The Great Make Up Cull of 2017, a.k.a. Poutey Scaredypants

Hi guys!  Gosh, I'm sounding so American.  But "guys" sometimes just sort of, well, fits.

Just thought I'd touch base with you on my declutter programme ... and the floodgates decluttering can sometimes open.  My programme continued in the bathroom.   I don't think I dare show you my chuck-out pictures.  Embarrassing. 

All past BBD medication were taken to the chemist for disposal. 

Here's my tidy cabinet.  I'm enjoying it as it won't stay like this for long!

And with medication addressed, I moved on to make up.  Firstly,  all make up and toiletry bags were washed in The Great Make Up Cull of 2017.  Then make up was culled, using the approach detailed below.  The cull exposed so many worries, it opened up The Floodgates of Concern.   There were many but I now give you my two main areas of concern regarding make up.  I have many other areas of concern, but make up is a pretty safe topic to open up about!

Best After Opened (BAO)

Life was simpler before those blasted little open jar icons started appearing on beauty products. Common sense was used back then.  A product was thrown away when it was empty, had dried up, looked dodgy or when I realised I'd bought it in a country I'd visited in the last millennium!

Along came that little icon and opened up yet another area of my life that I should be very concerned about.  Nay, paranoid about.  Because it frequently touches on eyes and those I am uber-paranoid about.

Those little icons are useful - but only up to a point.  For how on earth can you remember when every single item of make up was opened? 

They're bought at various times.  They're opened at various times.  They have varying BAO periods.  The labels are minute so you can't scribble opening dates on them.

I'm still fairly relaxed when it comes to non-eye area make up (I don't see much danger there) but it's a minefield for someone as concerned about eye hygiene as me!

So the test I applied during this latest make up cull was draconian but necessary.  Any eye make up that I bought prior to last summer has been binned.  Most are in the 3-6 months range anyway and this chuck-out gives me a clean slate to work from.

I've devised a simple new make-up control plan.  Buy make up at the beginning of the year then I can easily control opening dates.

 

I'd be very interested to hear what you put in place to control your make-up's recommended life.

Or is this paranoia restricted to Pout World only?!

Eye Pencil/Crayon Sharpeners

I like eye pencils and a couple of years ago I became a big fan of chunky eye shadow crayons too. 

But I've recently started worrying about the hygiene aspect of the pencil sharpeners needed to keep them in their prime.  During my cull I washed make up brushes, tweezers, scissors, that sort of stuff, all in really hot water with lots of rinsing, but when it comes to those sharpeners I washed, well I see lots of hiding places for germs to lurk and I'm still dubious about using them for eye products again.

As a result of my paranoia, a lot of pencils and crayons have been binned during this purge.  Some have been used only up to the first need for sharpening and around the time when my sharpener paranoia set in.  Many are within their BAOs but need sharpening - so they have to go. 

They have pointlessly given up their lives (see what I did there?!).

How do you keep your eye pencils and crayons hygienically sharpened?  I'm intrigued.

But there is some good news.  Nature's way of compensating for my old age fuss-potting about eye hygiene is that when retired, you tend to use less make up.  In recent years I wear it less frequently and use fewer items.  So my new controlled approach to make up is a doddle and easy on the purse - I need to buy fewer items and they should last me the duration of that dastardly BAO icon! 

So last week I bought a couple of eye shadows, new brushes, eye liner and brow pencil. 

Frequently used foundation, mascara and skincare products are replenished on a rolling programme. 

 And the big news is that apart from a blast of red lipstick for special occasions, I tend not to use lipstick anymore.  I use flavoured Lipsyl or The Body Shop's Born Lippy.  I think they look better on pensioner lips.

So this is what my streamlined make up bag looks like now.

Neat, huh?

So an embarrassing amount of make up has been culled and it leaves me with two three questions,

1) Is anybody out there as paranoid as I am about eye make-up hygiene and BAOs?

2) Anyone know if there are "self-sharpening" chubby crayons on the market?

3) This hurriedly added third questions is, have you become more of a worrier, more paranoid about things generally as you've got older? Does just about everything in life give you cause for concern these days?

 I certainly have become a worrier (as evidenced in this post) and it's not a nice place to be! 

I'm forever being told "You worry about everything!" or "You're a scaredeypants!"

A la perchoine.

Beauty Cull 2020 - The Prequel

Hello lovely ladies.  

