Keep It Simple Stupid: A minimal makeup collection and some thoughts on minimal/simple living
I love makeup. I watch beauty gurus pretty regularly (recently mostly for the drama, not gonna lie), and I find putting on makeup really fun and relaxing. That said, I don't wear a ton of makeup. And I have realized at certain points in time, that my makeup buying (and hoarding) habits weren't exactly in line with my actual makeup use. For example, at one point I was signed up for ipsy, and later I was signed up for Sephora Play (both monthly subscriptions). It made sense to me to be subscribed to those boxes because I "love makeup!" In reality, I'd swatch things once, maybe use them once, and then go back to my usual makeup routine. I cancelled those subscriptions months ago, but the same sort of "WHY DO I HAVE ALL THIS CRAP?!" clarity came to me a few days ago when it came to what I was still holding on to. I'd say I was using a good 15% of the makeup I was toting around with me. And everyday I was rifling through the other 85% to find the 15% that had sunk to the bottom of the bag. So I decided to clear it all out.
Here's what's left:
Makeup Collection:
Coulourpop Bronzer: I found I was using this daily as both bronzer and eyeshadow (pure laziness), so figured such a multipurpose product should stick around
Elf & Wet n Wild Eyeliners: I get that it's weird to minimize your makeup and then end up with two black liquid eyeliners, BUT eyeliner is my jam. I find the Elf liner very easy to apply. I've used it since I started wearing liquid liner. The Wet n Wild liner I use just to trace over the tips of the wings to waterproof them. My eyes water naturally throughout the day (also 60% of commercials make me cry), so reinforcing them with the waterproof liner keeps my winged liner in tact :)
Colourpop Eyeshadow Palette: This is for special occasions. It has colors I can use as highlighter as well as eye shadow, yet another multipurpose product.
Mascara and Eyebrow Pencil: Need em. I'm not married to these brands/specific products, but I need eyebrows and lashes.
Elf Eyeshadow Primer: Tried, true, and less than two... dollars. First primer I ever used, and it works perfectly. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Luxie 249 Makeup Brush: Double ended = 2 in one! She applies, she blends, and quite frankly I don't need to do much more than that.
Feels nice to know what I have and that I actually use all of it, and that I’m no longer fooling myself into thinking I will one day be that girl (although I wish I was that girl 😂) who goes home and experiments with makeup for fun like the gurus. Seems so simple, but purging the stuff I don't need makes my life easier. It's less messy, less frustrating, easier to maintain, easier to move around the house or take on trips. It just makes makes the morning scramble a lot less of a scramble and more of a routine or ritual. It makes me happy, and it also got me thinking about where else I could stand to minimize and simplify my life.
Thoughts on Minimalism/Simple Living:
Here's the thing. I'm low key obsessed with minimalism, and minimalist youtubers. I binge watch lifestyle videos from minimalism channels on the reg. Minimalism or simple living, from what I've gathered from all the Youtube videos, blog posts, and instagram accounts, is about minimizing clutter in your life in order to free up your time, space, and mind. Usually this comes in the form of material possessions: clothing, gadgets,towels, books, etc.
I love that idea. It makes sense to me, but it's also difficult for me to practice. I like stuff. I mean helloooooo I run a thrifting blog. I clearly love to shop. I'm also just comforted by my stuff for some reason. And that’s fine, except my personal attachment to stuff doesn’t really serve me or make sense for my life anymore. I moved around a lot as a kid. Because my surroundings changed so often, the stuff I was surrounded by was sometimes more permanent than the homes I've lived in. I think because of that, the stuff became comforting.
These days, though, my life is a lot different. I'm not moving around as much. In fact, hubs and I are planning to be in Hawai‘i forever. But again, my behavior doesn't really reflect that. I buy a lot of stuff I don’t need or really really want. I have a home that isn't organized in a way that makes it easy to keep clean. Part of that is just the amount of junk I own. Granted, the other part of that is that I'm a super messy person, but that’s another reason why a clean out might be a good idea. I purged and reorganized my bathroom a few weeks ago (you can see it on insta!) That space has stayed SO much cleaner than it ever did before because I got rid of what wasn’t necessary and gave everything else a permanent home. I set myself up for success there and with my makeup collection, and I want to do that in other areas of my life.
So that's the plan. I'm setting myself up for success in the coming weeks. Look forward to some room transformations along the way! I don't think I'm about to become a minimalist. There’s no way, for example, I’m giving up my many pens and markers, my hair products, or my mug collection. I also still want to thrift and share that second hand love with the world, but I think I can be more intentional with what I bring into and keep in my home. So I won't be a minimalist, but I also won't be a maximalist... Is there such a thing as a midimalist? mediumist? Moderist? Hmm... the red squiggly lines under these words would suggest no, but it doesn't need a title. It can just be.
Where do you fall on that maxi/minimalist spectrum?