I'm a failed control freak. I YEARN for a life of efficient but monastic simplicity. Instead I'm so drowning in stuff that I worry that overnight random searches will be introduced and anyone found with more than 15 lip colours in their handbag (me) will be sent to a Marie Kondo re-education camp, sentenced to seven years Hard Decluttering.
I am victim to that awful syndrome, the But What If I Need It?! A syndrome with many side-effects including corrosive guilt and an inability to lay my hands on whatever I require.
Especially cosmetics. Which brings me to the Trish McEvoy Make-up Planner.
Trish McEvoy is a luxury brand that’s new to me and I don’t know how I didn’t engage with it before now.
Actually, I’ll be honest with you, I do know. It’s the name. Although it’s a US brand, it sounded too Irish. Simply not exotic enough for my notion-y notions. But wasn’t I the gom! Because a whole – yeh! – CORNUCOPIA of gorgeous high-quality cosmetics has opened up to me.
Her Correct and Even Perfector banishes my fetching Uncle Fester under-eye circles and her Instant Line Refiner is my new best friend.
Filofax
Back to the Make-up Planner. It’s no mere make-up bag, where you feck everything in and subsequently locate stuff (or not) by rummaging around like you’re at a lucky dip. This is more like a filofax of yore.
It comes in three sizes – large, medium and “petite” (desperate word, sorry to inflict it on you.) They’re shaped like hefty little books, which un-zip through the middle “pages”, flopping open to reveal two different storage facilities. One side is a see-through “cage” for bigger items (eg foundation.) The other has soft fabric pouches to house your brushes, mascara, liners etc, everything visible at a glance.
But here comes the best bit!!! In the middle are lever-arch hinges where YOU CLIP THINGS IN!!!! Palettes, that’s what I mean, you can literally clip in shadow/blusher/whatever-you’re-having palettes. Trish (first name terms now) calls them Pages and every Page is customisable and refillable.
The idea is you go through her range of gorgeous eye shadows, bronzers, blushers etc and assemble a kit that fits your life. You get to choose every single thing so you’re not lugging around the mandatory gank colours that are a feature of every pre-assembled palette.
Which means that when the Clutter Police come a-calling, I’ll pass with flying colours!
