Destashing - January Edition!

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? I've been having a good time paring down my collection! After taking a good look at my makeup inventory, I decided to go through each item and if I hadn't worn it in an incredibly long amount of time, or didn't like the texture/how it looked on me, I'd get rid of it. So after going through everything, here's what I've decided to destash!

Even looking at this picture now, I don't feel any regret getting rid of them because I never liked them, or stopped enjoying them a long time ago. I will probably do destash posts every so often, but since this is the first one, it will certainly be the biggest!

Swatchfest Part 1!

So a little while ago, I thought I'd swatch all my white, light gold, and light pink shadows. I've decided this will be an ongoing series as I get to swatching most of my shadows. I believe this will help me in my makeup shopping ban. I've titled each shade, and if you have any questions about any particular shadows, just ask!

Light Pink shades:


White shadows
 
Nude/Light Gold Shades:


Swatching is certainly an eye-opener for me as to how many dupes of the exact same shadow I actually have. It's crazy to think why I even need any more of these shades!

December Topbox Review!

Sorry I'm a little late on the review of this month's Topbox! With the holidays and such, things were quite busy, but I'm glad I finally made it!

Topbox is a Canadian monthly subscription service that delivers 4-5 beauty products to your door every month. You are put on a waiting list that can take 2-3 weeks, but both times I've signed up, I received an email notifying me I made it off the waitlist within one week. When you subscribe, you are able to fill out a wishlist of products you would prefer, and you have the option to select a privé box from higher end makeup brands. Previous brands featured in the privé box include Aveda, Elizabeth Arden, Shu Uemura, and Benefit. There is no guarantee you will receive the privé box, but they are usually a good deal and you definitely get your money's worth! This was the first time I had requested a privé box, and I was delighted to see that I received it!

Now on to the box itself! The Benefit box came in a gorgeous tube with the hashtag: GetRealPrimed on the top, as well as an ad of all the products inside. Packaged carefully with tissue paper, the tube contained 5 products, as well as a promo code for 15% off all limited edition Topboxes, good till December 31.

They're Real Tinted Primer. Benefit promoted this product the most, as it was not released till the end of December. I was quite excited to receive a sample of this so I can share with all of you my thoughts on it! The formula is quite wet and stays fairly flexible once applied, which enables the wearer to choose whether they want to wear the primer by itself or add mascara later on in the day, which I think is pretty handy. This primer certainly made my mascara look a little more vibrant. I wouldn't say it made them look twice as good, but they were noticeably longer. I was interested to see if this primer would keep my mascara from smearing throughout the day, though the packaging did not claim to do so. Sadly, it did not keep my mascara from smearing. But if you are looking for something to add a little boost to your lashes, this will work!

They're Real Mascara. I have a sample of this mascara already from a Sephora Birthday gift, but I didn't mind receiving another sample. I ended up giving this to a family member, as I didn't plan on using this mascara again. This is a decent mascara, but it on me smudges after about four hours, and I find my lashes do not stay curled when wearing it.

Roller Lash Mascara. The packaging says this mascara is "a roller for lashes" and good for lifting and curling lashes. This was my favorite mascara. I found that between this and They're Real, this mascara kept my lashes curled much longer than the They're Real mascara did. I have short, stick straight Asian lashes, and I was ecstatic when I first tried this mascara, as it kept my lashes curled throughout the day, which meant you could actually see them. I was pretty blown away. I find the brush a tad finnicky to use, and some days my lashes would look great and other days not as great, but overall, I'm quite happy to say this mascara lives up to its claims. I only wish it would come in waterproof, as mascara in general does not stay on without smearing on me for more than four hours.

They're Real Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover. This remover has a very interesting gel-like consistency. Most eye makeup removers I'd worked with were liquids, so I was curious as to how well this would work. The gel is very gentle and feels even moisturizing on my lids. I followed the instructions and saturated a cotton pad with the gel. It removed the majority of my eye makeup, but I did notice some remnants when I washed my face afterwards. I do like how gentle this feels on my eye, but I wish it removed every last trace of the mascara. I also feel that a lot of the product is absorbed by the cotton pad, which is unfortunate. But overall, it's a decent remover.

Gimme Bow Volumizing Fiber Gel. I've never used a brow gel before, so I was excited to try this. The shade is in mink brown, I first assumed this was the only shade that Topbox included, but I've since seen other reviews with the brow gel in deep brown, which would be a much better match for my brows.. I quite liked the consistency of the gel, and it went on fairly smoothly. Overall, good product, simply the wrong shade for me. 

The total value of this box adds up to ~ $31. I am definitely impressed with this box, as I feel I got a lot of quality products for what I paid for. Plus I'm quite happy to try out a variety of Benefit products, as I value their brand. And I enjoyed 3 out of the 5 products. Last month's topbox was a little disappointing, but this one definitely made up for it!

What did you receive in your Topbox? I'd love to hear about what you received! Let me know in the comments below!

Panning and Finishing thoughts

Happy New Year everyone! Since the year has come to a close, I've been trying to collect my thoughts on the whole panning/finishing challenges I've been involved with over the last several months and why they can be so difficult to complete. Hope you find this interesting and can understand by the end my thought process!

1. I don't wear makeup every day
I'm sure this will come to no surprise for some of you, but for me, I find it quite difficult to work through an eyeshadow. Because I don't wear makeup every day (on average 3-5 days a week), it will take me twice as long as others to work though a product.

2. I rarely wear lip products
As you've seen, my Finish 6 by Christmas didn't pay off as much as I wanted it to simply because I focused so much on lip products. In reality, lip balm is the only lip product I wear every single day, which is why it was way easier to finish than the other products. Because my lips are fairly pigmented, I simply don't feel I need the extra colour. And there were simply too many lip products to use.

3. I get tired of wearing the same products
This was certainly one of the reasons my Pan That Palette challenge faded a bit over the fall. While I will wear the same eyeshadows and products when I'm busy and don't want to think about the makeup, in general, I like choosing different colors and shades to wear every day. That is the appeal of makeup for me. When I get boxed in and limited to only a few shades, I feel stifled, and then wearing makeup isn't as much fun.

So from these three points listed, you may ask, why should I continue on with these panning challenges? Here are my reasons why:

1. I need to use up my makeup
Having been fortunate enough to not have started acquiring makeup till university years, I am happy that I don't have decades-old makeup from teenage years. However, I still have perfectly good products collecting dust that either need to be used up or tossed. These challenges, however slow they can be, can motivate me further to use up.

2. Rediscovering old products
You know that feeling when you find an old top or favorite piece of clothing that you loved and still want to wear? I get that feeling with my makeup. I remember how pretty certain shadows look together, and I want to use them again.

3. Finding new and creative ways of application
I am still discovering new combinations and ways to wear my makeup. Although I don't watch nearly as many as I used to, a new makeup tutorial can still spark that creative urge in me to try out new ways and different techniques or shades.

Overall, I know it is so invigorating to purchase new products. But simply put, we don't need a million different shades of purple, or 5 different neutral palettes. Let's be satisfied with the things we have and work on chipping away at our own makeup collection instead of continually buying things we don't need. As for me, I'll continue to love my collection and work on using up products. I may have to find different ways of doing that instead of panning challenges, but the overall goal is still the same.