What have I used up in 2022?

Hi everyone!

It is that time of the year when I inevitably clean my cabinets and do the math on my makeup consumption. I am trying to downsize a bit and use up what I have without immediately replacing used up products. It is easy to reward oneself with a new product after you have finished one, but chances are that there are other products in the same category in your collection that could be used up as well. That was my mindset this year. Also, I was hoping to be more mindful about the expiration dates on the products, use up what I can, but without forcing myself to risk eye or skin problems just to be able to say “I have used it all up”. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

I finished three primers. Not all of them were new and some had a decent dent in it to begin with. I had a mini of Marc Jacobs Coconut primer which is not available any more but it was a nice base for makeup. Becca’s primer is also not available anymore but it was one of the cult classics. It was nice, but I am sure there are a ton of nice primers out there, so I will not miss it. Milani BFF was a really good primer. It is the one I will surely repurchase again some day.

I have finished Undone glow tint which I liked even though the shade was a bit weird in the bottle. They don’t have a big shade range, but since it is such a light coverage product, it is working for range of skin tones. I did like it, reminds me of Glossier skin tint, but with a hint of more coverage. The other one was The Balm shelter tinted moisturizer. You get a ton of product in this one. I liked that it had additional SPF to offer another layer of protection. I love how it has a greyness in this shade, so it looks as good on the skin as those Korean BB creams.

Four concealers have left my collection. One was not completely done, but I called it done and it is Becca corrector. I have realized that I have had it since 2019 and since it is a cream product, probably not ideal to use it for so long. I have used up Uoma concealer which I really liked in the beginning, but it became more and more dry as time went by and I was happy to see it gone. Same goes for Flower beauty concealer. It looked and felt nice at first, but then I noticed that it looks heavy on my under eyes and that I don’t like it anymore. Same goes for Milani conceal and perfect. I didn’t like the heaviness on my under eyes, so I powered through the product sometimes using it  as a foundation mixed with a bit of moisturizer. I would not buy it again.

I have finished one powder RMCA which I had decanted in a travel sifter box. It was getting old and as much as I liked it, I also used it as dry shampoo. I have completed two setting sprays: Pretty fresh from Colourpop which took most of the year. Then I got a mini NYX plump and back setting spray which had a terrible sprayer so I have transferred it into an empty Colourpop bottle. I liked Colourpop much better, but I am ready to move on and try out something new.

One of my biggest accomplishments this year was finishing a highlighter from Hourglass. It was a mini, but it still took a long time and I am glad to see it go and reduce the numbers in my collection. I also finished a cream highlighter stick from Ciate London. It was nice as it didn’t have any shimmer, so it really looked like pure dewiness on the skin. It was not a huge amount of product you get to begin with, and it wasn’t completely full when I started using it, so it is cool I managed to finish it off this year.

Eyeshadows are never easy to go through and finish, but this Supergoop potted shadow had an expiration date since it contained SPF. So, I prioritized it and used it as much as I could before it went bad. I have finished two Colourpop eye liners…well, some of it broke off in the use. They tend to dry out and get fragile, so I will not be buying anymore from them. I had a Honeydude and Woodsy. Both useful colors of nude and brown, but I will not miss them.

I have finished two and a half mascaras. RMS was bad and smudgy. The other one was Bite upswing mascara, which was great. I loved it a lot, and I will miss it very much since Bite has gone out of business and I can’t buy it anymore. The half mascara I am counting was Tarte maneater which fell in the bathroom sink after a couple of uses. Not a good mascara anyways.  I finished Cover girl micro brow pencil which was great and I would repurchase it again. I had this random freckle pen from Colourpop, but it dried out fast and I have realized I don’t really need such product, as I can use a brow pen to enhance my freckles.

My biggest empties category is lip products. I tend to reapply them during the day as lip balms. Some of these were mini, but 10 has left my collection. I used up the 3 oldest ones I had which were Persona lip glosses. All were great. I always love Kosas lip oils and I had mine in the shade dip. I love Tower 28 lip gloss, but it goes bad faster than the others, so I made sure I use it up before that happens. My shade was Coconut. Kopari pinapple glossy was fine, but I have a feeling that it dries out my lips after a lot of use. I really didn’t like Alamar cosmetic lip gloss in Birthday suit. It is just too thick and sticky. I used up two mini Lawless lip glosses which were fine, but I will not repurchase them. The last one was Milk Makeup kush balm in the shade Canatonic. It was a nice cool toned pink shade. It is not available for purchase anymore either, so it is gone forever.

There were some products I have not been able to finish off completely, but they are done, like Glossier cloud paints, old Milani eyeshadow primer (which is great, but it was old), Tarte blush, Bareminerals bronzer, Honest beauty lip balms, Em cosmetics liquid eyeliner, Physicians formula butter bronzer (which I have hit pan on which was my project pan goal for this year),  Kosas cream cheek duo and sadly my Lisa Eledrigde lipstick that broke off and landed on the bathroom floor. My Velvet Ribbon…I think I will just keep it as a décor before I get the chance to buy a new one.

All in all, 49 products have left my collection this year. The retail value of it is a little above 750$. I rarely pay full price for my makeup, so it makes me feel good knowing I got my money’s worth. Also, I didn’t bring nearly as many products to my collection this year so my collection is officially shrinking.

Hope you have a great New Year’s eve party, leave all the bad that has happened in the old year and may the new Year only bring new, exciting and interesting things to you.

Talk to you soon! XOXO, Iva