I'm 28 right now, and judging by how my relatives age, I figure I'm good for the fifteen years, at least, heh (except for the prematurely grey hair. Which started at 23. Thanks, genetics). Do I think I'll be wearing bright yellow or bright blue eyeshadow at 45? Probably not (I'll probably have those long gone in five to ten years anyway). But I suspect at least half of my collection I'll still be using or have dupes for at that point (stuff could get lost or tossed out or expire, who knows). I might drift out of the brights, but I can imagine that the burgundies, the golds, the coppers, the deep purples, the charcoals and smudgy blacks, the various shades of rose that I seem to be drawn to for lip colours, they're all going to stay part of my colour palette for years. I'll be learning new techniques over the years, and develop different styles. What works now for my makeup may not work as well at forty, but I expect that - I don't wear my makeup the way I did when I was fifteen and was just getting into it, nor do I wear it the same way as I did even six years ago when this collecting compulsion first hit.

Relevance is less important to me than being flattering, and at the moment, I feel like my collection can bridge the transitions from style to style. I've always been a bit gothy (if anything, I'm getting more gothy over the years), and while I don't see that changing any time soon, my style may change to a softer "romantic goth" look than the brighter, bolder style that I wear now. I accept that. But I can be content with what I have now, and I'm trying to not concern myself with the possibility of what it might be in the future. It'll change. I know it will. I'm not going to look like I do now for forever, and when my style becomes unflattering, then I'll change it, but I'm okay for now (now being "indefinite amount of time, but probably at least a year, if not up to five"). That's what I'm referring to when I say that I have everything I'll ever need. :)