Help on letting go of makeup that don't quite work

I'm trying to clear out/purge my collection, and one thing I really have trouble letting go is foundations that don't quite work. I already have my holy grail which is Double wear, but I have tons of bb creams, mineral powders, and a few high end liquid foundations which all irritate my skin slightly if I wear it for too long ( therefore I rarely use them!) 

I don't have sisters to give away this stuff, and I've tried asking my friends but they don't want it. The women's shelter only takes new makeup. I'd basically have to throw them in the bin and I feel like it's such a waste! 

What do you girls do with this sort of thing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I feel I'm just getting stressed out watching things expire lol

If it's just a matter of not working as well or as long as my favorite, I wear them on the weekend.  I usually just go out for a few hours at a time, rather than a work day where my makeup has to perform 10 hours after I put it on.  I do this with samples, too.  If after a few months I find I dislike it so much that I'm coming up with excuses not to wear it even on the weekend, I get rid of it.

If it's something really horrendous or if it actually does bad things to my skin, I remind myself that makeup is supposed to make me feel good.  Makeup should be fun and make you happy.  If it doesn't, it's not doing its job.  Doubly so if it makes you feel guilty whenever you see it there!  Pitch it.  It's just clutter holding you back.

When my friends don't even want it, they usually will just take it for me and throw it away if i cant do it myself. 

You could try putting it curbside and listing it on craigslist for free. Trust me, it will be gone instantly. If you are a makeup alley member, you can list it on their MUA blog sale list and sell it for a couple of bucks.

If all else fails, don't feel bad about tossing it. After letting my sister and roommates sift through my unwanted items, I threw a bunch of stuff away a few months ago ... it was weighing me down and I felt like a hoarder keeping a bunch of makeup that I knew I would never use.

Originally Posted by Kristin1387 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

When my friends don't even want it, they usually will just take it for me and throw it away if i cant do it myself. 

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Yeah, a while my friend was freaking out about how many clothes she had and gave a bunch of stuff to me. I kept it in my trunk for a few weeks and then dropped it off at Goodwill. I think sometimes it's just difficult psychologically to throw away/donate stuff that you've paid a lot of money for, even though you know it needs to be done.

How about trading items that you don't like?  It could be the HG for another lady on MUT ;]

May I know what it is that you are trying to get rid of? If its not more than 1.5 years old and its barely used like you said, i can take it off your hand. I will pay for shipping /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

In the process of searching for the perfect foundation, I accumulated a bunch that weren't working. It never occurred to me to try mixing them together until I watched someone do it on youTube. I have some that are too dry/cakey and others that are to oily or dewy looking. I also have several that are not the right color. By mixing them you can customize your own! My HG is now a mix of Nars Sheer Glow (too dry on its own) and CoverGirl Advanced Radiance (too dewy). I get the perfect formula for me by mixing the two. I'm really happy I tried this because I didn't want to toss them all. It's great because I can adjust the color for times when my skin is darker or lighter and the choose amount of coverage too.

I just mix the amount I'm going to use that day on the back of my hand.

You can also mix them with moisturizer or sunscreen for a lighter coverage.

Oh! and I found a use for the BB creams that didn't work on my face! I use them on my chest. They have sunscreen in them and they help cover the redness in my skin. Works out well /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I recommend trading too. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> there are a lot of trusted members doing Buy/Sell/Trade in this website. You might want to consider that option.

Hello,


I am a former beauty school graduate looking to get back into makeup artistry. I would like to propose an offer to you for a little help and assistance in getting back into the learning and building up of my craft in makeup artistry. You can contact me to better get to know me at mail. If you can donate any tools or/and makeup that you aren't using and wouldn't mind to donate to me so I can start building a look book of my creations. I am willing to pay half on shipping or even the whole shipping if its affordable enough for my student budget. I am currently in Berkeley, CA area and my name is Diamond I am 24 y/o and trying really hard to get into my craft but finances keep holding me back. I hope to hear from you even if you can't donate maybe we can learn from each other.

I am also looking to assist a professional MUA on shoots and sets pick up some techniques and help someone out in the process.


Thank you,
Diamond

The best thing to do instead of asking for used products which you don't know if expired or if it's contaminated is to go to your local Sephora and get samples. Work with the products you have and practice. If you really want to become a pro MUA you might want to apprentice with someone or go to school for it. You can also write to companies to ask for samples and some will actually send freebies to people who ask. Good luck!

Originally Posted by kat46 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Oh! and I found a use for the BB creams that didn't work on my face! I use them on my chest. They have sunscreen in them and they help cover the redness in my skin. Works out well /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

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Brilliant!  How come I never thought of this?  I've got some discoloration on my chest area from sun damage, this would totally help!

I have a hard time letting go of products, even if they weren't that expensive, because it just feels wasteful. So usually what I do is wait until the point at which most sites/experts recommend to toss something and then throw it out. It doesn't make a lot of sense to keep holding on to it, but if there's a chance it's gone bad, I feel less wasteful.

Originally Posted by kat46 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

In the process of searching for the perfect foundation, I accumulated a bunch that weren't working. It never occurred to me to try mixing them together until I watched someone do it on youTube. I have some that are too dry/cakey and others that are to oily or dewy looking. I also have several that are not the right color. By mixing them you can customize your own! My HG is now a mix of Nars Sheer Glow (too dry on its own) and CoverGirl Advanced Radiance (too dewy). I get the perfect formula for me by mixing the two. I'm really happy I tried this because I didn't want to toss them all. It's great because I can adjust the color for times when my skin is darker or lighter and the choose amount of coverage too.

I just mix the amount I'm going to use that day on the back of my hand.

You can also mix them with moisturizer or sunscreen for a lighter coverage.

Click to expand...

Similar to that, for any foundations where the colors aren't quite right, I mix them with a bit of face cream and make my own tinted moisturizer for days when I don't want to go full slap.

Wow what great ideas!!  I've gotten a lot of samples from my subs and my skintone is hard to match, but once I try one of the samples I don't feel right giving it away to someone else.  (I'm a bit of a germaphobe).  On the other hand I hate wasting product, so now I've got new ways to use products that don't work exactly right!!!

If it's a matter that it's too dark or too light use it as a contour or highlight.

In terms of passing products on to other people, most of my friends who are interested in beauty are huge germaphobes. And I'm not comfortable asking anyone to pay for a product I've used.

Is there any middle-ground?

It seems like the middle ground depends on who you want to give it to and how much of a germaphobe they are!   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  With family, I think it's easier to share things (obviously not eye makeup or anything like that) but lotion, moisturizer...  I think it also depends on the container- I don't mind sharing lotion with a pump, stuff that you can't really (hopefully...) get germs in.  But I'd never, ever share say a lip gloss with a wand applicator.  

Originally Posted by liquidlinernote /img/forum/go_quote.gif

In terms of passing products on to other people, most of my friends who are interested in beauty are huge germaphobes. And I'm not comfortable asking anyone to pay for a product I've used.

Is there any middle-ground?

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Me and my friends/family share lipglosses/lipsticks lol. but i'd never share eyeliner/mascara. I'd be okay swapping shadows (as long as you spray them with anti-bacterial spray to sanitize them). and i know a lot of people do that to eyeliners too, or they break off the tip of it.