My Challenge For 2020: 5-10-15-20

I started 2019 with a Focus Four project where I chose four products each week to focus on. That project really helped me become more comfortable with having a small collection, and cycling through four different products a week meant that I learned a lot about what I owned. However, those of you who have been reading this blog throughout the year likely know that my interest in makeup has greatly diminished since the start of the year. This situation calls for a different kind of challenge, one that encourages me to use something, anything.

In 2020, I will be doing a new activity where I will pick four products or actions and challenge myself to do them 5, 10, 15, and 20 times. I'll still be picking four items, but it'll be changing on a monthly basis, not weekly. For January, my list will look like this:

5 - paint nails.
10 - use Urban Decay Rockstar eyeliner.
15 - wear eyeshadow.
20 - wear lipstick.

To specify, for paint nails I will count fingers and toes separately, so I might paint my fingers four times and my toes once, or three and two... You get the idea.

For the first month I've kept it fairly easy and vague. I'm still getting accustomed to applying makeup as much as I used to in previous years, and right now I just want the encouragement to do something, anything. As the year progresses, however, I look forward to my challenge getting more specific. Perhaps I'll choose to use a certain palette twenty times, or even a specific eyeshadow.

I'm excited to start this new challenge, and I'm ready to embrace more things that are "for me" this year. It's time for a change, so here we go 

Comparing Collections

2014 YouTube was my introduction to the makeup world. That was a special time for YouTube. It was when everyone felt like your friend. Sponsorships and PR happened, but they weren't as well known as they are now. It seemed like buying everything in a collection was the norm.

You needed to have at least one in each category to be considered a true beauty lover, and the more categories you could come up with the more "in" it felt you were. It wasn't enough to just have a few blushes that worked for you. You needed something hot pink, soft pink, plum, nude, peachy pink. You needed them to be matte and shimmery, drugstore and high end.

Before watching YouTube, the only makeup collection I had ever seen was a family member's that easily fit into a single makeup bag. On YouTube though people had huge collections of makeup. And it wasn't just one person either; lots of people had these collections, and they were still buying more every month. Surely, this had to be the norm for those interested in makeup. Or so I thought.

It would take a few years to realize this wasn't the case. Plenty of people who wore makeup had small collections. But after so long of comparing my small correction to the big ones on YouTube, it was only natural for me to compare mine to the minimalistic ones on Reddit.

Whichever way it went, it was not a healthy relationship to have with stuff. What someone else owns shouldn't factor into how much I have or even want. It's not about who has the most or even the least. Or at least it shouldn't be. Makeup collections are such a personal thing. Not every color works for every person, and not every formula works for every person either.

So why do I still watch collection videos from my favorite YouTubers? I no longer seek them out, but if they show up in my subscription feed, I'm usually at least watch the beginning. Is it human nature to just be curious of others? Is there still some part of me that aspires to have what someone else does? I'm not really sure.

How Much Did I Spend This Year?

This year on makeup and skincare I spent $78.61 out of pocket, and without considering gift cards the total was $116.31. (The MSRP plus my local tax would have been $218.41.) I'm so proud of that, not necessarily because the amount is so small, but because of the reason why it is so small.

Everything I bought, with the exception of one item, was on sale or bought with a coupon. But here's the kicker: I waited for those sales and only bought items that I had wanted for some time. I passed on so many sales because I knew they weren't right for me in that moment. I let so many Ulta and Sephora coupons expire because I knew that I would only be buying because of the coupon, not that the coupon would help me out.

For most of the year I wasn't as enthusiastic as I was in years past. The grind of being a SAHM has been getting to me, and I'm slowly coming out of that funk. (Yay toddlers.) Before I would have bought more items to try to reinvigorate my interest. But this year, I instead tried focusing on what I already owned. I took the mindset of if I liked it enough to buy it before, surely I can find some way it excites me now. Were there items that were released this year that piqued my interest, sure. But I can't tell you what they were now. I stopped watching Will I Buy It? videos when I realized that I would have no clue about all these things if it weren't for those videos. Out of sight, out of mind. When I realized there was a hole in my collection I would go in search of something to fill it. I didn't need to be told what my holes were; I needed to figure it out on my own.

Another thing to consider about this total is the state of my collection. I've been interested in makeup (having discovered it through YouTube) for about seven years and have been a member of this subreddit since its inception. Though I rarely post anymore, I still read it constantly, and basically all the YouTubers I watch nowadays align more with this sub than with, say, makeupaddiction. For the past five years I've really been pinpointing what I buy and why. Before I would definitely buy because there was a sale. ("What?! Drugstore brand is BOGO 50% off. I gotta find something to buy!" and "Oooh the Sephora sale is happening soon. I need to watch all ten of these "What to Buy at the Sephora sale videos, so I can get some ideas!") Over the last two years especially the size of my collection has shrunk considerably. I tossed a bunch of expired stuff and things that I just never wore because it wasn't my style. (I tried a few times, but it never felt right. I'm looking at you, blue eyeliner.)

This year I replaced all my eyeliners. I went from maybe 8 to 2. I could have easily bought more, but I learned that I don't go through eyeliner as quickly as I had anticipated, so I chose the two colors I wore the most and could pair with the most of my daily looks. Those two I bought when they were half off. (I figured there was going to be a 30% sale sometime this year but hadn't been expecting 50%. I was so glad I waited and didn't jump on a 20% coupon I had had.)

Instead of buying an eyeshadow palette, I bought four single shadows. It was a gamble because it was from a brand that I had never tried and couldn't swatch in person. I narrowed my wishlist down to the ones I wanted the most and were the most unique to my collection then again waited for a sale to come along. Because it was a new-to-me brand, I looked up sales trends online, and then when I expected a sale would come soon started following them on Facebook.

Other items this year included a new eyeshadow brush trio (This one was like a perfect combination for me. It was on sale, and I had a coupon, and it was from a brand I liked, and I knew I would use every single brush.), a nail polish top coat (I only buy this brand now and had a coupon that made it basically free.), a new nail polish (Yes, it was from that same brand and in a color I've been hoping would be released all year. This one was also free thanks to some Kohl's cash.), three of the same cleansing balms (This alone was $45, but I'm so happy about it. I received this last year as a gift but couldn't justify paying full price this year. I was waiting for a 25% sale that I expected to happen for Cyber Monday, but then another site surprised me by having them 50% off instead.), and a cute brush cleaning set (This was the only thing I bought at full price, but it was only $15 and paid for entirely with a gift card I had been holding onto since Christmas 2017. The theme still makes me smile, and I had been wanting a scrub pad thing for quite a while.)

There are still two weeks left in the year, but I highly doubt I'll buy anything else. There are a handful of things on my mental wishlist, but I know I either can't commit to them right now... Or they just don't exist yet.

Going on a No-Buy After Black Friday Shopping

It seems like the popular thing this week has been to start a year-long no-buy because of what was spent during the Black Friday weekend. Many of the comments I've seen about starting a no-buy have stemmed from regret about spending so much money. And while I can see where these people are coming from with feeling overwhelmed about their spending habits, I feel like for the majority of them they're only going to be frustrated for failing their no-buy in a few months (or weeks).

I've been on a no-buy before. I totally get that participating in one can help you reset your spending habits. But I feel like people who start their no-buys directly as a result of Black Friday shopping are looking for a miracle pill that doesn't exist. If you're considering going on a no-buy (or have already declared yourself on one) as the result of your Black Friday shopping, there's a good chance you just bought a bunch of new stuff. You might like some, you might not. But you still have new things to play with in addition to what you already own. What is going to happen in a few months when you're bored of what you have or when a new product is released that matches your ideal? A year is a long time.

If you don't know why or how you want to change your spending habits declaring a year-long spending fast is likely not going to magically solve the problem. Instead of abstaining from purchases I would recommend monitoring them, at least at first. I realize that not everyone is the same, but this is truly what worked the best for me. I did go on a no-buy initially; I challenged myself to go a whole month without buying anything. I knew that I was spending too much money on makeup and too much time looking for something to buy. (What a time suck that used to be.) 

In my mind deciding to go on a no-buy shouldn't stem from a moment of frustration after one big shopping excursion. Instead, reflect on why you bought so much stuff. What drew you in to purchase it? If you're aware of what caused it this time, maybe that can help you avoid it next time. What do you know about yourself as a spender? What are your triggers when it comes to making a purchase? Are you swayed by corporate marketing? by YouTubers you consider friends? by having a bad day and needing a cheer-me-up purchase? (Mine were wanting to participate in a sale and feeling like I needed to have something in each category that someone else told me existed. Blush topper? But of course I need one of those.) 

Challenge yourself to use something X amount of times before you move on to the next product. At one point I had a rule that whenever I bought something new I could only use that product in that category for 30 days, so if I brought a new lipstick in, was I both willing to use only that one lipstick for an entire month and not use any of my other lipsticks including my most cherished favorite? That rule sure curbed a lot of mindless spending for me.

If you want to go on a no-buy, fine. I can't stop you. But I do suggest that you reconsider your reasoning for going on one. 

I Stuck to My List

It feels like my interest in makeup is finally starting to return, and I'm so happy about that. I think that making my Black Friday wishlist early was one of the best decisions I could have made.

I ended up buying only the Clinique cleansing balm, just like I had mentioned wanting, and I even got it for half off, which was a far better deal than I was expecting. Because of deciding early on in the month what my gameplan was going to be, I found it so much easier to stick to my list.

So how does this relate to me getting interested in makeup again? Oddly enough, it was from reading about people who were stressed out about their Black Friday purchases. It made me appreciate the items I already own even more.

