Taking inventory

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jaylilee

Obsessed with colored powder
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So in order to be more aware of what it is exactly I have in my stash, I made it a point to go through and count how many items I have. Eyeshadow palettes I counted the individual eyeshadows inside as 1 item, because otherwise it's easier to deceive myself into thinking I have less (for example, my naked 1 palette is just one palette, but it has 12 shadows in it.. I only have 2 eyes, so I can't use up a whole palette up and count it as one item!)

That and a tarte palette are all the "set" type items i have, so everything else is individuals and...omg you guys. i'm well over 300 items, closer to 400 actually... and 90 bottles of nail polish. it certainly helped in figuring out what i have, and what i can use or need to find new homes for.

what about you, guys? have you taken inventory? if so, how much do you have to use up? 

 
Yesyesyes! I wasn't specifically trying to "take inventory," I just wanted to reorganize my closet... Boy, what a shock that was. I'm pretty okay with my eyeshadow levels, lippies are getting close to being too much but why, WHY do I have 20 foundations/bb creams/ mineral powders? My face isn't that big! Almost 200 bottles of nail polish, about 150 full-sized perfumes (didn't count the samples, that would've been too painful)... and soap. I buy it all the time because I see a new scent and I just have to try it... and they're small and fairly inexpensive, so my "collection" added up very quickly. I couldn't count, but I'd guess I've got maybe 300 bars? And at least 30 shower gels, over a dozen body scrubs... But this month I've started keeping track of the stuff I'm using up and I seem to be going through about 1 bar of soap every 2 weeks, so there is hope that the pile will be depleted someday.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by bnicole /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Yesyesyes! I wasn't specifically trying to "take inventory," I just wanted to reorganize my closet... Boy, what a shock that was. I'm pretty okay with my eyeshadow levels, lippies are getting close to being too much but why, WHY do I have 20 foundations/bb creams/ mineral powders? My face isn't that big! Almost 200 bottles of nail polish, about 150 full-sized perfumes (didn't count the samples, that would've been too painful)... and soap. I buy it all the time because I see a new scent and I just have to try it... and they're small and fairly inexpensive, so my "collection" added up very quickly. I couldn't count, but I'd guess I've got maybe 300 bars? And at least 30 shower gels, over a dozen body scrubs... But this month I've started keeping track of the stuff I'm using up and I seem to be going through about 1 bar of soap every 2 weeks, so there is hope that the pile will be depleted someday.

You can do it! soap should go really fast if you're using it as much as you are, so perhaps you can achieve a huge dent soon. I don't have many lippies, thank goodness. I LOVE them on other people but always feel like I look weird wearing it. All my nail polishes are starting to "separate" and it's making me sad :C I am not sure how much longer they will last, but i don't have enough nails to use up the bottles that fast lol. I always also struggle with organization... :( /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> no matter how I organize it, I'm never happy with it.

 
I did a cursory count. Makeup items: 188, Skincare: 26, Nail polish: 28; palettes: 5

Not too bad, but I've been low buying the majority of the year. I have 28 eyeliners!! This is one area I need to start wearing each one for a week and decide if I like it enough to keep it. The other glaring excess is lip products: 33!! About 40% of the above items are deluxe samples from subs. I also have two glossyboxes of items I haven't decided if I'm going to keep or add to my trade list. Probably another 2 dozen items. Ah well, nothing like facing reality. I have greatly reduced my body lotions, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, etc  so success on that front.

The amusing part is that I am seriously considering a UD purchase for black Friday of the travel size liners and lipstick sets! The two areas I already have an excess of items! Decisions,decisions. What can I say, eyeliner and lipstick are my weakness :)

 
Just took an inventory of my stash..

6 foundations (I mix shades)

3 powders

4 primers (face and eye)

6 concealers

4 bronzers

6 highlighters

18 blushes (!)

174 eye shadows (including an 80 color elf palette)

21 eye liners (liquid, gel, pencil, and jumbo)

4 mascaras

4 brow products

6 lip liners

14 lip glosses

14 lip sticks

I'm not really into nail polish.. I share about 15 with my sister. I also have 2 setting sprays and a couple lip balms. I only have a few perfumes, and a couple of essential hair products. Makeup is 90% of my beauty obsession :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Most of my eye shadows are in palettes, so they add up quick. But it's still too much. I also need to stop buying blushes... lol. And 14 lipsticks and glosses is more than enough.

