Cheap Z Palette Dupe | Makeup Forever Magnetic Palette

Featured Product: 
Makeup Forever XL Refillable Makeup System / $3 CAD

Since I decluttered the majority of my old single eyeshadows because of their age, I no longer needed a large Z Palette to store the few eyeshadow singles I had left but because they were depotted, I needed a smaller magnetic palette to store them. After a bit of searching online, I came across this super cheap alternative to purchasing a small Z palette.

This Makeup Forever magnetic palette was just the ticket! And for only $3 you just can't beat it! It is very solid and sturdy, sleek, has a magnetic bottom inside, as well as a full-sized mirror. Although it's designed to hold Makeup Forever eyeshadow singles, you can store any blush or shadows that will fit.

From Sephora's site:

Artist Color is a refillable palette system. Your highlight, sculpt, blush powder, and eyeshadows will come as a refill. Be sure to also add a palette to your cart to hold your new powders.

The Extra Small Palette is designed to hold a single Artist Color Eye Shadow. The Small Palette can hold two Artist Color Eye Shadows, or one Artist Face Color Powder. The Medium Palette holds three Artist Color Eye Shadows. The Large Palette can hold four Artist Color Eye Shadows, or two Artist Face Color Powders. The Extra Large Palette can hold six Artist Color Eye Shadows, or three Artist Face Color Powders.

I was able to fit 5 mixed shaped eye shadow singles. You could also fit a blush with a couple of eyeshadows too.

I'm so happy with this little palette. It's really helped me reach for these beloved eyeshadows of mine that were being neglected.

I highly recommend this palette if you are looking for something to store your depotted makeup and need something small. Or just want something for travel.

Makeup Forever has many other sizes available, including smaller palettes as well as some larger ones.

Another cheaper alternative to a Z Palette that is larger is linked here.

Some links are referral

How To Declutter Your Closet | Tips, Tricks and Hacks!

So, I kinda Mario Kondo'ed my closet! I say kinda because I used some of her ideas but I didn't follow all of her methods. I can't believe how many things I had that no longer fit, didn't fit well, or I never wore. 🙈 I tend to declutter my wardrobe every season and it was overdue!

I love getting tips from others on how they declutter and what makes them decide to part with something. I figured I'd share my tips on how I tackled my current declutter and ways that I made money so I could purchase some new items.

I did not take all of my items and throw them in a pile per the Marie Kondo method. That might work for some but I have too many things. Instead, I broke things down into sections.

Sections:

• I started with all of my undergarments and tried on EVERYTHING. Yep, even underwear. I couldn't believe how many bras and undies no longer fit or were just uncomfortable!
• Outerwear was another category I did on its own. Again, I tried everything on
• Next, I tackled my dresser and started with the top drawer and worked my way down
• I went through my closet. Starting at the back and trying on each garment
• Next were shoes, again, trying everything on
• On another day, I went through my jewellery, hair accessories, purses, scarves, hats, and other areas of my home

Try Everything On:

I pretty much tried everything on. I especially recommend this if your body seems to change over time like mine does. Even when I got to an item and thought "nope, no need to try this on, I already know I love it." I forced myself to try it on and low and behold many of the items that I thought I'd never part with, I decided to let go of after trying them on.

Factors To Consider:

• I asked myself "does this spark joy?" taken from Marie Kondo, but often they didn't but they were perfectly good clothes that I use to sleep in, lounge in, clean the house in, run errands in etc. This method may work for some but what worked better for me was to ask myself "Would I buy this in a store today?" If the answer was no, I got rid of it.
• Do I like it?
• Does it fit well/ is it flattering?
• Is it your style?
• Is it damaged? Can it be repaired? Is it worth repairing?
• Is it associated with any bad memories? If so, get rid of it.
• If you are still uncertain about a piece, take a selfie and that often can help you make the final decision. I used this method a lot!

What to do with the get rid of pile:

• Give to friends and family
• Donate
• Garbage or better yet, use anything too beat up to donate as rags
• Sell

How/ Where to Sell:

• Consignment shops (Plato's closet, local shops etc.)
• Online Consignment Apps (Poshmark, Depop)
• Other Apps: I have a lot of luck with Letgo, there is also Kijiji, Varage sale and more. You can find plenty in the App Store on your phone
• Garage Sale
• Facebook Marketplace 
• Swap (was recommended to me by an online buddy but I've never gone to one)

I donated anything that I didn't think I could sell, which really wasn't much. I sold everything else that was new or like new, which helps me purchase new items 😁 You'd be surprised at what will sell and how easy it is. Although, I will admit that it can be time-consuming. 

Selling inexpensive items in bundles is a great way to make a sale for items that would be difficult to sell on their own. I was able to sell the majority of my items this way, especially the inexpensive clothing from shops like Old Navy etc. Not knocking Old Navy, it's actually my favourite store!

Through consignment shops, Facebook Marketplace, and Apps like LetGo, I was able to sell the majority of my unwanted items. Anything that was of a higher value, I sold on its own, while inexpensive clothing was sold in bundles as described above. I sold everything from shoes, to hats, and even an old jewellery box as well as unwanted makeup!

Decluttering always makes me feel good as I have more open space and room to breathe, but inevitably, the spaces slowly get filled again. 🙈

I didn't touch on storage or organization in this post as this post would be far too long, so I'll save that for another day. What I will add is that bins and vertical space are your friends. :)
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I hope you found some of my tips helpful! Let me know if you have any tips for decluttering! 💗 

Happy Friday and happy decluttering if you plan on tackling your home!

Makeup Brush Storage & Organization On A Budget!

I was doing my weekly makeup brush deep cleansing and I thought I should share with you how I store and organize them.