I was so proud of myself for not getting caught up in the sales hype and instead sticking to what I knew in my gut was right for me. I started looking at the container of makeup again, and that's when I realized that what I still own is entirely me. Sure, there are brands and products that are well-known, but I don't have the specific items that YouTubers consider "must haves."

A few years ago I would have been scouring ads and watching countless wishlist and favorites videos to find the "best" deals. I would have been so excited to post a haul list on Reddit and compare it to others.

Nowadays though I see haul posts that seem like bigger than whole inventory, and I'm just shocked. Shocked at how much my mindset on makeup has changed. I don't need a lot to be happy. In fact, I actually prefer fewer choices.

But my favorite thing I've learned this week is that the "best deal" is all subjective, and that's okay.

Monday is the new Friday

Black Friday has already started, and it's only Monday. Over the years the sales have inched earlier and earlier, with the lines blurring between what's actually a Black Friday deal and what's not. There's such a buildup leading into Black Friday nowadays that it's easy to feel obligated to buy something, anything.

I found myself today idly scrolling through the Ulta Black Friday ad. I would zoom in to look at a product description more closely and google the names of products I didn't know to make sure I was matching the caption to the correct product. It was easily a process that I did not need to be doing, especially considering I had already told myself earlier this month that there was only one product I wanted: the Clinique cleansing balm for at least 25% off and free shipping.

So why was I staring intently at Real Techniques brushes and looking up other stores' discounts on the Temptalia master list? Sydney Grace doesn't sell Clinique, so why do I care what sales that company is having?

Today Lauren Mae Beauty posted a YouTube video about abstaining from the Black Friday sales and touched on how much time is spent on looking up multiple sales because one little thing interested you. This is exactly what happened to me today. I could have easily keyboard searched the Ulta ad for Clinique and see if anything popped up. But instead, I was half-heartedly enjoying the hunt for something I was never going to find.

I highly recommend you check out Lauren's video. She makes some really good points about the Black Friday sale and other sales in general.

Tired of This, Tired of That

Sometimes it feels like the more I try to get involved in the makeup community the less I'm interested in it. There are days when I check Reddit repeatedly, hoping that an interesting discussion will be posted, but then nothing will feel worth reading.

I'm tired of posts asking about favorite products. I'm tired of posts "antihauling" new releases. I'm tired of posts bashing YouTubers. When you take away those three categories there aren't many left.

I've stopped seeking out new YouTube channels to watch. The number that I do watch has dwindled over this last year. I've stopped trying to learn about makeup from YouTube and instead treat it as catching up with friends (who have no clue who I am or that I'm there, but that's another issue for another day).

My Sephora Coupon Expired

Today I let my Sephora sale coupon expire.

I could have gone to a Sephora where I'm currently vacationing, but I decided against it. A few years ago I would have been so excited to "remember" a vacation by buying a lipstick or some other small makeup item. I even remember buying my Hourglass mini blush in Mood Exposure last time I was here. My, how things have changed.

I don't need to buy makeup to remember something. A picture frame maybe but definitely not something that's going to expire in a few years.

When I first got here, I thought the Sephora sale would tempt me to make a purchase. But I feel like it had the opposite effect. A 10% discount just feels like nothing, so lackluster.

So today I'm happy, and I will be tomorrow too. Even though I didn't buy anything. And I'll still remember the fun I've had on this vacation.

How I Prepare For Black Friday

November is finally here, so that means Black Friday and other holiday sales are right around the corner. Even the latest Sephora sale has already started for Rouge members.

Just a few years ago I would have been eagerly anticipating multiple Black Friday ad leaks, wondering where the best beauty deals would be found. But here's the thing I've learned over the years, not just with Black Friday but other expected sales as well: I don't want to be told what to want, whether it be from a company meticulously designing print circular or even a YouTuber listing their holiday wish list or current favorites. No, instead, I want to choose what I want.

So instead of waiting to see what is going on sale during the next two months I'm going to go ahead and list the ones I'm willing to participate in:

• Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm with at least 25% off and free shipping.

And that's it. Seriously. Even I expected there to be more on this list, but after a 30-second Google search I was able to narrow it down to just that one item. (Turns out I am once again not interested in the annual Lorac palette; I haven't been interested in it for at least four years, so I'm not sure why I eagerly look it up every year.)

Now that I have my list, if any company announces say a 40% off sale on Thanksgiving, I already know that I'm not going to participate and it. (Unless they sell that Clinique cleansing balm, of course.) I have found that it is so much easier to avoid a sale when it doesn't adhere to your standards. I'll check the ads to see if the balm is going on sale anywhere, but skimming the ads for a circular purple container will be so much easier than combing each one meticulously for each cosmetic product.

Losing Interest

I keep trying to get back into makeup, but it feels like I've just moved on from the hobby. It seems so silly to be disappointed in losing interest in a hobby, especially one that took me so long to admit was my hobby.

Maybe it's just a rut. After all, I do still get excited to stumble across new (to me) products that interest me. I bought a new eyeshadow brush trio at Ulta a few days ago and have enjoyed using them lately. It was a mostly impulse purchase. I don't remember how I discovered them. Maybe an ad somewhere? I definitely wasn't seeking them out. But once I saw them I knew I wanted them. They were pretty, a decent price, made by a brand I already loved using eyeshadow brushes from, and brush shapes that I really enjoyed using. It was like the perfect culmination of things. (Oh, and I had a 20% off coupon.)

I don't remember the last time I was excited about a product like this. Yes, I've still been buying products throughout this year, but it feels like all those purchases have been thoroughly and exhaustingly thought out. "Do I really need this?" "How does it fit into my collection?" "Am I really going to wear this as much I think I am?" "Can't you wait for this to go on sale? You just have to wait two more months, and then it will probably be $4 cheaper." I mean, seriously? Why am I beating myself up over $4 when I no longer have the unhealthy shopping habits I had a few years ago.

Maybe I've just become wiser to the marketing tactics makeup companies have been perfecting in this age of social media. Instead of scrambling to check Temptalia every morning for new releases, I log in once every week or so just to check out the discussion posts. With Youtube, I don't care about reviews or whether or not some person I've never actually met is going to buy something. That doesn't affect me and my tastes, or at least it shouldn't.

I'm tired of feeling like I don't have a place in the beauty community if I don't know about new or trendy products. Looking back now I think that having that current knowledge was what made me feel more connected to the online beauty community. I was also excited to use products back then because so much was still so new to me. I was still exploring my makeup preferences and hadn't yet settled into my makeup style.

So maybe it's not so much being in a rut as it is just being comfortable with where I'm at in this journey.

Capturing My Attention

I've noticed a lot of talk in the beauty community this year about being fatigued with all the new releases. Trying to keep up with the number of items that are released each month is overwhelming, and I gave up that endeavor long ago. A few weeks ago Temptalia posed the question "How would a new brand or product capture your attention?" When I first saw that prompt, I found it intriguing and thought that answering it could help me solidify even further what I look for when purchasing a new makeup product. But here I am nearly a month later, and I'm still not much closer to answering the question.

Minis, or smaller sizes in general, would definitely catch my attention. I don't even look at big palettes anymore, so if I saw singles or a quad I would be more likely to take a closer look. Pencil eyeliners as minis would be even better. And if a product line had mini lipsticks that did not require you to buy a set and were in basic colors, that would definitely pique my interest.

The colors I'm most drawn to are typically neutral, boring colors. If a brand were known for their bright, out-there shades I probably wouldn't look more into them. I'm not in that stage of makeup development anymore where I want to try all the new things. I like my safe, boring neutrals now and know how to jazz them up in my own way.

 If I saw the product in person in a store like Sephora where I could swatch it, I would be more likely to buy it than if I saw it online. Perhaps the packaging would catch my eye too as I walked by in search for something else. Packaging does, after all, play a significant role in my value of a product.

Other than that, I'm really not sure how I would be captured by a brand. I don't typically seek out new brands to try anymore. I wait until I feel like I need something and then go from there.

The Siren Call of Mini Sets

With the holidays quickly approaching my mind seems to be shifting its focus onto one thing: mini sets. For quite some time now I haven't really cared about all the palettes that get released, but there's something about the end of the year that makes me seek out new mini sets.

But here's the thing: I don't really need anything, especially not the types of things that typically come in mini sets. I think blush palettes can look gorgeous, but I'm already content with number and colors of singles I own. And while I love seeing what lipstick colors are released in cute little trios, I rarely like all the colors that come in a set. (And of course as soon as I said that I had to go check if NARS had a set of Velvet Matte Lip Pencils again this year. They do. But I already own one of the four in the set. and at least two of the others are permanents that I hadn't previously considered buying. It's a easy skip for me, but that just further proves my point of how intrigued I am by mini sets this time of year.)

Even skincare is the same this year. As much as I love getting minis to test out new skincare, I don't want to try anything new right now. I love the products I'm already using and instead have been seeking out sales to buy the full size versions.

The only thing I can even think about considering as far as mini sets go is an eye pencil trio from Nudestix. But even then, I honestly don't know how much I would use them. I don't use cream shadows now as is, so I wonder how and how often I would incorporate them into my routine. I've been wanting to try them for months now though, but I know there's likely an underlying reason why I just haven't bought any yet. I've definitely had the opportunity to purchase them; I just haven't yet.

So why do I keep browsing through all the sets? Why do I want to know what's available if I know I'm not going to buy anything? I have nobody to buy makeup for, so it's not even like I'm buying them for gifts. I need to be more mindful of the time I spend browsing. My time could be better spent doing other things like completing a Duolingo lesson. Actually, I think that will be a goal of mine now. When I realize I'm spending too much time idly scrolling I'll learn some more Italian instead. That's a much better habit to form, right?

How Much Have I Spent This Year?