We’re knee deep in January eh.  It’s a time of reflection and of new beginnings.  It’s also my time to review my beauty products and toiletries.   And with the cold and windy weather we’re having and gardening not on the cards anytime soon, the house is getting some long-awaited attention, and that includes my bathroom cabinet.

I was chatting this morning with the so lovely Janet of The Gardener’s Cottage and she’s going through a bathroom review too.  You can read her post MY BEAUTY BUDGET, HERE,  do pop over.  You’ll enjoy this and ALL of her posts, I’m sure. 

I’ve only just started my annual review/cull/replace and I’ll report back with my findings soon.  You may be doing the same thing, so I thought this an opportune time to repost my post from a few years ago, then you and I can see how my 2020 review compares.  

Will there be repeat buys?  Will there be never-to-be-repeateds?!

Does that sound like a plan?  Fun, even?!!

I’d love to hear how you deal with your beauty review, whether you’re doing a review right now or if you totally ignore best before dates and best after opening dates.  

Please drop me a comment with your thoughts. 

My 2017 Post

Hi guys!  Gosh, I'm sounding so American.  But "guys" sometimes just sort of, well, fits.

Just thought I'd touch base with you on my declutter programme ... and the floodgates decluttering can sometimes open.  My programme continued in the bathroom.   I don't think I dare show you my chuck-out pictures.  Embarrassing.  

All past BBD medication were taken to the chemist for disposal. 

Here's my tidy cabinet.  I'm enjoying it as it won't stay like this for long!

And with medication addressed, I moved on to make up.  Firstly,  all make up and toiletry bags were washed in The Great Make Up Cull of 2017.  Then make up was culled, using the approach detailed below.  The cull exposed so many worries, it opened up The Floodgates of Concern.   There were many but I now give you my two main areas of concern regarding make up.  I have many other areas of concern, but make up is a pretty safe topic to open up about!

Best After Opened (BAO)

Life was simpler before those blasted little open jar icons started appearing on beauty products. Common sense was used back then.  A product was thrown away when it was empty, had dried up, looked dodgy or when I realised I'd bought it in a country I'd visited in the last millennium!

Along came that little icon and opened up yet another area of my life that I should be very concerned about.  Nay, paranoid about.  Because it frequently touches on eyes and those I am uber-paranoid about.

Those little icons are useful - but only up to a point.  For how on earth can you remember when every single item of make up was opened?  

They're bought at various times.  They're opened at various times.  They have varying BAO periods.  The labels are minute so you can't scribble opening dates on them.

I'm still fairly relaxed when it comes to non-eye area make up (I don't see much danger there) but it's a minefield for someone as concerned about eye hygiene as me!

So the test I applied during this latest make up cull was draconian but necessary.  Any eye make up that I bought prior to last summer has been binned.  Most are in the 3-6 months range anyway and this chuck-out gives me a clean slate to work from.

I've devised a simple new make-up control plan.  Buy make up at the beginning of the year then I can easily control opening dates.

  

I'd be very interested to hear what you put in place to control your make-up's recommended life.

Or is this paranoia restricted to Pout World only?!

Eye Pencil/Crayon Sharpeners

I like eye pencils and a couple of years ago I became a big fan of chunky eye shadow crayons too.  

But I've recently started worrying about the hygiene aspect of the pencil sharpeners needed to keep them in their prime.  During my cull I washed make up brushes, tweezers, scissors, that sort of stuff, all in really hot water with lots of rinsing, but when it comes to those sharpeners I washed, well I see lots of hiding places for germs to lurk and I'm still dubious about using them for eye products again.

As a result of my paranoia, a lot of pencils and crayons have been binned during this purge.  Some have been used only up to the first need for sharpening and around the time when my sharpener paranoia set in.  Many are within their BAOs but need sharpening - so they have to go.  

They have pointlessly given up their lives (see what I did there?!).

How do you keep your eye pencils and crayons hygienically sharpened?  I'm intrigued.

But there is some good news.  Nature's way of compensating for my old age fuss-potting about eye hygiene is that when retired, you tend to use less make up.  In recent years I wear it less frequently and use fewer items.  So my new controlled approach to make up is a doddle and easy on the purse - I need to buy fewer items and they should last me the duration of that dastardly BAO icon!  

So last week I bought a couple of eye shadows, new brushes, eye liner and brow pencil.  

Frequently used foundation, mascara and skincare products are replenished on a rolling programme. 

