Have You Ever Heard of "Capsule Cosmetics"?

A couple years ago I went through my bathroom drawers and basically dumped all of their contents into a trash can. I had read about the lack of regulation in the cosmetic industry — the poisons in our lipsticks, the carcinogens in our sunscreen, the hormone disrupters in our face cream — and decided I didn't want any part of that unnecessary pollution. Over the years, I'd collected lipsticks of every shade, most of them dried out and gross to the touch. I'd hoarded eyeshadows I never wore, foundations that had dried up in the bottles, free samples from Sephora I'd never opened, among other random things. Why was I holding onto all of this crap? Why had I collected any of it in the first place? I was over it. So I cleaned house and vowed to start over. It was around the same time I started to build my Capsule Closet. Minimalism was getting a lot of love, and I was buying into the hype. I should love every single thing I own, I thought to myself. As Mari Kondo would say, If it doesn't spark joy, what's the point of having it at all? And so began my Capsule Cosmetic Collection. Here's what I include in mine:

• Foundation

• Concealer

• Brow pencil

• Eye liner

• Blush (a pink and a bronze, which I rotate out by season)

• Eye Shadow (2 - a day and a night)

• Mascara

• Hydrating Lipstick or Gloss (3)

It's enough variety to move from day to night, but a small enough collection to fit nicely in a drawer or makeup bag. If you're an eyeshadow girl, you can swap out the individual cases for a larger palette. Just make sure you like ALL the colors it includes or you'll be collecting palettes left-and-right, which really goes against this whole "capsule" thing. The key to a Capsule Cosmetic Collection: Only buy colors you LOVE and take advantage any return policies for items that wash you out or that make you feel any less than stunning.I decided to choose one brand I trusted and stick with it.That would allow me to avoid the marketing noise from just about every other corner of the universe pushing products on me that I didn't need. I chose Beautycounter for a few reasons:

• Their mission: to create safer products for everyone.

• They are completely transparent about every single ingredient they use.

  • When I became a consultant, I saw first-hand how seriously they took their safety codes and guidelines. They don't mess around.

  • They use EWG.org's standards as their barometer for safety.

  • Their products work — I love the feel, the smell, and the effects of everything I use.

  • Their cosmetics go deeper — more than makeup, their cosmetics are built to hydrate and strengthen skin.

  • They have a 60 day no-questions-asked return policy.

  • They don't test on animals and most of their products are vegan*.

The perk of being a one-brand girl for cosmetics is that I don't waste time shopping around for products I don't need anymore. It's a small weight off my shoulders, but a weight off nonetheless.

If you're not interested in Beautycounter, but want to give your cosmetic collection a curated makeover, you can still use these basics as inspiration to build your capsule. I hope a little summer cosmetic cleaning helps free you from both unwanted clutter and the desire to waste your hours looking for the "next best thing" in makeup. Because, I promise, when that "perfect" item comes along, you'll know—and it won't be because a magazine or sales associate told you to buy it, it'll be because you tried it and it works.  

*The only non-vegan ingredients Beautycounter uses are lanolin, carmine, fish oil and beeswax — they are working to replace fish oil, and they offer a list of their products that are non-vegan on their FAQ page.