December 16, 2009

Beauty Confessions: Waste Not, Want Not!

confess

The Muse went to an all girl’s high school and once a month we all had to assemble in the gym, wait in line, and proceed to sit down with one of four priests to confess our sins.� I swear confessing my naughty deeds was the most difficult thing ever.� I admit that on occasion I’d make up things like, “I took the Lord’s name in vain…” just so I could get out of there really fast…honestly, I wasn’t going to tell him what I was really up to!

Now as embarrassing as it is to sit and confess all my cheek to a priest I have no such reservations confessing my beauty mishaps to you.

Jump!

My latest beauty confession stems from the fact that I simply have WAY too much makeup. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to tame the stash as it’s getting way too large. I actually promise myself this ever year but it never really happens.

Fact is I was sorting through some of my products a few days ago and I realized, much to my horror, I let some things go way too long without tossing them. That’s not really a big deal….the worst part is some of the items had gone bad and I had never even used them or removed them from the packaging.

Ugh.

I feel so wasteful when I do that. I try to rotate my makeup constantly. Toss items I don’t want or things that have gone bad, swap stuff I know I won’t use, or just give it away. It pretty much broke my heart when I noticed I had four, brand new, unused glosses in a gift set from a year ago that I failed to even break open and use. By now the glosses had gone bad and were just gross looking so into the rubbish bin they went but it left me feeling rather bad about the waste.

I vow to be stronger with beauty come the New Year!

How about you?

Any beauty confessing you’ve been wanting to get off your chest?

Are you sometimes wasteful with beauty bits and bobs?

Share ’em!

The Muse is listenin’ and never judging…and of course she offers complete, unbiased forgiveness.

Amen.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • myolie

    i keep on buying those cheap things at “ebay” that promises to whiten my teeth,make myself flawless and thin and always ending up with allergic rash from using those products and cant even return them(more expensive to return them).cant give them to friends( i love my friends) cant give them to my enemies ( even my enemies dont deserve it). for this year will try really really hard not to buy those cheap things.

    • the Muse

      ooooo myolie you’re in a whole new ballgame girl 😀 haha! you’re more of a infomercial type ehehe!

  • rachel

    you should sell some of the stuff!
    i know a lot of beauty bloggers have shops that they sell their unused or reviewed products at. 😀
    i know a lot of people (such as myself) would love to buy some stuff xD

    • the Muse

      rachel I used to have a sale page on my old blog but I’m so busy sometimes I suck at keeping track of it :_D

  • jamie

    awww i do that too!!! i just threw some of the masks i bought quite sometime ago and they are all dried up in their bags 🙁 i felt really bad!!

    • the Muse

      same here Jamie. It’s the worst. I felt terrible for being so wasteful!!!!!!!!!!

  • dangster

    If the lip glosses were new and unopened, shouldn’t they last longer than just a year?

    • the Muse

      they should have dangster dunno what happened. it was a benefit set I had and they ended up looking all yellow, gross, and separated. Could be the shimmer/glitter that caused them to go off so quickly!

  • Marina

    Mostly I feel bad when I don’t use certain nailpolishes, like my OPI. They’re $8-10 a pop, and when they dry up and I’ve only used them once I feel like it was a waste. But I try and do a regular check of my makeup, especially if I’ve just bought something nice that could replace other things. I threw out some old Maybelline and L’Oreal stuff that was junky and I didn’t use a couple weeks ago. It was way past due though…the things were TERRIBLE. I literally prodded it, and two of the colors (they weren’t in separate pans…just baked next to each other) fell out in whole pieces…

    • the Muse

      same here Marina. I check my stash and rotate constantly. 😀 hehe…I fear I may have some really old maybelline under my bathroom sink….bad muse bad!

  • Hailee

    Sell your makeup! Do it! We’d buy it and you know it haha

    mine is that whenever I go shopping, basicicLly every Saturday hah, I get sephora happy and get lots of shadows or something. I have a huge collection but all I wear is the same bronze or brown! Haha!

    • the Muse

      lol hailee maybe one day 😀 I used to do a sale on my blogspot blog but just lost track of time to do it now 😀

      LOL Hailee! I feel the same way lately I’ve been wearing way too much brown everyday!

