Jan 12, 2015

The Makeup Addict Tag

It is getting quite challenging to find time to blog lately. Work has been so hectic that I usually come home with nothing but the desire to eat and sleep. No creative juice left in my poor brain. And I've learned that putting on makeup is truly an act of creativity, because I have not really felt like wearing makeup for a while. This is not healthy, I tell you!

I've been wanting to do this tag (lovely Liz of Beauty Reductionista and Larie of Eye Heart It tagged me), although I no longer consider myself as a makeup addict.
To do this tag (I mean, to take pictures for this post), I finally cleaned my vanity and weeded out some of the old makeup yesterday - a great motivation, by the way. ;)
I ended up throwing out a shopping bag full of makeup (which was a weirdly liberating experience, and I may have dumped more than necessary), and now I'm left with something that resembles "a normal person's stash".


No? You think it is still too much?
Then I'm in denial, I guess. ;)




1. Which products you still keep buying more of despite having plenty in your collection?
Lip stuff.
I think my makeup shopping was quite well-balanced last year, but I still bought more lippies than anything else.
Lip products turn and go bad after time, and I do reapply them during the day unlike the other stuff, so I feel fine with this.
Plus I am going through a transition. I used to only wear lip gloss, but now I'm into sheer lipsticks, stains, and those hybrid things. Kind of need to upgrade my lip wardrobes.
(See? I may not be a makeup addict anymore but I am still very good at justifying the purchase.)


2. What's the one product you can't live without?
This is just terrible. What kind of question is this??!
There is no way I can come up with just one product.
Nope.


3. Favorite makeup brand?
I like the color offerings from Dior, Chanel for its packaging(!). 
NARS is my favorite brand for pressed powder things. 
From drugstores, I've been buying quite a lot of L'Oreal stuff, too.


4. How big is your makeup collection?
5. How do you store it?
As I said earlier, mine is no longer huge (or to think about it, it was never really that big..).
What you see in the first pic is pretty much it.

On the other side of my vanity, there is a jewelry chest with a few daily necessities.


Plus a couple more drawers for eyeshadows/blushes & nail polishes..


Actually, my vanity is a chest with eight drawers, and I use two small ones for my makeup storage.
I inserted these synthetic fabric organizers inside as well. Most people use them for socks and scarves, I know.


I have used a revolving makeup storage bought from QVC for years, but I don't think I need it any more.
I like using boxes and cups to store my makeup and brushes.
(Those blue/purple paper boxes came with the Tatcha skincare, and I love them for makeup storage. How pretty are they?!)


6. How many makeup items have you got in your handbag at the moment?
Remember the time we all carried tiny purses? I used to carry a pressed powder and a lip gloss only.
Now I bring a little more with me - a pressed powder, a lip gloss, a lipstick, a blush, blotting papers, a perfume vial, a hair tie, a mini eyeliner, an eyeshadow duo, all tucked in my makeup bag.


7. If you could raid another blogger's stash, who would it be?
Jaa of Hello Jaa.
If you visit her blog, you will understand. ;)


8. How long does your usual makeup routine take and how many products do you use?
15-20 minutes.
Although I am a big fan of natural looking makeup, the interesting thing is that you do need more products to create the natural effects unless you go natural for real.
I use a foundation, a setting powder, a highlighter (or a luminizer) for base,
a blush,
a lippie,
an eyebrow pencil (sometimes two of them for more natural look),
two or three of eyeshadow products,
an eyeliner,
an eyelash curler,
a mascara.
(so about twelve products!)


9. Have you ever bought any makeup knowing you wouldn't use it?
Never.


10. Tag a few other makeup addicts to do this tag!
You're all tagged. Feel free!



Thanks for reading!
It is quite late, but let me wish you a wonderful new year. :)




Join the conversation!

  1. Wow~~~ i love everything u got! i wish i had that many ^_^

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    1. Haha. thank you!
      It is now quite manageable since I know where the most of them are. ;p

      Delete
  2. I like the size of your collection! i think it's manageable but with enough options for a beauty blogger. awesome job!

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    1. Thanks!
      I was holding on to weird things like discontinued Revlon lip gloss. LOL. They still smell and look fine, but I decided to part from them this time. I should buy things more carefully from now on, too. ;)

      Delete
  3. Happy New Year Lena! Your stash is quite manageable! I plan on doing major declutter soon too-I'm pretty minimal these days with makeup too, so a lot of it just has to go!

