As a certified makeup artist, if anyone’s going to be constantly branching out and trying new products on the regular, it’s going to be you. Sometimes, you’ll find brands and products you love, and use them up in the blink of an eye. Other times, you’ll try out things that won’t necessarily be your cup of tea.
Either way, it can result in a lot of leftover and/or unused product that winds up going to waste. We live in an age where reducing our waste and thinking green is crucial. So if provided with options to be able to save and use all those old or unwanted products, it’s in our best interest to jump on them! Besides, repurposing makeup means you get to save money on replacement products. Double win!
Note: The following tips are NOT applicable to any makeup products that have expired. If the product is past its expiration date, throw it away and do NOT use it. Expired makeup is unsanitary makeup.
Here are 5 easy do-it-yourself hacks for repurposing your makeup!
1. 2+ Broken Lipsticks 1 New Lipstick Shade
We all know the heart break of wearing your favorite lipstick down to a nub. There’s still the tiniest bit left, but not enough for a nice, full application. What a tease! Here’s a tip, though: instead of throwing it away, start saving your lipstick tubes when they’ve hit this stage. You can then combine them all to create a brand NEW lip shade!
Simply buy yourself a small container – nothing fancy, anything from your local dollar store will do. Very carefully, use a small knife to scoop out the remaining product from each lipstick tube. You can then melt all of the waxy remnants together in a big spoon. Once fully liquefied, pour the new color into the container, and then let harden in the fridge.
The coolest part is that this brand new lip shade will be 100% unique: you’ll be the only one who has it!
2. Liquid Lipstick Eye Makeup
One time, I purchased a royal blue liquid lipstick and was totally stoked to try it on. It took all of one application for me to realize that unless I was going to a night club, there was no way I could pull that shade off. I stopped using it and eventually lost it altogether. Not only was this a complete waste of money and unnecessary eco-waste, it was a missed opportunity!
Believe it or not, liquid lipstick can also be used as eye makeup – with GREAT results. Two examples we recommend trying out are:
- Using liquid lipstick as liquid eyeshadow – Like liquid eyeshadow, not only is it simple to apply liquid lipstick to your upper lids, it also tends to be long-lasting and crease-free. If it’s a light enough shade, you can also treat it as a base for a nice, powdered shadow. With most liquid lipsticks, though, it doesn’t take much to apply a LOT of heavily pigmented product. So as QC executive MUA and tutor, Nathan Johnson, always recommends: start light, and build thin layers to increase the strength of the product.
- Using liquid lipstick as eyeliner – All you need is a clean eyeliner brush, and you can simply dip it into the liquid lipstick to extract the product, and voila! Draw it along your upper lid to create a stunning matte eyeliner look that’s both fierce and full of personality.
3. Mascara Wand Eyebrow Brush
Save yourself the unnecessary dollars spent on an eyebrow brush by simply making use of any mascara you’re intending to throw out. Even if the mascara itself is no longer good, the wand can still be utilized! All you need to do is clean it thoroughly, ensuring that any old makeup previously on it is removed, and the product is now sanitary. That’s all there is to it! Now you can tame your brows whenever necessary, without having to open your wallet.
If you’re unsure how to properly clean your mascara wand, don’t worry! There are plenty of tutorials you can read or watch online. Here’s one, in case you’re interested.
4. Crumpled Up Eyeshadow Lip Tint
It’s a sad day when one of our favorite eyeshadows breaks apart. But that doesn’t mean it’s no good to you anymore! One obvious option is to repair it as best you can. But as long as the product hasn’t expired, you can also repurpose it into a really boss lip tint! This is especially the case for lighter colored and/or glittery eyeshadows. Quite literally all you need to do is gather the broken shadow into a small container, and that’s it!
5. Lip Balm Eyebrow Wax
I’ll admit that I’m 100% responsible for buying way more lip balms than necessary, using them a handful of times, and then losing them in my purse, jacket pocket, bedroom, etc. Typically, once I have found it, my natural inclination is to throw it away, regardless of whether it’s still good or not.
Instead, when you find yourself in this situation, there’s another purpose it can fulfill for you: eyebrow wax! When I’m having a bad brow day, they tend to look like startled caterpillars. If I can’t get them threaded anytime soon, I need a miracle to keep them tamed. Lip balm is a wonderful little miracle that can do the trick, for a fraction of the price eyebrow wax would cost!
The best part about these DIY makeup hacks is that not only can you use them for yourself, you can incorporate them into your professional kit and use them as part of your makeup artist business! There are countless ways to repurpose makeup and other beauty products, and find new and creative ways to put them to use. Who knows… Maybe YOU’LL come up with the next biggest trend!
