Just How Much Do We Really Need...?

Have you ever watched the show HOARDERS...?  Well, I have and I must say every time I watch this show I get the urge to purge and throw stuff away.  So surely enough, after about 3 episodes of HOARDERS, I carefully began analyzing "my stuff".  And I noticed I had an abundance of all sorts of "stuff", whatever it was.  Then I thought to myself..."why?"...there really wasn't an answer! 

So I decided to declutter "my stuff" and make my life easier.  I know this process won't be at all easy, but I really need to get real with myself and let go of "my stuff"...after all, they are just "stuff", right...?

I started with clearing out my nail polish stash this week...


Look at this!!!  I had in total 63 nail polishes!  This does not include the
 20 some nail polishes that I had already gotten rid of prior to this blog.



Grouped them into same color families...Deep reds/purples

The neutrals

Pinks

Corals

Reds, Golds and Coppers

Glitters

 

Black, Nudes and browns...Notice all the color patterns...? 



Alright!  Let's get started!!! 

 

It took me a few days to swatch some of the colors directly on my nails to see how it wore on my hands and skin tone (about NC 30).  There were some nail polishes I had to toss into the trash because it became really goopy.  Some got tossed because it gave off such harsh fumes which gave me a huge headache I literally wanted to puke.  Those were the easiest to eliminate.  You know it's time to get rid of nail polish when they start to stink and make you sick...Other polishes weren't as easy to get ride of even though the colors were very similar.  I had to make executive decisions to get them out of my stash!  But I did mange to get rid of them by looking at the colors in detail and comparing them to each of the other similar colors.  I also looked at the formula.  As you all know some formulas are a bit more difficult to work with than others (streaky or impossible to build up the color).   

The ones I did keep (all 58 of them!) were the ones I reached for often and colors I knew worked well with my skin tone. (I knew this would be difficult!) 

I was a bit disappointed with myself.  I thought I was going to get rid or more than I really did.  In the near future, I hope to get rid of a lot more and only keep about 15-20 nail polishes in my stash.  After all I don't own a nail shop, I don't need this many...right?  So with that in mind, I decided to keep my eyes on more than a handful of nail polishes in the coming months.  I will see if I reach for them or see if they even look good on me.  I may change my mind later, you never know, right?  

I know I don't have nearly as many nail polishes as some people do.  But for me, I felt I had a tad too many for just me.  I don't do my nails weekly nor do I try something new or daring, so why do I need this many?  And the truth is...I don't...I do feel better though, having less than what I started off with. 

So I challenge YOU to look around your "stuff" by pulling everything out, taking count/inventory of them.  Sometimes things don't seem as bad when they are put away all neatly and organized.  But when everything is accounted for, it's another story.  

 

 

Thanks for reading about my first destashing experience!  There will be more to come in the future...so stay tuned. 

Bye!!!

REVIEW: REN No 1 Purity Cleansing Balm, All Skin Types 5.1 fl oz

Like most ladies out there, we are all in search of the PERFECT~ facial cleanser.  One that is gentle but effective.  But the truth has been far from it.  And I hope I'm not alone.  I admit I am not the most diligent person out there, (I mean I can even call myself lazy...) so I like products to perform as they say they will and quickly!  I think that is why most of us are always looking, searching and trying out new and different products to see if we can find that hidden gem out there...

And that's why I purchased my first cleaning balm...in hopes that this will end the search of all searches, well at least for facial cleansers... 
I know cleansing balms have been around for quite some time now, but this has been the first for me, so please come along on my experience with REN's Purity Cleansing Balm!




REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm

I purchased mine on Beauty.com about 3 weeks ago.  It came in a box with a
 cloth and a jar full of product inside it.  The balm is waxy in texture but once
 it's on dry skin it quickly melts into a soft, smooth, buttery texture which
massages into your skin with ease.

Per the instructions from REN; Gently rub between palms of hands. 
 Massage over a dry face and neck for one or two minutes. 
 Add a little warm water to emulsify into a rich milk. 
Sweep over closed eyes to remove make up
and rinse off with warm water or a damp cloth.   

Waxy like texture





There didn't seem to have any particular scent which is always nice




Once applied to dry skin, it melts and becomes buttery smooth




Once water is added it emulsifies and becomes milky and
washes away your dirt and makeup




After rinsed with water and dried skin feels soft and hydrated



No Parabens, Sulfate, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Synthetic Fragrance,
Synthetic Colours, T.E.A., D.E.A., Glycols, Silicones, PEGs
REN is against animal testing so cruelty free

Now getting down to the good and the bad...
This balm did not get off my waterproof mascara and eyeliner as it claims it would.  I tried using the cloth one night and that wasn't effective so I tried using just water by emulsifying the product but that didn't work either...Unfortunately my eye makeup remained not only where it was supposed to but all over my eye area making me look like a panda.....=/
Have you ever looked like this after using a face wash or makeup remover...?  This wasn't the first for me...

However, it did take off my face makeup nicely (light foundation and sunblock) without irritating my skin or stripping it dry.  I don't know if it was the balm itself or if it was because I was massaging the balm into my skin for 1-2mins (as instructed) or if it was a combination of both.  But I have to say I liked how my skin felt once I rinsed off with water and dried my face.  My oily skin felt soft and hydrated.

The cloth provided didn't do much for me.  I much rather use my hands and water to rinse off the cleansing balm.  I think the cloth is an added bonus for those who like to use wash cloths.  But for a simple lazy person like me it wasn't appealing since it was another thing I'd worry about having to wash and dry it and another unnecessary step to go through in my opinion.

 I also found myself using this product mostly at night because it took too much time to massage the balm into my skin!  I mean 1-2mins in the AM?!?!?!?!  When you need to get out the door ASAP 1-2mins is actually like 10-15mins!  And even at night, especially after a long day, it felt like forever before I could rinse off this balm.  Not to mention having to remove my eye makeup first because the balm couldn't...and that made me a bit irritated...because when I'm tired...I'm tired...

So all in all, I don't think I will be repurchasing this product.  It was the first cleansing balm I ever tried, and I did enjoyed the way my skin felt once I had gone through ALL the appropriate steps.  But the dedicated time one would need massaging the balm into the skin in order for it to be effective was somewhat of a turn off for me.  And another thing this product failed to do was to remove all of my waterproof eye makeup as it claimed it would.  For something with this price tag I would've liked this balm to perform like an all in one cleanser.  (Perhaps then I wouldn't  have minded the extra time needed using this cleansing balm.)  Unfortunately, that did not happen and sadly there are a lot of other facial cleansers that do exactly what REN No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm did but at a more reasonable price.  However, one thing to consider is this balm is paraben and sulfate free and is made with mostly natural ingredients, which is always a positive.  But again, there are a lot of other cost effective facial cleansers out there that are made with mostly natural ingredients as well...

I hope this review was resourceful and helpful for those of you in search of purchasing a cleansing balm or are interested in purchasing the REN No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm.

Thanks for stopping by!

LOVE...
ME

Don't forget to leave any questions or comments!  =)