 And the big news is that apart from a blast of red lipstick for special occasions, I tend not to use lipstick anymore.  I use flavoured Lipsyl or The Body Shop's Born Lippy.  I think they look better on pensioner lips. 

So this is what my streamlined make up bag looks like now.

Neat, huh?

So an embarrassing amount of make up has been culled and it leaves me with two three questions, 

1) Is anybody out there as paranoid as I am about eye make-up hygiene and BAOs? 

2) Anyone know if there are "self-sharpening" chubby crayons on the market? 

3) This hurriedly added third questions is, have you become more of a worrier, more paranoid about things generally as you've got older? Does just about everything in life give you cause for concern these days?

 I certainly have become a worrier (as evidenced in this post) and it's not a nice place to be!  

I'm forever being told "You worry about everything!" or "You're a scaredeypants!"

A la perchoine.

Saturday Snippets - Beauty Must-Haves

HELLO, my sweetnesses, I hope you're enjoying a relaxing start to your weekend.
So it's Saturday, you're cosied up in your PJs, you've grabbed yourself a coffee and you're looking for some light weekend reading.  Well, look no further 'cos here I am with some Saturday Snippets for you!



#1.  Dental Hygiene

Yesterday I braved the brewing storm to pop into town.

It was blowy!

There, safely indoors in my dentist's surgery, I enjoyed my quarterly session with my hygienist, my chum.  You'd think that "enjoy" and "chum" were perhaps out of context here?  Well, wrong!  I've been seeing this particular hygienist for a good ten years now and on a regular basis.  My visits are now quarterly as plaque doesn't clear as efficiently as we age.
As the frequency of visits had grown, so has our relationship.  It's grown into something quite chummy and this takes my mind off what's going on in my mouth!

We have a good old catch-up, then there's that bit in the middle that we can brush over (pun intended!).  At the end of the session she gives me pointers on areas I need to work on, cleaning techniques and the tools to use.
One tool I've been using in recent years on her recommendation is an interdental brush, and my hygienist has commented on how my dental hygiene has improved since using them.

So as we age and our teeth need more attention, a good hygienist and using the tools she recommends are beauty must-haves.


My lovely blogger mate Laurie has written a great review of TePe products.
SEE VANITY AND ME'S DENTAL POST, HERE
Do please pop over to Laurie's blog to read up on these most effective little brushes (and her other great posts too!).



A beauty regime stands a better chance of becoming habit with me if it's kept simple.

#2.  Facial Hygiene!

OK, I've cleaned my teeth, now let's clean my

I. Swear. By. This.

I've been using this cleanser for about 15 years or so.  It removes all face make up in a few swipes of a cotton wool pad.  Simple and effective.  It leaves my skin soft, nourished, and clean of course.
I don't use night cream, preferring to let my skin breathe overnight, yet I wake up with beautifully soft skin.
When away for a few days some months ago I used facial wipes, to save decanting the cleanser into a 100ml bottle.   I woke up to uncomfortably taut skin.   I think next time I'll go through that decanting


A squirt or two on a pad gently dissolves all eye shadow and stubborn mascara.  Simple.  Effective.
My eyes don't sting or redden as the product is uber gentle, just as it says on the  tin  bottle.


Both of these products may seem a little pricey but they last for ages, so I'm sure CPU (cost per use) works out very favourably.


#3.  Facial Nourishing

I keep it Simple, quite literally!

Face

Now I can't explain this, but in relative terms I splurge on cleanser and skimp on moisturisers.  That is how it is, I'm a walking, talking, writing anomoly.

I prefer moisturizing gels.  They seem to be absorbed more efficiently into my skin.  Gels leave my skin looking and feeling better, IMHO.  And when I say better I mean it - my skin looks tauter, it's almost like it gets a daily face lift!
But gel moisturisers are difficult to find.  I've discovered gel products in the affordable Simple (!) range.

I've been using this gel moisturiser for a good few years.  Amazon sells them in bundles of 6 (putting it into FREE DELIVERY territory) so at £3.50 a tube I'm left in moisturised skin heaven.
I'm such a fan that I've found myself popping it into pressie parcels!


 Eyes

I use Waitrose Pure eye gel.

It's a gel and I swear it's like giving myself a little daily eye lift too!
And this 69-next-weeker sure needs her daily eye lift!

