I remember when all my make-up fit into one make-up bag, and all my choices were contained in that little space - oh how long ago it all seems ;) And when my collection really started expanding I invested in the infamous WHSmith drawers as a make-shift vanity until I really settled into a home, and since I've got them I've loved how I can scan over my whole collection and pick out of all the possible candidates - as well as never forget about owning a product. I was a Vanity Girl through and through!
I looove the look of this vanity! :) (Image from JPM Design)
However, when I look around blogs, I've realised people write things like "this has been living in my make-up bag the whole month!" or "it replaced x that used to live in my make up bag" - at first I was quite startled. This suggests that some people use both a vanity and a make-up bag to choose their make up from. It took me a while but I realised - some people pick out products that they like from their vanity to their make-up bags, and choose from there. I was like.. "WHAAAAT!" and also a little bit like "WHY?!" (and a little bit concerned at how long it took me to realise..)
Personally I would die from OCD if I knew that not 100% of my collection was in my vanity and that there was even a slight chance I would miss out on the perfect lippy of the day. I firmly stand by the belief that choosing from my vanity allows me to use all my make up - I have never once forgotten I owned a product or not used a product because I forgot it was buried in the depth of my collection.
But then I read a post by Adrienne which made me think - using a make-up bag may not give you a full scope of choice, but it would let you focus on selected products and would really help with 2 things - to really test those products out, or to use them up - both of which I have severe issues with (oh the numerous PR's that have bared with me on this, bless them)! You wont be tempted by other products you are more familiar or comfortable with because you wont see them! Enlightenment.
So I'm starting to think I wanna change the way I choose my make up, simply because my goals are changing - I used to want to get to know my make-up and experiment with what I have. Now, there are quite a few things I'd like to hit pan on/use up, and there are a few items I haven't tested enough to give it a fair judgment. There's also the matter of wanting to change things up once in a while! I have also heard rumours that I will be having a few deathly 10AM classes (I know, lazy student) so I undoubtedly should focus on getting more sleep/doing more work than on choosing my face :P
Really what I'm saying is that changing things like this is a great way to re-organize, both in terms of how you choose your make-up and how to address what you're not liking about your relationship with make-up (yes you may call me the Dr. Phil of make-up.. lol what am I on about). It's so easy to get stuck in a rut or do things that isn't conducive to what your goals are - and reorganizing how you choose and organize your make-up can really help!
So after I write this post, I will be filling up this make-up bag from Glitzy Glam to give this new thing a try :) I'll miss having a different face everyday, and I'll miss having to choose between a pink and a bronze when I really want to wear a peach blush - but I'm sure I'll learn with time - until my goals change again :)
I realise this is quite a rambly post and that I've had a few of those lately, but I quite like posting up internalized make-up debates that take place in my brain from time to time.. any feedback for that would be great :) I also have a hard time resisting posting when I'm really really thinking about it :P So anyway..
How do YOU choose to choose make-up? And why? :)
<3yu