25 Tops: MAC Impassioned

Having recently reduced my stash yet again, and having found the strength to purge lipsticks (LIPSTICKS!), I've decided it's time for a new project. Here's the deal: I currently own about 40 lipsticks. While that's nothing compared to my stash circa 2011 (I owned at least 200; photographs of the collection looked like something from an extravagant makeup counter), it still seems like a bit much for one face. My goal is to reduce my lipstick collection to 25 tubes, tops, by figuring out which shades and formulas best suit my tastes.

My main focus is going to be my lipstick collection, but I'm also going to retry other products in my stash and see if I want to purge those as well. After photographing these products and testing them out for a full day, I'm going to decide what I want to do with them: definitely keep, maybe keep, or definitely purge.

This morning's victim was MAC Impassioned. An opaque, pigmented coral-pink lipstick with a cream finish, it's one of the most recommended and popular products in the MAC range. While I've always liked the shade, I've rarely worn it. I can sort of see why: it doesn't seem to flatter my skintone as much as some of my brighter reds and cooler fuchsias. It appears more blue-toned and fuchsia in real life, but photographs as a beautiful tropical punch sort of color. I don't own anything else quite like it, so for now, Impassioned is going in the MAYBE pile.

Cargo Key Largo also goes in the MAYBE pile. It's a beautiful coral color, and Cargo's blushes are the only powder formula I think I've truly loved. Nothing blends or photographs just like them. But I rarely wear Key Largo because it doesn't match much in  my collection, and I'm inherently drawn to creams, not powders. Definitely going to have to think about this one.

The other two "featured products," Maybelline Great Lash BIG and Benefit High Beam, are getting PURGED. I really like Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes, so my mother tried to buy me a tube as a gift...and accidentally got the wrong product. It's the stuff of my nightmares: wet, sloppy, and beyond flaky. I've been trying to use this tube for almost 3 months...it's time to admit defeat and just toss it. Benefit High Beam remains one of my favorite highlighters, but my tube is at least 4 years old (they no longer produce this "travel size" tube with a doe foot applicator). It's begun to turn and has started to dry up, as evidenced by the patchy application on my cheek. Perhaps I'll repurchase a tube of this stuff one day, because when it's fresh, it's fabulous!