Purging Mini-Tutorial: Forcing Yourself to Shrink Your Stash

Purging is tough, especially when it comes to products you really love. Clearly, I've already purged a large number of products that I just didn't like for my blogsale...but now I've started purging products that I really do love. "How," some people have asked me, "do you do it? How do you get rid of a really beautiful product without regretting it?"

Well, the first and most important thing you have to do is realize why you're purging. If you're purging because you feel like you have to or because everyone else is doing it, you probably won't be able to give stuff up. Face it: you're attached to a material possession. And that's fine! Sometimes it just takes time. But if you need some pocket cash, if you can't fit it all in your storage, or if you only use a select few products and think it's wasteful to keep the rest...those are all rationales people tend to get behind. In short, if you know why you want to purge, and if you can keep that in the back of your mind, that'll really help.

Now, again, I've already done my first round of purging, and that was me removing items that I either didn't like, never used, or knew did not look very good on me. But over the past week, I've purged 2 dozen more items, most of which I look at, sigh, and say, "Oh,  it's so pretty!" The way I do this is by comparing a group of similar items, figuring out which product doesn't match up to the rest of the group, and giving it the boot. I just did that with my powder blushes today, so I can provide some pictures for your convenience. :)

Let's start with these beautiful blushes in the popular "peachy-pink with gold shimmer" category.

Of course, all of these are a bit different, even if they are in the same color family. Still, I would like to shrink my stash, so I tell myself, "You need to get rid of one of these." Hence, I started by picking out the colors that were the most unique or the most beloved in this bunch: Lorac Exposed and Milani Luminous are 2 of my all-time favorites, and I would just repurchase them if I purged them (LOL), so I know that they stay. With that in mind, I had to consider which remaining shades were the most similar; in this group, it was Jordana Coral Sandy Beach and Milani Coralina. The differences are in the pigmentation and overall finish: Jordana applies satiny, whereas Coralina has shimmer in it, but Coralina is also brighter and more red/coral than the Jordana. Hence, they're both going to stay. MAC Dainty seems like it would be identical to Milani Luminous, but in fact, Dainty has far more peach in it. Dolce Pink, on the other hand, is almost the exact same shade as Milani Luminous, but more intense and with a lot more shimmer. Between Dainty, Luminous, and Dolce Pink, Dolce Pink is definitely my personal least favorite, and so I purged it.

Here's another example with bright red-ish and coral mattes:

Cargo Key Largo looks a lot like La Femme Coral in these photos, but in real life, they're quite different: Key Largo is a bright pink, tropical-punch sort of coral, while the La Femme blush is a true coral. MAC Frankly Scarlet has a texture that doesn't wow me as much as that of Sleek Scandalous, but it's far cooler/more blue-toned than any of these others, so for now, it stays. Sleek Scandalous is obviously my favorite! Milani Mai Tai is absolutely gorgeous in the pan and on other people (just look at Emily Noel on YouTube!), but swatching it against these others made me remember that it just doesn't look right on my skintone. Hence, Milani Mai Tai is the one to go.

So that's how I do it! I really do just try to be honest with myself and think about what products I'll continue to use because they flatter me...and what products, even if they are beautiful, need a better home.

And since we're on the subject, some porn! Here's my recently reduced blush stash, plus a picture of my highlighters. Missing from these photos are 2 blushes by theBalm, Down Boy and Frat Boy, which I swapped for, but have not yet received.

Cream blushes:

 Powder blushes:

 Highlighters:

A few I forgot to photograph: