my thoughts on makeup declutters and why I'm no longer a fan // the downside of makeup declutters 

Declutters have a time and place. The first time I ever decluttered I feel like it cured me of a decade of makeup hoarding. Afterward, I didn't ever want to get to where I would have to declutter that much, so I stopped buying so much. It was very helpful in helping me see how much waste I contributed to. Since then I've never had to declutter so much, maybe one thing here and there, and I've actually used up so much makeup since then. That declutter was actually some sort of therapy for me

One thing that I wish companies would do is stop sending full size PR to youtubers etc. and send sample sizes instead; a 5 to 7 day supply so that they could do a proper review and avoid the crazy amount of waste.

I have an excel spreadsheet of everything I use up or toss. I take notes why I liked/disliked a product and then use those notes to make decisions about future purchases.

I think you've put your finger quite nicely on why I was never a fan of declutters, even though I watch some (usually by RU-vidrs I already like, just to show support for them). It's basically just a "nicer" form of the throw-away mentality. And you're so right that it doesn't address the underlying problems of overconsumption, fast fashion, etc. I hate all those things, and I hate getting sucked in. I don't hate people who DO declutters, I just think the whole mindset behind them is more of a mess than all the stuff that accumulates.

Yeesss I personally have OCD and at one point my ocd was about decluttering it’s like I got addicted to that sensation of satisfaction that you talked about

You've articulated exactly what I've been thinking lately. I used to love watching declutters but something has been bothering me lately about them and I don't watch them anymore because of the promotion of overconsumption when you're constantly getting rid of old stuff in order to bring in new stuff. I've just realised how wasteful it all is and I don't want any part of it personally.

I used to love a good declutter video as much as the next person but now I'd 100% rather watch someones empties video than a declutter video! Seeing a product leave because it's been used up is so much more satisfying to me. Now I want the majority of my makeup to leave my possession because they're empties rather than declutters. I've found this mentality has helped me get off the overconsumption cycle I was on. Another brilliant video Shawna, insightful as always :)

Such an interesting topic! I have always loved decluttering and one of the reasons my home is very organised is because of periodic decluttering. I don't, however, declutter ruthlessly, there's no need for it because I have a good idea of what I own and rarely get rid of more than a handful of items.

Your point are right When I start watching RU-vid video about makeup then only I wish to buy makeup earlier I used to have no makeup but now I have so much makeup which I can't even use up

Really good food for thought! Another banger from Shawna - love it! Follow-up question: do you think it’s even possible to be a “big” beauty RU-vidr but also not feed into overconsumption?

thank you for this video! I woke up about this topic some years ago. I was buying makeup and not even wearing it just accumulating it

Excellent points!!

Excellent insights and great food for thought. I am in the process of starting a no-buy challenge for 30 days, more to review my patterns and habits and this video has perfect timing. Thank you.

Great video! Always nice hearing your thoughts and reflections. In my case do like watching declutters their kinda relaxing for me and reminds me not to over consume. Would reflect on the points bring on this video. 😊

This is a very interesting topic. I think I originally watched declutters to find out what products made it thru the declutters. I probably had those products. Like eyeshadow palettes and blushes etc. i litterly held my breath hoping my favs didn’t make it to the chopping block. Utubers say they didn’t “love” the item they decluttered. Or they didn’t “reach” for the product. Seems like very lame reasons now that you’ve shined a light on declutters. Thank you for getting me thinking.

