I got around to executing the KonMari method on my makeup. This category did not include any skincare or tools. As I went, I realized that the process isn’t hyper conducive to photography, but I did manage to catch a few photos.
(Almost) Everything (that Isn’t a Palette)
My initial pass included everything that wasn’t a palette. I realized after capturing this photo that I had missed a few pieces. They were still subject to the same joy-sparking scrutiny, I just didn’t get them in the picture. I had:
- 2 BB Creams (both Missha Perfect Cover)
- 6 Concealers
- 1 Highlighter
- 5 Face Primers (one not pictured)
- 8 Single Shadows (one not pictured)
- 5 Eye Primers/Bases (including a MAC Paint Pot & a NYX Milk pencil)
- 15 Eyeliners (duplicates not pictured)
- 8 Blushes (one not pictured)
- 2 Bronzers (one is packaged with one of the blushes)
- 2 Face Powders (both Hourglass ALPs)
- 14 Lipsticks
- 4 Lip pencils
- 6 Mascaras
- 5 Brow Products (Ulta & the dregs of my Gimme Brow not pictured)
Expiration Pass
Before I even evaluated whether or not a product sparked joy, I got rid of products I knew were past their prime and eliminated:
- Josie Maran Argan Infinity blush
- L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara
- Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Taupe
- IT Cosmetics Gel Pencil
- they’re Real Push-up Liner
- Stila Beso
- UD Mini Revolution Lipstick in Naked
- UD Mini Revolution Lipstick in Catfight
Even though I find liquid lipstick a pain in the ass, I would have kept Beso if it weren’t old. The color, and my experience with its wear, does spark joy.
Spark Joy
I went through and determined that the following items did not sufficiently spark joy to justify keeping.:
- Missha Perfect Cover in 23 – Too dark.
- Benefit POREfessional Sample Tube – A lot of people love POREfessional but it really doesn’t do much for me; ergo, I don’t use it.
- Benefit Boi-Ing in shade 2 – Way too dark.
- Maybelline Great Lash – Although this mascara has endured the test of time, I just dislike it.
- Covergirl LashExact – Thanks to a convenient coupon, sale, and rebate timing, they paid me to ‘buy’ this mascara. Unfortunately, the formula was too dry and was woefully inadequate.
- bareMinerals Prime Time Primer – Silicone-based primers like this don’t do it for me, unfortunately. Passing to a friend.
- Kat von D Tattoo Liner sample tube (x3!)- This is a really good product, but it doesn’t bring me joy because they aren’t really my style and, therefore, I suck at using them. Passing to a friend.
- Stila Stay all Day Liquid Liner – Also a good product, but its a similar story to the KvD above. Passing to a friend.
- Becca Backlight Priming Filter Sample – Here’s a twist – this does spark joy! In fact, I loved this so much that I splurged on a full size during a sale with a gift card. Passing to a friend.
- Anastasia Clear Brow Gel sample tube – This product does a lot of good for some people, my brows just don’t need it. Passing to a friend.
- Urban Decay Naked Skin Color Correction Fluid Samples (x2) – Don’t need it. Passing to a friend.
- MUFE Aqua Eye Pencil sample – I don’t wear black pencil except for this one. Passing to a friend.
- Sephora Contour Eye Pencil Waterproof – See above. Passing to a friend.
- MAC Prep + Prime Base sample – Does not yield sufficient results on my skin to justify the additional layer. Passing to a friend.
- LORAC Behind the Scenes Primer sample – UDPP still takes the cake for me. Passing to a friend.
- Lancôme Monsieur Big Mascara sample – I haven’t used this, but looking at the wand reminded me of this mascara I tried in late 2014. Passing to a friend.
- Revlon Colorstay Creme Eyeshadow in Creme Brulee – This is gorgeous color and really nice formula, but it doesn’t work on my skin. Passing to a friend.
- Kat von D Studded Kiss Lipstick sample in Lovecraft – Both too matte and too cool for me, I let it go.
- e.l.f. Blush/Bronzer Duo in St. Lucia – The bronzer is lovely, but the blush is more shimmery and glittery than I can pull off. Passing to a friend.
After that, my collection looked more like this:
Palettes
As for palettes, I currently have:
- Lorac Pro
- Lorac Pro 2 (review)
- Viseart Warm Mattes
- Tartelette in Bloom
- Naked Basics (review)
- Naked2 Basics (review)
- WnW Walking on Eggshells (older trio, not the new quad by the same name)
- WnW The Naked Truth (quint)
- Urban Decay Electric
- & a magnetic palette from a brand I no longer advocate filled with a ton of stuff including the majority of an Urban Decay Naked palette, the only holiday palette I’ve purchased, and some various singles and other things.
After assessing, I decided to part ways with Viseart Warm Mattes and Naked Basics. I sold the former and passed the latter to a friend who will likely get more use out of its paler (than Naked2 Basics) colors. The Viseart may come as a surprise; I started writing why I came to this conclusion but realized that is big enough for a whole ‘nother post. Look forward to that soon.
Destinations
Given the excellent condition and price-point of the Viseart palette, I put it up for sale. It promptly sold. A lot of it is in good shape and was wanted by a friend so I passed it to them. Everything else, however, is being cast off – but not thrown away.
- My Dipbrow pot is glass – and is going into my regular recycling.
- Mascara wands are being cleaned and sanitized, then shipped off to Wands for Wildlife.
- As for the rest, fortunately, I finally got into the TerraCycle campaign to recycle beauty and personal care packaging that is hosted by Garnier. I cleared out the remaining product from the packaging and I don’t have enough yet to justify a shipment, but as soon as I do it will be mailed off.
Remember – some brands offer incentivized, loyalty recycling programs, too – like Back to MAC.
The Bottom Line
In all, I got rid of 31 items because they didn’t spark joy. Some of what I kept does spark joy but isn’t necessarily something I would repurchase. I have decided to attempt to aggressively use them up to expedite that assessment.
My collection is no longer taking up more room than I have allocated to it; it is now neatly reorganized within the Muji drawers I have dedicated to them. It is a surprisingly freeing process, and I’m happy that I’m not producing a boatload of waste in the process.