I adore makeup, always have.  As a little girl, I read Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces cover to cover, in awe at the artistic mastery a true beauty guru held in his talented fingertips.  Now, while I’m no beauty guru, I can flick an eyeliner wing with as much confidence as I can wield a power tool.  I realized though, while trying to implement KonMari method of tidying my makeup area, that I might have a few emotional attachment issues to my almost shameful, magpie-like stash of beauty essentials.  So if you’re like me, looking to embrace simple, everyday makeup, keep on reading to learn how I’m minimizing my daily beauty routine.  (Coincidently, if you haven’t read either of those books, I absolutely recommend them! I’ve affiliate linked them as well as other items throughout this post so you can click over to read more.)

Motivations for Minimizing

Before I talk about how I’m minimizing my makeup routine, let’s talk about why.  It’s two reasons, really: mess and overwhelm.

The Messy Bathroom Counter

As embarrassing as this next photo is, this is what my bathroom counter looks like on a daily basis (please don’t judge!):

Ugh.  I try to be organized, sincerely.  I have an awesome acrylic makeup organizer for my brushes and another acrylic organizer with three drawers for products.  That little grey steamer bag holds the Lancome skin care collection I’ve been using (and loving) that my sister gave me for Christmas.  But between the makeup, lotions, hair products, toothpaste, contact solution, candles, and, yes, the rogue wineglass lingering from the bubblebath the prior night… it’s not exactly tidy.  I tried to KonMari my way out of the mess, holding onto only what sparked joy.  But my sentimentality towards each product got in my way.  Yes, I felt joy for each and every product.  (I told you I loved makeup!)  I knew I needed a different solution.

The Morning Overwhelm

Second reason for simplifying my daily makeup routine?  I need to clear away any extra decisions to keep the daily feeling of overwhelm at bay.  As a new mama, there are far, far too many decisions to make each day and way too many things to hold in the front of my mind.  As wonderful as having 46 different shades of eyeshadow might be, I don’t need the extra decisions each morning.  I end up feeling not only rushed while getting ready, but a little beholden to the process.  Honestly, I’m beginning to resent my coveted little makeup hoard.

The Makeup Stash

To being downsizing my daily beauty routine, I leveraged KonMari’s recommendation to put everything in one place.  That way, I could see all the makeup I owned at a glance.  Here she is, boys and gals: the stash.

Gosh, how did I get so much?  (Oh, right, I bought it.)  At a quick glance, I count 19 lip products, 12 eyeshadow pallets and pots, 7 items that conceal and cover, 4 primers, 3 foundations and powders, 6 blushes and bronzers, 5 mascaras and eyebrow tamers, and 3 eyeliners.  I mean, really?  REALLY?   No wonder I feel overwhelmed when I’m so tight on time each morning.  Plus, all these little bitty bottles are so hard to keep tidy when you’re taking them out and using them each morning.

How I’m Minimizing

Because I had such a hard time getting rid of the stash, I decided to minimize by forcing simplicity.  What do I mean?  For the next month or so, I’m only going to use 6 makeup products every day.  Like a detox.  I need a reset.  Then maybe after a month, I’ll be able to get rid of all of the excess with a lot more clarity.

So what 6 products am I keeping?

Minimal Makeup Collection

Here are the 6 products I’ll be using for the next month while I go on my beauty detox to simplify my everyday makeup.

Blush: Stila’s Self Adjusting Pink

Mascara: Sephora Lashcraft

Eyeliner / Shadow / Brow Powder: Sephora Morning Mocha

Lipstick: Kat Von D Lolita

Concealer: Wet and Wild Cover Correct

Pressed Powder: Almay Smart Shade

I wanted to get down to 5 products, rather than 6, but just couldn’t do it.  I considered swapping the concealer and powder combo for foundation, but the idea of overly shiny skin just didn’t fly.  So here I am with 6 products, which I have to say it a dramatic improvement over the several dozen featured above.

I may end up popping these babies into a Z Palette just to further declutter the containers for the pans, but we’ll see.  I’m not including face lotion and skin care in the mix, but I keep those super minimal anyway.

The Minimal Everyday Face

I (rather awkwardly) took some selfies after going through my pared down makeup routine.  It took way, way less time since I wasn’t hunting through piles of product to find what I need.  And I still have a little wing on my eyeliner, even if it’s made with powder rather than liquid, so I’m feeling sufficiently saucy.

Tidy Space

Even better than getting ready in less time?  Just look at how clean my bathroom counter is!  I mean, wowza.  I moved all the products I’m not using into a makeup case under the sink.  My hair stuff’ has been tucked neatly into the bathroom cabinet just to the side.  One of these days, I’m going to make a really beautiful wooden vanity (like this) and hope to move all the makeup off the bathroom counter anyway.  This is a really good start!

Well that’s it: how I’m minimizing my makeup routine to focus on simple, everyday beauty.  What products would you keep if you only had 6 items to use everyday?  What would you toss?  Also, is your makeup collection as embarrassingly large and unkempt as mine was?  LOL be honest!