I have this dreadful habit and hope my admitting it will mean you won’t judge me too harshly. When I am depressed (that being clinically depressed, as opposed to just feeling really sad), I am seized by the desire to buy lots of pretty things. Topping that list would be lipgloss.
It’s easier not to feel quite so guilty about splurging on bath products because they do get used up. I’ll have bath fizzes, solid bubble bath bars, and powders in sachets stashed in my beloved bath box, threatening to spill over, but in a month or two they’re gone. That’s fine—at least that which is bought is consumed rather than wasted.
Alas, not so with lipgloss, or even eyeshadow. In some ways, I wish I could be a bit more like my mother. She will actually finish lipstick tubes and has only five or so that are used regularly and used evenly. Then, when one is finished, she’ll go out and repurchase the same shade.
In my personal opinion, wearing the same colour palette for the last twenty or so years is not always flattering and she would do well to consider different colours for various types of light (daytime or nighttime), and occasions—but that’s another issue to be discussed later. At least she is making very good use of what she has.
I need to start doing the same. Either I can choose to have a lot of lipgloss, and use it more often, or cut down on buying the damn stuff. I’ve chosen to do the latter. So, I’ve devised some guidelines to help me get rid of items that haven’t even been used, and banish those I no longer use.
I regret that moment when I jokingly adopted the following phrase throughout some of my worst depressive episodes: “A girl (or girl at heart, regardless of age or gender, let’s be inclusive, shall we?) can never have too much lipgloss.”
Um, yes, she can. It pains me to admit it, but it’s true. Onto the guidelines for culling the lipgloss and eyeshadow collection.
1. Does the colour suit me?
Yeah, it looked hot on your friend Gwendolynne or on that sexy glam rock god in that new band, but are my skintone, hair, and eye colour anything like theirs? Sadly no. So, if it makes me look like I’ve been painted for my casket viewing, it’s very likely I’ll end up neglecting it (unless I happen to need that particular look, and I seriously doubt that will be the case, especially as I plan to be cremated). No usage = not necessary to own.
Unless it looks awful but I plan to wear it anyway, it can go.
Article comments
1 - Nomes
Ok, so I am not commenting because you mentioned that nobody else did, I am commenting because I am totally with you on this one. I have so much makeup that I rarely use and I wanna sell off most of it actually but I can't seem to part with it all. Everytime I try to come up with a sell list my eyes begin to water up, how did you get the strength to do this???
2 - Snarkattack
Strength??? What's that???
I think it was more about personal guilt, being so wasteful.
You see, back in the day, when this postcolonial Anglo-Asian family lived in London and pretty much broke even week to week, such extravagances were unheard of.
Then we come to the land 'down under' (love that Men At Work song! I was still in England when it was a hit), and cost of living was just so much more reasonable.
And ah, the nouveau riche, what trash we are. Any spare dough is flitted away on hedonistic pleasures or bargains (BOGOF and so forth!).
Then you end up with so much that you can hardly decide what to use. It just struck me as being a bit wasteful. It'd be different if I were a makeup artist, which I'm not. Plus, I need to stop using consumerism to fill the void within - getting nice new stuff was only really a quick thrill, you know?
Thank you dear for the comment :) you're a pal.
3 - Kitty
I have the exact same problem! I really need to get rid of the stuff I'm not using, but throwing it away or attempting to sell it and that not working out seems like a bigger waste. I wish I could give my barely used, unwise MAC purchases to Goodwill.. That'd make for a hell of a tax deduction!
4 - Snarkattack
Hey Kitty, goodwill donations would be a great idea. It's a shame that you can't really give away gently used makeup products to women's shelters and the like, even if one were to sanitise them to death.