  • Ashley

    I think it’s the same for everyone. I collect & collect, hoard what I can but when I look at all of it… My heart sinks, my stomach goes in knots -sigh-. I don’t need anymore make up, officially. Maybe I’ll lay off in the 2010 because I really have to… my college tuition is JACKED UP!! >:(

    I’m trying to use all my lip glosses & mascara so I can repurchase or try new things. Those are the two items that we all over indulge in, always! Nail polish too but who wants to pay for a manicure weekly?!

    • the Muse

      Ashley same feeling here! I try to justify it b/c I like to be on it for my blog but sometimes it’s crazy 😀 Ooooo wow sorry to hear about your tuition hun I remember college days well 🙁

      my nails are a mess, that’s a beauty confession for the next time :)D

  • Kristina

    I have an enormous stash of makeup, bath and body, haircare, and skincare. I have no willpower when it comes to new products, sales, or gwp’s. It’s disgusting – I could literally go a couple of years without buying any of the above.

  • DivaShop

    I went thru my stash recently & felt a pang of guilt as I threw out a bunch of old makeup. UGH!

  • Lacey Starr

    I too have a shameful beauty stash. I try to use as much as I can of my makeup and skincare/bath products but they always expire anyway. I simply buy way too much. It’s an ugly addiction. It wasn’t too bad when it was drug store stuff but I buy more expensive now and it is such a waste of money. My biggest weaknesses are MAC and Lush. I have a ton of both of those and many others unopened even. Help?!?

    • the Muse

      aww lacey I hear you babe! Lush was one thing I did alot too! But I try not too as it goes bad too quickly 😀 MAC is another one for me too! Ugh! I hate myself for it 😀 I do kinda feel it’s part of life as a blogger though as I do have to keep up to date on stuff so I justify my purchases by saying, “but it’s for the blog…” LOL!

  • Paloma

    If you want to donate some of your stuff, let me know…I only have like 2 or 3 MAC glosses, and everything else I have makeup wise is cheap and boring. 😛

    • the Muse

      hey paloma I’m not really donating, swapping, or selling anything hun…just doing a fun post about beauty confessions 🙂

  • Comrade_Garlic

    I do this too. I just tossed a bunch of skin and hair stuff tonight. None of it was any good. I need to move on to my product closet and the makeup. I’m sure there is some funky lip products lurking in those Sterlite bins.

    • the Muse

      comrade I don’t even want to think of items that I have under my sink in bins…I bet there is some disease lurking in there LOL!

  • Amy

    Aww!

    I’m pretty good at rotating my stash so things get used & then swapping/donating the stuff I don’t use, but then again I’m a clean freak and hate clutter.

    I did spend more than I should have this year on makeup, so my goal for ’10 is to buy less (I’m on the Project 10 Pan) & wear more everyday (to use it up.) I bought it, I might as well use it, too!

    And one more goal is to buy more MAC. I’m loving the B2M program, and I figure that buying more expensive (to me) will reduce the overall amount I buy, and the quality is better than some drugstore so I’ll actually use it. Plus, it’s easily swappable/sellable, and if it does go bad before I use it, I can B2M it!

    • the Muse

      amy same here…very organized but I let things get away from me the last few weeks EEP! 😀

      I always make the resolution but never end up sticking too it grrrrrrr! Truly you can spend 100’s on DS brands and just buy a single mac shadow or item that WORKS so really you are saving money 😀

  • Christy

    Sigh, yea I need to clean my stash out soon. I did a mini clean out when I moved in August but things build up of course. Am sure I have at least 6 tubes of gloss that could make their way to the garbage bin pretty soon. Otherwise, I do sell off items on Ebay every once in awhile for really rare/limited edition items. The payoff can be great, but you never know what will go for lots.

    • the Muse

      hey christy! same prob here! past few months I’ve been swamped and not on top of the stash so I get a bit of waste going on 🙁 sadness.

      E-bay is a good way to get rid of it for sure!

