Making the Most of It (Ways To Use Up Products You Don’t Like)

Whether bought in store or online, trying and testing new beauty products is a game of luck and chance. Though it is a fun game, we cannot expect to win every time, and there will always be products we try but don't like. So what should we do with a product we don't like ? In some states, in the US,some charities will accept lightly used cosmetics, and certainly if you have any unopened products that you know you won't use, those things are great to donate Unfortunately, however, sometimes we discover a product is not working for us far too late for it to be donated or given to a friend, yet we still feel guilty at the thought of throwing it away. Luckily, there are some simple strategies for repurposing some less-than-satisfactory items in order to make the most of them.

A facial cleanser too harsh on your face? Use it for a body wash or hand soap: If i it s meant to clean the skin and it is doing a good job of it, too good job of it on the face, it likely will be great to clean the body. As a side note, if you are like me and use a lot of plant-based skincare, a lot of times natural face products have beautiful smells, which is lovely for a shower product. Used as a shower product, the item will be used up much more quickly since products used for the face are usually sized much smaller than your typical bath product, so the dud will have done its due, for better or for worse, fairly quickly.

A Bullet lipstick Too Drying? Make It a Blush Instead: Before blush was ever invented in mass market form, lipstick did double-duty as cheek color. This is done still today on many film sets where having strong pigment is crucial in the strong lighting and the waxy texture reads very nicely on camera. To employ this technique, just like using a gel or cream blush, I’d recommend fingers as the best applicators and to remember that with these more intense shades to start with a little bit of product and add more little layer upon little layer as desired. If you’d still prefer to use a brush either to apply the pigment in the first place or if you need one to help with spreading it or blending it, just be sure to use a synthetic brush as those are better at diffusing the more concentrated pigment of a cream or wax-based substance like lipstick and will be easier to clean from having used those kinds of products.

A Pencil Eyeliner Overly Smudgy? Repurpose It as a One-step Smoky Eye Crayon: This tip may be only applicable to the most drama-loving makeup enthusiasts out there. This does create a very bold look, as you are essentially using an eyeliner (which are usually for most of us black or some other deep, dark hue that is essentially a blackened version of some other color) and smudging it upon your eyelids to wear as an eyeshadow. But if the problem is that the eyeliner was too smudgy, that should mean that the pigment will be very pliable to spread out across the skin. Using a cotton bud to do the spreading and blending it messily but chicly over the eyelids also really serves to soften the color rather than using your fingers if that is a concern for you.

A Hair Cream Too sticky and dries Crunchily in the Hair? Make It a Brow Gel: With brows, you want them to stay in the shape you put them in, even more so than with your hair, so using up a hair gel or cream with too much tenacity in this way will help you not have to buy brow gel for awhile because, after all, your eyebrows are hair too. Just be sure to only apply the teeniest amount.

Lots of Unwanted Perfume Samples? Use Little Spritzes as a Spot Treatment: This is something that I only do every once in awhile and only when the breakout is one large pimple instead of in a widespread area. Perfumes usually have a lot of alcohol in them, which causes a drying effect on the skin. While this isn't good for long-term skin health, it can really help reduce the size and sometimes even the throbbing of a bigger pimple and do so quickly. Again, this remedy should only be used sparingly-- and only when you have perfume you don't care for and won't use.

It is never fun when a beauty product doesn't work out for us the way that we hope. Sometimes, though, all is not lost when it comes to getting through an unwanted item. It may just take a little innovation and creative thinking to unlock its hidden potential.