So many good point Shawna, I‘m really glad I found your channel and this little space open for a discussion. I agree with what you say. All of it is really not just „silly makeup“ and it‘s naïve to think so. It‘s a multi-billion dollar machinery of production, marketing, strategy, investment, logistics etc… I also have a few problems with decluttering videos in general. One of the biggest ones is where does this decluttered product end up? When I did a small declutter last year, I gave a few products to a friend (I asked before what would she want to try and she chose the stuff herself, my other friend is also a lover of makeup and has more than enough and doesn‘t need anything more from me, we do exchange from time to time though), but what to do with the rest? I contacted a few charities that I found fitting for that purpose, and all the answers were either that they don‘t accept makeup at all, or only unused products, for hygiene reasons. In the end one lady working for a charity knew a girl who was somehow „befriended“ by the organisation and her dream was to become a makeup artist. Just for practising on herself she agreed to accept the products. How many sisters, friends or cousins all those beauty influencers have to be able to distribute it? Also I agree that the disclaimer „I review makeup for a living“ seems like an icky excuse. I understand it from one side and appreciate this sort of ranking what‘s worth keeping, but dislike it from the other, the practical one. Also, if so many of them do reviews for a living, then why is it so frickin hard to find actual thorough and informational reviews when I actually consider buying something new?! 🤣 I also watch less and less reviews and declutters. I really enjoy panning content, shop my stash, duping the vibes or anti hauls the most these days 😃

I think this ties into the “stuff-centric” mindset you touched on in your video about minimalism. All the content around collections, decluttering, etc is about *owning* makeup, rather than using it - and a lot of declutters show collections that are full of products that never get used. It’s also interesting to see personal identity in this context, but that’s a whole other topic for (someone who “loves makeup” = someone who owns a lot of makeup). Edit to add: I think this mindset is paralleled by decluttering being the main way makeup leaves your life rather than using it up - again, it’s about owning (or no longer owning) something, rather than *using* it

Your makeup looks so radiant and pretty.

Honestly decluttering changed my life for the better . I did a really big one years ago to everything I owned and since then I haven't felt the need to declutter that often at all . Because I also started consuming less because I noticed how much more organized and free of stress my life felt . However I completely agree that some people declutter just to buy lots of new things to fill it back up and that's very unsustainable! But declutters can also be very beneficial if done responsibly :) At least that's my experience 💕

Just immediately, the point about anxiety management resonated *hard* with me. I've been getting frustrated recently because I (mostly) kicked my stress-shopping habit, but I was still decluttering to get anxiety relief, and now I just... don't really have anything reasonable to declutter. So then declutter videos are a way to sort of get that relief vicariously, but those haven't been working either-what I want from a decluttering video is to see a transformation, not just in collection but in mindset. I want to watch someone commit to a smaller collection and less consumption and I want to see an end result where most of the products won't expire. But 1) no one owes that to me; and 2) that's almost never what declutters actually are. All satisfaction is lost the second I hear, "Now I have space for new makeup again!" Anyway, I've given up on watching declutter videos.

I 100% agree on that decluttering is a coping mechanism or stress relief. It can develop into some unhealthy behavior for sure. I caught myself trying to declutter more and more and had to sit myself down and re-evaluate why or what the purpose of all this is. Thank you for pointing out the "darker" side of decluttering, because it can become compulsive as well. Compulsive decluttering isn't healthy or sustainable for the planet either. Finding balance is important.

This is such a good conversation to have along with overconsumption convos. I don't know if it was you, Hannah Poston or someone else on here but what really put my overconsumption into perspective was, I'm an average consumer if buying constantly or rushing to the new launches doesn't bring a return on that investment, why am I makeup shopping like I'm a well paid influencer?! 2023 is my no buy year, my year to use, love and enjoy what I already own which is more than fine by me- I have zero qualms about it. I want a cozy little house and in order to save for that I need to stop this crazy overspending and overconsumption. And if I want to raise my credit score to qualify for the First Time Homeowners loan I need to stop using my credit cards and stop opening new ones - especially store cards!

I think most people tend to completely miss the point of decluttering. There is an observational process that is meant to go with it. I actually have learnt quite a bit about my overconsumption tendencies (and the hoarding tendencies that come with my mental health diagnoses). It has taught me what to avoid buying and what I need to keep in stock more often than not. Please make sure that if you are decluttering, there is an observational purpose behind it that teaches you about your ever changing spending trends (which will always be an ongoing process). This is coming from someone who is in love with cluttercore and Marie Kondo, and has found a way to integrate the two in a way that works effectively for myself.

I think as long as your declutter dregs go to someone who is likely to use them, and you just do it to get things out of your hoard so you can focus on the products you will use, it is good. If it is done just to throw them in the trash so you can bring more things you will never use up while the rest of your items go bad, it is awful!