 
Including makeup, skincare, hair care, shower stuff, and nail polish (but not makeup brushes or hair dryers/curlers/straighteners--so no tools, just products) I'm at just over 200.

 
A long-time lurker here! When I saw this thread, I just had to join.

I recently did an invertory check and I was amazed at what I've been able to accumulate! I really don't want to know what the store value of my collection would be. I have already been downsizing. Tossing old items and putting a box of goodies together for a sale. So I already went through my collection a few times. But I was still suprised at what I found in sheer numbers.

I don't own much lipproducts,

2 lipsticks

3 lipglosses

8 lipbalms (tinted)

1 lipstain

I only wear lipstains and lipbalms anyway, so I am trying to finish up the glosses and lipsticks.

55 nailpolishes

Okay that's really a lot to me, but granted I use pretty much every bottle. I Would love this to go down to arount 40 nailpolishes.

23 single eyeshadows

6 duo's, trio's, quattro's

12 palettes

total:  276 eyeshadows.

Why do I feel I need 276 eyeshadows? I really don't need that. There is an elf 100 palette in there so that really does add up. I am allowing myself to repurchase only my HG eyeshadows (if I actually finish them) and not any additional eyeshadows, for like...forever?

9 blushes

2 bronzers

3 highlighters.

I am kind of okay with this. None of my blushes look like one another and they all get love. I would like to bring it down to just 6 blushes or so. I think I only need 1 bronzer and maybe 2 highlighters (one powder warm toned, and one liquid cool toned).

4 black pencil liners

6 brown and other colored pencil liners

5 liquid liners (black)

1 gel eyeliner

I already cut down on the eyeliners and I am pretty proud of myself. I just need to get through some of the black liquid and pencil liners. I only need 1 of each really.

For everything else I am also near my end goal. I want to own only 2 bb creams, instead of 3 and I have both a brow powder and a brow pen, I and need to figure out which one of them I like best. I also own some glitters and false lashes. But those are for special occasions and I won't get rid of because I love them.

But those eyeshadows!

That's close to threehundred! And I don't even wear a complete eyeshadow look everyday. Mostly just a highlighter shade.

 
I know I should do this, but I am scared to, lol. If I counted eyeshadows inside palettes individually, I'm sure I'd already have at least 300. And I have a ton of singles too. Yikes.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Playedinloops /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I know I should do this, but I am scared to, lol. If I counted eyeshadows inside palettes individually, I'm sure I'd already have at least 300. And I have a ton of singles too. Yikes.

I put off doing an inventory for months but I'm glad I finally did. I needed the reality check. Just count palettes and not individual shadows if it makes more sense for you to do it that way. 

The inventory is motivating me to get rid of the items I don't like/am not using.

I only did a visual count, no spreadsheet, etc. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Misame /img/forum/go_quote.gif
23 single eyeshadows

6 duo's, trio's, quattro's

12 palettes

total:  276 eyeshadows.

But those eyeshadows!

That's close to threehundred! And I don't even wear a complete eyeshadow look everyday. Mostly just a highlighter shade.
Funny how they add up, huh?? On eyeshadow singles only (which i have depotted and popped into palettes), I'm pretty sure I've already spent somewhere in the $1500-2000 range..... that could pay for a vacation with my husband somewhere nice. Ugh.

So yeah, I'm never buying another eyeshadow until I finish the ones I have, and only repurchasing the ones I truly, truly love. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by page5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I did a cursory count. Makeup items: 188, Skincare: 26, Nail polish: 28; palettes: 5

Not too bad, but I've been low buying the majority of the year. I have 28 eyeliners!! This is one area I need to start wearing each one for a week and decide if I like it enough to keep it. The other glaring excess is lip products: 33!! About 40% of the above items are deluxe samples from subs. I also have two glossyboxes of items I haven't decided if I'm going to keep or add to my trade list. Probably another 2 dozen items. Ah well, nothing like facing reality. I have greatly reduced my body lotions, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, etc  so success on that front.

The amusing part is that I am seriously considering a UD purchase for black Friday of the travel size liners and lipstick sets! The two areas I already have an excess of items! Decisions,decisions. What can I say, eyeliner and lipstick are my weakness :)
Doing better than I am! I only have like 8 eyeliners, so I'm taking a deep sigh of relief on that one since I somehow ended up liking the very expenside UD 24/7 ones... once I use all of mine up I'll be looking at drugstore choices instead (I hear the rimmel scandaleyes are very similar to the UD ones).

