Minimalism & Beauty Blogging: Does it REALLY work?
minimalism;
noun
1.
a tool to help with finding freedom from living with less
Since January, I've slowly but surely been downsizing my physical products. Starting with clothes, I must have gotten rid of multiple bin bags worth, I've thrown away ratty socks & pants, and have even been ruthless with my books. But I've never felt so free and calm. The big thing with minimalism is NOT living with NO stuff. It's about only owning things that add value. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you can't own things.
But I'd been avoiding my makeup stash. If you know me from blog events or a day to day basis, I tend to avoid makeup. I'm huge on having a cohesive and thorough skincare routine and this means I can avoid foundation or a tinted moisturiser, meaning my daily makeup normally consists of eyebrow pencil, mascara and potentially lipbalm if I'm feeling fancy. But this didn't stop me from owning a plethora of eyeshadow palettes, glitters, high-coverage foundations, bright lipsticks - you name it, I probably had it.
And because I'm very aware of the cost of makeup, I seriously struggled with even touching it. But I forced myself to and either threw out or gave away over 100 pieces of makeup - and that was when I stopped counting. (it's insane. I know.) And the reality is, half of it was so out of date, it verged on a health hazard.
As a beauty blogger, there used to be quite a pressure to have a #goals makeup collection which meant hoarding a load of crap that you either don't use or was out of date (which was certainly evident with me). But the reality is, unless I'm trying new products, I use the same 20 (at a push).
But as I threw out and got rid of all this makeup, I had a moment of crisis - could I continue to be a beauty blogger if I didn't believe in an excessive makeup collection? Of course I could. So here's how I'm going to do it. (And how you can too!)
- Try something for however long is relevant (eg, skincare for a month, makeup for a minimum of 2 weeks) and then keep or throw. Now I don't actually mean bin it - obviously if it causes a reaction, I won't want to pass it onto a friend, but if it's just not right for me (eg, wrong shade etc), it'll go to friends or family.
- Be more specific with what I accept. When I was first faced with the novelty of being sent makeup, I would take anything from fake tan to blue lipstick and would obviously not use it. But now I'm more particular about what I accept and if I'm ever offered fake tan from a company that stocks makeup, I suggest a makeup item instead.
- Keep 5 products max for each category. Because of a love for skincare, I found myself hoarding multiple masks, cleansers etc. And the same applied to makeup. I know it's hard to keep track of things so once I have more than 5 types of a product (eg, 5 foundations), it's time to sort them out. By having a set number like this, it makes it far easier to keep track of things.
And that's how I've been doing it thus far! Are you interested in the idea of living with less?