Tough Decisions!- Make-up Clear Out and New Organization

We all reach this point every so often, the feeling completely overrun with make up and just having no more room. I have been very naughty this year by my 'just keep buying' attitude'.

I've decided on a few golden rules which have helped me condense my collection-

1. Is it in date?
We all do it, hold on to products for years for some reason or another. Lip gloss, concealer and mascara are products that do not get better with age! You can always buy again, and if you are keeping it for a reason, but not using it, it's just collecting dust and probably isn't safe to be putting on your face. Bin it, make that decision, you won't even realise it's gone.

2. Persevere
I'm terrible for having 4 of the same product open. One thing I've been doing is only using products that have very little left, in the past week I've finished 3 different products. This felt so good as finally I wasn't wasting money!

3. Would someone else like it?
There are charities out there that take lightly used make up. However I have many friends that look at my make up and drool! I filled a small Boots bag with make up I'd barely used and although it pained me, giving it to my friend Tasha felt great when I saw her face when she opened it up and found Ted Baker bronzer and eye shadows. That way it wasn't getting binned, and she could enjoy it too. 

4. Why am I saving this?
Finally, I've always saved my high end make up for special occasions. This is not a great idea as it just sits there going out of date. I am now making an effort to use my more expensive make up and get as much wear out of it as possible. For example, my Dior Addict lip gloss, at £24.00 it's not cheap, I was only putting it on before a night out and was too scared to take it out with me in case I lost it. I now try and wear it to work or on a weekend even if I'm just going to the shops!

Organization:

Once I'd got my collection down to what I actually used, it was time to try and get it back in the drawer! I felt it was important I could see and reach everything, that way nothing could get forgotten. I don't have any before photos, but I did have it in a great big basket with a lipstick holder. The lipstick holder was too big and got in the way far too much. I will sell this on Ebay as it's just not space saving. 

My new set out means I can get to everything easily and it's all in one drawer now. It may look very daunting but I now know exactly where everything is.

Palettes- I've now ditched all the single eye shadows that were hard to store and I didn't use for 5 staple palettes I was always reaching for and a few small quads. I always chose palettes over singles as it's all there in one place rather than rummaging and making a mess. 

The small miscellaneous bits- I don't really use lipstick so don't have many, blush sticks, cream eye shadows and liquid highlights just rolled around and got in the way. They all fit perfectly in the small boxes. These are actually from cotton buds so were free, and fit really nicely!

Lip glosses and Crayons- Layering is always good, as again, they roll! Ideally I'd like my lip glosses stood up but unfortunately can't find something big enough yet. This however works for now. the box is the perfect size and was from an old body spray set. Lip glosses are on the top as they are more most reached for over the crayons, I have a range of my favourite shades now and with less of them I can easily get through them before they go out of date as none of them are very old. 

SAMPLES!- Are completely free! I've been getting through the big pile I had and actually really enjoying trying out products without spending the money. Get your hands on as many samples as you can. I got my Dior ones by being cheeky to the man that sold me some products in Selfridge's, a handful for free! Don't be afraid to ask, specially if you're forking out a bit of cash. 

Pots- All shapes and sizes work, my smaller ones are from old broken pencil sharpeners, the square one an old pencil pot. They all help divide my products and make them all easy to find. Pencils were one thing I got rid of. Remember, they may be small, but they don't keep! 

Stacking- Blushers, bronzers, powders and a few other bits got completely gutted to this box. The box is from a Body Ship set. It fits in 2 nice rows and I refuse to get any more as this is still a lot of products!

Staple Products- We all have them. I had become a bit over the top with moisturiser and foundation. I now have a rule of one foundation for summer, one BB Cream and one moisturiser, along with make-up remover as that is essential.  My winter foundation is Dream Matte Mouse, but that is in the box with my powders to keep it out the way. 

Finally, take it all out, and have a play with how you like it. I laid mine all out and found what worked best. 

I'd also like to point out that no storage was brought as that's what I found worked best for me.

As always, thanks for reading. 

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