Friday, July 6, 2012

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

4 comments:

  1. What a great idea!
    I would love to hear the conclusion in the end. maybe I can join you, I always use the same 10, 12 shadows and rarely touch others, especially in my palettes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely join in! I'd love to hear about how others are doing.

      Delete
  2. This is my favourite kind of Project :D

    I look forward to seeing you devolve into a mad cackling version of yourself ahem! I mean I look forward to your beauteous makeup creations and illuminating insights into modern consumerism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Beauteous makeup creations and illuminating insights into modern consumerism" really should be my new blog subtitle.

      Delete