  • Gen

    maybe you should give some makeup to less fortunate women like in crisis center…. i do it once a year around christmas ….pretty priceless to see the look in the eyes on these women! feeling good

    • the Muse

      hey gen good idea. I used to sell it on myspace, ebay, and my blog when I was on blogger and donated the funds to my local animal shelter 😀

  • Mollie

    I think I’m mildly OCD because I have waaaaay less makeup than you, and still constantly am throwing things out if they’re old. I try to keep my stuff pared down for that very reason, and to save money. Also, I don’t know about you but I HATE owning personal products I don’t use. My roomie makes fun of me because like once every two months I get rid of a few things I haven’t used in weeks. This doesn’t include the items I’ve put away that are “seasonal” (for example I don’t use my MAC MSFN, or powder blush in winter because my skin is too dry… and I have a couple of perfumes I don’t like using when it’s cold). I’m talking cheapie lip glosses and stuff like that. The things you buy at the dollar store and promptly forget about.

    • the Muse

      Mollie you’re not the only one I’m the same. Very anal about my makeup but I fear I’ve let things get away from me, been very busy lately 😀 You sound WAY organized Mollie haha we can live together and sort through stashes 😀 hehe!

  • SJG

    I have makeup – powder shadows – that is over 20 years old. Lipsticks that are 10 years old. I keep everything clean and neat, most importantly keep it OUT of the steamy bathroom and it’s fine. The “expiration dates” are by and large a fiction created by the cosmetics companies to frighten you into purchasing more product. Either Sassy or Jane (the only ones with the balls to say it) had an article confirming this.

    • the Muse

      damn SJG I wanna go through your historical stash 😀 I keep everything clean and neat too but sadly I get a little scared of bacteria regardless….I do have certain items, such as Dior palettes, from 10 years ago that have never been used 😀 that’s the pack rat, collector side of my nature!

      • Mollie

        But with certain things, I think it probably is better to throw them out eventually… like liquid things. I can see keeping powder based shadows, or maybe (maaaaybe) even lipstick, but I’m not sure I’d feel comfy putting 10 year old liquid FOUNDATION on my face.

        Can we find this illusive article? I’d like to read it.

        And yep… palettes are collection magnets.

        • the Muse

          agreed mollie somethings def need to be tossed out within a few months or a year 😀 def will check!

          god palettes are truly one of those things everyone wants to collect mounds of lol

  • Gia

    Ugh. my problem is I can’t stop buying. I’ll make a promise to myself I will not buy anything till I finish one lip gloss/blush/eyeshadow or whatever.
    Then on my next trip to the mall I end up buying something because I don’t have this exact shade of pink lipgloss and now I need it! it’s soo horrid. One day i’ll stop myself.

    • the Muse

      LOl awww gia we all KNOW the feeling well 😀 plus we know the feeling of getting the pink gloss home and realizing the one we purchased a week ago is the same shade anyway haha 😀

      it’s all about being a girl isn’t it?! 🙂

  • Renata

    Some brazilian bloggers are actually counting their makeup items, in a kind of “2009 inventory”. I’m doing it too, and I intend to post my numbers next Sunday.
    Some of us have have less, some of us have more (problem) and some of us can’t count all of them (*that’s* a real problem!) XD

    • the Muse

      *whistles and looks at the ceiling* I think I fall into the *mumbles softly* can’t count them all category 😀

  • Marsha

    My name is Marsha and I am a Bath and Body product junkie. Everytime I go to the mall I have to go to either Victoria’s Secret or Bath and Body Works. I had 10-15 bottles of shower gel on rotation, and others stashed away. Some of them started going bad because I forgot about them. I heart my heart to throw them away :(. I know how you feel.

    • the Muse

      marsha ME too! Totally addicted to BBW and VS 😀 Awww we’ve all been there hun *pat, pat, hug*

  • Julie Marie

    I just did a major stash clean up two weeks ago. I tossed out so much stuff, it actaually broke my heart because most of it I have never used more than 5 times. Powder products, lipsticks, and glosses that were never opened were given to my friend Amanda, who is also a fellow make up junkie. I also came to the realization that I have 22 make up bags, and only constantly use three or four of them >.<

    • the Muse

      LOL Julie SAME prob with makeup bags…I keep getting them free with gwps or with sets I purchase etc…it’s absurd :_D I normally hand off to friends as well I find it’s the best way. plus my friends are heavy into make but it still goes to a loving home since they aren’t always buying makeup like me it’s kinda special to get it if that makes sense!