Maybe you’re a coupon-cutting penny pincher or you’ve ever done a double take at the total of your Sephora cart. We all want to get the most beauty bang for our buck on the makeup and skincare products we buy. We want them to work miracles on our skin, of course, but we also don’t want to toss them before we’ve used them up. And we feel the same way whether we’re tossing a $2 lip gloss or a $200 face serum. Today we’re sharing four easy tips for getting the most out of your makeup and skincare.
Tip #1: Store them right
Is your makeup drawer a jumble of bottles, compacts and palettes? If you find yourself constantly digging through mountains of makeup to find the product you need, your makeup won’t last as long as it should. Tossed-around compacts lead to broken blushes and eye shadows. Tilted, jumbled bottles create cracked lids and leaks. Two other big culprits — light and heat — make the bathroom one of the worst places to store your priciest skincare products. Separate your makeup based on those products you use most often and those you only pull out for special occasions. Consider keeping certain products like eye creams, perfume and skincare with vitamin C in the refrigerator. The cooler temperature helps boost its performance (cool eye cream does double duty to deflate puffy, tired eyes) and preserves its ingredients.
Tip #2: Use them right
How you use your beauty products can also cause them to go bad sooner than they should. Raise your hand if you’re a mascara wand pumper. (Guilty!) Pumping the wand in and out of the tube forces air inside and dries out the mascara. Instead, twist the wand inside the tube to load it up with mascara. Other usage mistakes? Dipping your finger directly into wide mouth cream and lotion jars and not shaking foundation before applying.
Tip #3: Get every last drop
Beauty product packaging often foils your best attempts to get the most out of a product. I get so irritated when the dropper of my favorite serum no longer reaches the very last drops at the bottom of the bottle. Or when I just know more foundation remains in that container but refuses to come out, despite all my shaking and squeezing.
Luckily, with a little gadget called the BEAUTISCOOP, you can ensure that your favorite products are good to the last drop. Use it for lotion and lip gloss, makeup and moisturizer, serum and shampoo. The dual-sided scoop has two sizes that fit into just about any container to capture every ounce of product hiding down at the bottom. The wand is easy to use, fits into every bottle, tube and container I’ve tried it in, and makes me feel good knowing that I’m no longer wasting product.
Tip #4: Buy a mini
Anyone else have trouble controlling yourself as you wait in line at Sephora? Those sample-sized tempters often try to jump right into my basket! Thanks to the rise of travel-friendly mini products, you don’t have to just enjoy sample sizes as free gifts with your order. While there are dozens to swoon over, there’s actually one sample-size cosmetic you really should consider using consistently — mascara.
Most mascaras have a 3-month shelf life, but I’ve never finished a tube in 3 months, ever. That means I’m left with tossing a tube before it’s done (not usually) or going beyond the 3 month mark which raises my risk of eye infection. One 2008 study found that nearly 40% of the mascaras surveyed were contaminated with either a bacteria or fungus after three months of use. Ewwww.
Luckily, with mini-sized mascaras, you will likely use them up before they get gross, and they are less likely to dry out or get clumpy. Plus you have an legit excuse to try all the different travel-sized mascaras that places like Sephora and Ulta offer. #winwin
