Beauty Challenge -- Twelve Months of Beauty Inventory

[haleyvvvv]

[EDIT-Updated to not limit to a year, legacy posts for all years.]

A few years ago I was inspired by a challenge on Instagram and we did a makeup inventory. ✨❄️December 2022 Challenge - 12 Days of Makeup Inventory - Show Off and Catalog Your Collection!!❄️✨

I was a little behind on planning this year (job interviews, life, not being able to login to the BIC), so I thought we could make this a yearly challenge for 2024+ and broaden it across all beauty categories. 

Why participate?

• I know I went back to my posts to find "dupes" for things that were limited edition (Melt Pumpkin King, in my case).
• It's a good idea to look through your products every bit to review for quality and cleanliness.
• Curation is important.
• Knowing how much in your stash can help with your Low/No Buy or keeping an eye on your backups. 
• The fun of organizing your collection!!

Rules 

Please no negative comments about the size or contents of others' collections, this is a place to celebrate our collections. Self-reflection is always welcome though 💖. Please don't take this as an impetus to declutter (unless you want to!). 

I'm going to try to get a little contemplative with mine, to see if I would purchase again or not. But don't feel obligated to join that part!!

Timeline

• January - Face Primers, Nail Polish
• February - Foundations, Concealers, Cleansers and Mists
• March - Bronzers and Contours (singles), Serums and Treatments
• April - Blushes (singles), Moisturizer and Oils
• May - Highlighters (singles), Sheet Masks
• June - Face Palettes, Non-Sheet Masks, Tools (Brushes, etc.)
• July - Eye Primers, Single Eyeshadows (free standing or in custom palettes), Body Cleansers, Body Scrubs, Body Lotion, Body Glitter
• August - Eyeshadow Palettes, Shampoo, Conditioner
• September - Brow Products, Eyeliners, Mascaras, Hair Treatments 
• October - Lip Balms, Lip Liners, Lip Glosses, Perfume Samples
• November - Lipsticks, Travel Sized Perfumes
• December - Setting Powders, Setting Sprays, Full Sized Perfumes and Body Sprays

[Titian06]

@haleyvvvv - I'm so happy you brought this back as a year-long event! 💖💖💖  I enjoyed last year's challenge.  I recently went through my blushes, face powders, bronzers, and highlighters.  I've been procrastinating on my lipsticks and eyeshadows.  I'll post for this month in the next day or two.

[itsfi]

January - Primers

Primers (Face)

@haleyvvvv, my face primer, for the last couple of years, has primarily been my skincare; namely, my sunblock. Occasionally, I'll use an actual primer for a special event or if I'm going out. I do have a small handful of face primers that I'm currently working my way through (or trying to), most being mini's, travel sizes or deluxe sized samples.

New-to-me and ones I still need to try are: 

• Anna Sui Gel Foundation Primer which I received as a gwp from Beautylish - this water based primer has a springy/cushiony gel-like consistency that is very interesting. I'm looking forward to playing with this one.
• I'd never heard of Charlotte Tilbury Mini Wonder Glow Primer 15mL 0.5 oz/ 15 mL until I received this deluxe sample size at Sephoria NYC. Excited to give it a try.
• I'm also looking forward to trying the Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Mini Pore Diffusing Primer- Always An Optimist Collection 0.50 oz./15 mL, which I also picked up as a promo at Sephoria NYC. It seems better suited for my skin type in the warmer, spring and summer months so I'll probably hold off on opening this one until then.

Tried-and-true primers include: 

