The Beauty Cull

As I mentioned yesterday I've been having a bit of a beauty Spring clean. I decided to go through all my products and get rid of all the things that I no longer use. Some things I had used up, some things I didn't like & some things I had simply held on to for way too long. Having this clear out has definitely given me some perspective when it comes to buying new products. From now on I'm going for the 'buy less, choose well' approach. Beauty blogging is a terrible enabler. Of course I love trying out new products but everything has an expiration date. I've learned the hard way that buying every shade of a new lipstick release is a total waste. You are just one person. Unless you're a professional makeup artist, no one needs that much lippy. Anyway here's a round up of everything that I've gotten rid of. Some of these products are brand new or have only been used once so I'll be donating a few things to Give And Make Up. However some of this stuff has no place other than the bin!



Empties
I never do empties posts because as soon as I finish something it normally just goes straight in the bin. I'm making an exception for these products though because I loved them so much that I used up every last little bit. The Claudia Louch moisturiser just ran out yesterday & it was a very sad moment indeed. I've got a few other moisturisers to finish off first but a repurchase is looking very likely. I've already bought a new Mary-Lou Manizer as I cannot be without it. I don't think I've ever finished off a lip balm before but I finally worked my way through this mint flavoured Balmi. I loved the Skinbreeze serums but instead of repurchasing them I made a rather naughty Sarah Chapman purchase which is definitely sorting out my hyaluronic acid needs right now.



Skincare
Mario Badescu products galore! I did really like most of these but I've had them for so many years that the formulas have gone a bit funny. If you want a treatment for individual spots then you can't beat their Drying Lotion & Buffering Lotion. The Glycolic Foaming Cleanser was way too harsh on my skin though. The Ole Henriksen Truth Serum is an amazing product but anything with Vitamin C in it needs to be replaced regularly as the ingredients aren't stable. Mine had started to turn a different colour which meant it was time to get rid of it. I found this Liz Earle moisturiser sample lurking in my drawers. Having tried the full size version of this moisturiser I can't say I'm a fan. It just did nothing for my skin so I didn't want to keep any more of the stuff in my stash.



Body Products
Body lotions have to be the most boring products ever. I rarely use them & these had been sitting untouched in my drawers for months. I don't think I've ever actually finished off a body moisturiser so it was just completely pointless keeping these around. In-shower moisturisers are definitely the way forward.



Nail Polishes
Since getting a huge acrylic display for my nail polishes these ones have been hidden away without getting any love. A lot of the colours had separated or gone gunky so into the bin they went. I know now to stick with the polish brands that I really love like Essie & Model's Own.



Base Products
I was totally kidding myself with the Dr. Jart+ BB cream, it was way too orange & greasy looking! Likewise the Delarom Tinted Care Cream was completely the wrong colour for me. It didn't even offer any coverage whatsoever, it was just a weird orange moisturiser. The L'Oreal concealers didn't work for me at all, I need something more heavy duty to cover my bags. I loved the Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer but it was on it's last legs & I much prefer my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. I never really got on with any of the highlighters here. They pale in comparison to my beloved Mary-Lou. The worst was that bright yellow one from Topshop. It looked horrendous on me!




Eye Products
I rarely use anything on my eyebrows that isn't from Anastasia Beverly Hills now so I got rid of these two brow palettes. Both were way too dark for me anyway. I also got rid of these Urban Decay & Estee Lauder eyeshadow palettes. I've had them for years & never bothered to use them anymore. The ELF Mineral Eyeshadow & the Rimmel Gel Liner were disappointing products. They were very cheap though so no great loss there. I love the MAC Fluidlines but again I've had them for years so they had started to dry out & I think I actually got an eye infection from one of them a few months ago! For some reason I had kept hold of loads of old mascaras. I adored the Givenchy & Lancome ones but they'd pretty much been used up. I got rid of my old Lancome Artliners in Black & Brown. I have fresh backups of these though because they are incredible liquid liners & give me a perfect flick every time. The Duo glue had gone really gloopy & gross but I've since bought the dark version & I much prefer it.



Lip Products
I keep most of my makeup in some acrylic drawers from Homebase. They're twice as long as the Muji drawers so you can store tons of products in there. I actually cleared out one whole drawerful of lip products! Lipsticks have always been a weird obsession of mine but I came to realise that I only really wear the same select few over & over. The rest are just wasting away & taking up precious storage space. Why hoard loads of lippies from Boots when I have MAC & Charlotte Tilbury goodies to be using? I tested most of these out to see if they had developed a weird taste or smell. They had. One lipstick had even grown a fine layer of mould argh! I also got rid of most of my lip glosses as I just never really wear them. The weather round here is always too windy for gloss!

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