A) good for my specific skin type?
B) cruelty free?
C) does price always indicate quality?
In short, I have found that the best makeup products for price come from mid to high end brands such as theBalm, MAC, Bare Minerals, Stila, etc. Drugstore products always, and I mean always, have some kind of fault and basically you get what you pay for. Although here in Australia, makeup can be hideously over priced, there are some great online stores to buy from before Sephora hits our shores in Sydney. I was also vastly disappointed in the number of companies that are not entirely cruelty free, but I guess I can also understand corporate greed where a lot of potential money can be made in Asian markets such as China - whose laws infer that all cosmetics and skincare products being imported to sell in China, must be tested on animals. Annoying, but it's a fact of life.
That being said, I have pledged to no longer buy from the below list of brands because not only do their products fail me again and again in terms of quality and longevity, but - in the words of my wise friend Josh - "once you understand what it's like to live with high standards, you can't go back". Of course that is not necessarily true to all things in life, yet the amount of trial and (mostly) error I put myself through with drugstore and low quality products just wasn't worth it in the long run. Think about it. Spending $25+ on a foundation from a drugstore brand which all previous foundations I've tried has broken me out and left my skin in havoc and again, I try another product from a similar brand with similar prices only to have the cycle repeat itself. Buying a good quality but slightly more expensive product that comes with the choice of asking experienced SA's to assist you is valuable and money saving.
The Brand Hitlist:
- L'Oreal Paris (BIG offender alert)
- Covergirl
- Aveeno
- Maybelline
- Nair
- Neutrogena
- Olay
- Ponds
- Revlon (this pains me because I just love their lipsticks. Hmm too bad)
- Nyx (never liked the majority of their products anyway)
- Rimmel
- Bumble & Bumble
- Boscia
- Aveda
Well, that's that for now. Scroll over the pictures for amount comparisons if you can't be bothered counting :)
Mascara:
To start off, it is safe to say that for one face, I really don't need that much mascara, or that much of everything in this post. Instead I just kept all the ones I use on a regular basis where each has a different function. From the far left: I have blue mascara that I love to wear when I feel like the world is too boring; a new one; the spidery lash effect mascara which really lengthens those strands; the everyday waterproof; the brow gel; and a sample size of They're Real mascara which I'm still not sure whether I like or not. I'm also considering keeping some uniquely shaped spoolies from the some mascaras that I want to throw out. I now have a total of 5 mascara's and one brow gel, Good start, gurl.
To start off, it is safe to say that for one face, I really don't need that much mascara, or that much of everything in this post. Instead I just kept all the ones I use on a regular basis where each has a different function. From the far left: I have blue mascara that I love to wear when I feel like the world is too boring; a new one; the spidery lash effect mascara which really lengthens those strands; the everyday waterproof; the brow gel; and a sample size of They're Real mascara which I'm still not sure whether I like or not. I'm also considering keeping some uniquely shaped spoolies from the some mascaras that I want to throw out. I now have a total of 5 mascara's and one brow gel, Good start, gurl.
Gel Eyeliners:
I have the biggest love-hate relationship with gel eyeliners and I've only used them like a few times in my life. However for the sake of having something, I chose to keep Maybelline's gel eyeliner in that brown shade I don't remember the name of. If you look closely enough, you can see that it is very dried out but is easily fixed so I'm not too worried about that.
I have the biggest love-hate relationship with gel eyeliners and I've only used them like a few times in my life. However for the sake of having something, I chose to keep Maybelline's gel eyeliner in that brown shade I don't remember the name of. If you look closely enough, you can see that it is very dried out but is easily fixed so I'm not too worried about that.
Primers:
Too much, they must go. Mattifying primers don't work well with me and I don't want to keep putting weird things on my face, so again, I'll stick with something that works. I'm almost finished my Models Prefer Energy Lift Primer anyway so yay me!