• Guerlain L'Or Radiance Concentrate with Pure Gold Makeup Base is a luxe, silicone-free primer with tiny gold flecks that dissolve upon contact with the skin. I like the slight cooling sensation this has and how it absorbs smoothly and quickly, wih zero film or residue. I've never picked up a full size but it's certainly one I will happily pick up as a gwp. 😉 
• While I've been a fan of Victoria Beckham Beauty products since it's launch in 2019, it was not love at first use when it came to the Victoria Beckham By Augustinus Bader Cell Rejuventating Priming Moisturizer Golden. The color was off, it had a tacky-to-the-touch finish I wasn't fond of at the time, etc. I picked this up shortly after it initially launched and wanted to love it, but just didn't the first time around. @Sunnysmom spoke well of it and I decided to give it another try a few months later, and well, this is, I believe, my third bottle of this golden-hued moisturizing primer.
• Bobbi Brown Mini Vitamin Enriched Face Base Moisturizer & Primer with Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid 0.... is a dream primer and winter weather warrior for those with dry-to-very dry skin. The subtly citrus scented, oil-free primer applies very smoothly and hydrates and moisturizes my skin while it acts as a beautiful base for my makeup. It's an absolute must have for me, especially in the winter months.
• Dr. Jart+ Mini Cicapair™ Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment 0.5 oz/ 15 mL # is a well-loved multi-tasker - it blurs, color corrects and smooths and primes my skin for makeup, and includes an SPF. It's a product I repurchase repeatedly, on its own, as part of a set. I keep a mini of this at work.

I'll post my nail polish collection another day this month.

[Sunnysmom]

It’s so pretty @itsfi ! Wish it came in an even larger size!  love to mix it with the original when I’m more pale.  You’ve got some nice primers here too! 

[faeriegirl]

14 nail polishes and 4 primers.

[Sunnysmom]

Excellent polish shade choices @faeriegirl ! 💞 Is that Chanel Vamp?! Love! 

[faeriegirl]

Thank you @Sunnysmom ! It is 765 Interdit. 

[itsfi]

D'oh!!! I misread this month's prompt and took a photo of my eye primers. I am partially ready for July then! 😄 

I'm happy you brought this back again @haleyvvvv. I left one of my face primers at work so I will pick that up tomorrow and take a family portrait of those beauties after work.

As for nail polish ... firstly, zero?!!! Wow, that's impressive. I want to whittle mine down, so I'm super impressed that you've gotten it to nada. I won't go that low but I'm gonna have to work up to being more ruthless about which shades to say 'good bye' to. It's be easier if I had a place to send open / used polish; many places won't accept them even if they've only been used once and I'd sanitize the top of the bottle and the brush. In any event, I am making a note to myself to try to get a photo up of my (part of) nail polish collection sooner rather than later. 🤞 October will be very sobering for me; I already know it. 🤣

[JoSometimes]

Polish collection as of January 2, 2024

• 64 full sized polishes + 5 minis for a total of 69 bottles. This doesn’t include clear and base coats since they get used up pretty frequently.
• I also have 6 sets of press-ons that have yet it be opened. 

Primer collection as of January 2, 2024

• Milani Bright Side
• touchinsol No Poreblem
• elf Liquid Poreless Putty Primer
• elf Power Grip Primer (not pictured as its currently in storage)

I haven’t tried the elf ones yet. They were from Top Box Subscription Box 📦 ✨️ If anyone has any experience with them who also has dry, sensitive skin, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Also not included are skincare that double as primers. It would really just be the addition of SEPHORA COLLECTION All Day Hydrator Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer 1.69 oz/ 50 mL 

I will likely add First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer 1.7 oz/ 50 mL back into the mix at some point. I recently finished a tube and will likely repurchase.

[Sunnysmom]

Look at all the pretty nail colors @JoSometimes ! 😍 I think Elf is terrific. I really enjoy a lot of their products too!

[JoSometimes]

Thank you @Sunnysmom! I feel like I may have gone a touch overboard on nail polishes last year. 😅

[haleyvvvv]

Aaah, we have similar skin type, @JoSometimes, but I haven't tried any of these, sorry!! Lmk if you try the Touch in Sol because I think I have that in different packaging. 

I used to like getting TopBox, especially cause it was in Canada. I stopped because it wasn't the best in terms of what I wanted content wise, I got a bunch of nail polishes lol. But I like seeing it getting love here. 

What's your favorite polish? I like how they're arranged in a pretty rainbow. 

[JoSometimes]

@haleyvvvv I’ve tried it a few times with much skincare prep first. I do like it, it seems to smooth things out pretty well. I’ve heard of it drying out some people, so I’ve been making sure I do a good job prepping my skin first before using jt. 

I completely forgot about their eyeshadow primer! That one I do love. It makes applying and blending so much easier!

I’ve been pretty lucky with my TopBox sub so far. They’ve been things I can actually use or save for the future. 