A couple of weeks ago Samantha Ravandahl posted a video about how much she had bought so far this year. Truthfully, I haven't watched her video, but I did witness the discussion it sparked on the Makeup Rehab subreddit.

At first, I was excited to participate in mentioning how little I've purchased this year. Looking back now though, I feel silly for wanting to seek validation from random people on the internet. I know that my spending habits have significantly changed for the better over the past few years. Isn't that personal knowledge enough?

I never ended up responding to that Reddit discussion. Not only did I realize that I didn't need that anonymous validation, but I also realized that I didn't know how much I had spent. And I see that as huge progress.

The first two years I started paying attention to my spending I tracked every purchase and had a spreadsheet cataloguing things like purchase date, first date of use, discount. I had gone from buying frivolously to tracking obsessively. And neither of those behaviors was healthy.

If I think now about my purchases from this year so far, I know I'm going to forget something. And that's okay. I know I've bought less than a dozen items, even with counting my four Sydney Grace shadows separately. But here's the thing, I can't remember everything I've bought and when, not because I've bought so much, but because I'm not obsessing over makeup anymore. If that's not progress, I don't know what is.

Saying Goodbye

In the past week the number of blogs that I follow has significantly decreased. Three blogs said goodbye to their readers: Auxiliary Beauty, Bad Outfit Great Lipstick, and Faceonomics. With the shift to YouTube, it can be difficult to find makeup blogs nowadays, especially ones that don't focus on reviews. I found all three of these blogs thanks to the blog authors posting on Reddit. And while they did review posts here and there, the blogs weren't solely about cataloging and swatching the new releases, and that felt like a breath of fresh air.

When I started my own blog earlier this year, I had three rules for myself that I've managed to stick to thus far. (1) I would be posting once every week on Monday. This was to get myself in the habit of writing. For the past few years I've been telling myself I wanted to get back into creative writing, and knowing I had a weekly deadline has helped me immensely. I still haven't started writing that novel, but I do feel like I'm finding my voice again.

(2) My blog would never have any pictures. That one seems silly; a makeup blog with no pictures of makeup?! Were there times when I wanted to include a picture in a post? Sure. I think it would be cool to show you my custom palette or help you visualize how my eyeliner collection changed in September. But I know that I would focus too much on getting the right Instagrammy picture and not enough on the prose that was the whole reason I started my blog. Besides, I'm a big proponent of swatching for yourself before buying a product, and there are a plethora of blogs out there on the internet who supply swatches for those who can't or don't wish to swatch things themselves.

(3) I wouldn't be posting reviews. Makeup is so subjective, and even after being interested in it for nearly five years, I still don't feel confident giving my opinion on a product. I can't often verbalize the reasons I like a product; I just know that it makes me happy. I'll talk about why I want to buy a product because of how it fits into what I already own. But I won't tell you how it drying it is or how its opacity compares to another product. I feel like there are plenty of people who already give out that information, and that's not what I want to be known for.

Will you see another post from me next Monday? Yes I'm not going anywhere yet. My goal is still to make it at least a whole year before calling it quits. Truthfully, I'm not as interested in makeup as I was when I started this blog. But I do enjoy writing about my journey weekly. So see you next week.

Choices, Not Collection

Well, I did it. On Saturday, I bought the two eyeliners I was considering to restart my eyeliner choices. I started to write collection, but I really think choices is a better way to put it. I don't want to have a collection again. I don't want to feel the need to have a wide array of colors because someone tells me I should. Why should it affect me if someone online has a cup full of eyeliners? Maybe she doesn't even like the ones I do.

It's funny how that drive to participate in the beauty community can affect you. Even though I told myself before Saturday that I was only going to buy Rockstar and Lucky I still found myself wanting to consider other colors. I didn't really catch myself doing it either until I started considering Mainline. Mainline. That tealish-blue color that I sometimes thought about wearing but basically never did. It's a pretty color, but it's totally not my style. I had owned it for about 800 days and had likely worn it less than ten times. 

That's one of the reasons I decided to only buy two eyeliners this time. I want to use them, like really use them. Even though I loved Rockstar and easily called it my favorite eyeliner, I only used half of my previous one in the nearly four years that I owned it. Putting the old and new side by side today totally shocked me; I seriously thought I had used much more than I had. 

So that's why I'm moving from a collection to just having choices. I'm the kind of person who only wants a few choices. So many of my makeup categories only have one or two choices already, and it was time to make that switch with my eyeliners as well. 

To Replace or Not

Truth be told, I haven't been wearing makeup much recently. I've thought about it a few times, but the desire hasn't been strong enough to actually go pick up my basket and start the process. The few times I have worn makeup recently it almost always has lacked eyeliner. It feels weird because a few years ago eyeliner was easily my favorite makeup category. It was the first category that I truly cared about enough to specifically choose colors and formulas before purchasing.

So, why am I telling you this? Because this upcoming Saturday, my favorite eyeliners will be on sale for half off. If you've been reading this blog for some time, you probably already know how long I've been wanting to buy Urban Decay's Lucky. When I first saw the Urban Decay eyeliners were going to be on sale, I decided that I would buy Lucky and no others. I do not need any other colors, and I love the colors that I already own.

But then I started thinking about how much I enjoy my eyeliners but how little I use them nowadays. I realized I haven't worn them much lately because when I do my eyes often hurt. It seems silly to admit it now, but it took that realization to recognize how long I've had my eyeliners. In fact, I just pulled up my purchase history, and I'm shocked:

• Lancome Lamé - April 2018
• UD Anatomy - June 2017
• UD Mainline - April 2017
• MUFE M-60 - November 2016
• UD Invasion - December 2015
• UD Rockstar - not listed, but it's my oldest eyeliner... November 2015?

No wonder I've been having issues when I wear eyeliner lately! It's high time that I replace my eyeliners. I can't believe I've had some for almost five years. This just solidifies my decision to chuck them all and just buy Lucky and a replacement Rockstar. Eventually I may replace Lamé and M-60, but I really want to see how I handle having only two eyeliners. I know I'm not going to miss Mainline or Invasion; I barely wore them, and they were definitely aspirational items. Lucky can basically act as a replacement for Anatomy, so I'm not concerned about missing that one either. 

In fact, the only thing that I really worry about it is that I'm not going to wear these either. I don't want to buy more makeup just to cling onto the idea that it's still my hobby. But perhaps that is a reflection for another post...

The No Buy/Low Buy Makeup Tag

A few days ago I saw a new makeup-related tag on Angelia Nyqvist's YouTube channel. Even though I'm not technically on a low buy/ no buy (since I don't have specific start and stop dates), I thought it may be interesting to answer these questions.

1. How long have you been on your low buy/ no buy?
It's been roughly three years since I started becoming more conscious of my spending habits. I remember going on different variations of a low buy/ no buy in 2016. I started the year convinced I didn't spend that much but decided to document every purchase I made. And yes, I didn't spend that much, especially compared to the YouTubers I watched, but I quickly realized how often I was buying makeup at the drugstore. I didn't buy anything other than makeup at CVS or Walgreens, so every time I went it was specifically to buy makeup that was on sale, which, spoiler alert, was basically every week. That was before I learned how sales cycles worked and before I recognized that Buy One Get One Half Off is a horrible "deal."

2. What motivated you to try a low buy/ no buy?
The Makeup Rehab subreddit was definitely the biggest factor for me. I joined it around the time it originated, and back then it felt like a small community who were around the same stage in their makeup journey. Barely anyone had already done a yearlong no buy. Instead, we were all learning together.

3. Are there any YouTubers who motivated/ inspired you on your low buy/no buy journey?
When I was in the midst of changing my habits Jacquelyn Lovene was definitely one of my biggest motivators. She was one of the first YouTubers I watched who purposefully decluttered to a smaller collection. Other panners I watched would talk about how they felt overwhelmed by the amount of makeup they owned, but then they would continually buy new makeup while barely making a dent in the items they already possessed. Jacquelyn helped me feel okay about not having multiples in different categories, that it was fine to have a few favorites and call it a day.

4. What is a positive aspect that you’ve experienced in your low buy/ no buy?
I've definitely become more comfortable with the products I own. I don't feel the need anymore to constantly seek out new or "better" products. I mean, do I think their might be a better eyeliner out there than my trusty Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil? Sure, I'm not discounting that notion. But I also know that I don't want to spend that energy researching new products when I'm content with what I'm already using.

5. What is a negative aspect that you’ve experienced in your low buy/ no buy?
I still enjoy makeup, but it doesn't have as big of a wow factor for me as it once did. Maybe it's just because I'm no longer a newbie where every release is exciting. Also, I know I'm not going to be buying certain categories anytime soon, so I stopped seeking out information on those things. Sometimes it's disappointing not being able to discuss opinions on products or being able to compare products I do own to releases that others may be able to relate to.

6. Do you think a low buy/no buy is beneficial for everyone? Why or why not?
Yes, but I think they need to be in the right mindset for it to actually be beneficial. I've seen some people who say they're on a month-long no buy until the next Sephora sale but then end up spending hundreds of dollars at the sale. I think when people use no buys to prolong a purchase it's not as meaningful as others who say "I like this, but I don't need it. Let me use something I already own instead."

7. What is some advice that you have to people starting a low buy/ no buy?
If you're just starting I think it can be really beneficial not to completely avoid the makeup aisle. I know that feels counter-intuitive, but I really feel like it's important to recognize that you have control over your spending habits. You can like something and appreciate something without owning it. It's okay to go into Sephora and swatch items that catch your interest. If you have to leave your wallet elsewhere while you do so, just to ensure you don't come home with new items, so be it. But you have to realize that you're the one who can change the cycle.