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Playedinloops /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I know I should do this, but I am scared to, lol. If I counted eyeshadows inside palettes individually, I'm sure I'd already have at least 300. And I have a ton of singles too. Yikes.

Lol! I avoided counting my stuff too just because..holy shock. but I needed to do it. What I refuse to do is count how much $$ went into it all because I'd probably have a heart attack, but it definitely sets it all in perspective! 

 
Looking at everyone else's counts I don't think my stash is that bad! 6 Mascaras (people always give them to me :x) 12 Eyeliners 50 eyeshadows 14 lipsticks 7 lip stains 5 glosses 3 blushes/2 highlighters 10 BB creams Not too bad! I still don't need to buy more stuff but I do always buy new BB creams and use them all regularly - Korean formulas are all so different and give different effects to your skin!

 
@bnicole, soaps/shower gels are my major weakness as well.  I thought I'd have used up all of mine (I've been on a soap no-buy for months and months now) by January, but I found a whole bunch more, and now I think I have enough to get through May before I have to buy any more.

 
Ooh this sounds like a great idea! I love reading what everyone else has!

Ok, I'm going to do a little experiment; I'm going to list what I *think* I have here, and when I get home tonight, I'm going to actually count everything and see how the two compare. I'm sure I think I have a lot less than I actually do, which is the point of this post, right? Hehe.

Ok, what I think I have (a small collection by most standards):

Foundation: 1

Powder: 1

Setting Powder: 2 (both DS)

Face Primer/Base: 2

BB Cream: 1

Concealer: 5

Blush: 4

Highlight: 2

Bronzer: 1

Eyeshadow: 25

Eyelid primer: 1

Eyebrow pencil: 4

Eyeliner: 3

Mascara: 3 (FS) + 5 (DS)

Lipstick: 5

Lipgloss: 2

Lipstain: 4

Chapstick: a bazillion!

Nail polish: 8

Brushes: 15

Perfume: 7 (FS) + 10 (samples)

Foil pack samples: 15

SPF: also a bazillion!

A few notes to myself:

1.) Get rid of the 1 cream foundation- it's old (from 2008) and I haven't worn it since my wedding, I'm just holding onto it because it's of sentimental value.

2.) Only use 2 chapsticks at a time- one by the bed, and one in your pocket, otherwise they'll all go bad too quickly.

3.) Start using your mascara samples (rotate so you use the oldest ones first).

4.) Start trying the sample packets- don't save them for anything special unless you know you'll love them and can use them on a plane

5.) Blush- seriously? I hardly even wear it, get rid of the stuff!

6.) Stop buying lipstick, I never use it. Getting the freebies from Clinique are good enough!

Ok, I'll check back in with the reality later!

 
Okay I've been going again and again going through my makeup collection and I got rid of a few items

1 blush

1 highlighter

1 cream shadow

1 palette 8 pans

1 trio (wet n wild walking on eggshells)

1 glitter liner

2 colorful liners (metallic orange and metallic purple)

1 purple pencil liner

2 lipsticks

2 lipglosses

and now I am kind of on the fence on keeping my 15 warm shimmer palette, it's one of those ebay type palettes. Every single shade is gorgeous and pigmented, but the thing is that I already have similar shades in other palettes, and I am just not sure if this palette is going to add anything to my life. But so far I am doing good. I am am really feeling relieved of getting rid of some things. Like those lipsticks and lipglosses, I tried to make them work but I just don't like the feeling of them, they are great quality but I prefer tinted lipbalms. btw, I also finished two tinted lipbalms that were on their last legs.

@eastofthesun, Your numbers may be a lot for you, but they really aren't that bad and I think you can get down to your perfect 'collection' within a year, except maybe for the perfume.

Your username, is that a reference to the norwegian folktales? I had a book of that growing up, illustrated by kay nielsen. I loved that thing.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Misame /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Okay I've been going again and again going through my makeup collection and I got rid of a few items

1 blush

1 highlighter

1 cream shadow

1 palette 8 pans

1 trio (wet n wild walking on eggshells)

1 glitter liner

2 colorful liners (metallic orange and metallic purple)

1 purple pencil liner

2 lipsticks

2 lipglosses

and now I am kind of on the fence on keeping my 15 warm shimmer palette, it's one of those ebay type palettes. Every single shade is gorgeous and pigmented, but the thing is that I already have similar shades in other palettes, and I am just not sure if this palette is going to add anything to my life. But so far I am doing good. I am am really feeling relieved of getting rid of some things. Like those lipsticks and lipglosses, I tried to make them work but I just don't like the feeling of them, they are great quality but I prefer tinted lipbalms. btw, I also finished two tinted lipbalms that were on their last legs.