It may be an old idea to some of you, but hopefully, it will be helpful to others who maybe haven't seen or thought of this as a way to organize makeup brushes.

I purchased this great pen / office organizer for a few dollars at Home Sense. I thought it would make a great makeup brush organizer because of the dividers. This way I could separate my makeup brushes by type.

I think it's the perfect size. I keep my brushes that are not in use stored in makeup bags that are put away. This just houses my brushes that are in use (and yes, it holds all the brushes shown in the photo of my brushes drying on the towel above!)

Since there are 4 quadrants, I organized them by eye brushes, blush, bronzer & highlight, and face.

This system is working great for me! 

Here is where they are actually stored on my desk.

 I would rather keep the brushes inside my desk but due to a poor design, the drawer only opens 1/2 way so I lose 1/2 the space. ugh.. it's a "youtube made me do it" horrible purchase.

Ironically, after reading an article in a magazine about how it's not good to keep makeup in the bathroom due to humidity, I googled how to store makeup and that is how I discovered the wonderful world of beauty on Youtube and the web.

I also purchased this mail organizer to keep my makeup palettes in, but it just puts too much clutter on my desk for me. I ended up using for it's intended use (paperwork). 

Some of you may not mind having your palettes out and this would be a good way to organize them. Again, probably not new to a lot of you makeup junkies like me. 

I hope you liked seeing how I store my makeup brushes. I love organizing and I'm always looking out for new and better ways to do it. 

Let me know if you have any organizing tips!

PS. Come and join all the blogger linkup fun over at Fabulous and Fun Life & Best of the Blogosphere

Amy

xoxo

2016- The Year of Simplicity/ Blog changes

I feel like 2016 will be the year of simplicity, or at least the start of it for me.

If you've visited my website before, you probably notice some changes. I have made some changes to try and simplify the look and feel of it for my readers. I hope you like the changes. I'm sure it will always be a work in progress as most things are. If you have any suggestions on other changes that I could make to improve my blog/website, I'd love to hear your suggestions. So, this is the start of my journey to simplify in 2016, starting with my blog.

It seems like there's a move towards simplicity and/or minimalism these days, I find it interesting and oddly appealing, especially to someone who has always been a bit of a shop-a-holic. The thought of minimalism is appealing and intriguing to me, but I have to be real with myself, I know I'll never be a minimalist. But, I know I can pick up some ideas from it and pare down some. Really, it's been brewing inside me for a while now, the urge to purge. Sometimes the amount of stuff I have drives me crazy and while I am appreciative of everything I have, it can become overwhelming at times. So, I've found myself constantly trying to donate or re-purpose things that I'm able to part with. 

Over the last few months, I've worked on cleaning out my closet and I found that I had to part with my things in baby steps. I was born with some kind of clothing addiction in my jeans genes so that doesn't help the situation. I am aware that I have too much and I find that I feel overwhelmed by it. I also notice how much freer I feel when I have less (notice how much better you feel after a clean out?!). One of my issues is not being able to pass up bargains. I've learned how to sniff out the super deals like a pro, and that hasn't helped me in my quest to reduce my belongings. It feels so great to clean out and create more empty space, but do you ever notice that you then get the urge to fill those spaces with new stuff!? I know I do! The struggle is real, 

Next, I went through all of my beauty products, This was tough too! Anything that's expired is easier to part with of course, but I sure did feel the pain of realizing how much money I wasted! That was a real eye opener, I realized it's time to stop the waste, which I am much more conscious of now.

I've started to tackle everything else in the house which is a huge chore! Anything I don't need or use needs to go. I have already listed many DVDs and books for sale, and some have NEVER been used- what a waste!

Am I the only one? I find myself alternating between feelings of wanting more and wanting less. It's kind of like binging and purging but with things, not food. I notice a lot of people just consume constantly (self included at times-I blame the sales!), And, then there's the minimalists, hats off to them for being able to really simplify and let go of stuff! I feel torn between the two sides, maybe it stems from my love of organization and my love of having new things.

I notice that a lot of my posts are hauls and a lot are declutter posts- polar opposites. Just proving the fight I have going on inside of the desire to have less but then want more! It's a viscous cycle. I see many others doing the same, so I don't think I'm the only one. 

I'm trying to open my eyes to it all, I may not be able to see so clearly through all the sale and clearance signs, but I know that I'm going to find a better balance now and make much more conscious decisions from now on. Less stuff = less stress! 

The bottom line is that it's all just "stuff" in the end, and in the grand scheme of things most of it is not important. But, some nice new clothes and makeup is fun and can make us feel good. I think that if we reduce the amount of stuff we own, we can then think more clearly and focus on the more important things in life. Looking back, I can see how much more prevalent consumerism and attachment to belongings has become over the years passed. Maybe the whole "KonMari" thing triggered the recent movement towards owning less, I've heard so much about her method and her book over this past year. Whatever started it, I think it's a move in the right direction.

If you haven't heard of the KonMari method here is a link to her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing


Things I will work on to achieve more simplicity:

• Make more conscious decisions and choices in all areas of life
• spend less money
• purchase consciously (eg. Do I already own 10 tops like this? Do I need it?)
• get rid of what I don't need, don't use or expired items
• clean out
• organize
• donate / give / share
• consign
• own less
• try and use things before they expire
• spend less time on the computer and more time in real life
• focus on the important things, not stuff!
• consider 1 in : 1 out
• don't save things for "someday"
• use it or lose it!
• Mantra: Less IS more
• ... I may add to this list as I think of more things....

2016

If you have any ideas or suggestions for ways to simplify, please leave me a comment. I can use all the suggestions I can get!

Amy

XX