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    1. Happy new year to you, too!!
      In this case, once you get to it, it is already half done. I've realized that I was keeping makeup for emotional reasons, too.
      It does feel good to have cleaned out some of them!

      Delete
  4. beautiful stash - just enough in my opinion. However I'm guilty of having three number amount of lipsticks so I'm not the right person to judge.
    It was so fun to read through your answers!
    passingfancyy.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, Sara!
      I couldn't agree with you more, I have more than enough still! ;)
      Thank you for reading this post!

      Delete
  5. destashing is TOTALLY liberating. i would love to pare down my stash but i find it so difficult to give things up.

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    1. Right??
      I'm pretty sure I will end up missing some of them soon. LOL
      Now I've got to be careful that I won't turn this into another reason for buying more! ;p

      Delete
  6. Love the size of your collection :) Mine's a little too huge for me at the moment!

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    1. Hi Carina, thank! ;D
      I know you have a beautiful & tasteful collection. It would be hard to decide which ones to be purged if I were you!

      Delete
  7. Hey Lena, haaaai it's nice to read a new post from you! So sorry to hear about the hectic work schedule. I hope things will calm down soon.

    Loved seeing your collection! It looks very reasonable indeed! Lip stuff is also my major weakness (along with my other weaknesses haha).

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    1. Hi Sunny! Thanks!
      It feels good to blog again. Doing this tag is a nice easy way getting into it. Hopefully, I will post more often.
      I guess it is still plenty. I thought about buying only when I purge something, but then I didn't want to create rules for this. It is my hobby and no reason to stress about it, right? ;)

      Delete
  8. That's a great collection size - perfectly normal IMHO! I really relate to this post because I am no longer a makeup addict but I still have a nice amount :)

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    1. Thanks, Sarah!
      I still love makeup and will buy things if I like them. I think it is healthy and fun way of looking at our hobbies. ;)

      Delete
  9. great organization. It is so nice to de-stash your pile once in a while but I always have regrets of throwing things out after a couple of uses. Now I keep the "unwanted" products for at least a few months so when I made my final decision, I could throw them out without looking back.

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    1. Thank you!!
      Funny that I didn't hesitate to purge my Giorgio Armani lipstick but found it difficult to let go of a 2 year old Revlon lipstick. LOL
      I'm sure I will miss some of them, but it feels nice to let go of some of them. At least, I am going to be diligent about purging lip stuff. Pressed powder things? They stay forever with me! ;D

      Delete
  10. Wow you have such a tidy dressing table!! mine is a mess, lol :P
    I have also just recently destashed my make up collection, very satisfying xD!

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    1. Haha, it is actually quite big. I just placed my makeup stuff on the corner.
      I just hope this clean state will last more than a week. It is so easy to let things go messy with busy mornings and all. ;)

      Delete
  11. Happy New Year to you Lena! Love this peek at your makeup collection and your storage solutions. You are so well organized with your beauty products. That vanity is a great piece.

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    1. Happy new year to you, too! <3
      Now I can better see where my stuff is, and it is actually easy to wear more variety of colors. Before I was just reaching out for the same things often.
      It is just IKEA chest but I'm happy with it! ^-^

      Delete
  12. I like how you use the boxes to organize your vanity! I've thrown some things recently too but begun to regret a couple of the throws a week later haha. I'm going to work on actually buying less this year, as last year I bought way more than I've even had time to open up and swatch. Here's to more "stash-shopping" this year!

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    1. Thanks, Meiko.
      I've learned that it is also important not to stack them so tight. I need to see my makeup to be reminded! ;p
      I am all for buying less and stash-shopping, but also don't want to set a strict rule and get stressed about it. ;)

      Delete
  13. I really like how you've organized your makeup! My makeup collection is a mess and everything is everywhere. I hope to see more posts from you in the near future! :)

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    1. Hi Vicky! Thanks! :)
      This time I tried to organize them in a realistic way (not just the way they look pretty for 2 days), so I hope it stays somewhat organized for a long time. LOL

      Delete
  14. Great one Lena! I did this tag a few months back! I love how your collection has plenty of Dior and Chanel which I'd love to own more of! I personally can't live without pressed powder! I too have a medium sized collection, all of two shelves and a bit...I totally don't ever want to turn into that make up person with ikea drawers full and full of things they 'rediscover'! Great to see your collection, you definitely have a ton of nail polishes! I have a lot more eye products!

