Sunday, January 5, 2014

Makeout 2013: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Here it is folks!  I'm going to go over my Makeout 2013 parameters, what I actually bought this year and what I learned during this entire process and if I will ever do it again.

This is going to be a super long/labor intensive post as I detail what I bought this year (scary) and how I terribly justify the purchases not outlined by Makeout 2013.  Just to be upfront with you, I'm not perfect.  I discarded a lot of cosmetic items I was not using, gifted some, sold others, pitched expired ones...

Let's just dive right in, shall we?

The Good:

For almost 11 months (for the most part, there were a couple slip ups, monthly subscription boxes...) I did not buy any makeup items.  I used up a few items in the powder, eyeliner, concealer, bronzer and mascara category...

The Bad:

I started couponing again in the beginning of November, the CVS end of the year clearance and Black Friday also happened.

The Ugly:

I "somehow" acquired a ton of eyeliners, lippies, glosses, lip balms, and balm stains.  (Who am I kidding, I know exactly how it happened.)

Whoopsie daisy...

Makeout 2013 categories:

  1. Concealer:  I could buy NARS or Kat Von D and Giorgio Armani Master Corrector after using up the 7 remaining concealers.
  2.  Eyeliners:  I could not buy anymore unless it was a replacement for a specific color.
  3.  Lipstick:  I could buy Revlon Lip Butter and L'OREAL Colour Caresse Wet Stains during a drugstore sale.
  4.  Lip Gloss:  I could buy Revlon Kissable Balm Stains during a sale.  I'm not sure why balm stains were in this category.  lol
  5.  L'OREAL Infalliable eyeshadows: I could buy if it was a "unique and wearable" color.
  6.  Maybelline Eye Tattoos: I could buy if the color "was to die for."
  7.  Palettes: I could buy the Lorac pro and INGLOT only if I gifted most of my other palettes away.
  8.  Powders:  Every single powder that I owned needed to be used until significant pan was showing and then I could buy new.
  9.  Mascara: I can buy one at a time after my five samples were used up.
10.  Blush:  I could buy Milani Baked Blushes.
11.  Bronzer: I could buy NYX Taupe or equivalent or Benefit Hoola.
12.  Highlighters:  I could not buy any new highlighters.

So how did I do?

Well like I said earlier, I did really well for almost 11 months.

Concealers:

The Good:  I used up 3 concealers, pitched 4 for separating/expired/not working.

The Bad:  I did not buy NARS/Kat Von D or Armani Master Corrector as outlined in Makeout 2013.

The Ugly:  I now have 8 concealers and 2 correctors that I am not really happy with.

The Details:


Okay.  I ended up using the Maybelline Mineral Power concealers for a couple months after the start of Makeout 2013.  I finally pitched them at the end of the summer.  I tried using the L'OREAL true match crayon concealer but it's just too drying for my under eye.  I'm still working through the philosophy but I just don't reach for it. 

So here's when the madness started.  I picked up Rimmel Match Perfection 2-in-1 concealer in light at RA on sale for $2.99 and I had a $1 coupon over the summer.  Love it.  But then I "lost" it in a makeup bag.  Also in that transaction, I bought the Covergirl/Olay corrector that was on clearance.  Too yellow.  A week later still on the hunt for a corrector, I found Bobbi Brown corrector in Light Salmon at a CCO while we were on vacation.  Works pretty good but not that "Holy Grail I can stop looking for the perfect product" good.

I finally came across some Maybelline coupons later summer/early fall and bought the Fit Me concealer in Light that I had been wanting to try.  It was too yellow.  Had to go back and grab the fair which was too light during the summer.  Now I have 2 and mix them.  They work okay but I was still looking. 

Then at a 40% off Physician's Formula sale I grab the Conceal Rx in Natural Light.  Too yellow.  See the pattern here?  I go back and grab Fair Light.  So I mix these to get a good color match. Sometimes I dot all 4 under my eyes.  Just madness.

My most recent purchase of Physician's Formula Concealer Twins.  I needed a green to neutralize some redness.  I've now been just using the concealer end exclusively.

I haven't tried the Revlon DNA yet.  I also saw this and the Revlon DNA translucent pressed powder that I almost wanted to buy...  Baby steps.

Here's the deal.  I don't have terribly dark circles and I do not have discoloration.  It's really just a purple/blue smudge under the inner corner of my eye and then stark white everywhere else.  I do have a little puffiness/fine lines and I just want that nice highlighted look under my eye without it looking cakey and an obvious highlight under my eye. 

