I haven’t written a beauty post in a while (I know: tisk, tisk!), but behind the scenes I’ve been on a little beauty mission of my own: to simplify my makeup bag. Remember last year when I wrote about my beauty commandments? Well, I’m trying to live up to them, especially #4 – which brought me to where I am right now.
I’ve been exploring a lot of different beauty brands and have even written about the new beauty labeling that’s kicking USDA Organic certification to the curb and replacing it with something better, and I realized that my makeup bag is really complicated. In fact, I was finding myself digging through it quite a bit when I only really use a handful of items on a daily basis to begin with. So here’s the deal: let’s all make thing less complicated together. Sound like a plan? Good! So here’s my foolproof plan to simplify your makeup bag, once and for all.
How to Simplify Your Makeup Bag
I’ve written about makeup organization in the past, but this is a completely different beast. Even the most organized person can have way too much going on – it’s time to be practical!
1. Buy a smaller bag!
As simple as it sounds, it took me years to figure this one out. In fact, at the beginning or my marriage, I remember having a huge carry case that had many different organizational pockets that I carted to my vanity as if I were a professional. I do not do makeup for a living, therefore I had no need for this. So I finally ditched my overwhelmed beauty case and got this from Sephora and it helps me keep my cosmetics down to only what I can fit inside. (This one is similar in size and way cuter than mine is!)
2. Get rid of duplicates and everything past their expiration date.
Whenever I dumped my makeup bag out recently, I realized that I not only had products that I never even touched (oops!) but I also had lots of duplicates of similar shades and products way past their prime. A good rule of thumb is to get rid of things that are 6 months or older. Just do it and you won’t even miss them – promise!
3. Make sure you have your basics.
It’s so easy to get sucked in whenever you walk into Sephora, right? I want to buy all these crazy products that claim to do magical things. But the thing is this: make sure you have your basics covered and you will be just fine. At the end of the day, your foundation, concealer, mascara, lip stick, blush and bronzer are your makeup bag work horses. They are what you turn to day in and day out and as long as you have those 6 products your makeup bag is basically set. (If you are curious to learn more, I have a great post HERE about makeup essentials.)
//Bronzer: Stila// Cream Blush: Stila// Concealer: Bare Minerals// // Mascara: c/o Mally// Lipgloss: c/o Mally//
// Foundation: c/o Au Naturale Cosmetics// Finishing Powder: c/o Au Naturale Cosmetics//
4. Give yourself a limit.
This limit will be different for everyone and might increase during different times of the year (i.e. holiday season), but either way as with anything else in your life, you gotta have your limits.
5. Opt for products that do multiple things in one.
This is one of my ultimate favorite tips, especially if you don’t have much time to be doing your makeup in the first place. I always opt for products that do multiple things like a tinted moisturizer, eye shadow palette, or a makeup melting/cleansing balm. It saves space and time – what more could a woman want?
These 5 tips to simplify your makeup bag are helping me keep myself in check and own a makeup bag that I can actually zip. Have any extra tips that I missed? Share them below or hop over to Facebook and chat beauty with me there! If you want to take simplifying one step further – check out my minimal makeup tutorial, it’s one of my favorites!
Fashionably Yours,
Allison
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