It doesn’t take long for a novice makeup routine to pile up: First, you pick up a neutral eyeshadow palette. Then another. Then one more shade of blush. Then a second foundation because the first one “doesn’t do much” for you. It’s easy to assume things will be different once your products get better. But the thing is, most of the time the issue isn’t that you don’t have the right things in front of you. It’s that you haven’t worked with the same things long enough to learn what they can do. When you’re still learning how to place, how much pressure to apply, how to blend, when to set your makeup, etc., it’s actually better to have a small kit when practicing because you can use it without worrying about too many variables. It’s easier to pay close attention to your technique when you don’t keep comparing different products to find a better one.

The thing about using fewer products is that you start to get a better idea of how they work. For example, a neutral shadow can be used to deepen a lash line, soften an outer crease, or shade the under-eye. You can use lipstick as a cream blush if it’s applied sparingly and blended carefully. And a brow pencil can also add definition to an eye look (specifically the outer lash line) when applied sparingly and blended carefully. This kind of repetition leads to familiarity. You start to notice, say, how much product is enough, how easily different textures blend, and how much blending is enough. And those are the types of things you don’t really learn when you use something new every time you practice.

One common mistake people make is testing out a bunch of new products at once and then trying to figure out which one made the most difference in the end result. If your skin looks flat, your cheeks turn blotchy, and your eye shadow looks faded, you don’t know if it was because of the products themselves or the technique you used, or some combination of the two. A better alternative would be to keep nearly everything the same and just change something small here and there. Do a few makeup practice sessions with one foundation (and maybe a concealer) before moving on to another one, and do three or four makeup practice sessions with the same blush placement before moving it to a different place. The less variables you have at play, the clearer your feedback becomes, and the faster your progress happens.

Practicing this way can still be time-consuming (you’ll need some time to set up and clear away), but it will make the most of a small, fifteen minute time block. For the first four, set up your makeup and lay out only a handful of products and figure out exactly how they’ll fit into your look. For the next eight, practice making that exact same look (note how much product is necessary for each step, how those products work well with each other). For the last three, take the look outdoors to natural light and see what you did well, and what you need to adjust the next time around. And on the next day, try again with just one small change: Maybe your foundation should sit more lightly on your nose, or your blush should be more diffused. This keeps practice productive and prevents it from simply being an exercise in frustration.

There’s also a practical benefit to learning makeup in this way: You become more comfortable with restraint, which is one of the best beauty skills to have. You’re more likely to stop applying makeup in general when the first coat or layer already looks good. You’re more likely to learn how to build up your makeup gradually rather than undoing a full application of the wrong stuff. And it also makes learning makeup easier in the real world (less clutter to pack away, better use of space if you’re trying to fit a makeup bag in a purse, etc.). When practice happens to be a little more natural (for when you’re doing quick touch-ups, or getting ready in a car with a makeup mirror, etc.), you start to build good habits for regular maintenance.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t buy more products as you go, as of course that might make sense at some point, but it would be a decision you’re making for a better reason. Rather than hoping a new purchase will change everything, you’ll be able to identify what you’re really lacking in the first place. Maybe it’s a brow pencil that can be sharper for a more defined eyebrow, or maybe it’s a different brush shape that can make application around the eyes more precise. And those reasons are quite different from buying a bunch of random makeup when you’re frustrated. When practice doesn’t rely on constantly buying new stuff, makeup just feels that much more manageable overall.