—RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Every woman’s collection of cosmetics and fragrances is a secret treasure chest containing her deepest beauty desires. Some products even hold special memories. That perfume you wore the night you met him. That lipstick that turned you into a disco diva. Those fluttery fake lashes that were the hit of the bachelorette party.
Clearly what’s in your makeup bag says a lot about you. Many of us want to keep and carry everything with us at all times. We need to fight that feeling and lighten our load!
Getting positively beautiful means getting real with who you are and what you need today. Parting with the past can be painful, but it is always liberating. Could clearing out your beauty clutter be the start of something even bigger? You bet.
Step onboard my streamline express to look stunning at home and on the go!
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Most women perform some form of spring cleaning on our homes and weed through our wardrobes as the seasons change. But how often do we clear out our makeup bags and drawers? Yep. Busted!
When I do private consultations, I get an inside look at women’s cosmetic stockpiles. Let me tell ya, it ain’t pretty. Picture if you will Ms. Carmindy attempting to keep a smile on my face as I gaze in horror at a filthy, ancient, oozing pile of products.
What do I often discover? Broken eye shadows, a nub of an eyeliner, some dried-out mascara, a favorite lipstick gouged deeply from sticking a lip brush in it, a prehistoric cotton swab coated in nastiness, a hair band, dull and cheap tweezers, a blush brush flattened and rubbed down to a Brillolike roughness, crumbling sponges, and dried pieces of gum so hard you can snap ’em in half. Sound familiar, ladies?
Now’s not the time for feeling guilty; instead, get busy! Take everything—yes, everything—out of your drawers, cabinets, and cubbyholes to start the sort-and-purge process.
Humid bathroom conditions breed bacteria, so first clean and disinfect all your storage areas. While everything is drying out, spread out your beauty products on a table for examination and elimination.
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Old makeup and dirty tools can harbor bacteria, leading to infections and breakouts. Here are my expiration dates for beauty basics:
• Foundation: 1 year
• Concealer: 1 year
• Face powder: 1 year
• Powder blush or bronzer: 1 year
• Cream blush or bronzer: 1 year
• Mascara: 6 months
• Eyeliner: 2 years, but sharpen pencils frequently
• Liquid eyeliner: 6 months
• Eye shadow: 1 year
• Lipstick: 2 years
• Brushes: wash weekly
• Sponges: wash weekly; replace monthly
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Above and beyond these rules, do any of your products smell or look funky? Toss ’em. Find anything you haven’t used in a year? Ditch it. Make room for what works for you today. Treat yourself to a few new products and modern shades.
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To keep your budget in line, consider rejuvenating worn-down (but not worn-out) makeup. Here are a few tricks:
• If you have favorite lipsticks that are whittled down, scoop out what’s left and put each shade in a little plastic pillbox for a great palette of lip colors to mix and match.
• If some of your pressed eye shadows are broken, turn them into loose shadows by storing them in clear film-roll canisters.
• Dried-out, crusty mascara can be reliquefied by running the sealed tube under hot water for five minutes. However, please heed the 6-month replacement rule on mascara; swollen, infected eyes are not hot.
Now that you’ve got your home beauty bar whisked clean and well stocked, let’s attack how to pack up for on-the-go gorgeousness.
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