Talk to me about destashing

[persa]

Anyone done it? Talk to me about how you went about it. Give me you best tips and tricks and encouragement

I've been spending time on the makeup rehab subreddit and it's making me think about it. I have so much makeup and I need to pare down a lot. Particularly eyeshadow palettes and lip colors. And eyeliners have seemed to built up in my collection.


I feel like lip colors will be the easiest to pare down, eyeshadows the hardest. I'm thinking of depotting my favorite colors from my palettes but I'm not there yet, seems like a lot of work but maybe it's worth it though.

[cjeanette]

I started with depotting. Then you can really see if you have similar shades or toss the ones from the palette that you don't use.

[juliachild]

I was just thinking about this this morning. I noticed a few of my palettes have similar shades. I think I'm going to swatch everything this weekend and see if I have any repeats.

[ESF]

I haven't destashed or read the reddit thread. But if you have not done this, I recommend undertaking a serious reorganization of your collection. I did it last month, and it really helped me get a grip on what I actually have.

Here's what I did.

First, I did a light purge of my collection, pulling out things I didn't like, samples I never wanted in the first place, dupes of things, etc. I threw all that stuff in a big grocery bag, and have been slowly sorting through it and putting it in the following categories:

1. trash
2. donate to a women's shelter (unopened, not crap)
3. give to my sister, who can use or give to my 8 year old niece (generally, opened color products)
4. good for travel (foils/deluxe sample sizes of things I love, like my moisturizer or shampoo)
5. Samples of things I want to try
6. Backups

I threw in the trash all mascaras except for a couple I really love. I purged the eyeliner collection, and and removed all the black eyeliners except one pencil and one marker. All the extra black liners went in the "backup" pile for me to grab from when the one I"m using runs out. The samples that I like that regularly appear in Sephora and Ulta gift bags, like those Fresh Rose deluxe samples and mini tubes of Perversion, all but one went into the backup pile.

Once I got the clutter out of the way, I ordered a few organizers and put stuff away nicely. Now that things are organized, I'm better able to judge what I actually want to use, as opposed to what I was using because it was at the top of the heap. I'll probably do a serious de-stash of the actual collection in six months or so after I can judge what I'm using and what I'm not.

[secretlyevil]

Depotting was discussed before and in theory seems awesome but it still terrifies me.

ETA: plus I'm a sucker for pretty packaging.

[ESF]

Sept 14, 2016 12:59:15 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

Depotting was discussed before and in theory seems awesome but it still terrifies me.

ETA: plus I'm a sucker for pretty packaging.

Same here.

Though I almost never use singles, nor do I use palettes that require outside assistance for a complete look.  Maybe I will try it one day with some of those. 

[followyourarrow]

I can't depot, I love the prettiness of the packaging and the order. But, I really do need to go through things and get rid of things that I don't love.

[Pippin]

I've fallen into watching project panning videos on YouTube. It's really helped me to see just how long it takes to use up different products. I'm less likely to grab random blush and bronzers because they take forever to use up. I'm kind of panning one of my eyeshadow palettes but not very aggressively at the moment. It's fun following along with others though.

Just organizing everything to see what you have is really helpful. I have a daily makeup set up in my bathroom where I get ready and I switch stuff out every week or so, so I don't get bored with anything. I also try to really limit buying drugstore makeup as I'm more likely to just buy whatever cause it's cheaper.

[persa]

Sept 14, 2016 12:59:15 GMT -5 secretlyevil said:

Depotting was discussed before and in theory seems awesome but it still terrifies me.

ETA: plus I'm a sucker for pretty packaging.

Samesies

[mdgirl]

If this aren't used (or only lightly) look into swapping or giving things away. It makes me feel less wasteful than just throwing stuff out.

[MauMau]

Lol. This is what I started doing today. Omg what was I thinking taking this on right now. I basically decided to do it because I have an Ikea Alex on casters. And the drawers sag and it's been pissing me off. I don't have money to replace it and honestly won't because the drawers. So I went the garage and pulled out a desk I had. Then went to Dollar Tree to tackle a storage solution for the three drawers and top.

Then I started throwing stuff away... And also made a box for a friend. (A lot of stuff I never used)

Lipgloss and old foundation has been the easiest. Getting rid of nude lipstick colors that I never use helped too.


This is my before. I had to take out a drawer just to even open one of the drawers. It was a mess before I started.



Here is what I am switching to. I wanted to paint the laminate but decided to wait. It will be easier to wipe this way. And when I know it works well for me. I'll paint it and get glass cut.



I started throwing out by type of product. Helped by already having a lot of it separated. I was also throwing out tons of stuff made in China because I prefer not to use stuff made there.

Midway through sorting.


Finally had to shoo my cat out of the drawer.


I still have a lot to do. Ugh. I had to leave and babysit. So when I get back home. I'll have to tackle the rest of it. And despite getting rid of a lot... I know I will still have too much.

[MauMau]

Oh. And I'm not really going to depot. There are a few blushes I am going to attempt. Because they are in huge bulky packaging that annoys me. And I'm only going to do it because I have a magnet case that I've had for few years but haven't used yet.

[dani302011]

MauMau , Non makeup related- I love your cat!

[MauMau]

Sept 16, 2016 11:48:10 GMT -5 dani302011 said:

MauMau , Non makeup related- I love your cat!

Haha! Thanks. He is something else! Keeps me on my toes.

[NewOrleans]

blah. Even looking at these pictures is making me itch. I HATE organizing shit. HATE it. I have no problem throwing most things in life out but I have a very hard time parting with makeup, even though I have just tons of shit I don't use. That's why I'm just not buying anymore makeup!

[calico]

Thanks to this thread, I did a quick purge of things I hate in my stash and I've watched a project pan 101 video on Youtube. I'm intrigued.

[jordancatalano4ever]

I did a little bit this summer. I made a small collection for day to day use including just three brushes for eyes and a blush brush. I apply tinted moisturizer with my fingers. I still have a lot of lipsticks out in my acrylic organizers but the rest of my products are reduced. Then I threw out lots of the drugstore stuff i wasn't using and samples. I cancelled my sample subscriptions and put all of my palettes into a nice box in my bottom drawer in the bathroom. Now I will only use my palettes on the weekends. Doing all of that also helped me with going on a no buy. I have so much and just don't feel the need for new anymore.

[persa]

Sept 18, 2016 18:57:38 GMT -5 capscapscaps said:

What is this "destashing" you speak of? I am unfamiliar with this concept.

Granted, organization is a major part of my problem (this is mid-way through it but I lost steam this week) but I just plain old have too much and probably have a lot of dupes and then there's the flip side that likely not all of what I have suits me and I'm sure a lot of the cream/liquid lip colors are past their prime

PDQ pics cuz I'm embarrassed, lol

[MauMau]

Well this is what I am ditching. I should pull out a scale and weigh each box. They are heavy maybe 15 or so pounds. I'll be happy to share the insides of drawers and such but only if there is interest.



This is the area all finished.



This is where I started.