However, this could be a setting powder issue.  I had long suspected it was the Rimmel Stay Matte powder...  Since it is time to discard the Rimmel, I have another product on deck to try. It could be an application issue.  I've been wanting to try the Sigma Precision brushes or the F86. 

What I learned:  Long story short, I did not follow Makeout 2013.  If I did, I would have 2 products in my drawer instead of 10.  GA is $37, NARS is $28.  That's a total of $65.  I spent approximately $50 on 10 products that I don't really like.  But maybe I have unrealistic expectations, but don't we all...  *sigh*

Eyeliners: 

The Good:  From looking at my original picture after purging, it looks like I purged/finished 4 more. 

The Bad: I was only supposed to buy a liner if it was a replacement for a specific color.

The Ugly:  I acquired 4 liquid eyeliners, 3 eyeshadow pencils and 4 eyeliners. 

The Details:


3 liners; Elite Paris matt liner, Mally Evercolor Starlight Waterproof Liner and a Pixi shadow pencil were from subscription boxes.

The Revlon ColorStay Smokey Shadow sticks and a Revlon Grow Luscious Lashliner were from Big Lots at a deep discount.

I bought the Rimmel ScandalEyes Water Proof Kohl Kajal in Nude because the tarte emphasEYES Inner rim Brightener was just a little too bright.

I bought the L'OREALCarbon Black Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Liner in December on sale and with a coupon!  :)  (Because that somehow justifies it!)

The Lorac Liquid Eyeliner came with a purchase that is coming up in just a little bit.  Hint Hint

The Jesse's girl Liquid Eyeliner was a RA purchase with +up rewards and it was on sale for $3 with $3 +up reward.  Hard to say no to that purchase.

I also acquired a Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter for under the browbone and inner corner from Birchbox and a ybf automatic eyebrow pencil from a YouBeauty Testtube.  I didn't have a category for these products, but I didn't buy any other either!  Small victory.


What I learned:  I could have skipped the Big Lots purchase.  It was a mini splurge. I like the Grow Luscious liner.  It sort of replaces the Milani Liquif'eye metallic eyeliner pencil that smudges like a darn on my oily lids.  I should just stick with AVON Glimmersticks.  They come in a lot of colors, are always on sale, never budge. 

2. Lipsticks/3. Lipsticks

The Good:  I discarded a ton of lipstick at the start of Makeout 2013.  The lip products I did buy, I bought for nearly nothing in almost all cases.

The Bad: I did not limit my purchases to Revlon Balm Stains and Lip butters as outlined in Makeout 2013.

The Ugly:  It's really ugly.  I acquired 4 Revlon Lip Butters, 2 Revlon Just Bitten Kissables Balm Stain, 1 Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm, 2 Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks, 5 Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss, 2 Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss, 6 Almay color + care Liquid Lip Balm, and 3 Milani Lipsticks for a total of 25 lip products.  *gulp*

The Details:


Before anyone freaks out on me, I did some extreme couponing on most of these purchases.  Some of these you have even read about if you have been following my blog. Here, here, here, here, here and here.

So less then $25 for all 25 lip products.  Which is incredible right?  But 25 dollars is 25 dollars.  But I won't need any lip products for the next 3 years when all of these expire.  Justified?  :)

What I learned:  I can buy 25 lip products for less than 1 YSL.  That is crazy.  What is also crazy, I bought 25 new lip products. I'm good for a very long time.  I also would never have tried the Almay Lip Balms if it wasn't for that $5/2 coupon.  I love them!  Hidden gems!

4. L'OREAL Infalliables:

The Good:  I bought 2 at the CVS clearance with ECB for essentially free!  Link!

The Bad:  I bought Garnet that I already had.

The Ugly:  I have so many that I don't even know what I have.

The Details:



What I learned:  I need to keep better track of what I have.  This is the second time that I have bought an Infalliable that I already owned.

5.  Maybelline Color Tattoos:

The Good:  I bought 8 at Big Lots from the Limited Edition Spring 2013 collection for $1 a piece!  I also bought the 3 mattes from the Limited Edition Gilded in Gold collection.

The Bad:  I now have 11 additional color tattoos.

The Ugly:   I have an uncomfortable amount of Maybelline Color Tattoos in my Muji drawers.

The Details:

 

What I learned:  I use color tattoos as bases for eyeshadow pretty much every day.  They are staples in my collection.  These are fun layered over a black cream base!

6. Palettes:

The Good:  Urban Decay Naked3.

The Bad:  I bought UD and Lorac and...