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    1. Thanks, Sharlynn!
      I also purges some of those "perfectly fine" ones only after I realized I hadn't touched them over a year. Trying out many things then slowly rebuild my own collections, I guess. As I get older, some just don't work any more, plus I get to know more about myself in terms of colorings and preferred finish, etc. ;)

      Delete
  15. Happy new year Lena, and I love this post! Your stash looks healthy and it makes me feel like downsizing mine more. And that's a lovely picture of you and a gentleman... from what I can see :-P

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    1. Happy new year, Lily! Thanks for reading! ;D
      Just when I though mine is under control, I got hit my major lemmings yesterday. LOL LOL

      (The gentleman is my man, aka the bear ;p)

      Delete
  16. LENA, DON'T LEAVE US. (But then the way you answered #2 tells me you're still a sort of "addict" lol)

    Anyway, I didn't realize you got double tagged but thanks for taking the time out of a busy schedule to do so! I'm impressed with how clean and organized your set-up is. Forget MUJI - jealous of those gorgeous TATCHA boxes!

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    1. Haha, never! I couldn't. I may not look like an addict anymore, but once an addict, there is no clean recovery from it! Plus I love myself loving makeup (which kind of defines me in a way).
      I am just happy that I've able to let go some of the things I don't love anymore, and I secretly look forward to what comes to my collection next! ;D

      Delete
  17. Oh I so totally understand what you mean about not wanting to do anything after work! It's been like that for me, too, and it's becoming increasingly difficult and exhausting to write these days, not to mention English is not my first language which makes it even harder! LOL! Still so nice of you to drop by and wrote something for us to read, though!

    Your vanity is SO clean and organized! And your stash size is very healthy in my opinion! I'd never buy something I wouldn't use, either. I spend my hard-earned money on it then I better use it! ;D

    And thanks so much for the link love. I had no idea anyone wanted to raid my stash! You're the first person and for some reason I feel really honored! LOL! Wish we lived closer, I'd let you come play any time! :D

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    1. My pleasure!
      You seem to be able to manage to post quite regularly, though! I should try a bit harder rather than whining it is too busy to blog. English is not my first language, either. It is challenging - and the worst thing is that sometimes I find the errors later. Think about the things I can never detect on my own! *shudders* ;D
      I can tell you have a beautiful stash, and we all love reading about them. I'm sure many of us would love to raid yours! And it would be so nice to play makeup with you someday. Who knows? ;p

      Delete
  18. You have a pretty reasonable amount of makeup :) I do have a lot of lipsticks and I still buy too tho, ha! It must be the only make up product I would still be obsessed even I sacrifice every bit on my collection :D

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    1. Thanks! It did feel nice to downsize this time.
      I know exactly what you are talking about. And I never get tired of reading about lippies! ;D

      Delete
  19. Thanks for doing the tag! :D It's always nice to have a manageable stash that you're satisfied with, I think! Less stress and it all fits in some sort of easy storage, lol. I don't think I would describe myself as an "addict," either...just an enthusiast, lol!

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    1. My pleasure! Thanks for tagging me, Larie. ;)
      It feels kind of amazing(?) to know where exactly my stuff is. I even managed to empty my virtual shopping basket a few times this week as well although I'm happier that I am wanting thing again, which is more healthy in my opinion.

      Delete
  20. Hi Lena, I have just discovered your lovely blog and feel like this was the perfect post to get to know more about you as a blogger (and as a person!). I share a lot of your brand preferences (Chanel, swoon!) but would probably have to 'fess up as a beauty junkie! Look forward to reading more,
    Emma | Fluff and Fripperies

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    1. Hi Emma!
      Thanks for finding me and leaving me such a lovely comment. ;D
      I've had many different material loves(?), but love for makeup is an enduring one. I guess I'm rediscovering things and adapting to my current needs.
      And I hope I can blog more regularly soon. ;)

      Delete
  21. Aw, I'm sorry you've been so busy with work lately :-( I totally understand that blogging isn't exactly a priority anymore then. Fun tag though! I would totally raid Jaa's stash as well. Watch out, we're all coming for ya, Jaa! lol :-)

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    1. I'm trying to blog more regularly, but as you said, priority! Also, I don't want to be stressed about things that should be fun to begin with. ;)
      Jaa has beautiful stuff but I like that she seems to acquire them thoughtfully.

      Delete
  22. I love reading these kinda tags, so interesting!!
    xx
    belle-fin.blogspot.be

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