8. What have you learned from this experience?

I've learned that it's okay to have a small collection, that I don't need to keep up with the size I see all around social media. I get more enjoyment from specifically choosing the products that work for me than I do from owning things others told me I should like. 

The Obsession With Palettes

I don't understand the obsession with pre-made palettes. They are constantly released, and so many people seem to jump on them each time. If a YouTuber isn't buying it, they're probably doing an antihaul on why they're not. Often the reason for not buying a palette is because it is too similar to ones they already own, which I feel like just reinforces my idea that there are too many palettes released throughout the year. 

It reminds me of when I first became interested in Mac and there were constant "limited edition" releases month after month. However, now it's on a multi-brand level. So even the brands that rarely seem to release palettes are grouped into the same category as brands like Too Faced, which constantly puts out gimmicky palettes that are easily talked about throughout YouTube. By the time Urban Decay came out with Naked Heat (and especially Petite Heat) it was considered too late by many YouTubers who had already acquired multiple warm-toned/orange palettes. 

It seems like a rite of passage sometimes to own so many palettes, like your rank in the beauty community is determined by how many you own. I find it interesting too to look at makeup flatlays and be able to tell fairly quickly when someone started buying makeup based on which popular eyeshadow palettes they own. 

Over the past two years there has been a shift to talking about a palette's "color story." Nowadays it seems to matter more that the colors in a palette are unique and appear harmoniously together in their pans. Swatches neatly grouped together are sometimes more important than how likely someone is to actually wear those colors. I can appreciate a piece of art with blue and green, but I know I'm not going to wear that. Similarly, while the monochromatic 9-pan Colourpop palettes are quite appealing to look at, I know that I don't need 9 similar shadows. 

I also feel like prettiness is more important than function sometimes. I remember reading posts on Reddit about how someone bought a new palette and was so afraid to use it (or even swatch it) because they didn't want to ruin its pristine appearance. The first thing I did when I received my Sydney Grace shadows a few weeks back was to swatch them and start pairing them with other singles I already had. 

My custom palette does not have a color story; it's just colors I like that pair well together. There are browns, creams, yellows, mauves, and more. The silver looks out of place, but it actually works quite well with many of the shades in there. It seems like a jumbled mess and probably is, but that's fine with me. I feel like some people expect too much out of pre-made palettes. They want so much variety and uniqueness from a palette while still expecting it to fulfill their every want. But then they get mad at palettes for containing boring colors or yet another cream shade. 

I think people forget that single shadows exist sometimes. Maybe they're too afraid of creating their own palette because they expect it to be this beautiful work of art from the get-go. They want everything to look harmonious when it really doesn't need to be. I would love to see a shift happen back to single shadows. But if that happens, I really don't want it to be like receiving deconstructed palettes. I want to see people choose the one or two shadows that speak to them most, not the whole collection. 

Makeup Packing for a Quick Weekend Trip

This weekend we went on a roadtrip to visit my husband's family six hours away (though it was more like seven with all the stops). We left Saturday morning and returned Sunday night, so it really was a quick trip. As I haven't been wearing makeup that much lately, I probably wouldn't have packed a makeup bag normally. However, we were having family pictures taken since everyone was finally going to be in town at the same time for once.

I'm generally a minimalist when it comes to packing makeup, even before I stopped wearing it consistently. For example, I remember when my husband and I went to Miami a few years ago for half a week I only brought a face primer, a small face trio that doubled as eyeshadow, two eye liners, and two lipsticks. Now my "necessities" have shifted away from the eyes and more onto the face though. I know it may not seem that way considering I didn't pack an eyeshadow palette before, but that combination of the face palette and the eye liners gave me just enough possible creativity to not feel stifled during that trip.

Now though I'm more likely to even out my complexion than to play around with eyeshadow if I'm just throwing on some makeup before I head out. My current complexion routine consists of applying a combination of the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Primer and the Becca Backlight Priming Filter with the Urban Decay Optical Illusion Brush and setting it with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Mood Light using a mini Elf brush I got in some set a few years ago. Those five items right there already took up the majority of my makeup bag, so there wasn't much real estate left.

I would have loved bringing my new Sydney Grace shadows or some Mac shadows. I thought that a simple mauve eye would look good for the pictures. But my only options for transporting my single shadows currently is my large Z-Palette or my 12-pan Mac palette. Neither would fit into my makeup bag, and I didn't want to pack something that large separately if I was barely going to use it. (A weeklong trip would be different, but not for a quick weekend one. I should probably purchase an empty 4-pan palette next time I'm at a Mac store.) In fact, the only palette that could fit in my makeup bag at that point was Petite Heat, and considering my love for that palette I was fine with that.

Add in the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dolce Vita and three eyeshadow brushes, and that was all I packed for this short trip. So my total comes to five products and five brushes. Our next trip is in November and will be a week long. I'm curious to see what changes and what stays the same.

"New Makeup Releases" Videos

I've been inadvertently developing a habit lately of listening to "new makeup releases" videos to fall asleep. At first I would just turn on something from my Watch Later playlist, but after a while I realized I was still trying to pay attention to the content instead of going to sleep. (Now, I know the best answer to this dilemma would be to listen to something like white noise instead of speech, but that's not relaxing to me right now.) With the makeup releases videos though, I rarely am interested in the content, but I'm familiar enough with the YouTuber's voice to tune it out. It reminds me of when I was in high school and used to fall asleep listening to Aladdin or Hercules.

Part of me feels weird using these videos to fall asleep though. Makeup isn't nearly as big of a hobby of mine as it was a few years ago, but I feel like I'm still trying to cling on to that last bit. I still read Reddit, and I still watch YouTube videos, though the type of content I've been watching has changed drastically over the last few years. I remember a time when I was so excited to watch a video discussing new releases. But now? It seems like barely anything interests me. Maybe it's because I tend to like safe and boring makeup, and that's rarely the type that's discussed on the channels I watch. (I'm okay with that though, because I know I don't need constant encouragement to go buy things. I watch much more for the people than I do for the product reviews.)

But as someone who participates in the beauty community, how do you stay involved when it feels like the majority of people just want to talk about what's new? I feel like so many YouTubers fall into this trap of rushing to get new products to review to grow their channel. Even Hannah Louise Poston, who built her channel last year on not buying things, has shifted in reviewing products that are both new and new-to-her. It's almost like you can't be fully accepted into the community unless you have opinions on what everyone else is talking about.

I've never tried Colourpop, or Modern Renaissance, or Morphe, or Shape Tape, or so many others that have appeared to be must-have products according to beauty YouTube. And, you know what? I don't have any interest in trying them. I think sometimes people in the community get so caught up in what others are buying or what others want to see reviewed that they lose part of the fun of makeup in the process.

I would so much rather watch someone talk about the two things they bought during the Sephora sale than the twelve that are the most popular on YouTube at the moment. I want to hear someone talk about the stuff they use everyday because they love it that much, not just the stuff that they were sent to review.  To me, a monthly favorites video should be three items, not ten. So many products are being released now that's it hard to keep up. So why do so many people keep trying?

One Little Spark of Inspiration

I haven't worn much makeup in the last few weeks. It seems odd to say that, considering I've managed to still post consistently. But looking back on my last few blog posts, there has definitely been a theme of discouragement.

It's been hard to find the time to put on makeup lately. I used to do it in the morning, sitting on the floor with my toddler. I love how excited she gets when I bring out my makeup bin, but she's reached the stage now where she knows how to open and destroy things quickly. It used to be our special bonding time, but after having a few items ruined, I've been more cautious with doing my makeup in front of her.

That said, I received my Sydney Grace shadows in the mail late last week and have thoroughly been enjoying them. It's almost like they've reignited my interest in makeup. I'm not sure how much of it is getting something new in general and how much is getting something I've been wanting for quite a while. I'd like to think it's more of the latter, but it's also been a few months since I've bought a makeup item.

I bought four shadows: Haystack, Geese A Laying, French Hens, and Embrace. These colors are basically the ones I fell in love with thanks to ABH Subculture. I have been waiting to find the perfect yellow for me, and both Haystack and Geese a Laying have answered that challenge. French Hens is reminiscent of Subculture's Roxy, a shade I never thought I would like but quickly became one of my favorites when I was exploring Subculture as a palette two years ago. Embrace doesn't have a Subculture equivalent, but it works splendidly well with the rest of my single shadows.

So far, I've only paired the shadows with Petite Heat, but it's so interesting how both the yellows (Haystack and Geese a Laying) and the pinks (French Hens and Embrace) are complemented so well by that palette. I'm looking forward to exploring them more and pairing them with my Mac and Urban Decay singles.

Struggling to Use a Coupon

About a week ago I was emailed a $5 off $10 coupon that was valid for anything Ulta sold. It had been ages since I had received an offer from Ulta, as I never get the 20% off prestige coupon that is supposedly so frequent. (Seriously, the last time I think I got one was spring 2017.) When I got the email my mind immediately went to the Nudestix eye pencils that have been lingering back there for a few months now. I was so excited to finally get one.

I was finally able to drive out to Ulta on the last day the coupon was valid, and I happily made my way over to the Nudestix display. But when I got there it was like my mood suddenly shifted. I swatched a couple of eye pencils that I had been interested in, hoping one would jump out at me as the one to buy. Instead, all I could think about was how I didn't really want one. At least, not for just $5 off. $21 was still a lot of money to spend on something that felt lackluster in the moment.

It feels strange to reflect on it now, but if I had used that coupon on a Nudestix eye pencil like I had originally planned it would've been almost like using a 20% off coupon on it (just a 20¢ difference). For some reason though knowing it was a solid amount of money off instead of a percentage made me more cautious in how I spent it. I think if it had been a trio of eye pencils like the one that had initially drawn me to the brand those few months ago I would have purchased it that day.

