What's in my bag

After yesterday's post I thought it might be fun to show you all what exactly I have in my makeup bag this month. If I remember correctly the only thing which will be expiring next month is the mascara so I will be switching that out.

Tools
Born Pretty Store blender - which yeah, I know, it needs cleaned :P This one is just OK. It was cheap so it doesn't work as well as my old one. I found this one to work best dry, actually. This is the only item in my picture which I actually bought, that wasn't in an Ipsy bag.

Vasanti eyeshadow 2 I received in my July 2016 Ipsy bag. I'm not really picky about brushes and tend to use the same brushes for everything - yeah I know I shouldn't. Maybe once I use a variety of brushes more I'll be more selective, I don't know.

MeMeMe blush brush from my October 2016 Ipsy bag. This works just OK for me. It doesn't seem to pick up as much product as other brushes I've used.

Face
Hot Mama from theBalm Cosmetics. This doubles as an eyeshadow. Received in my October 2016 Ipsy bag.

TréStique Bora Bora Coral I received in my February 2016 Ipsy bag. I'm not that crazy about the color. It seems too orange for me... or if I wanted that much blush on me I would just not apply makeup (I'm pale but my cheeks are always so red, ugh!)

Beauté Basics 3 tone bronzer. Received in my August 2016 Ipsy bag. I like that there are 3 colors, but the darkest is kind of too dark for me if I don't really really blend it out.

Dirty Little Secrets Bellissima. Can also double as an eyeshadow. I received this in my June 2016 Ipsy bag. I really like the color but it almost seems too intense of a color for me. I'm so pale, it's like - wow - color! So I guess it's great for getting that healthy glow.

Tarte smoothe operator finishing powder which I usually forget to use. I got this for free with my Ipsy reward points.

Lips
Too Faced Lip Injection Extreme. I don't always use this. Received in my September 2016 Ipsy bag. I like it, and use it typically as a regular gloss. Haven't noticed much additional plump to my lips since they're already so full.

TréStique Nantucket Nude. I usually use the Lip Injection with this because my lips are too dry for matte lip products. I don't really like the color but I'm using it up anyway. I got this in one of my Ipsy bags.

Eyes
Ipsy Nyx Three Color Palette. I got this in an older Ipsy bag. I haven't used the black much, and actually I've used the lightest color the most. It makes for a good foundation color and it has a pretty sparkle to it which I really like.

Jesse's Girl eye shadow primer. Got this with Ipsy reward points.

Revlon Photoready Eye Art in Fuchsia Flash. Christmas present from my mom. Used as eyeliner also. Can be used to add some glitter to the lashes too. I found if you use the glitter end as an eyeshadow, your lids will stick together and it's pretty uncomfortable and just looks weird, too. Haven't tried my setting powder on top of it so that may be something to do.

The Balm Meet Matt(e) Trimony I received in my June 2016 Ipsy bag. I don't hate this, don't love it. Pretty neutral on this eyeshadow. Mine is much more blue than the Ipsy picture.

Instanatural eyelash serum. I don't normally use this but it's in there anyway. I received this in exchange for an honest review.

pūr~lisse 4 in 1 eye serum. I usually don't use this, though it did seem to work ok. I got this in my January 2016 Ipsy bag.

Tarte tarteist mascara I received in my August 2016 Ipsy bag.

Not pictured
Jersey Shore Cosmetics Peppermint lip balm. I love this stuff. Received in my December 2016 Ipsy bag.

LA Colors Jumbo Eye Pencil. I have about twenty of these which will be expiring soon so I switch them up with the products above. Can be used as eyeliner or eyeshadow.

Elf makeup mist and set. I keep forgetting to use this because I'm new to setting products. I found this can work well or really bad. Don't spray too close to your face because it will smear your eye makeup.

CoverGirl and Olay Simply Ageless liquid foundation in Ivory. I'm using this pretty much most of the year in the drier months when my face needs the extra oil. Otherwise I would use a mattifying product to dry it out a bit. It seems like this color is off just a little bit. I swear I'm like, somewhere in between what they call Ivory and Porcelain as far as foundation colors go. This is almost too orange, but my Porcelain foundation makes me look white. Maybe I need to combine the two?

I'm hopefully getting my Ipsy bag tomorrow so I will have that posted to my Instagram when I receive it. As you can see, I can pretty much get by without having to buy any extra makeup aside from what I get in my Ipsy bag each month. Every once in awhile I buy something but not often. For $10 a month, I won't complain.

If you're not familiar with Ipsy, they are a subscription service where you get 5 beauty items a month delivered to your door. Sometimes you get full sized items, sometimes travel or sample sized. But they're fun just if you like to try new things. For me, it's been a great experience to try new products and types of products as I learn more about makeup. Additionally, they have a cool rewards program where if you review items on their Web site, share your bag, etc. you get points which can be used to exchange for free products. Score! (Referral link follows.) You can sign up for your custom monthly Ipsy bag here.

Makeup organization

Last year I really focused on getting my home more organized. I still have a long way to go but I got started. As far as makeup goes I had so much. Too much. I don't know how beauty bloggers do it because I had too much just from the few items I have reviewed or won in giveaways. Here is what I did to get organized and this has worked really well for me.

To start I gathered everything and tossed anything which had expired. This included anything I knew was old but did not have an expiration symbol. It did not include my nail polish because no. I can't.

Next I sorted everything by type. Eye shadows in one pile. Lipsticks in another. You get the idea. Then I entered everything into a spreadsheet. I have it sorted by types. Those are then sorted by expiration dates so I have my makeup which expires first listed first.

Looking at my spreadsheet I take one of each item and put those in one of my old Ipsy bags. So there you have it. Easy no thinking makeup for a month. At the end of the month I look at my spreadsheet and toss anything which has expired and replace it with the next to expire item.

Here's a photo of my current bag. For my nail polish I set out anything new to be tried out and once I've used them I get out my stash and pick out some oldies to use. So I actually have a mix of new and old in this picture.

Additional items like cuticle cream or lip balm go in my makeup storage unit. I keep brushes not in use here. I also have extra lip sticks, eyeliners, etc. here for when I get bored of using the same products every day. 

I also usually keep my newest Ipsy bag out and mix those items with my daily makeup bag. Once I review the items they go into the appropriate location. 

Here in this last picture I have four Sterilite boxes. I keep my nail art supplies in one. In another I keep any extra makeup which won't fit in my other places. Then one has exercise items and the last is just odds and ends. The large box in front there is my new Zumba set I got for Christmas.  Then I have my at home spa and my gel nail light. All of the other boxes store my nail polish. 

I actually am working on weeding out some polishes because I've found the new polish just doesn't last long. Especially not the jellies. I will probably get rid of some when Zoya hast their next Earth Day sale. 

So that's how I've gotten organized and for me it works. 

My spreadsheet makes it easy for me to see when I'm going to have to buy more makeup. I also keep track of my Ipsy preferences and what I actually receive within the spreadsheet. I tweak my Ipsy preferences based on what I'm going to need and so far it has worked pretty well and I've been much happier with my bags. For instance I know I will need more mascara soon but I have enough moisturizer to last me many months so I will change my Ipsy settings to kind of reflect that. 

Let me know in the comments how you stay organized.