“A lot of people have been thanking their possessions and sending them on their way, and I’m just worried about where everyone is sending those possessions.”
Although it’s now a little too late for a “New-Year-New-Me” clear-out, spring cleaning season is just around the corner. However, if we’re being honest, you don’t need a seasonal excuse to declutter! Inspired by the hit new Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, everyone has been asking themselves which of their items sparks joy – but, when it comes to makeup, it can be difficult to know what to do with your decluttered items aside from straight-up binning them. Fret not, your well-loved items can be saved! Bouncing off of her absolutely popping Twitter thread, Amy Jane explains how to declutter our makeup in a way that respects our planet.
Amy begins with unopened and sealed makeup products (everything from lipsticks to lashes are relevant here) which she suggests should be sold online: eBay, Vinted, and Depop are all popular places to resell items. This way, you can even get a little bit of your hard-earned money back. She also highlights BeautyBanks, a company that redistributes donated makeup and toiletries to women in shelters.
If the product has been lightly-used (say, if you brought that lipstick for a zombie Halloween look and can’t wear it to school), Amy suggests that family and friends should be your first port of call. “I would so take a beautiful eyeshadow palette from a friend who has maybe used it a couple of times,” she explained. “That would not bother me at all.” Alternatively, she suggests the non-profit Give & Makeup who support Refuge and Women’s Aid in the London and Cardiff areas.
👗 Clothes: If clothes are in good condition, donating them to a charity shop is best course for action, but if they aren't, rather than sending them to the landfill, you can use this website to find your local clothing recycling bank: https://t.co/bWQYySdHbJ (UK)
— Amy Jane (@heyamyjane) January 24, 2019
Finally, we have those products that you’ve finished or are that are on their last legs – those that you don’t want anymore and that can’t be donated. “First of all, look into the packaging and see if any parts of that packaging can be recycled,” she said. “Sometimes lids or applicators can’t be, but the plastic tubing it may have come in can actually be recycled in specialist centers, so it’s always worth checking on your local council website.” For other odds and ends, there is still hope! A charity in the USA accepts old mascara wands which they use to groom small animals. Adorable! If you’re based elsewhere, don’t despair – Amy encourages everyone to call their local animal shelters and see if they can make use of old wands. She also suggests checking with the makeup supplier whether they have a recycle-and-reward programme, MAC and Lush being particularly prominent examples.
Amy also shares a few tips on extending the lifespan of makeup to get more use out of products, including how to melt a broken lipstick back together with a lighter, re-press a broken powder with rubbing alcohol, and revive dried-up mascaras and eyeliners by adding a couple of saline solution drops! This way, as Amy puts it, “we’re all maximising what we’re buying and the environment isn’t suffering for our vanity.”
Want more?
Read more about the strategy behind She-Ra’s character design with Eddie Bowley. Alternatively, feel the (self) love and learn about the emotional impacts of unemployment from Tally Kerr.
For updates follow @TenEightyUK on Twitter or like TenEighty UK on Facebook.