Oh my God yes to the learned behaviour. It’s scary. I found beauty RU-vid in 2015 and my makeup quadrupled, I wish I was exaggerating. I’d always loved makeup and only ever bought it to replace the item before. Next thing I know I have 2 separate sets of draws to house it, but now I actually wore it less. Like the buying replaced the using, total consumerism over took my life. Then I latched on to the decluttering as you so. This has been so helpful in making realise the buying was such an issue. I had so much stuff that I couldn’t work out why I had it. Luckily I have 4 sisters and a SIL so I managed to re home it “consciously”. The decluttering honestly stopped my excessive spending because I’d be like “you’ve literally just got rid of X you don’t need another. I now have a collection I love and use regularly, mentally I feel so much less guilt and so much more enjoyment. RU-vid and content creators honestly have so much to answer for. Really loved your take on how it’s all just a cycle to keep you buying and watching.

As long as people enjoy watching new makeup reviews there will be declutter videos. Someone who regularly reviews products will accumulate more than they can possibly use in a reasonable amount of time before the product goes off. I use declutter videos as a tool to see what the person is keeping and what items have lasted through previous declutters.

i just stumbled on this video randomly (thanks, algorithm!) and i'm so glad i watched it. the group psychology of beauty youtube is fascinating to me. been watching since 2009 and following its evolution (which was honestly predictable, if you knew what to look for) closely. now it seems to be a binge and purge cycle amped up by the need to entertain. like, we all buy and get rid of makeup, but *watching* others is more fun if they take it to a higher level than we might. back in the old day of youtube, it was just people sharing what they had and showing how they did their makeup. reviewing products was already a thing on forums and blogs, but videos allowed people to really see the colors, performance, etc. not long after companies noticed and started [covertly] giving products to creators to promote them, and now here we are. also, i remember watching my first makeup haul and being horrified at the amount of products this person bought, and how much they already had. it was mindblowing and so, so weird to me. but the more i watched, the more i became interested, and the more i bought. i never got out of control, but i totally understand how that can happen.

I totally agree that declutters are seen as a form of entertainment and it’s become an expectation for creators to declutter A LOT. I commented on a declutter video once and said that I appreciated how pragmatic her declutters are - to me, the reasoning the creator used to declutter certain things made a lot of sense. And someone replied saying, “But she didn’t even declutter that much though.” …really not what I meant or even what I want to see!

I think that an open conversation about overconsumption is long overdue. And I’m guilty of it too. And I’m not an youtuber.

I rarely declutter. I have too much makeup, and the excess I see in my vanity drawers stops a lot of potential purchases. I’ve found I’m fairly susceptible to influence from RU-vidrs, which is how my collection grew from almost nothing to pretty large in only a couple of years. But a couple of things have stopped me from getting into the declutter cycle: 1) I don’t really have many people in my life to declutter things to. This is important bc short of mailing it to a donation place or trashing it, I don’t have a way to get rid of excess. This has helped me feel the actual responsibility of over-consuming and the awareness that I’m both wasting my money and filling a landfill somewhere if my habits don’t change. 2) I’ve felt a wave of disappointment anytime I see a RU-vidr declutter something that I bought as a result of their influence. I am responsible for the purchase, ultimately, but I wouldn’t have even known about the product until I heard a rave review about it. The life cycle of that product in my collection might be many years, but it only stayed in the youtuber’s vanity for a couple of months. Every time this has happened, I have to remind myself that I have a long term commitment to my products and I cannot be so easily influenced to overbuy. The panning community has helped me to focus on using up my products and get the full value out of them without creating excess waste, and I have been able to use up so many things! I’m grateful for that balance in my video feed and the regular reminder that using your stuff up is the norm, not the massive beauty room collections. It’s easy to lose perspective when you love something a lot, but we need to focus primarily on our personal responsibility for what we own and how we use it. Thanks for this discussion!

