Thursday 9 October 2008

My Makeup Stash

About half of my makeup collection has been sitting in storage for the past year until last weekend when I finally got to retrieve it, after settling into my new flat. Most of my makeup is stored in these two plastic Muji chests, next to my bed, with other random bobs and bits in other cases around my room. I love these chests, as they're super easy to clean and come with dividers that allow you to sort your makeup items neatly. The size is also just nice for many makeup compacts from various brands.



I've been collecting makeup for about 7 years now so I've also had to do some spring cleaning recently and dumped some of my makeup that was way past its shelf life. Times like this, I really appreciate MAC's Back to Mac programme which lets you bring back 6 empties to exchange for a new lipstick. Today, I brought back 6 lipglasses that were around 5 to 7 years old like New Years Yves, Cultured, Oyster Girl etc and got a Cremesheen in Party Line in exchange ;-)



Anyway, here's a quick rundown of the stuff in each drawer. On the left: Jill Stuart Eye Jellies, Stephane Marais (discontinued), Cynthia Rowley for Avon, Miss Elegance eyeshadow trios and K-Palette eyeshadow palettes. On the right: MAC blushes, Chanel quads, Dior quints, Bobbi Brown Shimmerbricks.



Left: MAC eyeshadow quads and MSFs. Right: Kate eyeshadow palettes, Milani quads, Susie NY quads, Stila baked eyeshadow trios and Make Up Store eyeshadows.



Left: Milani blushes, Vincent Longo, Napoleon Perdis, Pout eyeshadow duos, Stila. Right: Excel and Sana gradation blushes, Jill Stuart eyeshadow palettes and Mix Compact Blushes, Kate gel liners



Left: NARS blushes and eyeshadow duos, Majolica Majorca Majolooks and MJ Spices, Armani fluid blushes. Right: Lunasol eyeshadow quads, Awake eyeshadow quads and Stila eyeshadow trios



Left: Paul & Joe palettes, face colors and face powders, MAC eyeshadow pots, Stila palettes, Pupa baked blushes, NYX mosaic blushes. Right: Paul & Joe Collection Sparkles eyeshadows, Lavshuca palettes, Stila duos and trios.



Left: Aube eyeshadow quads, Giorgio Armani blushes, Tarte palettes. Right: Lavshuca and Shu Uemura palettes, Gransenbon blushes, Kiss eyeshadow palettes, Clinique blushes



And that's about 80% of my collection. Is it too much? Probably, even I find it overwhelming at times just trying to get through the sheer volume of products and making sure that I use everything at least a few times. But it's pretty much my main hobby and has provided many hours of pure enjoyment so to me. Plus I work hard for my money and makeup is my primary way of pampering myself after all the stress and frustrations of work. And like L'Oreal said, we're worth it :-)

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my oh my!

Wow!!

I am almost speechless. This is one amazing trove of cosmetic treasures. Mine is teeeeeeeny weeeeeeeeeny in comparison!!

CuttiBeBe said...

woah, and i thought i was bad! i need to show my boyfriend this entry, so he can stop complaining how much make up i have. lol.

it is very organized though.

Pink Sith said...

I'm drooling! What a wonderful stash and great organization! Those boxes are awesome!!

Vanessa M. said...

great stuff!

MV Kids Dentists and Braces said...

Wow...that's quite a collection. I love how they are very well-organized. I've been reading your blog and have wondered if you work in the beauty industry or something b/c your blog is alway the most up-to-dated ones. I couldn't help but subscribe to your rss feed to make sure I'll be the most updated one as well. :) Keep up the good work!

cewek said...

Great collection Haru!!

However, I wouldn't even justify my collection to anyone. Everyone has their vice and ours make ourselves prettier!

Haru said...

Hi Namson,

I don't work in the beauty industry although I wish I could work for a beauty mag! I do the blog solely out of interest and because it's my passion :-) Most of the news that I post I get from various Japanese websites like the Japanese beauty magazine websites or the official websites of the various makeup brands. Thanks for your kind comments!

