4 Tips to Curate Your Makeup Collection and Save Money

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much makeup I’ve accumulated over the years that I just end up no longer using at all. This has made me believe that it’s a lot more practical to approach makeup with a minimalistic eye, only focusing on fewer items with better quality.

If you’ve also been thinking about doing a major makeup overhaul, or simply want to edit and curate your makeup bag to the essentials, then you’ve come to the right place!

In this blog, we talk about how to organize your makeup collection, choose which ones to keep, and how to build a sustainable makeup bag that you’ll actually be using. These are makeup products that provide functionality, comfort, and are guaranteed to keep you confident and feeling amazing.

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Why Is It Important to Curate Your Makeup?

Have you heard of the paradox of choice? It’s the idea that giving customers a wide variety of options can actually be bad for decision-making. Think of choosing where to eat at a mall. With the number of choices you have, doesn’t it feel harder to select where you’re going to grab a bite?

This phenomenon is also present when we’re choosing something as simple as what to wear for the day. Having a huge closet means more options, but more options also means having to go through each one every day to create the perfect look.

Now, apply that same principle to makeup. I don’t know about you, but when I used to be a makeup hoarder, there were days that I found it difficult to put together a basic beat for daily wear. This is why I’ve been leaning towards minimalism in both my makeup and my wardrobe. It saves both time and money.

Makeup waste is another huge problem. While it isn’t essentially the consumer’s problem — research says a lot of waste comes from overproduction — being selective with the makeup we buy and where we buy it from can help mitigate the effects.

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How to Edit Your Makeup Collection

The fun part is organizing your collection. Whether you have a large stash or a modest supply, organizing your makeup products has numerous benefits, from saving precious getting-ready time to helping you further develop your makeup style.

Below, we share 4 tips and tricks to help you achieve the perfect makeup bag where each product has a purpose. Let’s get to it!

1. Know Your Makeup Must-Haves

Organizing and curating your collection is a highly personal process. It’s all about keeping what is essential to your routine, and the only one who can define what your essentials are is you. For some, brow pencils are must-haves, while others can live without it.

So, before you get to throwing away those non-essentials, make a clear assessment of your product needs. Write it down on a piece of paper, your journal, or even your Notes app. Go over your typical routine and find the products you tend to gravitate towards the most.

Another quick way to determine your routine is simply by checking which products have been barely touched and which ones are the most worn.

2. Treat Your Makeup Like Your Wardrobe

To make the decluttering process easier, one of the tips recommended by makeup artists and beauty experts is to treat your makeup like a wardrobe. In essence, this means categorizing your products into underwear, a.k.a. your base products, staples or essentials, and wildcards which can liven up your look on days when you get bored with your staples.

So, under base products would be your primer, foundation, BB cream, or concealer. Are you someone who uses a full face of foundation, or do you prefer tinted moisturizer? Only keep what really works for you. I personally only keep a small foundation bottle and a jar of concealer for my base.

Your staples are typically lip products, blush, eyeshadow, etc. Since I’m trying to keep a minimalist makeup bag, I absolutely love multi-purpose creams that can be used as a triple-way makeup product for the cheeks, eyes, and lips. Eyeshadow palettes are another area that could always use a bit of decluttering — I know I didn’t need that large 100-color eyeshadow palette.

Finally, your “wildcards” are pieces that elevate your overall look every once in a while. For some, it’s a daring red lip, and for others, it’s multicolored eyeliners. These are products that can help revive your look if you’re feeling a little bored with your typical style. It’s also a great way to keep makeup fun. Often, people misunderstand a curated or minimalist makeup collection as boring or only having essentials, but these wildcard pieces are just as important and make your staples pop even more.

3. Declutter and Donate

Now that you’re done picking out which products can go and which ones can stay, it’s time to find your old products a new home. Before throwing away everything you don’t use, make sure to:

• Check which products are expired
• Check for reusable packaging
• Save the ones that are still usable

So, you’re going to be left with three piles: expired products whose packaging cannot be reused, expired or finished products with reusable packaging, and stuff that isn’t expired and can still be donated.

The first pile can be donated to junk shops or waste recycling initiatives like SM’s Trash to Cash. Those with reusable packaging can be upcycled at home, while usable products you can give to a friend or donation centers.

4. Think Before You (Over) Buy

I know we hate hearing advice like this, but hear me out! Instead of overbuying products that you’ll end up throwing away, think of lapses in your makeup wardrobe that need to be filled. Do you need a better primer? An eyeshadow palette for daytime? By all means, go ahead. Just make sure to be selective when you’re buying these items and always go for quality over quantity so that you end up actually finishing the product you buy.

It’s also best to avoid marketing tactics like huge sales or discounts that force you to buy stuff you don’t need just to meet the minimum qualifying purchase amount.

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Final Note

Personally, there are no downsides to having a curated makeup kit. Not only does it save time, but it also saves a lot of money that would have otherwise gone to unnecessary makeup products.

If you’re on your way to building a capsule makeup wardrobe, we hope this guide has been informative. Let us know below if you have any tips of your own to share!