I declutter my home every spring, not so much as to get rid of things to buy new things but as a way of a refresh... Normally what winds up going is my sons broken toys and clothes he has grown out and things we no longer use.. It's been a thing my whole life that my family does... With makeup I rarely declutter, sometimes I get rid of things I no longer use or have doubles of and expired items, I really dont care for filming my declutters of my home though..... I do like watching them but only from certain creators and if its something thats done often I lose interest in that persons makeup content...

I enjoy watching other people declutter but I don't do it myself because I would want to just go out and buy more now that I have room. Seeing how many of a product I have stops me from getting more of it.

I never had and still don't, have any idea how much makeup my friends own. So the only time I see another person's makeup is watching on RU-vid. I personally quickly got horrified by the waste but I can understand how it would begin to make over consumption look totally normal and even comparatively frugal. "That person owns 100 eyeshadow palettes and I only own 50 so that isn't a lot really!" (And 100 seems quite mild considering some of the thumbnails I see) I still enjoy declutters from the people that I follow as I just like looking at the pretty colours and packaging. 😁And they only get rid of things they don't actually like. I think that is fair enough.

Regarding your question as to why there's a pressure to do a ruthless declutter, I think it's an influence from minimalists. There are those who insist that all people would benefit from getting rid of all the physical stuff in their lives. And some go so far to make it into some moral thing, at least that's the way I understand it. However, I really enjoy a lot of the physical objects in my life, so I am not convinced and I get really annoyed at times. The things I don't like, I bought with intention but are real disappointments. It's not always easy to get the exact right thing, both in makeup and other things

I always enjoy how thoughtful you are. I think declutters are a tricky topic, and you've laid out a lot of the negatives. Fundamentally, I think how useful (or harmful) a declutter is in your personal life depends on the context. Are you decluttering in a holistic effort to change your relationship to owning makeup? Or, as you said here, are you viewing decluttering as a normal way of going through makeup or to make room for More Stuff? On a community level, I think the cumulative effect of decluttering videos is to normalize overbuying. I think I would want to see more makeup inventory management videos focused on keeping your collection at a good size for your needs. Not regular decluttering videos forget making room for more consumption.

I always liked declutters, because people are usually better at articulating what they don't like versus what they like (especially during the beauty guru boom, when the only positive descriptors for a product were pigmented and buttery). I also just like hearing people talk about their preferences, which is also the case in declutters. I don't like watching creators that bring in and declutter things in huge volumes anymore tho', the waste is just unsettling. I understand that it's kind of necessary for a review based channel, but I also don't trust someone's review if they tried a product three times before decluttering. I also think there should be some kind of introspection to declutters, it's important to know why something doesn't work for you, to inform future purchasing decisions.

Something I noticed a few years ago, while watching a video from a women who made minimalist content, is that a lot of the time the word "declutter" is used as a nicer way of saying "I'm throwing it away" In the video, the women talked about how her phone that she had for years had broken and she finally had to buy a new one and that she was going to "declutter" her broken phone. All I could think was "no, you are throwing it away" (or recycling it I don't know) I have a feeling this comes from everyone being more conscious about the environment and our waste. Saying "I'm decluttering this blush" sounds better than "I'm going to throw it away" In a lot of makeup declutter videos the creators seem to have had the products for a while so they probably could not be given to a friend or donated. "Declutter" is vague enough about where the product is going to end up that it's easy to avoid any criticism from ourselves and also from an audience for content creators. I'm sure there is still criticism from an audience but "declutter" is a bit more covert than "this is going in a landfill" I just find it interesting that the word declutter is used when removing anything from our lives. I hope this made sense :)

Thank you for the subject. I am eager to hear your opinion. I hate declutter videos so much...It seems to me just an excuse to buy more

Good 🍁🌻🌿👍

Influencers: hauls… buy everything now you need it Also influencers: let’s declutter!

I have only decluttered a few times, due to sub boxs. Since canceling my subscriptions I haven't decluttered in over a year. I know know I'd rather spend my money on one item I really want then 5 or 6 items I dont care for.

