Make Your Beauty Products Last Longer

Money Saving Tips to Make Your Beauty Products Last

Image via Dennis Pedersen.com

I was recently approached by HSN with a few great ideas on how to make our beauty products go much much further. These money and makeup saving tips are by Lara Ramos. 

Here Are a Few of Lara's Favourite Ways to Make Makeup Last:

I am constantly talking to my girlfriends about what an investment beauty products are. If you’re a product junkie like me, your beauty budget can closely rival what you spend on new clothes. So whether it’s my wardrobe or makeup supply, I really want to make sure that I protect my investment.

1. Build a Better Makeup Bag

At times, I look through my stash and find no fewer than a dozen variations of the exact same lip shade. None of these products get used consistently and they mostly end up expiring before I can even scratch the surface. I've learned that by better editing my purchase decisions, I can make sure that I have avariety of products that I use more frequently – and I’m more likely to use them to the very last drop.


2. Clean your Brushes

Not only are makeup brushes expensive, but they also touch all of your makeup. By keeping them clean, not only are you extending their life, but also the life of your products. Keeping powders and blushes free and clear of oils and bacteria that tend to break them down will help them live a longer life.

3. Keep it Pretty

You will never find my hard earned makeup knocking around in a vanity drawer or at the bottom of my purse. Oh, the horror! I’m careful to keep my beauty treasures tucked inside of pouches when I’m on the go or on a tray sitting on my vanity at home. This way, there’s far less chance that they will crack or explode, wasting precious product.

4. Scrape the Bottom

I recently discovered these little spatulas that you can use to actually scrape the bottom of your makeup bottles to get to the very end of them. I’ve also been known to use them after cutting open tubes of concealer and lip gloss to collect one final application. 

5. Portion Control

It may go without saying, but using only what you need can really make your makeup last. I found that I was always left with unneeded foundation or extra moisturizer after applying, so I downsized my dose and I’m wasting less. Making other small changes like not spraying my fragrance into the air and walking through it has also helped!

Thanks to Lara and Jackie from HSN Beauty for these brilliant ideas, you can read the original feature here. I've also added a few of my own product saving tips to the list.

These Are Some Of My Own Make-Up Saving Tips

6. Rework Your Bronzer

Mix your last dusting of bronzer with some moisturizer to create an all-over shimmery lotion.

7. Fix Broken Blushes & Shadows

Don't discard broken blushes, eye shadows or pressed powders simply because they have shattered apart. Fix your compacts by adding a few drops of rubbing alcohol to the loose powder then press down with the back of a spoon into its original container.

8. Use Lipstick as Cream Blush

If you find yourself with a lipstick colour you don't really like, re-purpose it as a cream blush, applying to the apples of your cheeks for a rosy glow.

9. Restore Old Nail Polish

Add a few drops of nail polish remover to your hardened nail lacquers to bring them back to their normal consistency.

10. Make the Most of Your Fragrance

Isn't is annoying when that last drop of perfume at the bottom of the bottle can't be spritzed? Open the bottle & add the final trickle of fragrance to an unscented body lotion or to your shampoo. This way, you can build up your favourite fragrance without purchasing a full set.

11. Get The Best From Your Mascara

If your mascara is dried out, place the wand into a glass of hot water, this should melt what ever product is left inside. You can also dip the brush into a little saline eye solution, place it back into the wand and roll around. Don't pump the wand, as this allows in air and bacteria.

If you're low on eye-liner, use your usual liner applicator or a fine brush and dip into your mascara wand and apply as normal.

12. Quick Foundation Replacement

If you find yourself running out of foundation or BB cream at the most inopportune time, dot some of your concealer into your face moisturizer, blend in the palm of your hands, and gently rub all over your face. Finish with bronzer.

13. Double Up Eye Shadows

I sometimes find myself with eye shadow palettes that come with awkward pink, red, coral & berry tones that I know will never look on me. I use these shades as a powder blush. You can also use your eye shadows as eye liner by dipping your application brush in some water first.

14. Make the Wrong Foundation Shade Right

In the store lighting, that foundation seemed to be doing wonders for your skin tone but in natural lighting, not so much. If the shade is too light, use it as a highlighter (with some pearly eye shadow added to it) or as an under-eye concealer. If it's too dark use it to contour your cheekbones. Or you can go back to the store and ask for one shade lighter or darker, (depending on your problem), and then blend the two to create your own unique base.

I hope these money and makeup saving ideas will help you in some way.

Do you have any tips of your own to share?

*Images found via TotalBeauty.com, Oprah.com, glamour.com, Pinterest and Shuttershock.