Hey Cuttibebe,

makeup stash pics like these are actually very common on Makeupalley or Specktra! Guys don't get it, but who gets their fascination with their toys too?! To each his/her own, I always say!

Unknown said...

I was blog hopping and I landed on your page. But WOOOOOOW, your make up collection... wooooooow. I'm still trying to pick up my jaw off the floor! In the midst of all that stuff, great job in organizing everything!! I loveeeee the stash! So lucky you that you can get a hold of Japanese makeup easily.

Amelia Yap said...

Wow!
Your collection is really nice.
Even with the vast amount, it's sooo neat!
I have about 1/5 and its wayyy messier

shows as well why your blog is one of the best :)

I'm really envious :)

plue said...

oh my! lovely collection! my makeup stuff are nowhere near as neat as urs >_< ugh~

cheers,
plue

Anonymous said...

nice lovely stash! which Stila Eye Shadot Trio do you have? I am looking for the Mandarin Mist Trio in Warm high and low...

Kathi said...

Hey dear, I love this post! You really have a wonderful, clean and super organized stash! Thanks for sharing! =D

Haru said...

Hey Kathi!

I'd love to see pics of your whole stash now since it must look quite different with all your recent Korean hauls!

Dear Jojoba,
I don't have the Mandarin Mist trio but I have pretty much every trio that was made over the past 6 years up until the trios from last Xmas. Most of my Stila trios are stashed in another part of my room, so you don't see them in these pics. Good luck hunting the Mandarin Mist trio down!

Hi plue!
Thanks for stopping by. It took quite some time to sort everything but once that's done, it's much faster for me to pick out what I want to use every morning. The drawers also come in extremely handy when I have to move, which seems to happen on pretty much an annual basis.

Hi Amelia,
I should really try to pare my collection as well as much of it doesn't get used as frequently as they should. But I've a very bad wandering eye and am always tempted by new brands ;-p

Hi Anne,
Thanks for stopping by! I didn't get into Japanese makeup until about a year after I moved to Tokyo for work. Since then, I've just been hooked but as you can see from my stash, half of it is still US/Western brands!

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful collection!!!Can u please tell me where i can buy all these wonderful japanesse cosmetics in Europe?I live in Greece,is there a site to ship internationaly?I love your blog by the way:))

Haru said...

Hi,

Thanks for your kind comments! You can try adambeauty.com which ships internationally and takes Paypal. There are also other online retailers such as ichibankao.com and bobodave.com but their markups are slightly higher. Happy shopping!

beautyparler said...

Wow! Great stash, I just want to get my hands in that treasure chest to play;)

Anonymous said...

Wow your stash is so well organized!!! I keep meaning to sort mine out, I think I may pop into muji and have a look for those drawers :) Thanks for sharing!

clara said...

I'm almost speechless! Very nice collection indeed! I really need to adopt some of your makeup organization methods. I was wondering how you feel about Majolook palettes. I just purchased 2 online, and can't wait to receive them! Which is your fave NARS blush?

Anonymous said...

A very well rounded collection! I am liking the Muji drawers very much too! Thanks to your recc! But I can only get the single ones, the double won't fit into the suitcase ;) I did a major spring clean of my stash back in July but there are still loads which I haven't used for awhile ... some are too precious to discard, esp my LE KP trios. The color combis and quality used to be really fab, sadly not anymore. I need to use my Inoui ID qudas more regularly too ... Thanks for the reminder :)

Anonymous said...

marvellous collection! it doesn't matter if you don't get to use all of them, since it's a collection just having them is a great pleasure!

Anonymous said...

Maybe it is time that I should buy Muji chest to store the makeup items. Your collection is huge. They are so nice. Indeed, we are worth it!

Red Lips, Black Hair said...

Woooooooow! JAW+FLOOR.