Hi there! If you read my blog regularly, you know I’m a beauty hoarder. I’m talking about drawers filled with nail polish, eye palettes, face creams and lipsticks, and boxes full of toiletries under the bed. Yes, I have amassed quite an impressive stash of beauty products and toiletries. It’s that much that I’d be embarrassed if any of the people in my life found out about it.
However, a few months ago I was confronted with the true extent of my hoarding. And since then I’ve been trying my best to make use of what I already have. And I’ve been trying not to buy too much stuff I don’t need – which is a daily struggle, especially when I spot half price or buy one get one free offers. So let me show you what I call progress. 🙂
Sleek i-Divine Au Naturel Eyeshadow Palette
This is what Sleek’s Au Naturel palette looked like when I first unpacked it in spring 2015. It’s a beauty, isn’t it? These are the shades:
Nougat, Nubuck, Cappuccino, Honeycomb, Toast, Taupe (top row) and
Conker, Moss, Bark, Mineral Earth, Regal, Noir (bottom row).
Some time this spring I hit pan on one of the eyeshadows (Nougat), and I thought it would be awesome if I actually managed to use up all the eyeshadows in this palette. So I made it a priority to use this palette at least 3 times a week. And now, in December 2016, the palette looks like this:
I’ve finished Nougat (top left) and Noir (bottom right). I’ll get 1 more application out of Honeycomb (shade 4, top row) – I’ll even ‘mop up’ the loose bits with a fluffy eyeshadow brush. And I think I’ll get 3 or 4 more applications out of Toast (shade 5, top row). As soon as Honeycomb and Toast are history, Nubuck and Capuccino (shades 2 and 3 top row) are my next victims. 😉
Taupe (shade 6, top row) is my go-to inner corner highlight shade. It’s perfect. And I love Conker and Mineral Earth (shades 1 and 4, bottom row). These two shades burst with pigment, they’re easy to blend, and they go well with all of the lighter shades. Even though I use Conker and Mineral Earth almost all the time, I think these two eyeshadows will be last ones that get used up.
Bark and Regal (shades 3 and 5, bottom row) are the matte versions of Conker and Mineral Earth. I use these two fairly often. I love them! The only eyeshadow I haven’t mentioned yet is Moss (shade 2, bottom row). In the beginning I didn’t like Moss at all, and and I’ve only started to use this shade recently. But I love it now!
I’d really love to know how long it’ll take to finish all these eyeshadows. I’m sure it won’t take another six months. Well, I hope it won’t take this long. But no matter what, I WILL finish this eye palette!
Feel free to get in touch via the comments. And thanks for stopping by!
Mrs Strawberry Blonde 
Well done! It is so hard to finish eye shadows!
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Thanks for the support! xo
Now that I’ve been trying to finish this palette for a while I can say that it’s incredibly hard to finish a palette. I also think I shouldn’t have bought all these neutral eye palettes. I’ll never be able to finish them. And it might very well be that this palette is the only one I’ll finish. The good thing is that I’ve been able to ignore Boots’ and Superdrug’s 3 for 2 across all make-up offers for the past 6 months. I wanted to buy quite a few palettes and blushes – but I’ve got more make-up than I can finish already. And now I use what I have!
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Yeah, I’ve put myself on an eyeshadow spending ban. Every time i see a new palette, i remind myself to look at my collection because I probably have most shades in my collection.
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That’s the way to do it!!
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I can’t even begin to tell you how many brownish colors of eye shadow I have. I don’t have that many pallets, it’s the individual ones that I have a huge quantity of. I guess better to hoard make up than say used tissues or something! LOL!
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Oh yeah, hoarding make-up is much better than hoarding all kinds of cr@p. I too have lots of ‘nude’ eyeshadows and eyeshadow palettes – beige, gold, taupe, brown…I think I have around 100 / 150 single eyeshadows and I have at least 20 palettes that I haven’t even touched yet. What I wanted to say is… I know single eyeshadows are much harder to use up because they usually contain more product than a pan in an eye palette. Sometimes I feel bad about not using all my make-up. But then I think make-up products are like Barbie dolls for grown-ups. Make-up is stuff I can play with. And I’m sure many beauty hoarders feel the same way!
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Wow! That’s a lot of eye shadow! I have a ton because of my Ipsy subscription. I’ve had it since they began, so I have quite the collection. I also would give away whatever I didn’t want to my niece.
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Brilliant! I have a teenage relative who gets a box full of products every now and then. She can experiment with make-up and fragrances, and her mum is happy that she doesn’t have to buy her new things all the time. It’s a win-win!
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I feel pretty sure I will never hit pan on any of my palettes. I stand in awe of you.
