How to Spring Clean Your Make-Up Stash

It's Bank Holiday Monday (here in the UK at least) and if you are anything like me, you are nursing a belly full of chocolate and debating what t.v show to binge on next. Well I am going to ask that you step away from Netflix and Spring clean your make-up stash. Yes it is time to chuck out all those old, neglected products and finally get your house, well beauty house that is and let me help you with a small to-do list. You can of course neglect all your beauty duties, have another Creme Egg (I won't judge you) and bookmark this post and tackle your make-up bag at a later date.

Liquids
Generally speaking liquids as in shampoo, general haircare products, cleansers and even moisturisers - although they may loose potency over the months - do tend to age the best and equally show tell tale signs of spoiled products too. For liquid lipsticks and glosses it is time to wave goodbye to any shades that have separated (look for a water-like substance at the top of the product) and a change of smell and/or colour. The same applies for skin care products - should the product have change in scent or texture then it is best to let it go. I realise this may be a little extreme but I do scribble my start date on the back on any face care product with a Sharpie, that way I have a general idea how long I have owned and used the product; I realise that as a beauty blogger I have a larger stash than most but it may be a helpful tip none the less.

For mascara and any product you apply to the eye area I recommend that you are vigilant with use by dates, which is six months in regards to mascara. However should your mascara dry up or irritate your eyes before such time span is over, let it go.

Nail Polish
An easy one in terms of deciding if the product is spoiled or not - look for changes in texture (lumpy, dried-out or generally gunky polishes), typically speaking I don't inhale polishes (nor would I recommend it) so I don't look for fragrance changes. Once you have de-cluttered your no longer fit for use, I am going to suggest that you are ruthless and let go of those nail shades that you have used once or twice and know you will not return to. My plans are to create a staple nail polish collection: a few nudes shades, a bright pink and red, a vampy shade or two, a white polish and maybe a few flirty bights for the Summer months.

Powder Products
Powder products can be tricky as they don't really tend to change in texture or scent, there are of course exceptions to every rule; baked powder products can form a firm film at the top of product and indicate that it is time to place it in the recycle bin. Otherwise I would sift out any powder item (blush, eyeshadow and face powder) that you can not recall purchasing (or ever using), as powder products over the years can retain moisture and breed bacteria - pretty gross, it is better to be safe than sorry, particularly with eyeshadows.

Fragrance
Super easy - once it no longer smells like it once did, it is past its use by date, it is that simple.

Beauty Tools
Along with sorting through your stash and have let go of all the brushes that are damaged, splayed or never used, I of course then recommend that you deep cleanse each brush and your make-up sponges too. Why not also sharpen any pencil lip and eye liners - I always find I am more likely to use them this way.

Here's to a smaller and altogether more used and loved beauty collection.

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