I’ve been going through my apartment section by section and decluttering via the Konmari method. I’ve got the big stuff out of the way but decided it was time to tackle some small areas I’d been avoiding.

I LOVE beauty products, especially when they’re on sale or samples. I subscribe to ipsy which sends me 4-5 samples a month plus a cute makeup bag to go with it. At first the bags were cute, but now I have like 15 bags too many and a lot of the samples go unused due to my losing interest or the shade not being right for my skin tone. Well no more. I cancelled my ipsy subscription and decided to tackle my clutter.

I’m still working out my storage technique but I keep everything in these 3 containers, mainly divided between lips, eyeshadows, and face. Then I have a baggie with my eyeliners. I keep most of this in a drawer so it’s not out on the sink.

 

As you can see my lipsticks/glosses are almost overflowing, it’s ridiculous. My eyeshadows are quite sloppy as well. I laid it all out the Konmari way so I could see everything I had at once and then separated into keep and discard piles before putting everything back. I only kept the items that I regularly use and that give me joy. Then I got rid of items past their expiration. I had an eyeshadow quad that was at least 5 years old.

It was really hard for me to discard this MAC Viva Glam V lipstick but I had to be real with myself. I’ve had this lipstick for years and the Bareminerals shade which is much newer is  nearly identical.

 

Seeing everything laid out really put things in perspective. This was my discard pile:

And here is my makeup storage before and after:

As you can see the bag has very few things in it after. Just powder, a couple of blushes, a concealer and a mirror.

There may not seem like a big difference to my eyeshadows but I got rid of quite a few eyeshadows and it’s much more organized. The bottom is a few loose shadows that have to be stacked in order not to become a big mess. I also got rid of a ton of glosses I was never going to use.

I put my eyeliners in a new smaller baggie and I’m sure I could get rid of a few more.

If you’re unsure of when to throw out your makeup, here are some helpful timelines:

• Eyeliner: 6 months to 1 year
• Mascara: 3-6 months
• Blush, eye shadow, and other powder cosmetics: 1-2 years
• Foundation: 6 months to 2 years
• Lipstick: 2 years
• Natural products: 3-6 months

A few more tips:

• When you declutter lay everything out all at once so you get a clear snapshot of what you have.
• Toss everything passed its expiration date or that has a weird texture or smell.
• Toss everything that doesn’t spark joy or hasn’t been used.
• Put all like items together so you have an idea of how much you have at all times.
• I know sales/items on clearance are amazing but try not to buy a new mascara, lipgloss etc. until you’ve finished the ones you already have.

I decluttered these nail polishes a couple of weeks ago but I thought I’d share anyway. I had 4 boxes of nail polish that I rarely used. When I took them all out, I realized a lot of them were separating due to being so old and I had a lot of repeat colors that I didn’t realize because they were all in different boxes.  I tossed the old ones and gave away the dupes. Now I store them in this great gift box, I repurposed.

If you have any tips or cool storage techniques, I’d love to hear about them. Happy tidying!