My Cosmetics Inventory Spreadsheet

~ stashy ~ 32 Comments

There’s curiosity about my cosmetics inventory spreadsheet so I thought I would devote an entry on how it came to be.  I created my cosmetics spreadsheet on Sunday July 26, 2009 (as revealed by the Excel file properties). At the time, it was primarily a way to track my growing nail polish collection so that I didn’t duplicate any of my Essie shades (at present count, I own 73 bottles of Essies – it is my favourite nail polish formula).

Eventually I expanded the spreadsheet to include the following tabs:

  • eye shadows
  • eyeliners
  • blushes
  • face products
  • lip gloss / lip balms
  • lipsticks
  • nails
  • tools (brushes)
  • skincare
  • hair
  • scents

The initial set up of the spreadsheet was a daunting task. If I had created the spreadsheet from the inception of my first beauty product purchase, it would have been a breeze. But I had to essentially do a full inventory of my stash to build the spreadsheet – item by item, line by line.

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L’Oreal Bare Naturale mascara

~ stashy ~ 21 Comments

You know a mascara is good when your coworker exclaims in a meeting, “Your EYELASHES! What mascara are you wearing?”  Or, when you are at Sephora, and the makeup artist compliments you on your eyelashes – not your eye makeup – she specifically says “I love your lashes!”  (I think she thought they were falsies?)  And by all accounts, I have dinky wimpy sparse eyelashes.  This is the magic that is L’Oreal Bare Naturale Mascara:
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But, before you proceed any further into this entry, I warn you: this wondrous miracle product is discontinued.  I’m sorry, so very sorry to do this to you. If you don’t want to suffer heartache and mental anguish, please turn back now…

But keep reading if you’re a glutton for punishment

Make Up For Ever Artist Shadows

~ stashy ~ 15 Comments

This entry is part Untrieds and part review – featuring the Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Artist Shadows.  I purchased a 3-pan customizable palette in early December last year to redeem my Sephora VIB $20 off coupon (minimum purchase of $50).  I really wanted to maximize the coupon’s value – I had to spend just $50 so that effectively, I was getting 40% off.  Lo and behold, a filled 3-pan MUFE palette is exactly $50.  Take THAT, Sephora – you only got $30 out of me!
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Then, during Boxing week, the MUFE Studio Case Eye Shadow Palette went on clearance sale for $45 – the regular price was $69 (the product value is actually $107).   I had been wanting this set since it launched but was talked out of it… at 35% off the regular retail price (and 58% off the value of the product!), I couldn’t resist!  This palette was a great way to add to my collection without too much commitment.  It sat in my Untrieds pile until this month.  I wore both the full sized and palette eye shadows interchangeably for 2 full weeks to see how they performed.

Keep reading for review and swatches

Winter hair rescue

~ stashy ~ 11 Comments

This is the companion post to my Winter scalp rescue topic – that entry was getting long so I thought it would be good to give your eyes a break by splitting it into 2 posts.

In addition to the scalp issue, in the winter months I also battle frizzies due to the dry air, causing static and fly-aways.  My hair is wavy and cut in long layers to just past my shoulders – luckily I don’t have particularly thick or unruly hair – but it can look frizzy if I don’t use moisturizing and taming products. These are some of my tried-and-true hair styling products:winterhair1

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Happy Chinese New Year!

~ stashy ~ 13 Comments

In honour of Chinese New Year today, I thought it would be fun to feature some awesome red makeup in my stash (I momentarily considered posting this red-themed makeup entry in time for Valentine’s Day, but ugh, Valentine’s Day…)CNY1

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No Brushes Required

~ stashy ~ 15 Comments

I recently stayed overnight at a hotel and wanted to pack the most minimal amount of cosmetics with me.  I really didn’t even want to fuss with makeup brushes so I decided to pack only makeup that I can apply without the use of makeup brushes.

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My makeup case for travel – a gwp from Smashbox.

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No-Buy 2015: My true 28 Days

~ stashy ~ 6 Comments

Since restarting on January 19th with my No-Buy 2015, today is my real 28 days of no shopping.  It has been good for the most part. It was initially difficult to resist all the typical clearance sales in January. I used to spend my lunch hour browsing through shops, so I had to change how I spend my free time (mostly a lot of window shopping now). Weekends were the most difficult. I typically check the drugstore flyers on Saturday mornings and then hit up a few stores for deals.  And I would go to Winners (Canadian version of TJMaxx) or Marshalls at least once a week to see what new things they got in.  I still go to Winners to check out what they have about once a week (it’s on my way home from work) but luckily for me, January and February have been a dry spell there in terms of cosmetics stock.  I’m pretty shocked that I’ve bought absolutely nothing from Winners in 2015.

I did purchase a few items of significance during this time:

1) This Quo Mineral eye shadow palette in Downtown Brown, but for my sister!

I posted this on my Instagram – follow me @stashmatters

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By Kilian Perfumes – Guest contributor

~ stashy ~ 2 Comments

Today’s entry was written by my good friend, AngelWearsPrada.

She’s passionate about high-end, exclusive fragrances and sent a lengthy email to me describing a brand that I knew nothing about, By Kilian.  I’m no perfume aficionado, and I thought it would be a nice change to have another voice on this blog, so I’ll let her explain why By Kilian has captured her heart.

In the following entry, all text inside square brackets [  ] are my comments.  The rest are AngelWearsPrada’s!

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Sample stash

~ stashy ~ 10 Comments

As a result of frequenting numerous cosmetics counters (and befriending many of the sales associates) over the years, I have amassed a hoard of gift with purchases (gwp), cosmetics samples, and Sephora VIB points redemption items; everything from face creams, to makeup removers, to mini lipsticks and mini mascaras.

samples
My sample drawer. So many samples, so little time!

Keep reading about my Sample Stash

PUFU: Stella by Stella McCartney

~ stashy ~ 3 Comments

Instead of another lip product for Project Use it the F*%@ Up!, or PUFU, my next candidate is a perfume.  Behold, my seemingly bottomless 30ml bottle of Stella by Stella McCartney eau de parfum:
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I bought this in 2009 and it been on rotation with a handful of other perfumes since then.  Judging by the bottle, I keep thinking it will get used up soon, “maybe another month”, I’ll think, but it just never seems to get used up!

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What alchemy is this?

Keep reading PUFU: Stella by Stella McCartney