Spark Joy with Your Beauty Shelf

Spark Joy with Your Beauty Shelf
If you are like us, your beauty shelf is loaded with tons and tons of products. Some you bought because your favorite
beauty blogger recommended them; others might have been on sale at the local Sephora or Ulta. And then those
mermaid hair trends didn’t help either….What happens though, when those products sit on the shelf, and, rarely get
used? Some might even be expired! So join us, as we Marie Kondo our way into a neat and tidy shelf that sparks joy.
In the teeny, tiny chance you haven’t heard of her, Marie Kondo is a world-renowned organizing expert and author from
Japan. She has written a number of best-selling books that have collectively sold millions of copies. We’ve found that her
philosophy of organization and tidying works very well in cleaning up our beauty shelf as well.
Here’re our tips to sparking joy with your beauty closet:
1. Dispose of Expired Products
This is the simplest and easiest tip to begin with. Start with going through all of your beauty products and dispose of
those that are expired. There is a pretty simple reason for this: expired products no longer work as intended. Maybe the
mascara’s too chalky or the serum has dried up. Worse still, the preservatives that keep acne and infection causing
bacteria at bay, may no longer be working.
While most products in the U.S. are not required to have an actual expiry date, beauty brands typically share an open jar
symbol that shows how long the product will work effectively. This Marie Claire article provides some more guidance on
how to recognize when it’s time to toss out beauty products.

2. Embrace What Works
A big part of our personal beauty philosophy is to embrace what works. Let's face it, we have all tried skincare products
that don’t do much for us. And that’s ok. Trying out different products is a process of finding and building the routine
that works for your skin. But once you figure it out, embrace what you have discovered. They might not be the coolest,
on trend products that every beauty editor is buzzing about. But if they work for you, embrace them, regardless of
whether or not anyone else you know uses them. Your glowing skin will be a testament to your own personal routine.
3. Embrace What Brings You Joy
One of Kondo's guiding principles for organization is to embrace what brings you joy, or as has become Kondo-speak,
embracing that which sparks joy. Applying this to our beauty shelf means, focusing on the items that bring us joy. It
might be an elixir with a heavenly scent that transports you when you put it on. Or it could be the set of sleek, marbled
and rose gold make-up brushes you picked up last summer.
If a particular serum makes you feel radiantly beautiful, keep it on your shelf. Buy a new bottle when the old one runs
out. Our philosophy here at Poethique is one of pursuing personal beauty at any age. We believe it fits right in with the
principle of embracing what brings us joy.

4. Separate Value from Cost
Alongside the principle of embracing what creates joy, Kondo also advocates separating value from cost. In other words,
the value of any given skincare product is how well it works for you and whether or not using it makes you feel good.
You cannot put a price on a product that does both.
Sometimes the best products on our skincare shelves are those that cost the least amount of money. Other times, the
most expensive products in the market just don't do it for us. Find and keep the beauty products that create value for
you.
5. Treasure Your Collection
Finally, treasure the collection of skincare products you eventually settle on. When we treat our possessions as
treasured things, we avoid the temptation of wanting to try every new thing that comes down the road. Treasuring
something for its own inherent value helps to create a mindset of contentedness that isn't always looking for the latest
and greatest thing.

If you’re inspired, go forth and Marie Kondo your way through your beauty drawer!