Too much, they must go. Mattifying primers don't work well with me and I don't want to keep putting weird things on my face, so again, I'll stick with something that works. I'm almost finished my Models Prefer Energy Lift Primer anyway so yay me!
Base:
This honestly scared me. I don't even use most of them. So glad I chose to purge before buying more bases I don't need. I now have all I need for light everyday coverage all the way to the other end of the spectrum with high coverage products. If you're wondering why I have two of some things its because I find that my natural skin tone is between light and light medium so I have to mix those shades to get the right shade. It also helps when my skin gets darker in summer and lightens in winter.
This honestly scared me. I don't even use most of them. So glad I chose to purge before buying more bases I don't need. I now have all I need for light everyday coverage all the way to the other end of the spectrum with high coverage products. If you're wondering why I have two of some things its because I find that my natural skin tone is between light and light medium so I have to mix those shades to get the right shade. It also helps when my skin gets darker in summer and lightens in winter.
Loose Powders:
Not much to say here. I love using loose setting powders and the Prestige one just wasn't working with me as I found that it clung to my dry patches and oxidized after a few hours. I will have a review on the others soon.
Not much to say here. I love using loose setting powders and the Prestige one just wasn't working with me as I found that it clung to my dry patches and oxidized after a few hours. I will have a review on the others soon.
Concealers:
I only kept the concealers that didn't affect my skin negatively. Previously, I found that the moment I stopped using the Maybelline Fit Me concealer, my skin stopped a lot of its breaking out so I'll never be using that again. TheBalm's Time Balm is the bomb for light to medium coverage and I love the Natio Pure Minerals concealer for under eye concealing and highlighting. I pretty much exclusively use these two.
I only kept the concealers that didn't affect my skin negatively. Previously, I found that the moment I stopped using the Maybelline Fit Me concealer, my skin stopped a lot of its breaking out so I'll never be using that again. TheBalm's Time Balm is the bomb for light to medium coverage and I love the Natio Pure Minerals concealer for under eye concealing and highlighting. I pretty much exclusively use these two.
Blush:
14 is a hideous amount of blush for me considering I'm not even a blush person. I am trying to use blush on a regular basis to liven up my flat toning though. Just lightly y'know? The nine blushers I have left are each different colours and vary in pigmentation and wear.
Note: the palette in this and the next few sections is the NP Set Contour & Highlight palette which contains two highlighters, a bronzer and a blush. I like this palette but I just don't use this anymore, so away it goes. I'll be counting each pan by category, ie. the blush pan is included in 14 blusher count, and not in the final count.
14 is a hideous amount of blush for me considering I'm not even a blush person. I am trying to use blush on a regular basis to liven up my flat toning though. Just lightly y'know? The nine blushers I have left are each different colours and vary in pigmentation and wear.
Note: the palette in this and the next few sections is the NP Set Contour & Highlight palette which contains two highlighters, a bronzer and a blush. I like this palette but I just don't use this anymore, so away it goes. I'll be counting each pan by category, ie. the blush pan is included in 14 blusher count, and not in the final count.
Bronzers:
Same deal here with the bronzers, the palette has to go so that leaves me 6 bronzers that I will strive to finish, unless they make me unhappy or something.
Same deal here with the bronzers, the palette has to go so that leaves me 6 bronzers that I will strive to finish, unless they make me unhappy or something.
Highlighters:
And again here with my illuminators/highlighters. There's also no way I would ever break up with the Ms Lou-Manizers. Like, never ever because those bad girls are in serious holy grail territory. The Face Of Australia Illuminating liquids are also amazing, I even prefer the subtle glowy finish of the Angel Mist (pale champagne) illuminator to Benefit's High Beam which is just downright frosty on me. I prefer a lot of things over Benefit come to think of it.
