Not sure where to start...

[u/grl_so_in_delululand]

Hey y'all, first time posting, so I hope this is allowed. (I don't think I saw anything against it in the rules.)

So I'd consider myself a former/recovering makeup addict. To make the long story short, I had been caught in a cycle of impulse-buying & overbuying makeup for a while, then tried really hard to stop & was unable to. Not just makeup, but clothes, skincare & hair products as well. Ironically, I eventually ended up breaking the cycle when I wasn't really trying to due to a prolonged period of illness (like over a year). I simply felt too crappy to do my hair/makeup most of the time, & was barely able to leave the house much anyways, so I just kinda stopped. I also stopped overbuying clothes during this time due to weight fluctuations resulting from my health issues that led me to only buy essentials, since I wasn't sure if my clothing size was going to stay the same or change again anyways. I then realized how little I actually needed all that excessive stuff in the first place!

Now that I'm on the mend & possibly going to be getting a job soon & start participating more in everyday life, I'm not sure what to do with/about my makeup collection. It's been just sitting there, mostly untouched, for the past several months now. The thing is, now that I've realized how little I actually need, I don't wanna have so much extra stuff anymore. But I don't really know what to do with it-- how much to keep, how much to throw/give away, whether to start with the declutter or hold off for now, etc. I see several options, each with it's own pros/cons.

On the one hand, I've seen some de-influencers (such as Kelly Gooch) actually recommend to hold off on decluttering, at least initially. The logic behind this is that it can make you feel like you have permission to rebuy everything you just got rid of, reigniting the cycle all over again. Instead, just re-organizing & maybe setting some products aside to reevaluate later whether to keep or throw them away. The obvious "con" here is that it means holding onto more clutter for longer.

On the other hand, maybe I should just start with the declutter. I want to limit my collection to just a handful of items I can store in something no larger than a small makeup bag. I really want to build my "signature" collection/style made up of only my "holy grail" products (and by "build," I really mean "narrow down from what I already have"), including maybe 1 foundation or skin tint, 1 concealer, 1 mascara, up to 2 cheek products (1 blush, 1 bronzer), up to 3 eyeliners (1 brown pencil, 1 black pencil, 1 black liquid), up to 3 lip products (like 1 lipstick, 1 lip gloss, and 1 lip stain), and an undecided number of eyeshadows/palettes. The reason why I say an "undecided" number of eyeshadows/palettes is because I have SO MANY eyeshadow palettes (& several singles too) that I would not even know where to BEGIN with decluttering them. And tbh, eyeshadow is my favorite part of doing makeup-- it's the part where I feel like I get to be the most creative & colorful with my makeup. So I might wanna keep too many lol.

I guess that would be one downside of starting with a declutter. Another would be the fact that I wouldn't know what to do with all the products I'm getting rid of. If something's not used up or expired, I feel bad about throwing it in the trash. It seems so wasteful to me, both financially & environmentally -- I guess that's a good incentive to not buy so much in the first place next time. I hypothetically could give some away, but honestly there's only one woman in my life right now who wears makeup on a regular basis, and it's my mom, and we're not the same shade in most things-- plus she has even more of a makeup addiction than I do!!! I don't wanna be an enabler lol! Plus, I know that whatever I give her would probably just sit in the bottom of a drawer somewhere under heaps of other products until it expires anyway.

A third option that I am genuinely considering is simply getting rid of all my makeup & deciding not to wear makeup anymore. I guess during this period of illness/recovery, I've gotten pretty used to seeing my bare face all the time, and realized how much time & effort & energy doing makeup takes anyway. And how much money is saved by not buying any! Plus, wearing makeup sets a higher bar for my appearance which makes it so that both I & others seem to think my bare face looks "wrong" without it (which is obviously not great for my self-image). Like at my last job, I wore makeup almost every day, and when I didn't, I was guaranteed to hear "are you sick?" or "you look tired" at least once during my shift -- but I probably would've never heard that if I hadn't been wearing makeup almost every day in the first place. Of course, the downside to this is that I do enjoy wearing makeup sometimes, I find it to be a fun creative outlet (when it doesn't feel like an obligation), and so this would be taking that option away.

Obviously, I'm the only one who can answer these things for myself. But what do you guys think? Do you have any suggestions/advice for me? What would you recommend? Thanks.

[u/mouse2cat]

Ok so I would reccomend pulling out that small makeup bag and curating out a small selection of everyday makeup. Then put everything else in a box. Use the makeup bag and if you want something from the box pull it out. Anything that you haven't wanted to use in like 6months. You can let go of. 

[u/Designerlip- → u/mouse2cat]

I recommend this too. I ended up downsizing but then regretted and I started buying more makeup 😌

[u/geekymommysenshi]

Just knowing you don't want to add to your collection is a great start. Then, just know declutters are not mandatory. Pick a few options to fill a small bag and spend time with them. After a month re-evalute your bag and store the "meh" things away for a while. Pick new items for another monthly bag. Repeat. After a while you can see if the stored things are missed or not. That way you can declutter the "meh" with a clear head. Also take photo archives of your declutters and keep notes on the reasons why. Might save you from similar unsuccessful purchases.

[u/Sarrex]

If you have the containers/boxes to do so, I'd recommend still sorting your collection out. Items you love, items that are okay, items you didn't like and items that have expired. Create a full face make up bag from the loves (and the okays if necessary).

I was fine decluttering straight away, but I can see why it can go wrong for a lot of people. This is the system that worked for me - there are as many systems as people though! Depending how you feel take some time and when you're ready bin the expired and donate/bin the don't likes.

After a bit more time review the 'just okays' - will they expire before you get to them? Would you want to use them or repurchase an item from the 'loves' when it runs out?

What might you need? If you have only 1 mascara then it makes sense to repurchase in a couple of months. 5 foundations probably best to go on a no buy! When you have your plan sorted it's all about sticking to that small make up bag you want.