The Ugly:  Though I allowed the Lorac Pro purchase, I didn't know (though it was hinted at for a while now) that Naked3 would be coming out in December.  I would have made an exception for that as well.  I consider that purchase a pass. :)  Did I really need the huge WnW mega palette for $15 (Black Friday sale price)?  Umm, no.  Curiosity gets the better of me.  I also picked up a Flower by Drew Barrymore at Walmart and a Maybelline that was 50% off at RA with +up rewards. Among other things...

The Details:


Top row: Flower Beauty Smoke and Mirrors, Sonia Kashuk Moroccan Dunes Quad (clearance find), Maybelline Sunbaked Neutrals (40% off)
Bottom Row: Flower Beauty Crème Shadow Orchid-ing Around, L'OREAL Anitque Brown, L'OREAL Charming, Rimmel Orion (supposed to be clearance at Walgreens according to shelf label but not reflected on my receipt)

What I learned:  I feel like I must have every possible shadow color every to be created either in pressed, pigment, loose, mineral form at this point. 

7. Powders:

The Good:  I bought only 4!  Things are looking up?  One was a replacement for a used up one, 2 were on clearance and 1 was a dupe that didn't work out.  I will explain shortly.

The Bad:  I was supposed to use up all 7 of my powders before I bought any new powders.  I finished 4 and tossed 1.  Not bad.

The Ugly:  I think I did pretty darn good in this category.

The Details:



Okay.  CVS end of the year clearance struck again. Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder was on 75% off clearance making Naturally Neutral for $1.99!  I do have a Coty in Translucent Extra Coverage and love it so I'm hoping the Naturally Neutral which is more yellow will neutralize some redness.  My second powder purchase was Physician's Formula Powder Palette in Creamy Natural for 75% off or $3.74.  Both were pretty much free after ECBs.  Check out the post here!

I grabbed WnW Reserve Your Cabana was a dupe purchase for the NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder.  I can't remember why I thought that this would be a good dupe.  It's more like a highlighter.  It had too many silver shiny particles in it for me to use all over my face.   In the sunlight, it's a glitter bomb.



Last but very not least is NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder.  This was my very last purchase to become a Sephora VIB.  This is a replacement for my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder that I finally finished, aka hit major pan and do not feel wasteful pitching it.

What I learned:  Sometimes it's not worth buying the dupe. 

8.  Mascara:

The Good: I did not buy any mascaras!  I'm still using samples and I still have more samples.  I did receive a L'OREAL Voluminous Butterfly Mascara for testing out some products that I will be reviewing very soon!

The Bad:  None!

The Ugly:  None!

What I learned:  I will probably go another year without needing to buy a mascara!  Yay! 

9.  Blush:

The Good:  I bought 3 Milani baked blushes all within Makeout 2013 parameters!

The Bad:  I bought a NARS Cream Blush in Enchanted just because it was on sale at Sephora for $10.

The Ugly:  Just a tiny $10 slip up.  ;)  It's pretty.

The Details:



I found Fantastico Mauve at CVS for 50% end of year clearance sale.  Rose D'Oro and Luminoso at Kmart for B1G1 50%.  All were on sale!  Yay!

What I learned:  I need to part with some blushes. ASAP. 

10. Bronzers/ 11. Highlighters:

The Good:  I finished 1 bronzer and discarded 2.  I bought Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Cream Bronzer in Warm Tan basically as a cream contour product.  No highlighters were purchased (unless you count Reserve your Cabana as one)!

The Bad:  I didn't need a bronzer but Sonia Kashuk was used it everyday this summer!

The Ugly:  None! 

The Details:


What I learned:  Cream bronzers look more natural.  No regrets!

So what did I learn during the entire Makeout 2013 experience?

Sales and coupons are my nemesis!  Kidding. I didn't just learn this.  If I didn't go absolutely crazy in the lip department and concealer, I would be cheering over a great success.  But as a whole, for a beauty blogger, I think I did really well.

I did need an update in the lip product department and happy that everything I got was at a major discount.  The sales were just incredible this year and I really got a lot of good deals.

Will there be a Makeout 2014?

I think that there should be. I haven't decided to be honest.  Why set myself up for another disaster right?  It is really eye opening to actually sit down and look at all the makeup I bought in an entire year.  Wow.

No buys are unrealistic for me.  I've learned that.  However, there are a few specific products that I would like to purchase.  Which I will finalize into signed contract or something that will hold me accountable, maybe 1 product a month or a fixed budgeted amount for the year.

Look for that in the next few days!

Did you participate in a Makeout 2013?  How did it go?

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