I wandered around Ulta for a bit, trying to find something a bit more practical. I had been wanting the OPI Matte Top Coat, but I always seem to miss when it's on sale. "Perfect," I thought. "This has got to be more than $10." And yes, I was right, but the $10.50 top coat was also sold out. Figures.

I walked around some more, enjoying my me-time but also wanting it to end. I saw some banana-scented Body Shop products, including the shampoo and conditioner I had so badly wanted to try three or four years ago. It amused me to finally see it in person after all this time. Back then, I never bought it because I didn't want to make an online order from Body Shop's website. Now that it was here in front of me though I still couldn't purchase it. Before I would've jumped at the opportunity, even without a coupon. I would say that's when I realized how far I've come in my makeup journey thanks to the shift in the online makeup communities I frequent.

Rarely now do I feel the urge to shop just because I have a coupon. I'm not sure what sparked that urge with this Ulta coupon. Maybe it's because $5 off $10 seems like such a good deal, until you start realizing that what you actually want is likely much more than $10. I probably would have been quite content with the matte top coat, but I'm also satisfied with what I ended up buying.

Truthfully, I was so close to walking out empty-handed. I didn't want to buy something just to buy something. Then I saw it. It was like a spotlight was directing me straight to its awkward spot near the bottom of the gondola. At $6 ($11 sans coupon) it felt like the perfect price, and it was something I really did actually need. So that's the story of how I went into Ulta to buy a frivolous makeup item and ended up with a new pair of fingernail and toenail clippers. Practical, right?

National Lipstick Day: A Reflection

Today was National Lipstick Day. When I first started seeing articles and social media posts about it this weekend I did not care one bit. There are no lipsticks I seriously want right now, and I feel comfortable with the variety of lipsticks I do own. But after the tenth time of being reminded of this bogus holiday I felt a sudden urge to search out a new lipstick or two.

When I learned (thanks to a Facebook ad) that Target was having 25% off lipsticks, my memory cycled back to a YouTube video where Hannah from Smokey Glow mentioned liking a certain Milani lipstick. I remember looking up that lipstick after watching the video and really liking one of the colors. I don't remember though if the one I liked was the same one she did or a different one. Either way, it didn't stick in my mind well enough to be that memorable, and I wasn't about to go back through the last month or two of her videos to rediscover which one it was.

I don't even remember how I find out that Ulta had certain lipsticks buy one get one free, but somehow I found myself scrolling through the options, searching for two lipsticks that I maybe possibly wanted. Honestly, if I didn't have a toddler I probably would have just driven to Ulta today and swatched around until I found two I liked. In the five minutes I had spent scrolling on Ulta's site I had already convinced myself that I needed to repurchase a Lorac Pro Matte Lip Color in Mauve, even though I had replaced its role in my collection with Stila Papillon.

Once I saw these two stores had decent sales I wanted to explore what other options were out there for purchasing lipstick today. But here's the thing: until today I had little to no desire to purchase a lipstick any time soon. Why was I seeking out these deals when I didn't care about the products? It's the complete opposite of the Sydney Grace sale, where I found what I wanted, waited patiently for a sale, and then whittled down my wishlist even further before purchasing something. (Side note: I'm so glad that I waited until the mystery final day to get 25% off; it's exactly the kind of sale I was hoping for.)

And you know what frustrates me the most about this day? I didn't even wear lipstick today and have probably only worn it six or so times in the last month or two. Lipstick has not been my mind at all lately - until the internet told me it should be.

A Small Annoyance of My Small Collection

When you have a smaller collection, I feel like it's more impactful when a product isn't currently on your good side. Don't like something? Just let it roll into the back of a drawer as you use other products instead. But when you only have around ten lipsticks it's hard to forget about that... one.

I spent weeks researching pink lipsticks before I purchased Stila Papillon. I lost count of how many lipsticks I swatched before I decided that Papillon was the right pink for me. And when I got it, it was. Just the right amount of pink with the right neutral tone with the right matte formula. I was so ecstatic, and I wore it so much. But now, months later, it's no longer my perfect pink. At least not right now.

I have one other pink, Revlon Blushed. It's about as opposite from Papillon as I can get while still adhering to my makeup preferences. Blushed is a beautiful light pink pearl lipstick. But here's the thing: it doesn't fill that desire that my currently dislike for Papillon has created.

If I had a larger collection I could easily play around with different pink lipsticks. I could have a week- or a month-long project of wearing a different one every day. But I don't have that luxury, nor do I want it. I purposefully chose all my lipsticks (though technically Blushed was much more of an impulse purchase), and I know that they're the ones I decided on for a reason.

Even though Papillon is not on my favorites list right now doesn't mean it won't be in a few months. I keep telling myself that I'll get excited about Papillon again once the weather gets cooler, when I'm wearing more mauves and purples and less oranges and coppers. In my mind, Papillon just doesn't pair with Petite Heat. And that's okay. I'm learning to play with different colors instead.

Favorite Shade vs Most Used Shade

I thought it would be interesting today to compare shadows within palettes, particularly figuring out if my favorite pan is also the one with the most usage. I have three pre-made palettes, so I'll be focusing on those.

Lorac Nude Skinny

Nude Skinny is easily my oldest palette, and I think its usage reflects on my journey with color and eyshadow in general. In the early days I used to use my pans up as evenly as possible. This meant that if something had pan showing it had gone through significant use. The only pan in this palette that reached this status is the first one from the left. It makes sense though, as this is the only cream color in the palette and the only one I would have used with every single look.

Ignoring that one, my most used shade is just one over. A few years ago I absolutely loved subtle gold eyeshadow. I had not yet ventured into the world of color and was still gaining confidence in applying makeup in general, so the less obvious something was the better I usually felt. Nowadays though my favorite would be the copper shade, the fifth one in the palette.

ABH Subculture

For subculture, we also need to distinguish the "used for blending" outliers. Cube is basically gone, and Dawn is halfway there. Both of these shades were used to blend out shadows, so I'm not really counting them. I do really like Cube since its color-shifting quality is not something I would generally think to use. I'm also somewhat interested in seeing what it would look like as a face highlight; I've been eyeing Nyx Snow Rose lately, which I think is similar, and find it so interesting that Temptalia gave Cube an F but Snow Rose an A-.

So, if I'm disregarding these blending shadows my most used shades in Subculture are actually my three most favorites: Roxy, Edge, and New Wave, with the latter barely beating out the other two for the title of most used. Roxy definitely surprised me the most because I was not at all interested in even that type of color when I bought Subculture. Once I realized how beautiful it looked in the crease, I've been enjoying experimenting pairing it with different colors.

New Wave and Edge though were basically my favorites from the get-go. Initially I thought I would love the blues (Axis and Untamed), but I keep going back to the yellows instead. Both Edge and New Wave work wonderfully in the crease or on the lid, and it is so much fun combining them with oranges and others in that family.

Urban Decay Petite Heat

Speaking of oranges, let's move on to Petite Heat. Like with the other two my most used shade is technically the leftmost, Inhale. It's the lightest shade and the one I use to blend out edges, so it's understandable that it would have the biggest dip. Besides that one though, Heist is definitely the most used. At first I thought that Heist, Wild Thing, and Hot Spell would show similar usage, but after closer inspection it's quite obvious that Heist has been used much more. Between Heist and Wild Thing I'm not sure which I love more. They are basically my favorite types of colors to use around my eyes, and I absolutely love having an entire palette based around that.

The Bad and Boring Makeup Tag

What is a foundation finish you don't like?
I rarely wear foundation anymore, but if I were to purchase a bottle right now I highly doubt I would buy something that was ultra matte. I find that very interesting too because I like the majority of my makeup to be matte (eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, blush), so why wouldn't I want my foundation to be matte as well?

What is the worst mascara you have ever tried?
Admittedly, I haven't tried many mascaras. Once I found Clump Crusher I pretty much stuck to buying that one. In recent years I've only used four different mascaras, and two of those (L'Oreal Butterfly and Covergirl Supersizer) I remember not liking as much as the other two (Covergirl Clump Crusher and Covergirl Full Bloom).

What is one thing you tried once and then thrown away?
I'll name two: the two bad mascaras from the previous question. To be fair, I received both from Target Beauty Boxes, and neither was something I would have chosen for myself. They were both black mascaras, which I never use.

What is the most boring eyeshadow palette you own?
It's so funny to call this the most boring palette now because I remember how excited I was to hunt this down a few years ago. Lorac Nude Skinny is probably the epitome of "boring" palette to many people. It's a small palette that's essentially a handful of browns, but I love it. It's a palette I need to use more often, come to think of it.

What is a makeup trend you think is boring and want to go away?
I feel like I'm all about boring makeup. If I wanted a trend to go away it wouldn't be because it was boring. I mean, I'm tired of colorful highlighter, but I definitely wouldn't call that boring makeup.

What is the worst liquid lipstick you have tried?
Back when I used liquid lipstick, I only tried ones from Tarte, Smashbox, Stila, and ABH. Tarte was the Sephora birthday gift and just wasn't a color that suited me, so I threw it out before I even really considered how I felt about the formula. I remember liking the one from Smashbox, but I just did not wear Out Loud enough to justify keeping it around. I don't remember having strong feelings either way with the Stila products I tried. But the liquid lipstick from ABH. Oh man. I struggled so much with my lipline when I used Kathryn. I hated it too because I got compliments whenever I wore it and I bought it primarily because the name has significance to me. But I would get so frustrated whenever I tried to apply it.

What color do you think is the most boring one?
Maybe black? I think it's just because I remember the time when so many people wanted an extremely black eyeliner to make wings. Plus, I highly prefer colored mascara to black.