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Haha, thank you! xo
I know what it’s like to use a dozen (or more) palettes in a rota. But now I have a mission! I’ll finish this palette, no matter what! 🙂
I might never finish an eye palette again though…
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I can never finish more than one eyeshadow color in a palette, so I applaud you! xx
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I know what it’s like to use a dozen (or more) palettes in a rota. But I’m on a mission. I’ll finish this palette!
And thanks for the support. I thought it was impossible to finish a palette, but I know I’m getting there. 🙂
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I’ve nominated you for The Entertainer Blogger Award, it’s at the end of this post! xx https://thechiccommunity.com/2016/12/17/sephora-haul-1-winter-2k16/
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Impressive!! 🙂 I want to do a project pan and do my best to use up some eyeshadows too lol. This is very inspiring, believe it or not lol. And I can’t wait for you to update us when you completely wipe this palette clean!
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Thank you sooo much! xo
Yes, try to use up a few eyeshadows (and maybe a lipstick, a nail polish and a face powder too). 🙂
And don’t give up!!
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OH MY GAWD! I’m AMAZED! You’re dedicated!!! *applause*
I’d never be this devoted to a palette like this! I mean, you saw my attempt with just 3 months of using 4 shades. I hit pan on ONE shade. Hmm… I suspect that I’m very lighthanded when it comes to colour makeup. This knowledge does not stop me from buying more. 😛
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I remember Project Pan very well! 🙂 I know you hit pan on one of the eyeshadows – but yours was a shimmery eyeshadow (if I remember correctly) which was, without doubt, better pigmented and easier to blend than the matte shades I used up. I found it was easier to use up matte eyeshadows than it was to hit pan on the shimmer eyeshadows.
So I think it’s pretty awesome that you hit pan on a shimmery eyeshadow – and within a meagre 3 months!
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I haven’t seen Sleek in the US but that does look like a gorgeous palette. I have never finished an eye palette I own. Way too many. Some I haven’t used at all. OMG. You did give me an idea though. I can start storing stuff under my bed.
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I never finished an eye palette either. This one is going to be my first. And then I’ll tend to all the other palettes I’ve neglected – including the 20 or so that I haven’t used yet.
Be careful with storing stuff under the bed. This is how my beauty hoarding started!
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I’m am proud to say that I finished a Soft Brown eyeshadow pod of MAC! =) Beauty hoarding is in full source. I live with crates piled up next to my bed. That’s how bad it is. And my bathroom? OMG
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Sounds familiar… I have several boxes under the bed, all the bathroom cabinets are filled with products, I have a large box filled with ‘soon-to-be-used’ (yeah, right…) toiletries (about 60 bottles of shampoos, shower gels, etc) in the bathroom, two kitchen cupboards are filled with perfumes and more toiletries and beauty stuff, my husband built me a massive shelf for my 1000+ nail polishes and I have about a hundred products (eye creams, face creams, serums, body butters, fragrance, make-up stuff) on top of my sock drawer. But I’m not deluding myself – I know I’m a total hoarder!
Congrats on finishing that eyeshadow! You go girl!
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Soon to be used, ready for photos… What I love is buying a product I’m dying to have and not using it for 2 months because I have to take a picture. OMG. I need to change this behavior! I have the “useless” box, “staging” box, LOLOLOLOL. I know I’m a hoarder too. And I had to put everything away recently for a blog post and I had a total meltdown and put it all back out. Like I need the mess?
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This sounds too familiar…
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I can totally understand hoarding… When I read your first few lines… I thought wow…. I’m not alone😂😂😂 but luckily I’ve stopped impulse buying beauty products for a year and also not got sucked into bogof offers! Well done you finishing a palette!!
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If you hoard beauty stuff, nail polish and / or toiletries, you’re certainly not alone. 🙂
I haven’t bought make-up that I don’t need since April which isn’t too bad. I still buy skin care, toiletries and nail polish though.
And I’m really proud of myself for using this palette 3 times a week. I was hoping I’d be able to finish it sooner. Well, I was hoping it’d be gone before the end of the year. However, I’m making progress and I will finish this palette – no matter what!
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That’s very good going. The thing is… These shadows are so pigmented, can use too much at once… I’m too desperate to finish something😂
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Heyyyy, that’s actually a pretty good use-up! I’ve been so embarrassed myself recently..as I’ve been discovering eyeshadows that must be at least several years old & look like they’ve never been used. Am unable to toss it purely because of that. Beauty hoarders unite! LOL
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Nah, don’t toss them. I too have super old eyeshadow singles and palettes that I never managed to try. I think we all hoard stuff to some extent. It’s part of being a woman, I guess.
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Must be… Can’t bring myself to toss them, even though I know I’ve somehow outgrown electric blue eye shadow, but I just have to hang on to it.
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