5 Tips to Declutter Your Makeup

September 30, 2022

I used to have over 40 bottles of foundation. There. I said it. How does it happen? Does it matter? What matters is I have completely changed my ways after decluttering my makeup using the KonMari Method so I want to share 5 tips to help you declutter your makeup collection.

My first tip is to imagine your ideal lifestyle

When I work with clients as a konmari consultant, the first step is always to talk about their ideal lifestyle. We have a chat about what they envision in life to get a big picture. And then as we work through each category, I ask more specific questions about how that category fits into their ideal life.

If you are just starting your tidying festival and have no idea where to start, I have a free tidying festival planning guide you can download and I will also link the video where I go through how to use it.

So before we tidy the makeup category, I ask my clients to tell me more about their ideal life. How much makeup do they like to wear on a daily basis, how much time do they have to get ready each day, are they experimental with their looks, I want to know what role does makeup play in their ideal life. There are no right or wrong answer and there are no judgements. It’s just based on what will make you happy.

If I was to answer this question myself, I’d say - I want to have a small collection of high quality products. I love wearing makeup but I don’t change up my looks. I wear makeup most days and it takes me 5-10 minutes. I don’t wear different makeup on date nights with my husband and we don’t really have any special occasions like weddings or galas but when I go on tv or have a speaking engagement, I might wear a little bit more makeup but I still pretty much look the same. In my ideal life, I always look like me but I just want to feel put together. So makeup isn’t really there to alter my appearance but to just make me feel more confident.

My second tip which is to gather all your make up in one spot and start with your daily look

I usually will ask people to go through their routine and pull out products in the order they use it. So for me, if I was really in a rush or just hanging out at home, I’d do my eyebrows, blush, powder. If I was going to work or meet friends, I’d do foundation, eyebrow, eyebrow gel, blush, eye primer, eyeshadow, powder, lip balm. This eyebrow gel is a new addition to my routine thanks to merit beauty. I honestly didn’t think I’d like it let alone adding it to my daily routine but I love it and have been reaching for it daily.

Your daily routine may have less products or more products. Once again, there are no right answers and no judgements. I only have one of each items but that wasn’t always the case. I’ve mentioned I used to have 40 different bottles of foundation alone! I loved buying makeup and had a large collection. So I understand why people have lots of one item. if you have more than one, just pick out your current favourite. what did you use today? What would you pack if you were going on an overnight trip?

My third tip is to be honest about what you really use.

Often people will have products that they have for special occasions. Maybe it’s something you use but not everyday. think about different occasions in your life and not this imaginary fantasy life. Based on my current life as I mentioned earlier, the only time I wear a bit more make up is when I go on tv or have a speaking engagement. When I want to wear a bit more makeup, I will add bronzer, which is something new I’ve been experimenting with. This one was also sent to me by Merit Beauty. It is a new release and it is the bronze balm sheer bronzer. I have it in the shade Seine. I’ve been using this to add a bit of colour to my face and use it for very subtle contouring. What I love the most about it is the creamy texture. It’s super blend-able. If you have tried Merit Beauty’s the minimalist complexion stick, which is one of my favourite products out there, this is even more blend-able than that. i like that you can use the wide side for your face and the narrow side when you need to be more precious. you can probably use your fingers to blend but I really recommend this blending brush from Merit - it’s the best makeup brush I have.

Aside from bronzer, I also use eyeliner and mascara. This is another Merit item that I love. I’ve tried a lot of macaras and they always smudge. This one does not at all. And I also use a lip colour. This is probably the one area in my makeup collection where I can’t just have one. My most used is Merit’s lip oil and I typically will pair it with a lipstick because I find the lip oil doesn’t last long on its own.

When going through your special occasion items, Be honest about what you really use. For example, I used to have a few sets of false lashes but I stopped wearing them because when I do, I’d always take them off before I get home. I just found them really uncomfortable. I kept these lashes for years just in case. It was only when I did my tidying festival, I realized they were just taking space. I haven’t used them for years. I’ve had the chance to use it many times and I always pass on it. They just don’t spark joy so I let it go.

My fourth tip is to look at expiry dates.

Yes, makeup expires. That’s another reason why it makes sense in my opinion to have a small collection. When I had 40 bottles of foundation, I couldn’t use them fast enough so they often went bad before I even make a dent in them. It’s such a waste of money. Right now, I keep a limit of 1 for most products. I have one foundation, one eyeshadow palette, one bronzer, one mascara, one eye primer, one blush. If I want to try a different foundation, I will wait until this one is done. I just think for most of these products, using a different one isn;’t going to make me look any different or do anything different so there is no point in having more than one. It usually takes me so long to finish one, if I buy 2, I might waste some of one before it expires.

On most products, it will tell you how long an item will last once you open it. for example, Merit’s bronzer says 24 months, the Eyebrow gel is 12 months, lip oil is also 12 month and mascara is 6 months. I don’t always follow it. i got this mascara in march. It has been 6 months but I don’t use it everyday so I’ll keep using it for a bit longer.  But if I start to notice the colour or texture change, then I’ll toss it. In my experience, most people will keep makeup for years and years. They don’t notice it has gone bad because they don’t use it. most items lasts a year or 2 and you can easily google some recommendations on when to toss it. i think, If you can’t even remember when you bought it and you haven’t been using it, you should probably let it go.

My last tip is to let go of samples.

I have a love and hate relationship with samples. I see them in every bathrooms and people always say they’re keeping them for trips. If it’s something you already use, yes, it can come in handy on trips. However, if it’s a new product, saving them for trips doesn’t make sense as you wouldn’t want to have a skin reaction during a trip so you should try it at home. That being said, whenever I use any samples - even if it’s products I use - it always break me out - even if it’s something I already use.