For my first post I'm going to talk about managing my beauty footprint, and applying some advice about reducing, reusing, and recycling products in my beauty arsenal.
1) Reduce
When I do buy something, I look for smaller/travel sizes of a few key items (since it takes me so long to use items up anyway). I love, love travel size staples like 100 percent pure cosmetics' coffee bean eye cream and tarte park avenue princess bronzer. If I want to get more bang for my buck, I refer to blogs like GWPAddict and NouveauCheap for gifts with purchase from brands that I enjoy, and the great thing about gwp's is that they are almost always travel sizes of popular items.
2) Reuse
One of the debates that I have most often with myself is - do I return this beauty product that totally didn't do what I thought it would do? Sure, a lot of places allow you to return items, no questions asked. But I have seen what happens to some returned items. I remember once, in a night market in Vietnam, staring at the remnants of the MAC Hello Kitty collection, heavily beaten up and obviously used, being sold out of a wire basket for a few Dong to I don't know who. Nobody seemed to be buying that stuff. Seeing that made me feel very sad. If I use something and return it, it ends up in a dump or somewhere else, so if I can make another use for it, that's great. Of course, going "off-label" is unorthodox so prepare for the weird.
Product Repurposing #1: Spray Toner -> Brush Cleaner
Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist ($34)
This product smells great, gets amazing reviews from beauty bloggers, and totally does not work for my skin. The first ingredient is SD Alcohol, along with some fancy botanicals, and the product comes in a spray bottle with an EXCELLENT fine mister application. So, it is a spray, and it will basically do a pretty good job of killing germs. One day I thought, looking at my assortment of blush/eye/blending brushes, that I could use a brush cleaner. Then I looked at this baby. BAM. I sprayed it on my MAC 130 and wiped the excess on a spare microfiber cloth I had lying around. Not as clean as I would have gotten, say, with a baby shampoo rinse, but definitely better than before and useful for mid-application cleanings, Also, my brushes have never smelled so good.
Product Repurposing #2: Natural deodorant -> stick bug repellant
Desert Essence Tropical Breeze Deodorant ($4)
This product is like a soft, translucent balm, also smells great, like you are on a beach sipping pina coladas. It's free of aluminum. It has the feel of a firm gel, but it's not great in terms of sweat control or cover up; actually, Maybe it has something to do with my own pH. Anyway, I chopped off the portion that had touched my armpits, and was left with a sizable amount left in the container. I had some lemon eucalyptus oil from Whole Foods lying around because I had read that the synthesized version (different, by similar) was CDC-approved to repel mosquitos. I added a few drops to the stick, and now I have a swivel-applicator stick bug repellant. It works, although it smells less like pina coladas now and more like lemon eucalyptus. I love it, but I use it sparingly because the smell of lemon eucalyptus can get to some people. Also, it's important to note that you should not eat lemon eucalyptus, so I always wash my hands after applying this.
Product Repurposing #3: Natural deodorant -> hair defrizzer
Trader Joes' Natural Deodorant Unscented with Cotton
Okay, this is probably the weirdest thing that I've done in terms of repurposing. Basically this product is a clear, firm block of propylene glycal with some cotton added that has no color, scent, or real usefulness as a deodorant. It is, however, truly unscented - if you smelled a glass of water that glass would emit more odor than this product. It's not slippery, otherwise it would make a good substitute for Bodyglide for runners/heel enthusiasts. Because of its odd qualities, I decided to try it as a hair tamer for the frizzy parts that stick up on top of my head every morning. This was after deducing that my fancy hair products were irritating my eyes, so I needed something simpler. While I'm not crazy about propylene glycol, my eyes have cleared up (hallelujah). This is also super easy to apply (twist and pat down on unruly bits), which is essential for any lazy girl. This product is not really like any other deodorant I have tried, but it does remind me of a clear hair wax in stick form. Its sem-matte, transparent appearance does not leave any flakes or greasy shine to brush out, which can be a problem with more popular silicone-based serums. It does not deposit very much product due to it's harder consistency, and doesn't smell like chemicals or fake flowers (or anything at all). So in the end, I can't tell that I've applied any product, but my hair looks so much better and becomes completely static-free. At first I thought I hated this product, but actually, it is kind of wonderful. Super weird, but it works.
3) Recycle
Wait - recycle? Yes! I'm not telling you to keep expired makeup - ain't nobody got room for that. And sometimes recycling odd items like eyeshadow containers can be frustrating because the type of plastic (or plastic v. metal) matters. I have thrown away more makeup than I care to admit. So I recently joined a terracycle campaign which recycles (for FREE!) beauty product containers (including eyeshadow, lipstick, gloss, and lotion containers, with or without product inside).
Here's how it works - you can join at terracycle.com or bring in items to a recycling campaign near you. when you've collected your items to recycle, just print the free shipping label and send the stuff to terracycle. The beauty products recycling campaign is not limited to any particular brands (although it's sponsored in part by Garnier).
Less stuff in the dump and if you send in over 10 lbs of containers, you can earn money towards a school or charity of your choice, and enter to win prizes from Garnier. Pretty neat.
So, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed post and please leave comments below.
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