Saturday, January 13, 2007

My Beauty Stash, and How I Plan to Obliterate It

This entry marks my 199th post on this blog. Stay tuned for the 200th post, which should be coming in some time next week... it's going to be a surprise!

A few posts ago, I mentioned that most of the beauty products that I already have is practically everything I need at this point in my life. Because I am determined to use up my stash this year, I am going to use this entry to predict which of the products I already have at home (not counting samples) will eventually get used up - or, worse, get the eventual heave-ho - by the end of 2007...

- Elizabeth Arden Exceptional Lipstick in Shimmer. I knew the end was coming when I opened the tube and found some smushing of the bullet inside the cap. Smushed lipstick bullets usually signal the beginning of the end, since I (like my very own Mama Mei) would rather wear down my lipstick bullets to tiny nubs with constant use. And since we're talking about a gorgeous nude lipstick that has served me well even when the package has seen better days, I wouldn't be surprised if I go ahead and decant the bullet into a separate container (which I did with some of my MAC lipsticks) so I can go ahead and buy another gorgeous nude-bronze lipstick.

- Most of the stuff that I've purchased in the Philippines. The Johnson's Baby Cologne? Decanted into a drugstore spray bottle, since I hate having cologne on my hands. The shampoos and conditioners? Almost gone, watered down so I can now use it on my short hair. The only product I don't see myself using up right away is the Bench Fix styling paste - since I gave Lexus the go-ahead to razor my hair into a deliciously messy emo-shag, I'm going to need all the texturizing that I'll get - and possibly some of the Maybelline lip products, especially the strawberry lip gloss that I ended up using constantly during the holiday season.

- At least one of the shades in my Stila 8-pan palette. But first, I should take the time to point out that it's more like a "7-pan" right now, since the magnet in the 8th pan fell out along with the Launey eyeshadow that used to be housed in it. Also, I desperately need to buy a "skin" or some stickers to cover up how beat-up this palette has gotten over the last 8 years. Anyway, I have yet to decide on what I will use for Pan #7 (last occupied by Diamond Lil) but already I am looking forward to the eventual obliteration of the palette's other contents, especially Ebony and the Belle blush (which is also currently in heavy rotation, since I use it alongside the Rimmel bronzer that I purchased over the holidays). One eyeshadow I would not want to run out of: Wheat, which is basically the best shimmery-nude eyeshadow ever... and has all the heavy-usage smudges in my pan to prove it.

- L'Occitane Shea Butter Verbena Soap: This came with the set I got from my sister last Christmas. (I love her. This year she got me an entirely new stash of bath products which included B&BW's Cucumber Melon shower gel and a small jar of Body Shop Passionfruit Scrub, which I also look forward to using constantly.) Going back to the soap, every single time I look at it, I always think, "Today is the day I am going to use this soap in the bathroom." And yet, I never do, because... y'know, L'Occitane. Well, now that the good folks at L'Occitane have been in operation at Ala Moana Center for more than a year now (and the salesladies have been wondering when I am finally going to spend more cash at their store) I no longer have an excuse.

- At least one of my body lotions. It's a neck-and-neck race between regular cocoa butter (decanted into an old glass bottle from Fresh) and the Essie Smoothies in Kiwi Lime (which also got a workout during the holiday season, after I bought it on impulse at Trade Secret... the pump bottle is a major plus). I predict the cocoa butter will be the first to go... and after that I'm not sure if I still want to keep the bottle, which is pretty but looks more like a relic from my wayward days back in college. Either way, once I get it all over and done with, I will be finally reunited with my B&BW lotion in Brown Sugar & Fig, which finally made it back into my apartment after being sent to the Philippines during the whole summer debacle.

EDITED 01/13/2006 to add that the lipstick has been decanted and the Ebony eyeshadow has been sacrificed to the gods of 'Opala, because the consistency of the shadow does not match those of the other Stila powders in the palette... which means that, sadly, it has turned, and could make me blind if I even dare to use it on myself. Ewww! Goodbye black smudgy shadow and hello, eyeliner pencil!

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