What brand do you think is coming out with the most boring things?
Benefit is the first brand I thought of. I might be wrong, but it seems like they only release one new cheek product a year along with a handful of their current products packaged together in some new kit. I'm just not interested in purchasing multiple blushes at once or buying eyebrow products period, and that's all I associate with the brand.

Which step in your makeup routine is the most boring one?
I have been applying the same eye primer since I got my first non-drugstore palette nearly five years ago. I've gone through at least four different tubes, but the Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer has not failed me yet.

If you had to chose between a good base with a bad eyelook or a bad base with a good eyelook which one would you choose?
I feel like it depends on the day. I wear glasses, so my eyelook is often obscured. But I know that i would be ticked off if I spent time working on an eyelook only for it to come out bad, so for that reason I'm going to choose to have a good eyelook.

Sydney Grace Is On My Mind

The first time I ever heard about Sydney Grace was a few years ago when Georgia Harris mentioned their single eye shadows in a YouTube video. Back then they weren't even called Sydney Grace, and I had little to no interest in the company. At the time I was convinced that I could get any single shadows I wanted through Mac - even though I had never even seen a Mac product anywhere besides a computer screen.

Well, fast forward three or so years and I've of course realized that Mac doesn't actually fulfill all my eye shadow wants like I had been convinced. But this doesn't mean that I immediately jumped straight to browsing Sydney Grace's inventory. My first step in accepting the Mac "lack" was eagerly awaiting every release (of which there were many) to see if I liked any of the limited edition single eye shadows. Months dragged on, and eventually it felt like I was lucky to even see a release with a single eye shadow period.

So what changed? I started noticing Sydney Grace being featured on Temptalia. Now, I used to check Temptalia multiple times a day when I was in the early stages of my makeup journey. When a brand was on that site, it felt like it must have a good reputation if Christine reviewed it. I started finding myself checking Temptalia's swatch inventory for Sydney Grace products instead of just scrolling down for hopes of a new Mac launch. When I started searching for dupes of my favorite shades in Subculture many Sydney Grace shadows started showing up there as well. All during this time various YouTubers I was watching continued mentioning Sydney Grace shadows in their videos.

I bet you'll never guess which brand's single eye shadows are at the top of my wish list. It's strange too because one of my biggest "rules" with purchasing makeup is that I want to be able to touch and test a product before I buy it. There is no way I'd be able to do that if I bought from Sydney Grace. But nevertheless I'm still drawn to their shadows. The one that started the increased interest in the company was Geese a Laying, followed closely by French Hens. By now, my wish list is easily approaching a dozen shadows, even though I am easily content with the eye shadows I already own.

Right now Sydney Grace is just the new interesting brand for me, and it's taking some determined self-control to not just buy the things that interest me in this moment. A few years ago I would have likely already filled a 12-pan palette with Sydney Grace shadows. But now that I'm much more conscious of my spending habits when it comes to makeup I recognize that I need to take a step back before placing an order. Now, do I anticipate buying some Sydney Grace shadows before the end of the year? Absolutely. After all, some sort of promotion is happening near the end of this month. And even though I have no clue what the promotion is for, something tells me I need to be following their social media presence in the next few weeks.

Why though? I never follow brands on social media. I get my makeup news from Temptalia, and lately I've enjoyed reading about any releases on my own terms, rather than being bombarded by them on YouTube. What is it about Sydney Grace that encourages me to make an exception on the social media follow? the swatch before purchase guideline? I'm slowly trying to figure it out for myself.

Unexpected Discounts After the Purchase Date

When I started being more selective in my makeup purchases, I decided that waiting for expected sales was going to be the easiest way for me to stop most impulse purchases. Over time, I realized that I was no longer buying items impulsively but rather after long reflections; even when the expected Sephora sales came around I was barely buying anything and often skipping the sales entirely.

New products were still being released constantly, but nothing really caught my eye. Enter Subculture. I waited  at least a week before buying it. I knew that Anastasia eyeshadow palettes were often highly sought after and that a discount on that particular palette was unlikely. Oh, how little did I know.

So when Petite Heat became the new palette I again waited. I had "learned my lesson" with Subculture and this time waited even longer to purchase Petite Heat. When Sephora had an unexpected percent off sale a few weeks later I decided it was finally time to buy Petite Heat. But of course what happened at Black Friday that year? Petite Heat was half off somewhere and even still continues to be randomly discounted throughout the year. I knew that Urban Decay palettes were likely to be discounted, but that was usually the limited edition releases. not items that had been added to the permanent line.

It's hard not to feel disappointed that I didn't get the huge discounts others did. I have to remind myself that I got something I really wanted, not just because it was on sale. After all, if you wouldn't purchase something full price, should you really purchase it on sale? I feel like that was a big mantra in r/makeuprehab last year.

It's easy to get caught up in what you missed out on. For me as a budget shopper, something that's been ingrained in me since childhood, missing a significant sale is huge. But it shouldn't matter so much to me. I didn't know those sales were coming. I practiced patience and waited to see if maybe it would happen, and that's all I can ask. I didn't make these purchases impulsively.

If I had waited to purchase Petite Heat I would have saved maybe $10, but then I wouldn't have been able to play with and explore the palette at the time of year when I did. I don't think that saving that money would have been worth it, but in the back of my mind I can't help but think about how much more significant 50% off is over 10% off. It's so easy to focus on the numbers behind it rather than just appreciating the item for what it is. And that's something I'm actively working on this year.

An Appreciation for Subculture

In the last couple of weeks I've been drawn to a new eyeshadow palette. Not new due to release date, but new as in not the Petite Heat that has been my siren call for most of the year so far. It feels strange too because I consider Subculture much more of a fall palette, but I've really enjoyed playing with some of the colors during this current heat.

It's quite amusing how I was ready to almost give up on bold colorful eyeshadow when this palette was released two years ago. I had bought a custom Mac palette in early 2017 and been thoroughly disappointed with three of the colorful shades I had chosen. Indian Ink, Naval, and Bottle Green looked like beautiful rich shades online, but because they were pro store exclusives I bought them sight unseen. While they may be decent build-up shadows, they were not the type of product I was interested in. When Subculture came out a few months later, I was amazed at how it contained so many of the bold colors I had wanted to put into my custom palette. It had the purple, green, and blue I was hoping those Mac shades would be, plus more.

What I find interesting though is that the colors I was most interested in are the colors I use least in the palette. I remember being so excited for Axis. It is such a beautiful color after all. But just because I like a color doesn't mean I'll like it as an eyeshadow. I barely wear my Urban Decay eyeliner in Mainline because I find it overwhelming, so why do I think I'm going to wear more of that color on a larger surface area of my eye? I'm not. I'm just not.

There are three shades that made me want to use this palette again: New Wave, Edge, and Roxy. I have been pining for some Sydney Grace shadows for the past few weeks, and I've been looking through their catalog try to find shades similar to these three. Right now French Hens and Geese a Laying are inspiring me to create a custom cohesive palette.

I never would have thought that Roxy would become one of my favorite shades in the palette. When I bought the palette I thought it looked so boring. But on a whim one day two years ago I put Roxy in my crease, and my appreciation for the shade instantly skyrocketed. When I first got the palette I challenged myself to use only it for my eyeshadow for 30 straight days, and I'm so glad I did. Doing so really pushed me out of my comfort zone with color, and I learned to pair different colors together I may not have easily considered.

As a whole, I really do appreciate Subculture. I know when it was released it didn't get the best reviews, but I have thoroughly enjoyed using it and really learning about my color preferences from it. I doubt I'll have it for another year, as my favorite shades are quickly being panned, but I am quite glad that Subculture was able to help me find those favorite shades in the first place.

More Meaningful Choices

I have been thinking this past week about how my makeup preferences have changed so much in the last few years. I remember when I first became interested in makeup I wanted to own as many things as I could and have massive collections like the YouTubers I watched. Over time, however, I've realized that I actually don't like having many options. I would rather have a handful of blushes than a drawerful, and even then, I would probably end up wearing the same one or two blushes repeatedly for months.

I feel like a lot of social media is trying to convince us that more is better. The constant influx of releases and barrage of opinions about them make these inflated collections feel normalized in a way. If anything at all catches your eye, you're almost expected to buy it. But I can appreciate the beauty of something without owning it. A lot of emphasis now is placed on brands and products rather than aesthetic and technique, and as a result I repeatedly hear YouTubers harp on about "trying new things."

But that's the thing for me. I don't care really about trying new things, at least not to the extent that they do. I would much rather have a predictable and constant routine than be bombarded with a multitude of choices every day. I would rather spend a month or two figuring out which gold eyeshadow I want and would be most likely to use than have six different ones I can choose from on a daily basis. I have recently come to realize that the fewer choices I have the more meaningful those choices become. 

The Pull to Rotate

I feel like the two big camps in the panning community are those who "rotate products" and those who "project pan/pan that palette." Over the past few years, I've tried both. I remember having a spreadsheet where I tallied how often I used a product. I also remember having weekly makeup baskets and sticking with the same eyeshadow quad (shout out to you, Lorac Satisfying Toffee Crunch) for basically an entire year. And then at some point I just... stopped.

Some YouTuber (maybe Abby Williamson?) I was watching this week mentioned her philosophy was to always use your favorite, not to save it. Once you finish it, you move on to your next favorite. That way you're always using your favorite. When she made that comment (about camping food) I think she was likening it to saving "special occasion" or "too pretty to use" makeup, but I think it relates to constantly rotating products too. When your collection is at a manageable size and you love everything in it, it's easy to use your favorite. Sometimes you have multiple favorites, so it can be difficult to select a favorite. (More "Do I want to wear my favorite red lipstick or nude lipstick today?" Less "I love all twenty of these cream-colored eyeshadows and can't choose which to use today.") But when something isn't well-liked it's easy to weed that item out.