@eastofthesun, Your numbers may be a lot for you, but they really aren't that bad and I think you can get down to your perfect 'collection' within a year, except maybe for the perfume.

Your username, is that a reference to the norwegian folktales? I had a book of that growing up, illustrated by kay nielsen. I loved that thing.
Way to go! if you don't know what to do with that lovely palette, maybe find a relative or a friend's young daughter to gift it to? it's a gorgeous palette and im sure would make a great starter eyeshadow palette for somebody. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Misame /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

@eastofthesun, Your numbers may be a lot for you, but they really aren't that bad and I think you can get down to your perfect 'collection' within a year, except maybe for the perfume.

Your username, is that a reference to the norwegian folktales? I had a book of that growing up, illustrated by kay nielsen. I loved that thing.
Oh my goodness, yes! It's definitely a reference to the exact one you're talking about- the one illustrated by Kay Nielsen. I love her artwork! It's so beautiful!  That's so neat that you caught that! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> By the way, my favorites from the book are either this one:

http://www.artsycraftsy.com/nielsen/kn_inthewood.html

or this one:

http://www.artsycraftsy.com/nielsen/kn_eastbear.html

I might have to order a print! And... maybe make one of those my avatar! We should both use one as our avatars for solidatrity, hehehe!

Thanks also for your comments on my inventory, I think I can figure out the perfect amount of everything that works for me. And your numbers seem really great, actually. That seems like a really decent collection of things you can make many looks from without detracting from your life financially or cluttering up everything.

I didn't have time to check my inventory in reality last night, but maybe it's something I can do over the Thanksgiving break.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by eastofthesun /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Oh my goodness, yes! It's definitely a reference to the exact one you're talking about- the one illustrated by Kay Nielsen. I love her artwork! It's so beautiful!  That's so neat that you caught that! :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> By the way, my favorites from the book are either this one:

http://www.artsycraftsy.com/nielsen/kn_inthewood.html

or this one:

http://www.artsycraftsy.com/nielsen/kn_eastbear.html

Haha, You sound like me! Those are my exact favourites as well! Great minds think alike I guess :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I got rid of 5 nailpolishes, I am now down to 49, but I am hoping to get down to about 40.

Since I got rid of a lot of makeup (I made a donation and sold the rest) about a month ago, I feel so much more happier with my stash. I am actually experimenting with eyelooks again, and I used pretty much every eyeshadow I own in the past few weeks, that really feels great. The past year I was 'working' on all kinds of items, I wouldn't allow myself to grab my favourite blush because I had 6 others that I had to finish first. I ditched that plan and just got rid of everything I felt I didn't really want to use, so now I only have stuff that I like. I am still looking to downsize, but it's going in the right direction.

I did purchase a few items though, an eyelash curler (because my old one is busted) and some backup bb creams of my staple bb cream. I know that I use and need these products, and I did save a €100,- in the past month, so I don't feel too bad about it

I also am no longer going to refer to my makeup as my 'collection'. A collection implies that I need to savour every product, instead of use. But makeup expires, like food. And nobody in their right mind collects food, so why would I collect makeup?

Anyway I really hope this makeup hoarding is a thing of the past.

 
Wow, I hadn't been in the "No buy support" forum in quite some time,  until the other day.  Lots of great new threads here!

I had a decent workable stash up until Christmas.  Wow, it's grown!  lol.  I got alot of makeup for Christmas.

This is my inventory:   

Eyeshadows: (counting palette shadows individually)  86

Lipsticks: 10

Lip glosses:  7

Blushes:  7

Bronzers:  2

Pressed Powders: 2

Foundation/ BB Cream: 3

Face Primer:  1

Mascaras: 3

Eyeliners:  7

Eyebrow:  3

Concealer: 2

Eyeshadow Primers: 6  - 4 are the blister packs from Naked 3 so they'll be done soon, 1 is a deluxe sample of UD & 1 is an unopened full size Anti aging UDPP that I got for Christmas and won't open until the samples are done.

Total Makeup items: 139

I also got a gift card to Ulta & Christmas money left.  I keep telling myself DO NOT GO CRAZY. YOU DON'T NEED ANYTHING.

 

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