After a few rounds of decluttering my makeup collection, I've noticed that I tend to get into the purging "zone" late at night when I'm feeling antsy. I'm slowly getting better at recognizing which products I really have no attachment to and am finding it easier to pass them onto others. Luckily I have a few cousins who routinely inquire about any unwanted makeup (since they know I have far too much) so my unloved items often find a new home.
I've added a few highend highlighters to my collection recently and love them dearly so I found it easy to rummage through my drugstore ones and pull out a few I never use. I really liked the Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten and the Hard Candy Blush in Pin Up at one point but now I rarely pull them out of the drawer. I never got on with the Soap & Glory Solar Powder because the bronzer is not pigmented enough to make a noticeable difference on my skintone. The Marcelle Bronzer is good but nothing special and I have several highend bronzers I like better. I only purchased the Wet n' Wild Blush in Amber Glow because people said it was a dupe for a limited edition Mac MSF but I find it annoying to use loose powder blushes so I hardly reached for this.
I have so many eyeshadows that there is no excuse to keep ones I don't love. One of my cousins is just learning to apply eyeshadow so I thought these might be good for her to practice with. I weeded out two Lancome GWP quads that have a mix of warm and cool shades in addition to several finishes. I was rather disappointed in the Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette but there are four redeeming shadows in that palette which are usable. I am finally letting go of the limited edition Maybelline Best in Brown Eyeshadow Trio. The two darker shades are nice for a smokey eye but the lightest shade is a flaky mess. Lastly is the Physician's Formula Eye Candy Palette for Hazel Eyes which is perfect for gray smokey eyes but unfortunately gray eyeshadow doesn't suit me very well.
Black and brown eyeliner is really all I need for everyday so I am passing on these three colorful eyeliner shades. The Revlon Grow Luscious Eyeliner in Emerald is a very pretty sparkly green that I wore for the holidays last year but I don't see myself reaching for it at all in he future. Same goes for the L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliner in Gold Charge. The formula is ultra smooth and pigmented but I never wear gold eyeliner. The Physician's Formula Gel Liner Trio for Brown Eyes came with an eggplant shade that I simply don't use. I tried to use it as a base under eyeshadows once but that's about it. Hopefully my cousins will have more use for these shades.
I've been purchasing a few makeup products here and there and plan on getting a few more bits during the holidays. I'm not exactly enforcing a one-in-one-out policy but hoping that my decluttering efforts will allow me to keep my makeup collection slightly under control. I'll probably do another declutter at the beginning of 2016 so stay tuned for that!