Makeup empties of 2024
Hi everyone,
There is something so satisfying in cleaning up the makeup drawer at the end of the year, taking out used up products and looking at the yearly statistics about my makeup usage and consumption. Well, at last to me that is interesting. I love looking back at the products and see how I loved using something and if I would buy it again. Curating my collection down over the years made me more selective of what I want to buy and use, what is actually buy and use worthy.
I have the overall photos of everything I have used up and it is so satisfying to see the use out of it all and I am moving on to the next year to start fresh.
Let’s start with some base products.
Face products are always kind of a big ticket items. I have used up Charlotte Tilbury pressed powder. It lasted me for couple of years and even though it is expensive, it was a good purchase for me as I don’t often go through a full pressed powder easily. It is quite light weight and the fair color of it was a good match for me. I had a love-hate relationship with Patrick Ta cream foundation and powder. The shade match was excellent in light 1. Never better color match. The cream foundation is nice if you put a really (but I mean reeeeeally) light layer. Otherwise it looks cakey on me. Also, after a while I noticed that it caused little bumps around my nose and upper lip. I didn’t care for those breakouts and they would go away after a few days, but that meant I have to be strategic of when will I wear this foundation and how many days in a row. I used it up (gave up on scraping the corners) but I wouldn’t ever buy it again. Powder was ok. It came shattered to begin with, so I just poured out the broken parts and used the powder for as long as I had this compact. It was ok, but nothing exceptional. In general, I find Patrick Ta brand to be very underwhelming. It is mostly about the hype and online photos, but there are so many better products out there and honestly, I wouldn’t ever buy his products again. I also didn’t care for the scent of this cream foundation and knowing how his eyeshadows get moldy after a few months of use, I am just done with this brand in general. I think you will have much better luck with Purito BB cream, which I really liked. The shade is on the grayish side, but this has good coverage, SPF and it is affordable. Much better option. However, I am sticking to my Lisa skin tint, so I will not be reviewing any new base face products any time soon. I liked this Saie concealer in the beginning, but I guess over time as it got older and got more air in the component, it started to look dry under my eyes. The shade was also not a perfect match, so this won’t be coming back to my collection either. I liked Calliray setting spray. It made my skin nice and dewy, but I am also ok not using setting sprays so much anymore. I would buy it again if I had the need for a setting spray. I would probably go also for Urban Decay All nighter. I had this little travel size and it is one of the best sprays if you are looking to lock in your make up. It has been a fan favorite for a reason.
After years of using Becca bronzer, I have finally declared this product done. I used up the lighter side and decided that a bronzer from 2019 needs to be retired. I liked it, but Becca is no longer in business, so there is no way of getting this product again. I also finished a mini Fenty bronzer. This was in the shade Shady biz. I really liked the formula and I can see myself buying a full size of this bronzer, but I would go for a lighter shade. It is very smooth and nice looking bronzer. I didn’t care too much for Charlotte Tilbury wands. I remember being super excited about getting them back in 2020. The pinkgasm was not a good shade of blush for me. I didn’t know it back then of course, but I should have focused on peach blushes and not such pink colors. The highlighter was a bit better, but it was a bit too obvious on my skin so I would not get it again either.
Flower beauty mascara was in black version and it made my lashes look nice and separated, but it smudged on me like crazy. I gave up pretty quickly on it as I don’t have a desire to look like a raccoon if I am putting on a makeup. The same thing happened with Covergirl lash blast volume. I heard so many good things about it. I got it in brown version and I was super excited to use it. It smudged on me. I just can’t bother with a mascara that smudges. I have discovered ELF lash extendr since and this is now my go to mascara.
After years of using an eyeliner, trial and errors of application, I was able to use up this double ended liner in mesmerizing maroon from Charlotte Tilbury. It was a nice color for my greenish eyes, but it was limited edition so I don’t think those shades are available any more. Again, if I am using an eyeliner, I would just use my Lisa Eldridge brown and gold eyeliner I have now. Some brow products from Glossier: a pen and a brow gel in the shade blond. Both excellent and would repurchase. It was just time to use it up, since I had it since 2020. I also loved this Kosas brow gel that was a free sample from somewhere. I loved that it was one and done kind of gel.
Lip products are always my biggest category of the year. Milani lip fruit fetish balm was super nice and affordable and I can see myself buying it again. Same as Milani fruit fetish lip oil. It is just a matter of finding the right shade for you, since the formula is so nice. This strawberry color was nice for the summer but I would get more neutral shade next time. I also liked the formula of Ilia balmy lip oil, but the shade was off for me. I would probably try to find a better match for myself next time as this one was a bit too pink on me.
