp the rest.

Fair play to me, I did get rid of a load of doesn't suit/gone off stuff whilst on mat leave 1... Four years later and I just got into the same cycle. I think the beauty Myth might frighten me into submission! It is frightening to think that I do it to prevent thinking about the bigger issues. I have two daughters so I like to be informed, but I also like to feel pretty!!!!

Come to think of it, I buy multiples of loads of cleaning products too... It's like I'm scared of future rationing or something?! I have never and (touch wood) will never want for anything,so what's my beef?!