True story: I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until my senior year in high school. That doesn’t mean I didn’t wear makeup. That just means I showed up barefaced in the 7th grade and then rimmed my eyes in black eyeliner during recess. The insides of my eyes, of course. 70s/80s women, you know what I’m talking about. Then there was one day my sophomore year when I snuck my mom’s blush into my Esprit tote and proceeded to put it on compulsively during 3rd period English until my friend leaned over and said, “If you put on any more blush, you’re going to look like a street walker.”
You would think I went nuts my senior year once I was finally allowed to wear makeup. I didn’t. I kept it very simple and stuck with a natural look. I still prefer a natural look. Sometimes I put on eyeshadow, and if I go out I wear mascara even though after two hours my eyes burn like fire, but for the most part, there is no reason for my makeup drawer to look like this.
Wait. Let me explain! My makeup drawer is messy and full, but it’s not my fault. Eh. The full part is my fault. The messy, not so much. I have a spot for everything and try to maintain order, but I use the boys’ bathroom to get ready. There is more room and I like the lighting in there better. With the room and lighting, however, comes Nicholas.
He likes to open and close my makeup, use the eyeliners as weapons for his action figures, and take everything out and then put it back in. One time he decided to try his hand at filling in his brows while I was in the shower. I thought it was funny when I found him, but when I had him look at his face in the mirror, he was scared.
Knowing this, I’m approaching my makeup drawer with some perspective. I purged everything old, everything infrequently used, everything I couldn’t live without. I also purged bottles of lotion with two little drops left and many, many, many lip glosses. I can’t seem to resist a good plum gloss. Then I cleaned out my makeup organizer and put everything back in the drawer, knowing Nicholas will probably play with the contents for another year or so. Mikey did.
One day I’m going to open my makeup drawer and realize months have gone by without a little boy messing up my system. I will be a little sad. I will also be super stoked.
You can click on this picture to enlarge it and see how everything is organized!
New here? For the next 31 days Im living according to the famous William Morris quote. You can learn more about the project here.
Yay! You just solidified my “discussion” about my daughter’s makeup. My husband wasn’t quite convinced. She’s 11 and we’re agreeing on when makeup is appropriate. I say tasteful makeup in 8th grade. I based this on the fact that those of my friends who were allowed to wear makeup looked slightly better with it on, because they used only a little. Those who weren’t allowed put it on at school did so anyway, with wild abandon. My dad knew this, somehow. He always wanted to “see how beautiful” I looked before school in the morning because his philosophy was that if he allowed me to wear makeup, he could gauge whether or not I came home with the same amount on. If I went barefaced, he reasoned, I could pile it on and then just scrub clean again before returning home. Wise man. I’m showing my husband this post. And then, when my daughter turns 13, we’ll pop on over for a shopping trip to San Francisco and a makeup lesson at the Bobbi Brown counter. Might as well start out right.
When my grandma died, I kept her old make up for YEARS, even though our coloring is nothing alike. I thought throwing it away would somehow be throwing HER away. Something about her makeup just seemed so personal. It’s funny how we make such deep connections to such trivial things. The memories associated with the “things” can make even the most not-appropriate-for-a-thirteen-year-old-girl-coral-lipstick seem like the most precious possession.
This takes me back! I wore blue, no BLUE, eyeliner!
My secret to the growing number of lipgloss’ is to put the extra in a pretty jar near the door so I can pop it on before I go out. also putting one in each handbag I am currently carrying keeps me from forgetting ; )
I keep 2-4 lipglosses in my purse at all times. One neutral, one bold, one classic, one trendy. It’s a sickness.
My favorite one so far, this leaves me breathless. I don’t have any drawers in the bathroom:(
Both my grandma and my mom (who almost never wears makeup) keep their makeup until it’s gone. I’m serious, my mom probably has makeup that’s 25 years old! My grandmas vanity was a little girls dream because she had 10 types of every kind of makeup and my sisters and I loved sneaking into it! Haha! Anyway, I have the same problem with having too much makeup and hair products. About a year or so ago I purged about 2/3 of it all and kept what I really use. I haven’t bought any makeup since then unless I will truly use it, like mascara. However, the hair products are starting to dominate my bathroom counter and cabinet again. I really need to go through again and get rid of the things I thought were a good idea at the time of purchase but in reality are things I will never use.
I can also attribute my love of make-up to my grandmother, I was fascinated by her eye shadows, brow pencils, blusher and lippy selection from when I was a very young girl. My mother has always only worn foundation and lipstick – 1 colour only. I definitely take after my grandmother in the make-up department and also the hair product department. Although I do have my mother to thank for not letting me wear make-up to school which saved me from the heavy eye liner look LOL!
I had you in mind yesterday when I defrosted and cleaned out our large chest freezer!
Ah, there’s nothing like a well-organized makeup drawer. I’ve been wearing makeup since since elementary school. Not because I wanted too, but my acne was too severe to go without concealer. Thank goodness my face cleared up as an adult. Now I wear makeup for the fun of it.
Ah, the infamous “inside job” eye liner technique … I know it well … though I preferred blue, to pop my eyes, naturally.
The end result of your purge is a thing of beauty–and I’m amazed you have but one nail polish. I tend to collect them like lip gloss {talk about a sickness} … I don’t even paint my fingernails a color {I don’t have the patience} … only my toes, and I stick with a red, similar to yours. Still, I buy them thinking I’ll break out of my rut one of these days. Alas …
Did you use a lighter to “melt” your black eyeliner that came in a red case — I think by Maybelline? That was totally the “in” thing to do, at least in my part of L.A. county. Plus, there was the totally cool feeling of carrying a LIGHTER in your purse. (And of course, we rimmed the inner, lower lid.)
I like your organizer…where’d you find it?
Of course. We also licked the tip to make it wet/more opaque. (<----WTH were we thinking?! Eww!!!) My makeup tray is a large desk organizer from Staples.
Esprit tote. Oh the memories. 7th grade. Birthday money. Red, the only color left (which I didn’t like). Bought it anyway. Loved it to death. I was cool, with an Esprit bag. Sigh. Thanks for that journey, even though it has nothing to do with makeup.
I changed schools in 8th grade and discovered that at my new school you HAD TO have an Esprit tote. Period. And a Swatch and Eastland lace-up loafers. The tote was the first item I could afford and mine was navy blue (I always was a practical kind of gal). Loved that sucker! And then, suddenly, it was “out” and I had to relegate it to the back of my closet, *sigh*. So nice to be grown up and less aware of fashion rules!
P.S. I started wearing makeup at age 11. Just powder and lipstick at first, then a couple of items the next year, and full-on hard-rock power paint by 14. This was Oklahoma in the mid- to late-80s, and nobody even checked the mail without a full face and big hair! Now I only have a small tray of makeup and don’t vary my look much. Natural with just a little help :)
Ummm… what if you have WAY more make-up than that and you really really don’t want to give any of it up. I mean it’s all pretty new. Did you really only give yourself ONE drawer?
– Carrie
lifestylefiles.blogspot.com
It’s not about giving away stuff you love. If you love makeup and use it, why shouldn’t embrace it? :)
It may be from 2011, but I thought you might enjoy knowing that your series and blog are/is STILL inspiring those of us brave enough to TRY to get the stuff out of our lives so that we may fill the newly emptied space with joyful experiences, people we love and time for ourselves. Thanks so much for sharing your approach. Sending Smooches to you kindred spirit. Into my basement I shall now descend. Please tell my family I love them and call 911 if I don’t surface after 24 hours….