No Repeat November - Thoughts

Since November is over, my few-weeks trial of "No Repeat November" is too. I'm really glad I did it! It got me using some products I'd been ignoring, and by having assigned products to use daily until they were gone, I successfully finished quite a few products.

I learned some things about my collection during this challenge. There are many products I have that I really, really do not need! For example, multiple black eyeliners, quite a few blushes that are almost identical, and more lipsticks than I even got close to getting through during these weeks.

There were products that I did not include as daily products initially, but after trying to rotate others in, I realized they were necessary, such as my MAC Painterly paint pot. At first, I tried rotating in some other cream products and eye primers, but most of them failed to prevent my shadow from creasing as well as Painterly does, so after awhile I added Painterly to my daily products so I wouldn't look like such a hot mess halfway through the day!

I also discovered a few products that I'll be eliminating from my collection:

Jordana Best Lash Extreme, Jordana Best Lash, Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume
NYX Cream Blush - Boho Chic, NYX Concealer in a Jar, ELF Studio Blush - Pink Passion

Although I never realized it before, I guess I'm pretty picky about mascaras. I just did not enjoy the days I used these. Personally, I don't like the look of very thick lashes, as I don't find it flattering at all. The Clinique and the Jordana Best Lash Extreme had that effect. I liked the Jordana Best Lash better, but not enough that I find myself reaching for it over any of my other mascaras.

The NYX concealer is one I've had a very long time, and it simply has gotten too dry to work well anymore. I used to love it, but the texture no longer works.

The NYX cream blush in Boho Chic and the ELF Studio blush in Pink Passion were the only blushes that remained unused. Although I love the color of Boho Chic, it has a sheen to it that I couldn't see in the pan at all, but once applied it made my skin look like it was extremely oily. Pink Passion used to be a very vibrant, almost neon, cool pink - but it seems to have gotten paler and more powdery over time and no longer shows up the same.

Final Thoughts:
I'm really glad I chose to participate in this challenge for a few weeks. Although I'm not going to continue it in the same way, I am going to use the idea of rotating products more in order to determine which I like and which I don't. I have quite a few perfume samples to work through still, as well as some samples of face primers and some lotion and skincare samples. I would definitely consider doing a similar challenge in the future, perhaps limited to lip products or eyeshadows, in order to choose which to keep and to keep myself from ignoring certain products. If you're in a rut or find yourself only using a few certain things, I'd recommend giving this project a try!

See also:
If you want to see my Face of the Day and the products I used each day during this challenge, visit the photo album on my Facebook page!