Operation Use-It-All Begins!

I'm not perfect, I'm human. And like most imperfect beings, I have pet peeves, even when it comes to stuff I love, like books, scarves, obnoxious family members, and makeup. One of the comments I encountered on many of my YouTube videos was, "Oh, you have a lot of makeup, but you don't use any of it!", and it's a comment that has always driven me nuts. First of all, I'm not sure how someone could glean whether or not I use my stuff based on a 10 minute collection video; I baby my possessions, especially my makeup, so of course it doesn't look beat-up or "used." Furthermore, it's just downright wrong: I don't buy anything for the sake of collecting, barring my hand-me-down coin collection, because my enjoyment comes from actually using the products. If I don't like something or never want to use it, I give it away, sell it, or swap it. It's also difficult for me to understand those sorts of comments, because even a quick glance at this blog or my YouTube channel should prove that I switch my style up almost every day:

 Enjoy my many ridiculous facial expressions.

Ranting aside, these comments do make a bit of a point. It's a tiny bit, but it's worth mentioning. While I do use all of my products, I have a tendency to use them in "groups": I'll use a wide variety of colors over a 3 or 4 month span, but it'll be the same dozen or so colors. So there does end up being a small chunk of stuff that isn't unused, but rarely used, or there are a few items I might not pay much attention to for 6 months because I'm too caught up with something else.

Hence, I have updated my makeup collection spreadsheet and am prepared to challenge myself! I'm going to call this "Operation Use-It-All!" Here's what I'm doing: I'm not allowed to use any of my lippies or blushes more than once, and I have to use all of my eyeshadows at least once, until I go through the whole list. I'm also not allowed to purchase anything new, barring the exceptions on the list below, until I've completed the list. This is not only a challenge to get me to use all of my stash and re-evaluate it, but also challenge me to do a wider variety of looks.

 I was honestly surprised to see how many MAC blushes I own, until I realized that a good chunk of them are cream colour bases. Yeah, that's not surprising.

Here are my exceptions:

1. This only applies to lippies, eyeshadows, and blushes. I'm not much of, say, a base product h00r, so I only own a few foundations and concealers. I also use...one brow pencil, one primer, two mascaras...you get the picture.

2. I'm going to be a little more liberal with the eyeshadows, because, er...I don't own nearly as many eyeshadows as I do blushes or lipsticks. :X I will, however, have to use each eyeshadow I own at LEAST once before I can complete the challenge.

3. I'm allowed to use my entire stash for Very Important Events, like a funeral or a wedding, when only certain items may be appropriate. (But if I can check more things off the list, all the better!)

4. I'm still allowed to swap. Of course, anything I swap for will be added to the list.

5. Purchase exceptions for things I've lusted for and admit that I cannot resist buying: Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Abstraction, Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine blush, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish, and Laura Mercier cream eyeshadow in Rose Gold. I can't think of too much else that would tempt me to stray like woah.

6. Wet n' Wild Brulee eyeshadow can be used as needed. Yes, I know I'm cheating, but it's my favorite matte highlight shade, so THERE. Actually, I'm not limiting my eyeshadow usage...so this isn't really an issue.

When I'm done, I'll...I dunno. Make a big blog post? LOL! But I'll take as many face-of-the-day pictures as I can and try to post spreadsheet photos from time to time. I also encourage you to make your collection inventory (if need be) and follow along--I'd love to hear about your own experiments! :D