Sorting out my makeup stash

I’m never buying makeup again. I could open a cosmetic shop. Looking back, I think I bought lipsticks, eyeshadow etc as a cheer up through depressing periods, not expensive brands. They certainly mount up.
The drawfulls I have would last another couple of lifetimes.
In exoneration, I am a singer, so makeup has been part of a performing life.
So no more and I don’t mind if they are not new, I don’t believe the guff about changing it regularly.

Our Tesco has a collection bin for old make up, so you could recycle it there! I’ve no idea what they do with it.

I think the problem with keeping old make-up past its use by date is that bacteria and mold can grow on it. So yucky mascara, for example, could cause an eye infection. Safer to bin it.

Oops sorry, not saying yours is old and yucky Primrose53, you might buy new every week for all I know!

I did this 10 days ago - a good clear out of old mascaras, but the rest seems ok. I bought some little see through pots to keep eye liners, mascara and brushes in separately. Like Holly i shouldn’t need to buy make up ever again, but never say never!

I've been having a sort as well, prompted by GD who is now a teenager. All she wanted was to say she had a Chanel lipstick so I obliged with one I had never worn.
Which made me look at all the rest. Quads and palettes of eyeshadow I never wear anymore, it's a quick slick with a stick these days, the same with blusher. I've sorted them into keep and go. I will probably buy a cutlery tray to fit the drawer so I can see at a glance.
I have been looking at Advent calenders though.

I used to stock up on make up on our visits to Rome. Like Holly, I too have enough to last a lifetime. So many unopened lipsticks, which no longer suit my colouring.
Every so often, DD comes and raids my stash.
Sometimes I'm seduced by a QVC offer, when I don't actually need it.

I am aware of bacteria breeding, so I do ditch things which have been open for a while.
When I was working, I wore full make up, but little point now, because I am often confined to barracks.

Can't bear the idea of out of date make up. I keep one of each item and focus spending on skin care and the occasional facial. That's all.

I recently bought a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick (well, two actually) as I had a wedding to go to. I bought nothing else as I don't wear makeup usually.

I loved the website though as you could "try on" all the colours!
I can see why people are tempted!

Anyway I had my hair and makeup done professionally so didn't need any makeup at all - but thought I'd probably need to re-apply lipstick during the day. No! It stayed put!
Why didn't I know this about modern lipstick?


Normally I use moisturiser morning and night - and occasionally mascara. Now I may be converted to lippy!

I recently had a new bathroom put in so I had to clear out all the cupboards. I took the opportunity to have a massive clear out and threw out bags of old make up. For sure I will never wear it again and if I needed any I would buy new. To think I wasted so much money on a painted mask.

Myself and another relative had a wholesale clearout too, recently.
We had been invited to a wedding.
Neither of us wear it very often.
It was a case of, out with the old, in with the new.
We both got advice from a make up counter type thing.

This post could be me. I have bags of makeup half I don’t use anymore, How is I go into John Lewis just to look at the makeup, end up after saying to the assistant that I am only looking Thankyou, that I end up in the chair being made up and sold a new palette of eyeshadows I don’t need, doesn’t look anything like it did when she applied it , spending a small fortune too, Then I go in to Superdrug and buy the perfect eyeshadow that really is my colour for a couple of £££, Will I ever learn. Don’t think so ,

I have loads, too. A couple of years ago I sorted through it all and chucked out the superfluous or useless stuff, so it's still neatly arranged and sorted on the shelf.

Lipstick can go rancid, mascaras had all dried up. Powders are presumably OK.

But I haven't worn any make up for 20 years or more.

I am debating now whether to throw it all away or to slowly start reintroducing it to my daily routine, especially as my hair is now white and although I have streaks of it coloured in my original dark chestnut, I am thinking of reducing the colouring and going completely white. A cloud of white hair calls for at least some colour in the face.

The problem is, the first thing I would want to re-introduce would be mascara and that is the one thing I would have to buy new!

What to do with wee bottles half empty? I can’t put them in the recycling, it takes gallons of hot water to clean them , and I don’t want to put them in land fill
Any tips for cleaning them ?

I culled mine earlier this year. From 3 make up bags down to 2. So liberating - one bag has to hand what I wear every day (not much) - mascara, khol pencil in brown as black is now too severe and I only use it along the bottom lid and even then only halfway cross for a softer look, pale pink lipstick for day time and a dab of tinted moisturiser. That’s it. No more rootling around!

The other bag has more ‘fancy stuff’ such as liquid brown eyeliner, a couple of eyeshadows, powder blusher, red lipsticks. For ‘going out’ which isn’t often at present but never say never eh?

How come at nearly 70y have I never been brave enough to use that metal contraption that curls eyelashes? My youngest daughter just grins when I tell her ... “oh mum!”.
😁

I love make up counters - it's the gorgeous pristine colours that attract me .
I was tempted to buy Avon and lots if it during lockdown and I thought that I was helping a friend run her Avon business .

A couple of years on , I have so much unused Avon and it's not that great .
It's going to a charity shop .
I also find my so -called friend really pushy , bad tempered and only interested in selling me her products .
A lesson learned the hard way !

I have a different kind of lash curler than the scary scissor ones Urmstongran.
It's really easy to use and soft. No trapped skin. Very gentle.

It's not this brand but looks like these ones:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002UXRDMS?psc=1&ascsubtag=4586446%7Cnd32d103643404ba8a88d380d92f62b7417%7CB002UXRDMS&linkCode=gs2&th=1&tag=gransnetforum-21

If you are going to wear makeup I'd secure the curl with some mascara afterwards.

If I wore makeup more I'd probably choose a heated wand these days.