It’s been 18 months since my last post. Most weeks I’ve thought about writing. Some weeks I’ve thought about never writing again. These days I rarely wear much more than sunscreen and mascara. What could I possibly have to add to a blog focused on beauty? In the past year and a half more than my makeup routine has changed. I’ve been in the best shape of my life and the worst shape of my life; I’ve been unemployed and worked 80+ hours a week; I’ve been heartbroken and never been more in love. I’ve edited down my life, and a lot that once was normal feels just plain unnecessary. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been putting in the 20-40-60 minutes for my beauty routine before work (or, let’s be honest, any time). I don’t buy a lot of makeup, or even skincare, anymore. Am I just getting older and more cognizant of money and needs, or am I stepping off the never-ending consumerism train for good?
I got to thinking about this thanks to the Holiday VIB sale, Sephora’s best sale of the year. Even though a few more deals have been sprinkled in throughout the year, this one still stands out in my mind as the main event. As evidenced on this very blog, old Moe would take this opportunity to stock up on old favorites and test out the bright and shiny (especially those holiday sets). I’m not going to lie, there are still some items out there that tempt me, and some I will probably purchase, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy beauty the same way again. I mean, stocking up?! What if my world shuts down next month? It probably won’t, but I didn’t think it was going to happen the first time. Besides, I’m already overwhelmed by the need to throw out half of my collection due to age, so I probably shouldn’t add to it. I have a full back up of Georgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – and yes, it’s my FAVOURITE FOUNDATION, but I’ve hardly had the desire to go full coverage. No thank you, my skin is bad enough from my mask, let’s not add gasoline to that fire.
I recently changed careers and it’s taken me down the rabbit hole of looking back at old photos. Particularly the ones after our great roadtrip, the first year we lived in Cincinnati and in this house we’ll probably leave soon. In those, I don’t recognize this girl’s life – who is this person who has more things than just work on her camera roll? Blog work, dates, events, family, fun, beers – the list goes on! This blog is always something that has brought me joy and I think rejoining this community is a good place to start on the road to a better balance. All this to say – there’s going to be some changes. I’m probably not going to talk about the new Dezi Skin sleeping mask when it drops, because I have way too many masks to get through before I can justify another purchase. I’m probably not going to talk about the new Charlotte Tilbury highlighting palette, because I have 12 of every color (but I might because #addiction). I’d like to try to be less wasteful and use what I have instead of falling for the same thing in a prettier package.
Am I the only one changing my purchasing habits? Perhaps with the exception of some limited releases, I find myself more willing to wait and use up what I already own. Has the incessant stream of new brands and product releases just turned into noise? Maybe it’s because the industry slowed down for a minute that it all seems louder than ever now. It feels like every other day we see new brands from celebrities and influencers. How much longer can the beauty world sustain this pace? We see collection after collection, but we rarely see much innovation. If I’m going to keep up, I want to see more from my products AND the brands I choose to support.
