New Years until Spring seems to be one of the popular times to declutter. There is so much advice on how to declutter clothing, but the same thought doesn’t seem to go into makeup. As someone who finds decluttering therapeutic, here is my advice to downsizing your makeup collection because you only have one face.
When you are decluttering your makeup collection, it is important to do put everything in one place. You need to remove the makeup from its storage so that you can see everything together. It can be helpful to declutter in a large clear space such as on the floor or on a table.
1. Throw away old makeup
Old makeup is just… nasty. There is no reason why you need to have makeup from middle school. If you are concerned about the sanitation of your products you can spray rubbing alcohol on your palette or cut off the used part of a lipstick. When applying products on your face make sure to follow these guidelines to avoid infections:
-
Mascara and eyeliner lasts three months
-
Liquid foundation and concealer lasts a year
-
Lipstick lasts two years while lipgloss lasts a year
-
Powders last two years
2. Keep what you actually use
We all have our favorite products. Now is the time to choose what you use every day and love. When you pull these out, avoid also taking out products you like but don’t use a daily basis. If you are unsure what products you use on a daily basis you can spend a week to test out what you use. You can put a stick flag on each item you use during the week or put them in a separate drawer.
If you have different shades for summer and winter, try to think back to what products stood out the most to you, that you gravitated towards during that season. You can always declutter again in the summer, to see what shades you are using.
3. Question if the products serve you
Sometimes we buy a product and it doesn’t work for us, but we keep it because we spent money on it. If you don’t find yourself using your products then declutter it and give it to a friend or family member. Only keep products that inspire you and spark joy, if you are drawn to a colorful palette and wear colors once in a blue moon then keep it. Drawing from the wisdom of KonMari, only keep items that you enjoy. The process shouldn’t be about living with less, but living with more of what you enjoy.
4. Check for dupes
Now that you have the products that you use every day or enjoy, it is time to take stock of what you have. This can be a helpful time to do swatches of the products you plan to keep and notice if you have any repeats. The last step can be helpful to notice what you can part with, there is no need for 10 eyeshadow palettes that look exactly the same. Be conscious of what you keep and remember that you only have one face. Don’t feel guilty for passing on or throwing away a palette because you don’t use it. It would just collect dust in your drawers.