We all have leftover make-up we keep ‘just in case’ or that we loved at the time and cost a lot of cash. But liberating it from your make-up bag or box can be emotionally rewarding as well as good for society. We’ve all heard of the concept of the Kon Mari method that Marie Kondo shared in her hit book and TV show. And it’s all very well for when it comes to organising your home. But the guru has actually also applied the theory to make up bags, too.
Keeping make up that no longer sparks joy is very ‘un-Marie-Kondo’ and if the feeling of rifling through a load of things you don’t use just to find the one thing you do is becoming all-too-familiar, then there’s a solution – and one that does a lot of good, too.
There’s that lipstick you were so keen on for a party that’s languished in an old make up bag, and the eyeshadow quartet that was perfect for the job interview but you’ve not used since. Or a foundation you realised wasn’t the right shade, only used one squirt of and never opened again. Not forgetting, of course, the three (or more) eyeliners of the same colour and that other lipstick that was perfect for a summer wedding or festival but is now no longer ‘you’.
That eyeshadow you’ll never wear again – ditch it, just like you did the date you bought it for.
And, the thing is, it could be very much ‘someone else’, and not just their colour. Your unwanted make up could actually be a lifeline – a way of helping another woman realise there is hope for her future.
It sounds dramatic but here’s how. Your unwanted make-up can be given to charity. Charities that take your unwanted beauty items and give them to women who don’t have the means to buy it for themselves. Give and MakeUp and Beauty Banks are two of these charities that take make-up, toiletries, and sanitary items (and clothing too). The idea is that you have make-up you don’t want or use, but it’s still in good condition. In fact, the rule is if you’d give it to a friend, then it’s okay to give to these charities (the only exception is mascara).
Started by beauty expert Caroline Hirons, Give and MakeUp takes make-up for women in refuges. You post the items, and they’re passed on to refuges that help women who are fleeing domestic violence.
Beauty Banks was created by journalist and broadcaster Sali Hughes, and they also send products to refuges and foodbanks for distribution. Their tagline is ‘like foodbanks, but with personal care and toiletries instead’.
Aside from knowing you’ve helped women, there are other reasons a clear out is good. Keeping make-up that is from another time of our life is a hindrance to our future plans. That eyeshadow you’ll never wear again – ditch it, just like you did the date you bought it for. That powder which isn’t the right shade? Stop pretending it might work one day, and pass it on.
And if there are items you can’t pass on, then it’s time for a make-up amnesty, if you will. Things you’ve never used like false eyelashes or that blue mascara could be winners for a mate off to a 90s night. While you’ll grab that lipgloss she’s never really used for a summer wedding.
So there’s really is more than one good reason to have a clear out. Pare down that heavy make-up bag, put those no-longer-needed products to ones side and feel refreshed and ‘sorted’ a la Marie Kondo. And if you can pass some of those products on – whether to friends or somebody in need – all the better.