Beauty Notes: Let The Right Ones In

My particular beauty addiction is eyeshadow. I keep buying it, and I don't need anymore. I have what is essentially the perfect shade for me, Jane Eye Zing Browny Points (I don't go in for non-capitalization). It's a matte, warm chocolate brown and performs the function of defining my eye shape while playing up the golden notes, leaving my eyes looking amber. I look my best in it and receive compliments while wearing it. And yet, I keep going out and buying more, less than I used to, but still more than I need.

Along with Browny Points, I also own NARS Galapagos, a matte mid-tone brown with gold glitter; MAC Trax, a dusky rose-violet shade with orange glitter; and NARS Night Clubbing, a deep matte black with gold glitter. This isn't all, these are just the ones I use for lining. I haven't deliberately worked to accumulate glitter shadows, though I have found the glitter mimics the gold tones in my eyes, making them even more amber than does Browny Points. Plus, having eyes light enough to reflect color and shine, the glitter makes my eyes look bright and sparkly.

While I absolutely follow a minimalist philosophy - I hate having excess or unused products around - I could still never stand having just one eyeliner. That would be too boring, and part of the point of beauty is to have fun. If I had to wear Browny Points all the time, no matter how perfect it is, I'd get sick of it. I would inevitably go out and buy something else like it just as a break from the nauseating routine.

At this point, I no longer want to keep around products that don't work for me. I don't have the mentality that maybe someday I'll use them. I won't, and I don't want anything in my stash that isn't me. That said, what's me is having colors that flatter and enough variety that I don't look in my makeup case every day and collapse in a heap from the boredom of it all.

Credit: drugstore.com