UK Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

June 18, 2013

The Lipstick Question: Have you ever finished a lipstick?



Lipsticks, something about them encourages me to pick them up regardless of if I need them or not. Colourful, dinky and instantly transformative- lipsticks are my collectibles, a new addition is always welcome and they're displayed rather than stored. Whilst taking stock of my ever increasing collection this interest of mine (read: obsession) led me into a rather introspective mood. After penning the post that went up yesterday I suddenly realised that I have never finished a lipstick, I've never even come close! I definitely favour variety and enjoy picking out a different colour every day, one which matches my mood or my outfit. If I'm totally honest, I tend to wear more than one a day, changing my lip colour as soon as the evening draws in as an excuse to play around with two colours a day instead of one. At first I was curious as to whether it was just me who did this, whether I was missing out on "the perfect lipstick" - because if everyone else is wearing the same lipstick day-in day-out then I must surely be missing out on something. So I turned my question to the beauty blogging community on twitter:



The response was widespread and it was fascinating, I've included screen shots of the varied responses below:





The majority of the responses stated that people hadn't ever finished a lipstick, and the lipsticks people had finished tended to be glossy (eg. see below- Beehive is a Mirror Shine Lipstick,  a glossy Clarins Lipstick, a glossy No.7 lipstick etc.) which suggests they were used up due to the formula (glossy textures tend to not last long which means they require multiple reapplications throughout the day). @Lismd was the only person to reply saying that they used one up because they liked to wear it everyday and @MissMelissa_D was the only person to have finished the same lipstick twice!






Why is it so rare to have just one or two lipsticks to wear over and over until they're all used up? I personally think that it has everything to do with an overwhelmingly abundant variety of choices. Walk into any drugstore, department store and now even clothes shops (Topshop, I'm looking at you) and there is make-up everywhere, in every conceivable shade. I for one am guilty of being incapable of deciding between two shades when I go shopping and instead of making a hard decision I usually end up buying both. Instantly this means that I have one lipstick too many for my lips, and if I do this regularly (which I have to admit that I do) then this abundance of variety present in shops follows me home and presents itself in my own make-up collection. And I'm not alone in this:




My overall impression is that the spirit of the times is concerned with a sense of abundance, variety and choice. I for one revel in having options but it does draw attention to some problems. Lipsticks have so much product in them, I had a quick browse through my collection and the average amount of product per lipstick is about 4g. This seems like quite a lot to me, I would be happy with a quarter of the amount of product coupled with the price of lipsticks reducing. If women like to experiment with colours and if the majority of us don't finish products then why don't retailers take this into consideration. There are lots of benefits to reduced lipstick sizes; they'd instantly become more portable (every inch of spare space in my bag is important), they'd become more affordable allowing us to experiment even more, the reduction in price would open up the market to people who might have previously been put off by the cost of investing so much in one product and, just as importantly, they'd produce less wastage. If there was an option to buy dinkier, half-size/quarter size products then I would be all over them - the cute factor alone would be immeasurably appealing - and if they were only an option (eg. normal lipstick sizes were still purchasable) then if you found your perfect shade then you could still stock up. I know not everyone will agree with me but I hope you found this post interesting!


I'd love to know your thoughts on this, do you like the sound of half-sized lipsticks? Or do they not appeal to you? I'd especially love to know if you have ever finished a lipstick yourself?
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17 comments

  1. You can bet any half lipsticks you buy you'd manage to get through in no time and end up buying another only to never use it again, I'm this way with teas I finish one box then never use the repurchase.

    I finished a Mac See Sheer last summer but unfortunately most of my lipsticks then to go the way my repurchase of See Sheer went a few weeks ago, dropped onto the carpet with irremovable fibres (or melting like my two atempts with Beehive) I also remember finishing a Rimmel Asia a long time ago.
    I own about 25 lip colours (stains, sticks and glosses) so not too many that they don't all get used fairly often.