Being on a No Buy has really stopped purchases from occurring and providing me time to actually use up products. Recently, I've decluttered 2 eyeliners - I felt bad about it for creating waste, but they were so dried out and unusable to me or anyone else. I really do want to use my items instead of gaining satisfaction from tossing things. If decluttering is done by giving things to friends prior to a product going bad, I'm more ok with it. This mentality has really decreased the amount of decluttering videos I watch. I'll watch a few creator's who have a more mindful way of consuming, but that's about it now. Additionally, when it comes to things like liquid lipsticks, they make great long lasting cream blushes for me. So I've definitely tried to get the most out of all my products even as my preferences have changed.

Declutter videos have become a pet peeve of mine... Its often one of the worst examples of consumerist careless behaviour continuing to feeding into amassing stuff you don't need, then throwing it in the trash for some fake empty catharsis with no care for the environment and start buying new crap they don't need. It's almost perverse looking at the almost ecstatic reactions throwing buckets of products into the landfill!?? I feel like I'm watching a therapy session gone wrong

Am just at the beginning of your video, I am curious on tour thoughts on declutters.... I partly feel like most declutters are a weird flex, like big creators have whole rooms dedicated to makeup and they do multiple videos for 1 declutter and then 2 months later they do another huge declutter.... I understand that people want to get rid of what they dont use but it seems like they get whole collections sent to them and instead of doing give aways or actually using what they are sent it sits there till its decluttered just for the sake of it..... The whole "I absolutely love this but I'm gonna get rid of it" thing doesnt sit right with me if you love it then why get rid of it?? It doesnt make sense.... Idk maybe I'm a little bitter or something but most declutters I have no interest in a select few I do enjoy as they give their actual thoughts on formulas and whatnot ...

Beautube has evolved into the TV shopping channel of the internet for the main part. I don't like the word 'influence' or 'influencer', in my mind I always translate it into 'selling' or 'marketing'. To me, youtubers are the equivalent or a makeup store or beauty magazine. They are not your average relatable makeup hobbyist and viewing in this perspective has helped me a lot to not think that their inventory is anyway normal for any individual. To me declutters makes sense for youtubers because they are 'stores' or 'home business', not individuals. I still watch declutters and enjoy thoughtful chatty ones as the ultimate review. So many products are good or ok in isolation at the point of initial review. With passing of time and after comparing to what one owns in entirety, I am reminded during declutters that makeup is a matter of preference and the novelty of owning it and trying a new brand/formula fades. And it becomes a pain to own so much, the enjoyment is very little. I think watching declutters really cement that point.

I would love for bigger youtubers to watch this video lol

its crazy how its normal or even idolized on youtube for people to have collections they dont use just for them to declutter half of it every 4-6 months. once i stopped watching review channels and like makeup release videos, my urge to buy and declutter completely stopped. i think for a lot of creators and even some viewers, once decluttering was the norm it excused bad purchasing decisions bc you could just get rid of it in a few months and nobody would blink an eye and call it wasteful

Honestly, as a viewer I find declutter videos a little boring. But as a creator, I will share anything I declutter in my empty videos so I am transparent with what is leaving my collection and why. I feel guilt every time I declutter something because I don’t want people to think I’m not trying to make a product work for me lol

Maybe I am too cynical but I honestly think the two main reasons that larger RU-vidrs do massive declutters are a) to make room for more new stuff and b) because they only bought the products to review for a video and never had the intention of actually using them in the long term. I'm also convinced that whenever they say it's going to family and friends, it just gets thrown in the bin. Unless these people have hundreds and hundreds of friends that love makeup as much as they do, there's no way that they could rehome that quantity of makeup. I used to watch declutter videos but now they honestly give me massive anxiety so I steer clear of them.

I think a lot of declutters on RU-vid are superficial because, yes a lot of them may be because the person feels overwhelmed by the volume of stuff they have and so declutter to feel less overwhelmed. The problem with some decluttering videos is that they turn around and say that they now have room for MORE STUFF! Wait, what? I thought you were overwhelmed by how much stuff you have…when really they just want to get rid of the old to bring in the new🤨🤨🤨

They all need better hobbies.!! ..like working on a landfill for a week 👀to see the actual result of their catharsis

y’all make video essays on anything these days