Oh my, great to know I'm not alone hah! Beth Ann, I think you're right - lipstick is an easy and relatively harmless pick-me-up, and it's just plain fun! - I do that too for sure. I know I also try to recapture my youth by buying shades that used to look great me but don't anymore (deeper and brighter wines that I used to rock but that now just don't flatter). *Sigh*
Staysfit, I like your methodical approach!

Very glad to see that I'm not the only one who owns too many lipsticks! And liners, shadows, blushes, etc.

In my defense, it's not that I want umpteen colors and formulas. It's that it always takes me a lot of tries to find the right ones -- and then what to do with all the mistakes?

Some products that are really working for me, in case this helps others streamline!
IT Cosmetics waterproof liner. best I've tried for tightlining.

Urban Decay 24-7 liners. Good for soft, blended out looks.

Urban Decay brow blade. This is a new product that I splurged on, but glad. One end is a very fine liner, the other is an ink pen. Best brow product I've found for both speed and precision.

Ulta brand shadow primer. Inexpensive and makes any old cheap shadow look better and stay put.

Cover Girl clump crusher mascara. After a brief sojourn into premium brands I came back to this. One of the only ones that comes in true brown! (As opposed to black and black-brown)

Becca lipstick. There's a new line of "nudes" organized by warm, cool, or neutral, so for once I hit the right color on the first try. But I'm hooked because the quality is terrific. True color that's actually moisturizing, holy grail!