Makeup Minimalism

When I started my degree in makeup three years ago, I pretty much took it as an obligation to buy every makeup product that I stumbled upon. I'd rationalise it by telling myself it was all part of the job, but most of the time products would get tossed into my IKEA Alex drawers and not see daylight again. At the rate I was going, my makeup collection grew at quite an impressive pace. I wasn't using half the makeup I had, both in my personal collection and pro kit.

Weirdly this behavior didn't strike me as ridiculous until I listened to makeup artist Jasmine Ringo's minimalism episode on her Podcast The Girl With The Makeup Tattoo. 

Jasmine talked about how she streamlined her own makeup kit by simply removing anything that wasn't bringing value.

Here, the word 'value' is  a loose term, encompassing whatever the owner translates as valuable. So one person might find value in regularly used products, another might find value in luxury purchases, or a more experienced minimalist might find value in multitasking 2-in-1 products.

The first step in translating this theory into my own life was to establish what was valuable to me. Given that I'm brand new to minimalism (read: it's not just makeup I hoard), I went easy on myself. I decided that I found value in products that I use regularly, were a luxury purchase, or had sentimental significance. I went through my entire collection, and if an item didn't fall into one of these three categories, it was out.

This meant that by the end of my purge I had gotten rid of about 30% of my overall collection. Fair enough, 30% sounds a little underwhelming, but I found the whole practice quite liberating. Not only did I find a new appreciation for old favorites, but my purchasing habits have completely changed too. Since the start of the year, I've only spent money on makeup a handful of times. For someone who was bringing home a few new products every week, this feels like a major change.

A couple of weeks after my purge and I can't even remember most of the products I got rid of. While I wouldn't necessarily describe my current makeup collection as minimalist, it's certainly much less cluttered. Now, I have everything organised into four or five drawers and I can find what I'm looking for so much easier. I've also noticed a new wave of inspiration after finding products that had been long forgotten.

Perhaps one day I'll fully commit to the makeup minimalism lifestyle and condense my collection into one small makeup bag. But for now, I'm happy with cutting back on new purchases and playing with what I have.

Let me know in the comments if you'd ever consider a minimalist approach to your makeup collection!

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Meghan

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Why We Needed The Feather Brow

It's been about a month since the Internet broke with the dawn of the Feather Brow. 

If you've not seen it already, here you go...

A post shared by Stella Sironen (@stella.s.makeup) on Apr 10, 2017 at 10:44am PDT

A post shared by Stella Sironen (@stella.s.makeup) on Apr 8, 2017 at 10:46am PDT

The post shows Finnish makeup artist Stella Sironen dividing her brow hairs into a feather shape using nothing but a glue stick.

With over 3,500 comments, people were split right down the middle (pun intended). Either they loved it, or they hated it. 

Personally, I think we all needed a little feather in our brows. Or at the very least, we desperately needed something new.

I don't know about you, but my Instagram feed is saturated with Insta Glam. It's a struggle every day to wade through the heavy contours, the cut creases, the winged eyeliner, the false lashes, the over drawn nude lips... need I go on?

Everywhere I turn I see the same makeup. On. Everyone.

When was the last time you saw something truly new?

Originality and Inspiration feels like a thing of the past. Makeup has become a paint by numbers game, and if you're not playing then you're not worth following.

While the Feathered Brow was a short lived 'trend', it felt very much like a commentary on how we treat makeup.

It's interesting how a little glue stick caused so much controversy. How inspiration outraged the masses. 

It's one month on from the Feather Brows, and I'm calling you all to create something totally new.

Tag me on Instagram @meghanbaxtermua - I want to see!

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Meghan

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An Introduction

Oh, Hi!

I'm Meghan.
I'm a makeup artist living in the heart of Manchester.
I was born and raised in Sheffield, but moved here to study a degree in fashion and media makeup (yes, those really exist!).

I've been blogging on and off for about seven years now. More off than on, if I'm honest.
Truthfully, it took me a long time to find the kind of content that I wanted to write.
Obviously I love makeup, so naturally my first blog was based on product reviews. It took me quite a few years to realise that while I love a good review, having a blog solely based on reviews wasn't inspiring me to continue to write.

My goal for this blog is to create the kind of posts that I would want to read.
I want to use my insight as a makeup artist to challenge areas of the industry and encourage new conversations.

So if you're reading this, thanks!
I hope to see you again soon.

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Meghan

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