Simple products are unperfumed and are perfect for my skin, which tends to be on the sensitive side.
If you haven't yet tried the Simple range, or haven't yet had your world rocked by gel products, why not pop over to Amazon and waste no time in putting these products through their paces.



I hope you are enjoying my snippets.  I'm trying to theme them.  Next week I'm tackling cleaning again, but house, not face!

Credit,livingroom. gg

Today the sun is shining and the storm has moved on.  I'm going to enjoy a weekend of yet more cleaning (the house this time!).
But I'll take time out to enjoy a few sunny walks and a Sunday brunch with my lovely family.
I wish you a very pleasant weekend, doing things you love and with those you love.



A la perchoine,
Mary.

You know I'm tight when ... The Tube Cutter .

Hi my darlings, hope today is bringing you joy and fulfilment.

Today's been a gob-smackingly gorgeous Spring day so it's brought me joy and fulfilment in bucket loads.  Last week, not so much.  Whilst I wasn't quite confined to barracks, I did spend more time indoors than I would have liked due to rain and winds.  

On one such stir-crazy day, I found myself walking around the bathroom noting signs that a pensioner lives in this house!  You know, random little things,  money-saving, some quirky, some a tad old-lady.  And I started taking photos because, well, because I just like sharing with you guys !

When I took stock of the photos, I realised that these aren't funny ways I'd taken up now that I'm living on a reduced income.  I realised that some are things I've been doing since my early teens, like the one I share with you here today.  

Creams came out of pocket money back then in my teens, or from holiday job earnings, and I often found myself with a seemingly empty tube of moisturiser or foundation, and no money for a replacement.  So I eked every last drop of everything. 

And so this frugal habit has continued, apparently.

 So without further waffle, here's my first stop during my pictorial walkabout.  You know I'm tight when you see ...

this.  The cut tube.

 Tubes eventually appear to be empty.  But they are so not!  I dissect the tube, then I "live" off the cream that would otherwise have been thrown away with the tube.  Often there is an amazing amount still in the tube.  Often I live off the dregs for days.  (I use this Clarins product on an irregular basis so it lasts for simply ages anyway) 

The Clarins plastic is quite hard to snip but this is a better example of my work ...

Unadulterated.

Adulterated.

This is usually the end result, a much neater sealed container.  Aethestically pleasing and far more hygienic as the tube is properly sealed.

BTW, I have quickly become infatuated with this moisturiser.  If you haven't already developed your own little love affair with it I really do recommend you try it.  And Boots is selling this Simple Water Boost Hydrating Gel Cream at half price right now, £3.49, so it would be rude not to try it eh?

So let's talk about gels.  

I just love the feel of gels on my skin.  And I swear gel does something quite magical to older skin.  Gel seems to tighten the skin as it moisturises and my skin feels fresher, cleaner too.

So with this big gelmance going on,  I grab an eye gel whenever I can.  Same thing, gel's divine on the eyes too. OK, brace yourselves.  Waitrose Pure Eye Gel is sold at £1.33.  And frequently Waitrose does one of those BOGOFs on it.  I pounce and scoop up multiple buys!

With these two buys my whole face is fully moisturised for under a fiver!

Now, a warning.  If you've read about my approach to about eye hygiene (SEE HERE) , it will not surprise you that I definitely do not advocate using the thrifty cutting open technique with eye products.  Nuff said.

I keep my face clear of any creams or products at night.  My face likes this break and shows its thanks by feeling moist when I wake up. Each to her own, this may not work for your skin type but that's the way my skin rolls.

So with no night cream,  that really IS my full 24/7 skin care for under £5!

And now, this is probably quite "duh", but I've only just realised that the amount that's squeezed out of tube with one squeeze before it runs out of puff is probably the right amount per application.

Yeah, it's really DUH and I am a tad embarrassed about only realising this recently but it really stands to reason that the clever designers would design tubes so that the prescribed amount  comes out in one splosh on your hand.

So, I've got that off my chest, but if you haven't worked that one out yet, well, you're welcome!

And finally, here's the funny thing.   I thought it was just old me who cuts her tubes, so to speak!  But I think Anna of Mutton Style has been tube cutting and Lisa of Coast to Coast showed a pic of her tube work yesterday.  Great minds eh?


So, dear readers, today I've shared with you two great moisturizing products.  And I've shared tube-cutting to get the most from your buys, but maybe you've been doing this for years too?   Maybe you've got money saving tips you'd like to share today?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments box below ..





A la perchoine.