As for the NYX glosses, I preferred the Lip drip oil over the lip hydrating gloss. Hydrating gloss was nice at first, but in time I feel it dried out my lips. Also watermelon scent and taste was tiring after a while. I also preferred the feel of the lip oil. I would just get a better color next time as this shade Missed call was (guess what!) too pink for my taste. NYX buttergloss was great. I loved this color Madelaine and this little gloss has a lot of product in it. The only thing I wish is that they would update the packaging. The applicator is so small. Especially after using the NYX drip oil which has nice big applicator, this buttergloss seems like you are applying a lipgloss with a toothpick. I would definitely repurchase it in this shade…toothpick or not.
I finished two lip NYX pencils. One in beige and one in nude pink. I preferred the beige one due to the color. The formula is quite nice on these wood lip pencils, but I don’t think I have the a need for them anymore as I have found I like Lisa Eldridge formula better. Same goes for EM cosmetics lip liners. Perfectly fine liners and I had two shades: Bunny and Kitten. I think I should have bought the Fawn color, that it would have been a better match for me, so maybe I would try that one out in the future.
Since it is the end of the year, I have also decided to retire my Charlotte Tilbury holywood flawless filter. I had it since 2019 and got so much use out of it. It is almost completely done, so I don’t want to put old products on my face since. Unfortunately, my Lisa Eldridge elevated glow highlighter expired. It separated and even if I shake it, it can’t be mixed back together so the formula changed. I will repurchase it once my collection is smaller. This is also a good reminder to check your makeup. I also found Mango people balm in my purse, that I have just used up, so it is in this photo. It is a really nice lip balm (I love the mango scent), however it is a bit pricey.
I am also declaring the Becca highlighter in Moonstone done. I bought it in 2018! So yeah, this needs to go even if I haven’t scraped every bit of it from the pan. I used up Strivectin primer and I don’t need a pore minimizing primer in my life. I am parting ways with the About face eyeprimer from 2022 and NYX pencil from 2021. I have used up two more brown mascaras: Tower 28 and Elf roll and lash. Both great and I would repurchase both. Catrice concealer is a bit too grey/cool toned on me and even though I didn’t use it all up, it is almost expired, and I have a rule of not having more than two liquid concealers and keeping them only for the recommended time of usage since it goes practically in my eye. I would repurchase this concealer again someday as it is great. I also repurchased Natasha Denona concealer, so I retired my old one from June 2023, along with this Elf Lash Extendr mascara in brown. I repurchased two during the Black Friday sale, so I can start fresh tube in the new year (and a backup) and have an easier time tracking the time I use an opened mascara. Got to keep the eyes healthy.
The final declutter was the Tower 28 cream blush in the shade Magic hour. It is a beautiful blush, but I had it for almost 3 years, it is the oldest cream blush and I got a lot of use from it. I have a similar shade of the newer cream blush in Wisteria from Rose Inc, so I will use that one instead of replacing this one. I also loved using this Lisa Eldridge lip gloss. It is very plush, rich formula in this divine peachy beige color Songbird. She has discontinued this particular shade, but the other colors are available on her website. I am guessing she will come up with more colors in the future, but the formula is very nice. It kind of took me by surprise that I was done with it. I knew I used it a lot since I have bought it in February 2023, but when it started showing the clear sides all of a sudden, it took just a few days to finish it and just in time to leave it in 2024. Sad to see it go. It is very deceiving as the tube is so big, but there is actually way more product in NYX buttergloss than this Lisa Eldridge gloss. Last minute used up product was also this Em cosmetics lip dew in the shade Dream. I got it once as a free gift with purchase and I liked the color on me. I liked how lightweight it was. I do have some other formulas that I like better, but I might repurchase it some day.
If I have counted correctly, I have used up 42 product this year within this unofficial project pan (and last minute declutter of old products). I did the math and it was about 830$ worth of products. Talking of retail pricing here as I bought most of it at some sort of discount throughout the year, saving over 200$ with discounts.
Taking into consideration that I have decluttered 83 products to friends and family (and 30 of those were single shadows so it sounds a lot), and I have brought only 26 products into my collection. The overall balance of my products is dwindling down and I love it. It makes it easier to get ready, I don’t have analysis paralysis and less and less of my makeup goes to waste since I am actively using it.
This is the overall look of my current make up collection at this point. (Laura Geller foundation is still on the way to me). I have a total of 76 products (11 of those are single eye shadows) and I love the look of it.
Also, my goal for the next year is continuing to use up more products than I bring into my collection, like I did this year and also spend less on makeup in general.
What are your makeup goals? Are you planning project pan in 2025?
Hope you are having fun either way and don’t let your makeup products go to waste.
Talk to you soon!
XOXO, Iva