And again here with my illuminators/highlighters. There's also no way I would ever break up with the Ms Lou-Manizers. Like, never ever because those bad girls are in serious holy grail territory. The Face Of Australia Illuminating liquids are also amazing, I even prefer the subtle glowy finish of the Angel Mist (pale champagne) illuminator to Benefit's High Beam which is just downright frosty on me. I prefer a lot of things over Benefit come to think of it.
Eye liners - the pens:
Oh godddd, what is wrong with me. The Simple Eye Makeup Corrector Pen is a saviour for when I use liquid eyeliners and make super wobbly mistakes, that's definitely staying with me. As for the liquid eyeliners, I only work with two and as you can see i'm keeping those two. I dislike anything with a really soft and uncontrollable felt tip and the essence eyeliner pen is amazing not only in pigmentation but also the tip is sturdy and I can draw with it.
Oh godddd, what is wrong with me. The Simple Eye Makeup Corrector Pen is a saviour for when I use liquid eyeliners and make super wobbly mistakes, that's definitely staying with me. As for the liquid eyeliners, I only work with two and as you can see i'm keeping those two. I dislike anything with a really soft and uncontrollable felt tip and the essence eyeliner pen is amazing not only in pigmentation but also the tip is sturdy and I can draw with it.
Lip Liners:
Ah lip liners, never used them and I probably should start. The only problem is, I'm such a lazy girl and I can't be bothered finding proper colours to match certain lipsticks so the Models Prefer Infinite Colour Lip liner is fantastic because it is clear and awesome and lazy friendly. I'll be keeping two of those, thank you.
Shadow Sticks:
I love the idea of shadow sticks. They're convenient and make fast work, but I find that I only use them when I'm on the run, and when I'm on the run I only want a simple everyday eye look. My favourite is the Bobbi Brown shadow stick in Iced Plum which is a lovely taupe lilac and is perfect in a swipe over the eyelids. I don't really use intense colours and so I will be keeping the neutral every day shades.
Ah lip liners, never used them and I probably should start. The only problem is, I'm such a lazy girl and I can't be bothered finding proper colours to match certain lipsticks so the Models Prefer Infinite Colour Lip liner is fantastic because it is clear and awesome and lazy friendly. I'll be keeping two of those, thank you.
Shadow Sticks:
I love the idea of shadow sticks. They're convenient and make fast work, but I find that I only use them when I'm on the run, and when I'm on the run I only want a simple everyday eye look. My favourite is the Bobbi Brown shadow stick in Iced Plum which is a lovely taupe lilac and is perfect in a swipe over the eyelids. I don't really use intense colours and so I will be keeping the neutral every day shades.
Eye Liners - the pencils:
Believe it or not, I had like another third of this mount before I first cleaned out my makeup. I have again sorted out the ones I wanted and the ones I didn't need. It's suffice to say I love my Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Pencils too much to let them go. 18 in total it is. Here's to hoping to actually using more than five of these.
Believe it or not, I had like another third of this mount before I first cleaned out my makeup. I have again sorted out the ones I wanted and the ones I didn't need. It's suffice to say I love my Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Pencils too much to let them go. 18 in total it is. Here's to hoping to actually using more than five of these.
Lip balms:
I love lip balms. My trusty one is definitely Nuxe Reve-de-Miel and for tinted loveliness I always go to my Korres lip butters. I have since added the Episilk Balm but I couldn't find it anywhere during the clean out - turns out it was on my desk - but yes I am definitely keeping that one too. I'm not keeping the MOR tinted balm as it is too slippery and icky and it turns out Burt's Bees lip balms make my lips have some kind of reaction and I get odd brown pigments turning up. Unpleasant, no? Oh and the Maybelline Baby Lips Glow I've heard is a good dupe for Dior's Lip Addict Lip Pink Glow thing so yay, I won't be forking out fifty odd dollars for a mood changing lip balm now.
