Breakup with my Makeup

Today's post is going to be of particular interest to all my male readers (yes....both of you).  I'm talking about makeup!  Now, anyone who knows me know's I'm no fashionista, so don't worry, I'm not giving any advice on how to achieve the perfect smoky eye, or a perfect pout (although my four-year old could do the latter). 

Mostly, my interest in living with less "stuff" has been met with silence by those around me, and that's ok.  But a couple have commented how they wouldn't know where to begin.  I get it. Sitting in our homes and looking at a lifetime (even if it is only a 30 year-old life) of accumulated stuff can feel very overwhelming!   But the part that some may not know is that getting rid of stuff can make one feel GIDDY with excitement and a sense of FREEDOM!  I get such a high from ditching the unnecessary stuff in my life.....similar to the high I get when I lose 5 pounds (and I should know - I've done it lots of times!). It seems that each time I go through the stuff in our house, I keep getting rid of stuff that I overlooked the previous time. The thought of emptying out a cupboard, basket, or shelf and creating yet another infamous "self-help" donation pile gets me just as excited as <insert your favourite activity>.....it's so much fun.....That's my experience, anyway. 

So, today, just for kicks and giggles, I decided to snap pics as I was sorting through my makeup.  I knew it was loooong overdue.... For anyone who ever loved snooping in other people's houses to check out their "stuff", here's a sneak peek of my underwhelming collection of makeup, and the process of deciding what stays and what goes......it's really a hard process.  Step one:  Dump makeup onto counter or other horizontal surface.  Step two:  Put back what you use.   Step three:  Make a donation to the garbage can. Simple, right?

So....ahem.....here's goes.....

I took everything out of my makeup bag and place it on a sheet on the table.  This is what it looked like....

Overwhelmingly exciting, right?   The brown bottle with the black lid near the centre is my FAVOURITE.  It's foundation by Mac....if I could have one makeup item, it would be a toss up between lipgloss and this particular foundation.  Toot toot!  Go, Mac!

Anyway....

I picked up each item individually and challenged it to tell me why it deserved to be in my makeup stash.  Secretly, I suspected lots of stuff wouldn't give me a good enough answer to stay....

This concealer has been around for a very long time.  It seems to me I bought it while I was working at the Bethesda Hospital.  That's approximately a lifetime ago.  I don't need to google "how long is the shelf life of concealer" to know that this stuff is past its prime.  Besides, it was almost empty....Whew....one thing I dislike (I'm not allowed to say hate, 'cuz I'll get in trouble with my kids) as much as my own clutter is wasting.  So I felt good giving this tube the ole heave ho into the nearest garbage bin.  Goodbye, concealer. I never loved you anyway!

Next.

It doesn't take an organizing minimalist guru to know that when something is empty, it's ok to throw it away.  Next.

Eww.  Old, no lid, and basically empty.  Score one more point for team garbage.

I seriously think I may have worn the silvery blue one at my college grad dinner at the Fort Garry Hotel.  I think I've never consciously challenged the idea that one day, I may want to wear blue sparkly stuff on my eyelids.  Today, I did.  Goodbye 1990's highschool girl pencils.

So, you get the idea of how I came up with the garbage pile.  It's pretty basic, right?  (Side note: Does it concern you that this is my idea of a rockin' good time?   Do you wonder what causes someone to actually take pictures of old makeup and write about it?)

By the time I had gone through my stash, this is what didn't make the cut.....

Leaving me with this.....



So much easier to find what I'm looking for (which is usually lip gloss).....

Hmmmmm......what else can I get my purging little hands on?

PS.  Have you ever seen so many "....." 's in one post?  It's like I use "..." 's whenever I don't know what kind of punctuation to use.  Maybe no one else notices......I guess you'll all go check now, right?  And you'll know that I don't know how to use punctuation.....

Oh, the shame.....