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    1. Thanks for responding Louisa :) I think 25 seems like a reasonable number for them to all get used fairly regularly, I probably own double that number which definitely means they don't all get used as often as I'd like. I also know exactly the phenomenon that you're referring to in regard to not using the repurchased item- maybe it has something to do with the pleasure of the new? xx

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    2. It probably does, or we're just fickle. Every now and again I go through products I hoard, if I can't think of a reason I love it it's sold, passed on or binned. Keeps the numbers down. Xx

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  2. I've finished several lip balms, but never lipstick. Maybe if Lipsticks were the size of lip balms or even smaller I could finish one, haha! I wouldn't mind half-sized lipstick. I think that's a good idea. Then we could still have the wide range of options and be a little less wasteful especially because the stuff expires. Possibly.

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    1. I am the same as you, I have finished lip balms but never a lipstick. I think that if lipsticks were 2g instead of 4g I would definitely have finished a few by now but 4g of product just seems like too much for me to get through. Thank you for your response :) xx

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  3. I actually agree with you completely! The Julep monthly boxes recently had miniature lipsticks in them and it was so nice to think you might actually be able to finish a product up :) I have been working to finish more lip balms though, we'll see how that goes!

    writingwhimsy.com

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    1. I'll have to google the Julep boxes (I haven't heard of them before). And yes, I always like the idea that it would at least be possible to finish a product up before its expiry date. Good luck with those lip balms, they're easier to finish than lipsticks but still take a good long while! xx

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  4. Lipsticks are so easy to collect but as soon as you find you love one.. Another comes along to tell you different!

    I do love my lipsticks though ad find myself rediscovering old loves.

    BlogLovin' | Blog | Facebook
    xoXo

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  5. I'm definitely with you on half sized ones! I've only ever finished one, I think it was called 'Retro' by Rimmel and I was utterly obsessed with it from the age of 17-18, I wore it pretty much every day! I'd never manage to finish one now, my collection is too big! xo

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    1. I like Rimmel lipsticks but I tend to accumulate way too many of them in one go because I always buy them on offer making it instantly almost impossible to finish any of them up! I'll have to look into the shade 'Retro', I'd like to think that maybe out there is my perfect lip colour and fellow beauty lovers' choices are as good a place as any to start looking :) xx

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  6. Lovely post : ) I'm such a sucker for lipsticks, sometimes there's too much choice, and then when make-up companies do limited edition or special edition ones, I convince myself that I have to buy it in case it never becomes available again! Oh deer!

    I also have a tendency to buy lipsticks because of their name, I just love a catchy name!

    I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one though : D xxx

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  7. I've never finished one but am so desperate to try! Was just wondering what the two storage containers you use to store your lipsticks and glosses and where you got them from? Thanks!xoxo

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  8. I've never finished a lipstick and I'm always picking them up to add to my collection..Its a bad habit that isn't helped by Boots/Superdrug/MAC/Topshop stocking new shades that I just "need" to have. Half lipsticks sound interesting and if they were at a reduced price that would of course be great. Great post lovely :) x

    fabheadtotoe.blogspot.co.uk

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  9. Half sized lipsticks would be great. I've finished chapsticks but never a proper lipstick x

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  10. I do not feel alone anymore. It is a pleasure to open a new lipstick and see the color on your lips. Love that feeling.

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  11. I have just finished up 3 lipsticks after 3 years but I do love the choice, I have about 20 and I've told myself that I won't buy any more. I broke that rule a few months ago of course. I wear a different one each day and am now compromising on only replacing my 6 favourites so when I finish up a non favourite, I will replace it with a different make or shade to keep the variety. I constantly reapply so I'm actually using them up but there's nothing like a brand new tube of lipstick to dive into

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  12. yes i have finished about 3 lipsticks, Rival de Loop, 3 chics, Flormar Red chocolate, and Gosh lipstick Delicious. I am trying to use up some Avon lipstics, and soon discovered some german brands *as i am relocated in germany) P2, cartrice and essence so i have to buy some more

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