I rotate by finding new combinations to try. I might focus on an eyeshadow palette for a month, not because I want to force myself into a one month one palette but because I'm interested in learning how it works with this blush or that lipstick. Sometimes these explorations last a few days, sometimes a few weeks. Sometimes I simply use a product repeatedly because I enjoy it.

I no longer feel the need to rotate what I'm using to ensure everything gets used. (I also don't project pan anymore, but I've already made a post on that topic.) If I notice I haven't used something in a while there's probably a reason, and it might be a good idea to delve into why. Reflecting on the use and non-use of products in my collection really helps me understand the kinds of products that work for me and that I should bring in with any future purchases.

Separating Memories from Purchases

I really struggle sometimes with associating bad memories with products. It's a blessing and a curse because it helps me not to make irrational purchases when I'm in a bad mood. Once I realized this association my shopping habit changed for the better. But it also means that when I really do want something it might take me longer than I expect to buy something.

Enter this insignificant watermelon brush cleaning set. I saw it online a month or so ago when I was browsing Sephora's new products. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to buy it. I had been wanting a brush cleansing pad for years but had always convinced myself that I didn't need it. Something about the watermelon shape and colors just spoke to me though, and I told myself that I would wait to buy it at the spring Sephora sale. During the sale I went into the store to look at it in person. I didn't purchase it that day though; I thought I was going to go home and buy it online to get a better Ebates credit. But then life happened, and I missed the end of the sale. Oh well. I didn't save that $1.50. I'll just buy it the next time I go to the mall.

Today was the first time I was able to go out to the mall since the sale week. I have had a horrible weekend, but I was determined to get that watermelon scrub pad. I had wanted it for so long, and I constantly thought about it when I put on my makeup. I want to be able to purchase makeup and stuff in general without feeling like I'm buying it because I'm having a bad day. Yes, I was having a bad day today, but I wasn't buying the watermelon set for that reason.

And I need to remind myself of that. When I'm having a bad day and eat something, I don't forever associate that food with the feelings. I don't pass by Chick-fil-A or Burger King and get reminded of the bad day I had three months ago. So why is it different when I buy makeup?

Here is to this ridiculous watermelon set, this little plastic trifle that is going to be my first step in separating my feelings from my purchases. Sure, I had a bad weekend. But I am going to love cleaning my brushes with it.

The Want to Want

The want to want. The first time I heard this phrase was a few months ago while watching a video by Hannah Louise Poston. As soon as I heard it, something clicked. I am certainly someone who will spend inordinate amounts of time browsing for something to buy just to feel productive when I'm feeling bored or lazy.

When I was first introduced to the beauty community on YouTube, this pull to research products continually was such a perfect fit for me and my want to want. A few years ago there were no panning or conscious consumerism channels. The majority of videos that I saw were hauls, subscription unboxings, or favorites with at least five new products mentioned every week. When I was constantly being bombarded with multiple new options each day it was easy to find something to want. (Of course I need six pink blushes because they are all slightly different in color and finish. And I definitely need a bright purple eyeliner just in case I want to use it one day two months from now.)

Over time, however, I stopped watching those unboxings and favorites videos. I started being more critical about what I was purchasing myself. In fact, I started to learn what my own preferences were when it came to makeup. I realized I didn't need somebody else to tell me what their favorite brown eyeliner was, and I didn't need another person to review whatever brand had released the newest one. Once I did a bit of research (aka just going to Ulta and Sephora and swatching any I could find until I found the best one for me) I committed to my choice and stopped idly browsing brown eyeliners.

I would love for this to happen with the rest of my collection, but it's a slow process and one with ever-changing tastes. The pink lipstick I like today will probably not be the pink lipstick I like three years from now. This is partly why I strive to have a smaller collection now; I want to use products as much as I can while I still thoroughly enjoy them.

But the want to want still lingers. It wavers often now between makeup items and other hobbies. I have been trying my best lately to just stay off the internet and spend more time playing with my toddler or reading when she goes to bed. When I'm not being reminded that I should want something it's much easier to ignore the want to want.

Single Shadow Tag

Zeyn San recently created the Single Shadow Tag. I have been enjoying her YouTube videos for the past few weeks. It's refreshing to see more channels putting out content that isn't all able new releases and hauls, and Zeyn's channel doesn't disappoint.


1. Do you prefer buying single shadows or palettes?
Ideally I would prefer buying single shadows, but in practice this doesn't really happen. When I buy a single shadow, I want to be able to swatch it in person first. This is what has put me off from buying Sydney Grace shadows thus far, even though they often get stellar reviews. I can swatch Mac shadows locally, but I can't buy the refill pans I want there. For this reason I have found it easier to buy palettes sometimes. I don't see myself buying another palette anytime soon though. I have all the colors I want in my collection already, save for a handful, and I don't see a palette magically coming out with just those few non-cohesive colors.

2. When did you start buying single shadows/what got you into them? 
I bought two single shadows at different points in 2015, and I bought ten more to finish off a 12-pan palette at the beginning of 2017. All 12 of these were from Mac because I had heard for years on YouTube about how special creating a custom Mac palette was. I remember feeling so accomplished when I finally held the completed palette in my hands. (Of course, here I am two years later eager to change things around in it some more.)

3. What are your favorite brands/formulas of single shadows?
I have only tried Mac and Urban Decay. (I have purchased four Urban Decay shadows in the last six months to add to the twelve Mac ones). Urban Decay has some interesting colors that I couldn't find in the Mac selection, but I prefer the Mac formula.

4. If you could only pick 3 singles as the crown jewels of your collection, what would they be? 
Everyone's Darling, Brown Script, and Haux (all from Mac) are my workhorses. I can pull them into nearly any look and feel confident. Everyone's Darling was one of my first two singles, so I feel a special connection to it.

5. Which brands' singles do you want to try in the future?
Sydney Grace, easily. Geese a Laying has been on my wishlist for weeks now. I'm also curious about Anastasia shadows.

6. What, if any, are some of your single shadow color gaps?
I have been searching for the singles to replace my favorite colors in Subculture: Edge, New Wave, and Roxy. I also wouldn't say no to the right green, but I haven't figured out what exactly that is yet.

7. How many single shadows do you have?
16. From Mac: Shroom, Vanilla, Orb, Everyone's Darling, Haux, Corduroy, Brown Script, Antiqued, Red Brick, Naval, Indian Ink, Bottle Green (though I've half-decluttered the last three because they frustrated me). From Urban Decay: Bordello, Shellshock, Rockstar, Scratch.

8. Does your single shadow collection lean towards a certain color family/is one color family overrepresented? If so, what is it?
I created my Mac palette with the idea that it would be primarily a neutrals palette, and I think I accomplished that for the most part. I can get a rosy neutral look or a brown neutral look easily from it. This is also the type of look I go for the majority of the time, so it does not feel out of place in my collection at all.

Farewell to My Beginner Self

Often when I put on my makeup in the morning I sit down with my toddler, and we do it "together." At first I could hand her an item to distract her, but over the last few months she has become increasingly more skilled at opening the different makeup items. I don't think anything is truly safe anymore from her curious fingers. And usually I catch her before a tragedy occurs. But not this time. Farewell, Maybelline Master Hi-Lighting Blush in Illuminata. It feels like the end of an era. I remember seeing it first mentioned on Nouveau Cheap's blog. I remember scouring my local CVS and Walgreens hoping to find it when it was released. I thought the crosshatch pattern on it was so beautiful. It was what always drew me to that line of blushes. This particular one though looked different, even more stunning. It was a limited edition drugstore blush that nobody talked about. Yet searching out a limited edition product made me feel like I was part of the beauty community even though I was a beginner. I never found it in the wild, but a few years later I bought it on Amazon. I was so excited to finally own it. I remember holding it for the first time and just being in awe at its beauty. This was at the peak of my makeup addiction. I was never the kind of person to not use a product because I didn't want to ruin it. But there was Illuminata. I swatched it carefully, trying not to mess up the pattern. Looking back it was silly how wary I was with Illuminata when I had another powder product with a pattern I also loved that I ended up fully panning. What made Illuminata so untouchable then? Still, after owning it for over three years I had barely used it. The only times I really did were when I "forced" myself to use it. It wasn't a color I would have bought now in the present. Honestly, the time it was first released would've been the best time for me to have gotten use out of it. It was the pinnacle of my highlight craze, where I thought I needed at least four different colors of highlighters, if only I could find the right pink and the right gold and so on. Illuminata would have been perfect to use once I realized that Becca's Rose Gold was too dark on me. But instead I waffled on the idea of buying it off Amazon for over a year, and by that time, it no longer fulfilled a "need" in my collection. Not that I had a different item at that point, just that I no longer actually wanted to use one on a daily, or even monthly, basis. Interestingly, the day that the toddler destroyed it I was using a eyeliner that I don't use too often. I'm always scared of using the Urban Decay eyeliner in Mainline because the color is so bright and totally against my style. But it's one of my aspirational products that I keep around because I want to be that person you know who wears a bright, fun eyeliner like blue. I think it's can be so interesting when styled in certain ways. That day I really liked the look that I was coming up with with the Mainline and the Petite Heat palette. I thought the blue and orange paired quite nicely together. I didn't realize that she had destroyed the Illuminata highlight until I was done with my makeup and we were putting everything away. I had a mix of feelings. I was disappointed in myself for not catching her earlier digging away at the compact with her thumb. But I was also sad that it was destroyed and had lost that beautiful pattern. Why though? Why did I care so much? I hadn't used it in ages, and it had miraculously survived through countless declutters. It was time to say goodbye. I just needed a reason.