I love lip balms. My trusty one is definitely Nuxe Reve-de-Miel and for tinted loveliness I always go to my Korres lip butters. I have since added the Episilk Balm but I couldn't find it anywhere during the clean out - turns out it was on my desk - but yes I am definitely keeping that one too. I'm not keeping the MOR tinted balm as it is too slippery and icky and it turns out Burt's Bees lip balms make my lips have some kind of reaction and I get odd brown pigments turning up. Unpleasant, no? Oh and the Maybelline Baby Lips Glow I've heard is a good dupe for Dior's Lip Addict Lip Pink Glow thing so yay, I won't be forking out fifty odd dollars for a mood changing lip balm now.
Lip Products:
Haha...hahahah. I can't even. Note to self: don't buy any more lip sticks. Unless necessary of course. I'm sure this may not be a lot compared to some collections people will see, but for me this is more than enough. From the initial 80+, the amount of lipsticks/glosses/creams decreased to 52, and now the entire collection is down to a lovely 40. That spare space in the container could be potentially dangerous for me though.
Haha...hahahah. I can't even. Note to self: don't buy any more lip sticks. Unless necessary of course. I'm sure this may not be a lot compared to some collections people will see, but for me this is more than enough. From the initial 80+, the amount of lipsticks/glosses/creams decreased to 52, and now the entire collection is down to a lovely 40. That spare space in the container could be potentially dangerous for me though.
Eyeshadow Palettes:
I used to have more. I probably don't need more.
As you can see in the first few pictures I moved around and threw away some depotted eyeshadow pots and now my extra large Z-palette holds all the Chi Chi eye shadows I actually want with two little depotted Nyx eye shadows from their Love in Paris collection. The 4U palette now holds my Australis Neutrals & Neons which have also been depotted alongside NP Set brow powders.
If you couldn't already tell, I really love my nude/neutral/day wear palettes and I'm already building another want list with more eye shadows and frivolous things I don't need.
I used to have more. I probably don't need more.
As you can see in the first few pictures I moved around and threw away some depotted eyeshadow pots and now my extra large Z-palette holds all the Chi Chi eye shadows I actually want with two little depotted Nyx eye shadows from their Love in Paris collection. The 4U palette now holds my Australis Neutrals & Neons which have also been depotted alongside NP Set brow powders.
If you couldn't already tell, I really love my nude/neutral/day wear palettes and I'm already building another want list with more eye shadows and frivolous things I don't need.
Single Eye Shadows:
I decided to keep all my single eyeshadows, but some of the Colour Tattoos need some saline solution. Otherwise I'm actually very happy with these.
Nail Polish:
I don't wear nail polish but I couldn't bear to part with these.
Other Eye Stuff:
Self explanatory. I need the brow powder for formal events, you can already see some pretty nice dents huh. Some lash adhesive for fake lashes I don't even have and the one Nyx product I actually like which is their eye base in skin tone. Good eye primer that.
Face Setting sprays:
I looovvveee the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, too bad its almost out and so expensive and not sold in Australia. For summer days I make do with Nyx's Dewy Finish spray, which I've found havn't clogged my pores.
I decided to keep all my single eyeshadows, but some of the Colour Tattoos need some saline solution. Otherwise I'm actually very happy with these.
Nail Polish:
I don't wear nail polish but I couldn't bear to part with these.
Other Eye Stuff:
Self explanatory. I need the brow powder for formal events, you can already see some pretty nice dents huh. Some lash adhesive for fake lashes I don't even have and the one Nyx product I actually like which is their eye base in skin tone. Good eye primer that.
Face Setting sprays:
I looovvveee the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, too bad its almost out and so expensive and not sold in Australia. For summer days I make do with Nyx's Dewy Finish spray, which I've found havn't clogged my pores.
Well, there you have it, the clean out and brand focus. Hope all you lovelies have a wonderful day! xx
Disclaimer: By no means did I do this post to brag or show off and I also know that I don't have nearly as much as a beauty blogger would. I just wanted to show that this is the result of my organisation techniques and what I recommend for others to do too. All products were purchased by me or given as gifts.