#cosmetics declutter

I actually bought some new things, but they were all purchased after months (!) of thought and deliberation, and so far every one of these recent purchases has been a real win. And a thing that I bought on impulse (another drinking cup for Son)? Turned out to be not so great. Who would have thought... ;)

Some of them were replacements for things that needed replacing. Others were replacements for things I had that were... fine, but they didn't suit my needs so well, to the point where the cumulative discomfort from all these small frictions was starting to be felt. This is where I show my not-minimalist attitudes; I WILL buy something new instead of forcing myself to use something that gives me grief just to be frugal about it. But it works for me.

Tomorrow I will try again to look for all the lost toy parts Son buried in every odd corner of the living room.

Yesterday I found the time to throw out more expired cosmetics (old tubes of aloe vera gel). Today I ought to find time to go over my winter gear and maybe finally say goodbye to things I clung to for sentimental reasons. If they're in good condition I'll drop them off at the second-hand donation bin, and if not - to the textile recycling bin they go. Maybe I'll finally be able to fit all my clothes in the closet afterwards, no need for seasonal storage; if so, it'll be wonderful, as it would clear up the overhead storage space for when baby outgrows his crib (which we will not be donating/reselling/throwing away for now, in case we end up with baby #2 by surprise).

It's just so me, to buy a hair product (frizz control spray) and then shave my head 3 weeks later. Oh well! My partner can spritz a bit of it on his beard every now and again until my hair grows back a bit in a month or two. It won't do much for facial hair but it does smell like fruity bubblegum, and he likes to smell nice.

I also got around to finishing that hand cream and the deodorant I've been struggling with, and some liquid soaps - which means I can finally get around to using the bar of soap that was sitting untouched in my cabinet. The conditioner bottle is also (finally) on the way out, as I've been using it as a shaving cream substitute just to get rid of it... and there was a lot of shaving to be done recently (see prev. paragraph).

Still struggling to use up my makeup, especially now that I barely leave the house (being unemployed and all). Can't give it away because it's unsanitary to do so. Don't want to throw it out because I do use it, on special occasions. So I guess I'll just trudge on with it. I'll stay focused and try to finish one thing at a time. I think I'll target the never-ending cream blush and the loose powder, because these are the two products I'm least satisfied with and would love to be rid of them ASAP.

In a fun bit of irony, my partner's sister decluttered some mugs and teacups... and foisted them on her brother (and by extension, me). The mugs are cute so I agreed to keep them, but now I'm trying to find who might want to take two cute sets of teacups, because we barely drink tea, and when we do, we just drink from a mug...

Handling the flow of objects into/out of the house can be pretty taxing!

How strange that the things I do not like and wish I could "just finish up already and get it over with" end up breaking halfway through and need to be thrown away. And you cannot say I'm being subconsciously clumsy to make them break, because this time it happened while my partner and I were asleep!

Envision: It's 01:30 and everyone in the house - human and cat - is sleeping soundly. Suddenly, a loud crash is heard from the shower. I bolt upright in bed, first thought being "is my home being raided? am I going to die?" but a moment passes and no more noises are heard besides my cats' confused meowing. My second thought is that they must have knocked something over in a fit of midnight zoomies. Then the nauseatingly discordant scent of two different perfumes hits my nose and I understand that the cats are innocent. The suction cup on the toiletries basket had simply come loose from the wall in the night, sending the basket and its contents tumbling to the floor. I am tired and do not wish to deal with this right that moment, but the glass shards are a safety concern and the perfumes are making my head hurt, so I drag myself out of bed to clean up at least the most acute parts of the mess.

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In the morning I asked my partner if any of this woke him up, and he said no. While I tried to catch up on my sleep, he cleaned the floor of the remaining perfume. He also disconnected the faulty suction cup from the basket, and now it's a countertop basket rather than a suspended one. I won't replace it for now because it works fine like this.

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Putting things back in the basket, I realized that I don't like it very much when products are stored in tubs or jars, because it takes up a lot of room on the rather small area surrounding the shower sink. I'm fully a bottles person now. Flip top, twist top, pump bottle, spray bottle - anything goes as long as the base is narrow! This will definitely inform my purchases going forward, when I do finish up certain items (e.g. hair gel, face cleanser) and need to replenish them.

It's good to go over your things and figure out what can be used up as-is, and what would serve you better after a bit of repurposing. My backlog of cosmetics is an endless struggle in this regard, but I am always finding ways to make my things work. Two new stories about my so-called project pan:

I have a years-old palette of oil-based face paints. They're intended for stage makeup, but I ended up not working in the field. I wasn't sure what to do with them and didn't have the heart to throw them out; the paints themselves are in good condition despite being technically expired, and if I have hygiene concerns they're easy enough to disinfect. So, in a moment of inspiration, I decided I would use them as cream eyeshadows instead of buying some new product for the purpose. One tiny problem... they're literally greasepaint! Which means they require setting with loose powder after application. Good thing I already own a loose powder; It was supposed to be a powder foundation, but it is not remotely the same color as my skin, especially once it oxidizes. So I might as well use it for setting my eye makeup. It mutes the colors because it's skin-toned and not translucent, but I'm fine with that. So the 'problem' ended up being a 'solution', letting me use up two products at once :)

I have bars of soap at home that I have no clue why I own. A recurring theme with the purchases I made in my 20s... I guess I was going through some experimentation and self-exploration at the time. In any case, I do not use soap bars to wash myself, and neither does my partner. But after I tried to create a makeup look with the aforementioned greasepaints, I found that my regular liquid soaps just did not dissolve the material from the brush, no matter how many times I applied it! I was desperate to clean my brush before the product crusts up the bristles, so I took one of the bars and gave it my best shot. To my immense relief, it worked :) so now I know what to use for cleaning my makeup brushes (they're all synthetic, so no need for a special brush shampoo either way).

After I'm done with my face paints and have physical room in my life for a new eye product, I'll buy a palette of powder eyeshadows from the same company, because I already spotted something in their product line that would fit my needs. But that is for later, much much later.

So I received a body spray a few months ago. Very cute, sweet, floral.

One problem though... it has a freakishly strong scent. I can't wear it without coughing. I tried to release one - one! - spray into the living room to see if I could use it for the space, and my partner and I both started gagging. I don't know why I kept it for so long. I think I'll just toss it; normally I'd ask if someone else wants it, but I won't willingly inflict this kind of damage on anyone.

Hair mask is finished. Body scrub is halfway there. Will force myself to wear makeup today so I have something to do with the makeup remover (and with all that black mascara in my box - I have three whole tubes that I don't know what to do with).

How did I end up with three mascaras, you ask? Well, obviously, they were all gifts.

If I were to purchase mascara for myself, I probably would have a lot of them, but they wouldn't all be black - I'd get black, brown, bright blue, bright pink and purple. And maybe white. Just one of each, to switch them up. But now that I think about it, I understand it's very much "makeup for my fantasy self", the fantasy self that has it in her to paint her face every morning and not like. Once a month at most. So for that actual self, one tube of black mascara is enough, and those pops of color are easily achieved with my small collection of eye pencils.

But hey, a girl can dream...

Next week I will release not a physical object but an intangible thing. I will release, to the best of my ability, my discomfort with making phone calls.

Continuing previous posts - I was tempted to buy a jar of cleansing balm before fully emptying my ol' biphase, but it's ok, because it's close to being finished anyway and I will need some kind of cleanser/makeup remover on hand when it empties. I am still trying to use up the makeup I didn't exactly want, after all, and it does feel like everything is coming together gradually.