[quspork]

Thanks for bringing this back, @haleyvvvv! I love the extended timeline. I always have the best of intentions to participate in some posts but then life happens and time just gets away LOL. I can't wait to see everyone's collections and go through my own to see what can be culled and what things I *don't* need to be buying this year. 

[haleyvvvv]

Yay, @quspork!! I'm glad the timeline is better for everyone. Looking forward to your participation!! 

[WinglessOne]

Thanks for bringing this back, @haleyvvvv, and expanding the categories and timelines! I enjoyed participating the first time around, and will join in the fun again. It’ll be interesting to compare my Dec. 2022 and current totals. Hopefully by October/November I’ll have managed to declutter a good chunk of lipstick/gloss, since I know right now those numbers are higher than they were for the first challenge and I’ve been trying to make myself declutter again for too long. 😅 

Since January is nail polish month, I think I’ll actually photograph (in more detail) all my swatch sticks by color this time… last time, I just posted one photo of all the sticks together. I could also show photos of the bottles this time. I need to reorganize ‘em a bit anyway, so I might as well take photos during that process. 

Face primers should be much easier for me to start with. I’ll do that this week. 

EDIT: maybe I’ll also do a makeup brush inventory as a bonus category. That’s something else I have no business buying more of. Seeing a full inventory of them may help convince me of that. 

Looking forward to seeing other people’s inventories! 

[haleyvvvv]

Yay, @WinglessOne!! I'm so excited for your participation!! I'm also looking forward to seeing the changes (or not) in everyone's collection. 

I meant to add brushes!! I'll add tools to a "low burden" month, lol. I tried to make sure there wasn't a double up of heavy inventory items. 

[JoSometimes]

I love this idea @haleyvvvv! I tried to use an app to stay organized but it wasn’t quite what I wanted.

[haleyvvvv]

I'm a little late posting partially because I forgot it was the 1st (or I guess that it's not still December, or 2023) and partially because I was spending the day starting to reorganize my stashes. 

PrimersFull sized: 5. Most of these came into my life incidentally, through subscription boxes or gratis (thank you, @TeamBIC for the Caliray toner). The only one of these I've brought into my collection "on purpose" was the Yves Saint Laurent NU GLOW IN BALM Face Priming Moisturizer with Shea Butter 1.35 oz/40 mL with a rewards bazaar redemption. These are all still in my pile of shame, where they're unused, because I tend to think that if I don't open it then the PAO doesn't start and it won't go bad as fast? I do want to use these this year but I also want to clear all of my minis. 

Glowy/Dewy Primer Minis: 18. Again most of these are GWP or from sub boxes. Looking to get through these this year tbh. The Saie Mini Glowy Super Gel Lightweight Dewy Multipurpose Illuminator is a fave (thanks again TeamBIC for the initial gratis of this); I would buy that one again but y'all see my stash. I'm also excited for the Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Glow Serum with Hyaluronic Acid & Niacinamide Juice Boost . 

Pore Filling Primer Minis: 20. A type of product I'm learning how to use a bit more to see if I like at all. Again, I'd like most of these to be used up by the end of the year. The Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder - Tinted Primer & Foundation is intriguing though.

Nail Polish 

0! I decluttered the final two in my collection last year. I don't do my nails, so its absurd to have any nail polish. I'm happy to not have any. I'd like to maybe get a pedicure every few months, but it's not a priority for me right now.

[Samtian]

@haleyvvvv What a nice collection!! All my primers were gwp or boxes lol. Can't wait to hear what you think about the DM's! And kudos for tossing the nail polishes!

[haleyvvvv]

Thank you, @Samtian!! I think since most of my primer collection comes from boxes, it's a category I want to be much more intentional about in the future, especially after learning what I like from using these up. 

[Samtian]

Jan-Primers aren't a category I have or use much of. I can't find a combo between them and foundation that works for my skin.

Primers-3+

I'm including the random face products I took a photo of early December, now that I think about it there is probably primers in there lol. These came out of a drawer I tend to forget about. 

Misc- 14

Nail polish was a project I went through to last year to toss the ones I don't like. I picked up 4 at Christmas this year. I have really bad yellow lighting so I tried to get my ring light to hit these to light them better. I have more...but they tend to wander.

Nail Polish- 34+