The Constant Influx of Releases

"Will I buy it?" videos seem to have been increasing in popularity on YouTube over the last year. When Samantha March first introduced the community playlist for WIBI videos I was shocked at how many creators were adding their videos to it. I go back and forth on watching WIBI videos. Sometimes I like hearing the commentary certain creators add to it, but really it just feels so repetitive, especially when some creators are churning them out weekly. I would rather hear someone talk about only the things that have piqued their interest lately instead of them just scrolling through Trendmood or talking about what everyone else is too.

I know many viewers use WIBI videos to learn about new products being released, and I remember doing that with Jen Luvs Reviews' weekly "What's Up in Makeup?" series when it first started. But after a while I became overwhelmed with how many things were constantly being released. (That series was actually what sparked the beginning of the end of my makeup obsession.) If the creator consciously focuses on highlighting various indie brands like Angelica Nyqvist does in her WIBI videos, or even just on a few select brands they typically like, I would feel more inclined to support the influx of WIBI videos. But instead, it seems like so many people are just hashing on the same tired releases.

It makes me wonder how the beauty community was before the snowball of releases became the norm. What was it like to only have a few releases a year? (Did that ever actually happen?) Was the focus more on developing technique than amassing a collection? I'm sure my collection would be even smaller than it is now, as I would have more time to learn about new products before being bombarded with the appeal of a newer one. I wonder too if I would be more likely to stay brand loyal if it were like that now. I just learned the other day that Lorac has Unzipped quints that were released in January. They appear to be totally my style (and something I probably would have purchased if I didn't already have enough eyeshadow). I used to love Lorac as a brand and probably still would if I hadn't branched out to other brands in the last few years. I wonder how people in the days before the current beauty YouTube would have learned about those quints being released.

Also, back when there weren't so many releases, how often did people typically actually buy new products? When the seasons changed? When they finished something up? Were people more likely to buy from a new release because it had been so long since they purchased something new? Were they safer with their choices? (I certainly feel like since I started purchasing things less frequently I am much more cautious and deliberate with what I choose.) I am fascinated with this concept and almost wish I had gotten interested in makeup earlier in life, just so I could have experienced it.

Why I Appreciate Sephora's Rewards Program

With all the talk across social media about the upcoming Sephora sale, I am inadvertently being reminded how much more I prefer Sephora over Ulta when it comes to their rewards programs. I feel like Sephora constantly gets berated for not having a money-based points program like Ulta does, but there are so many aspects about Ulta's program that steers me towards favoring Sephora's instead.

I know Sephora gets ragged on for the point perks, but I love them. Sure, it might take 100 points (usually $100 but not always), but I get to choose when I'm buying products and which brands I'm buying from. Plus, I like that as long as I have one transaction a year (even if it's just redeeming my birthday gift) my points don't expire. So even if it takes three years to reach 100 points, that's okay. And if it takes another two years for a point perk to interest me enough to redeem my points, that's still okay (assuming the rewards program doesn't change again). I also like that I can get a deluxe sample of my choice by only spending $25 online. I find myself waiting to purchase something until one catches my eye, and since I'm very particular, I don't order very often. 

At other stores, you'll see things like "spend $50 on Urban Decay, get a free eyeshadow primer." Okay? I only want to buy two eye pencils, and that doesn't add up to $50. Now I have to add something else? Besides, the eyeshadow primer I use is from Lorac, and I definitely don't need a new one any time soon. A tube will easily last me at least a year and a half. It can be cool to get something for free, but not when it's something I don't care about. 

If the buy-in isn't brand specific, it's usually at a ridiculously high price like $75 or $125. And when it's that big, it's usually a large bag of samples where only one or two even remotely appeal to me. No thank you. I am trying to downsize, not add unnecessary clutter.

Sure, it might be nice to get money off my purchase like at Ulta, but I think Ulta's system encourages spending. There $100 basically equates to $3 off. I know that it's not exactly that simple. 100 points = $3 off, but 1000 points = $50 off. But here's the thing, except for my first year buying makeup, I cannot reach even 100 points before they expire. I just don't buy enough makeup. And I know there are often point multipliers, but my account rarely qualifies for them. (Plus, they're brand specific, and you already know how I feel about that.) I'm convinced that in order to receive these offers you have to continually buy from those brands, like they're trying to reward brand loyalty. If I'm going to make a purchase I would rather it be straight money off than the possibility of eventual money off, especially when I know that possibility is highly unlikely to ever happen.

When you only buy a handful of things a year, Ulta just doesn't have the most welcoming rewards program. At least with Sephora I don't feel shafted for not spending lots of money. Sure, I don't get the same percentages off as VIB or Rouge when sale time comes around, but I still get to participate in the rewards bazaar. 

Remembering and Culling My Sephora Loves List

With the Sephora sale coming in the next few weeks, I thought it might be interesting to try to remember what all is on my Sephora Loves List. I use my Loves List in multiple ways: as an actual wishlist, a running list of things to swatch next time I see them, and an intermediate shopping cart. It's been some time since I fully scrolled through my Loves List, and I think it's past time that I cull the majority of it. I'm curious how many groups of products I'll remember.

First, I know that the most recent items added to it are a handful of Sephora Collection products: a watermelon brush cleaning set, a banana rinse-off face mask (maybe a mint too?), a watermelon hand scrub, and three of the normally-$4 gel pod face masks that went on clearance. I added these in the last week or so. I don't remember what prompted me to search either watermelon or banana, but I do remember being intrigued that there were so many new fruit-themed products. Of these, the only one I will be keeping is the watermelon brush cleaning set. I have passively been wanting a brush mat for years now, and while the other things tempt me, I know I have enough face skincare already and I'm not likely to use the hand scrub enough to justify it.

The next items are probably from when I was trying to figure out which Urban Decay shadows I was going to buy during Ulta's 21 days. (I find it much easier to keep one visual list at Sephora than spread out across multiple sites.) All of these are getting axed from the list. I already chose and purchased the ones that meant the most to me.

Now here is where things are going to get rough with remembering. I think the last group of products I added willy-nilly was highlighters. I was so intent on finding the perfect subtle highlighter that I added anything that looked even remotely interesting in an online swatch to remind myself to swatch it in person next time I was in store. Now that I've purchased the Clinique chubby stick, I can get rid of the others.

I feel like I went through a blush period right before this, but the only ones I can think of are the ones from Ciate that have been on my wishlist for ages. I have been interested in the Ciate blushes and highlighters since Lauren Mae Beauty first mentioned them on her channel over a year ago. It's time to cut them from the Loves List though. I rarely buy something without swatching it first, and the brand is just not available in my city or the two cities I'm likely to visit this year. Those blushes and highlighters have been camping out on my Loves List for so long that I highly doubt I would forget to swatch these products if I ever happened upon them in the wild.

At one point, Sephora Pro brushes were frequently part of the Weekly Wow sale. so I remember going through all the brushes and hearting the ones that I might be interested in at half price. All of these are going to be cut. I don't need to be wrapped up in hoping something might go on sale one day.

As far as individual items, I remember adding a trio of mini eyeshadow sticks from Nudestix that I saw last time I went in store. I hadn't considered anything other than powder eyeshadows in over five years, and I really liked the colors in that set. I'm fairly certain the Urban Decay eyeliner in Lucky is still on there, even though I go back and forth on whether I really want it or not. And I know for sure that the Dior Absolutely Blooming perfume is on there because I've lusted over that perfume for two years at least.

And now to check...

There were 52 products on my Loves List. Here are some that I forgot and reasons why I'm unhearting it:

• Sephora Collection banana lip balm - I still haven't finished my kiwi one.
• Sephora Collection banana hand scrub - Can you tell I like banana yet? I still don't need a hand scrub though,
• Sephora Collection watermelon brush set - I already have similar brushes and don't need the gimmick.
• Sephora Collection color switch - I use the same or similar shades repeatedly and rarely would need to use this type of product.
• Clinique Even Better Glow foundation - This is the only foundation I'm currently interested in, but I have no clue what shade I would be. If I have it in my Loves List, it looks like I've already found my shade, which is just not true. I don't think I'm going to forget about this foundation, and even if I do, that's fine too because I don't feel obligated to wear foundation anyway.
• Sephora Collection foot mask - I doubt I would actually use this.
• Urban Decay Optical Illusion primer - I buy this annually and usually from the Urban Decay site with a better discount. I don't need the reminder on my Sephora list.
• Glow Recipe watermelon sleeping mask - I already bought this and don't see myself repurchasing it any time soon.
• Clinique Chubby Lash mascara in Bodacious Honey - I added it because it was a cool color with an appealing brush, but I just don't wear mascara anymore. And if I did wear it on occasion, I would not spend more than $10 on a tube. 
• Dior J'adore perfume - I don't even remember why this appealed to me. It was an easy unheart.
• Make Up Forever Ultra HD foundation - This was my first foundation, and I've used up two bottles. But I'm just not interested in it now.

Things I kept on the wishlist, with comments on the things not aforementioned:

• Sephora Collection Mini Watermelon Brush Cleansing Set
• Nudestix Nude Metallics For Eyes
• Nudestix Magnet Eye Color in Nudity - the color I like most from the trio
• Pinrose Merry Maker - the notes say plum and nectarine and it's available to test out nearby
• Korres Wild Rose Brightening Sleeping Facial - one day I'll repurchase this, but I always forget about it
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Lucky
• Dior Absolutely Blooming rollerball
• NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Intriguing - a reminder to myself to consider this one next time I want a new pink lipstick

So all in all, I was able to take my Sephora Loves List from 52 products to 8. I'd say that was a pretty successful adventure. It definitely doesn't feel overwhelming or cluttered anymore.