As some background: I only got into makeup a couple of years ago, and really delved in last year. School was coming to an end for me and I was starting to get on a professional track, which meant more money and more time for hobbies. I tend to get low-key obsessed with hobbies, which results in going overboard. I also moved from a very small town with no access to most things to a larger city with lots of access to many things, and started working from home. Too much time extra money = too much makeup.

A couple months ago, I took a hard look at my makeup collection, which I will grant is not as large as many others (my entire makeup collection takes up a small corner of a cabinet and one makeup organizer), but was still overwhelming for one person. I started with 5 eyeshadow palletes, 50 lip products, 4 foundations, 3 concealers, one blush palette, 4 single blushes, 5 liquid highlighters, 2 bronzers, 3 eyeshadow primers, 6 liquid liners, 5 mascaras, 3 lip liners, 4 cream eyeshadows, 4 face primers, 2 setting sprays, and 2 finishing powders. In short, way, way more than I was ever going to be able to use before they expired (my math told me it would take me approximately 132 years to finish everything). I'd also spent more money in the last year on makeup than I intended. It wasn't hurting me financially, but I value experiences over things, and it did suck to look at what I didn't need, didn't work for me, and didn't want, calculate how much I'd spent, and recognize that I could have gone on a couple of roadtrips with that money.

Between going on a low-buy for this year, de-stashing, using up products that didn't work for me, returning products, and giving away things that I would never use, I'm now down to 3 eyeshadow palettes, 2 mascaras, 3 eyeliners, 20 lip products (still too many), 1 finishing powder, 1 setting spray, 1 lip pencil, 1 eyeshadow primer, 2 highlighters, 2 face primers, 2 foundations, 1 concealer, 1 bronzer, and 3 blushes. My weakness is and always will be lipsticks (but... I don't have that shade yet!), but I've come up with some strategies. Ultimately, I'd like to get to the point where I can cut my lip products in half, which is small enough that I might actually be able to use it up in a year or two, and varied enough that I won't get bored or frustrated, and cut the rest of my makeup down to where it will only take up the makeup train case I own and won't spill over anywhere else (excluding palettes).

First, I no longer shop online. If I can't see and try the product in person, I already know that it won't be what I want it to be. I've found that lip products, especially, never seem to look like they do online. They also won't feel the way they're described 99% of the time. "Hydrating," formulas are often drying, "transfer-proof," lips will get all over everything, and the color on a white background is never going to be how it looks on my lips. I've also put a hard line on gift sets. Chances are really good that even though I might like 1-2 of the shades, that usually leaves me with 3-5 that I'll never use, don't work with my coloring, and will just end up sitting until they expire. I also learned the trick of using lipsticks as blushes, which means I don't have to try to find the perfect blush to work with a lipstick.

Foundations were another big issue for me. While they get used up quickly, very little works with my skin tone and texture. I found two (one for light makeup days and one for going out/being generally impressive). That's all I need. Foundation was an easier one to get away from for me, because store associates at several local makeup stores knew my name, and that disturbed me. I never need to walk into a retail store enough times that the people who work there know me by name, ever.

What I'm most happy about is my reduction in eyeshadow palettes. I got sucked into eye products last year, especially, and while I didn't get a ton of palletes, I was itching for more, and some of the ones I had didn't work with my skintone, had disappointing formulas, or weren't cohesive enough or inspiring enough to get me to just sit down and play, or use them anywhere but inside my house. Once I started to really look at how many palettes have the exact same colors, I could start to shop my own stash everytime a new palette came out that caught my eye. Last year was also the year of the warms, it seemed, and I'm cool-toned. Yeah, I can wear some red on my eyes, but it had better be surrounded with some cool greys or I'm just going to look sick. Do you know how many true, cool-toned eyeshadow palettes there are right now? Very, very few. I could narrow that number down even further with research, because even the ones that tempted me were generally rated pretty low, and I value quality far over quantity. The three I have work great, and there are very few looks that I want to replicate that I can't do with the three that I have. Maybe I'll be in trouble this year if the makeup industry hops aboard the cool palette train (I have some brands in mind that would be especially tempting if they did), but overall, my collection in this department is completely set, and all the palettes I own are permanent items, which means I can just replace them when they run out.

As for base products, like primers: I have dry skin, and most primers are aimed at oily or combo folks. "Pore-blurring," primers are a lie. I've found that focusing on skincare has put me in a much better place. Primers for dry skin usually don't make makeup last any longer. Instead, they're designed to make you look more glowy or like your skin is healthier, but at a premium. I'd rather my skin just be healthier, and the ones I have will probably be used up and not replaced.

My plan for the future is this:

1. No more looking at new releases or limited edition products. New releases have no reviews and are not tried-and-true formulas. If I love a limited-edition product, then there's a good chance that I'll start searching for something to replace it when it's gone, which is a rabbit hole I don't want to fall into again.
2. No shopping online. If it's not available in stores, I will inevitably hate it and have to go through the process of online returns, if available.
3. No more even looking at products that don't fit my skin tone or type.
4. Anything that I even think about getting requires extensive research, and several trips to the store (between 30-45 minutes away) for swatching and trying. If I'm willing to put in the 3 total hours to fully research a product myself, and follow the subsequent rules, then I can purchase it. I'll also log miles for travel and time for research to add to the purchase price and see if it's worth it.
5. Follow the 3-out-1-in rule, especially for lip products. The products lost must be in the same color family as the one I'm looking to get, and can only be replaced with a similar or identical product.
6. Following the previous point, anything that replaces an old product should be the same price or less than what I'm replacing.
7. Keep track of what I have and when it's expiring. Focus on older products to use up first.
8. Start participating in pan projects.
9. No more visiting discount stores for makeup. Most products are expired and have been swatched/eaten by toddlers, anyway.
10. No more purchasing makeup from drugstores unless it's something that I'm replacing and absolutely loved. I can't return what doesn't work for me from the drugstore, and if I don't love it, then I'll spend even more money and time finding a new formula (see number 4).
11. Always research for reformulations of products before replacing them. If it's been reformulated and isn't reviewed as improving, then that product is done and I must research to replace.
12. When replacing a product, always purchase the mini size if available.
13. When replacing a product, write down the product, store that name somewhere, and return to it in a week. If I still want it after being out of it for that long, then I can purchase it.
14. Stick to reviewers with the same skin type/tone as me, and around the same age.

I really hope this helps someone out there, and if you have more tips or ideas, then I'd love to hear them!