You might be wondering if makeup products you've had lying around for a while can be used again? Here's a guide on how to clean out and freshen up your makeup. With reduced bacteria, dirt, and old makeup, your skin will become healthier, get fewer imperfections, and glow. Your skin will thank you!
Mascara
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If your mascara has been dry since winter, the waxes may have hardened. Some waxes melt around 35 degrees, so try placing the mascara in a warm water bath for 5 minutes. Then stir around with the mascara wand.
? Throw Away
If the mascara is still dry despite the warm bath, it's best to throw it away. Adding various substances to your dry mascara is not recommended. It's simply old and likely full of bacteria. Buy a new one. If the mascara isn't dry, smell it. If it smells bad, throw it away!
Pressed Powder Makeup ✅ Save
Oils from your skin can sometimes stick to your pressed powder. Fat from your face transfers with makeup brushes, makeup sponges, and similar tools. This can create a tough and hard surface on your makeup that blocks and prevents you from picking up the makeup with your brush. Carefully scrape away this surface with, for example, a small smooth knife. Now you should be able to use your makeup again.
Oils stuck on pressed powder.
Tip! Wash your brush after each use to avoid this. You can also try wiping your brush on a paper between re-applications. Make sure to wait until your face cream or oil has been absorbed by the skin or wipe excess oil from your skin with a tissue before applying your powder makeup.
Throw Away
Most pressed powders like eyeshadow, blush, and various powder types contain oils. Oils can become rancid over time. Therefore, smell your makeup to check if it has a sharp, pungent, and rancid odor. Throw it away if that's the case, as rancid oils damage the skin barrier.
Lip Makeup ✅ Save
Does the applicator on your lip gloss look unappealing? Maybe it has lipstick stuck to it or just looks unhygienic? Wipe off and wash the applicator with mild soap. Rinse the soap residue thoroughly. It's important to let the applicator dry completely (until the next day) so you don't get water into your product. Place plastic wrap over your lip gloss tube to protect the product while waiting for the applicator to dry. Lipstick can look dull on the surface. Dead skin cells and bacteria may have accumulated there, or it might have dried out or oxidized since you last used it. Wipe the lipstick with paper or stroke it several times on a regular, clean copy paper if it looks really unappealing. This way you'll get rid of the unsightly surface.
Throw Away
Smell your lip makeup whether it's liquid or solid. Remember that you consume your lip makeup, so always throw it away if it smells rancid, pungent, or bad.
Liquid Makeup ✅ Save
Does your foundation feel a bit dry or thick so that it crumbles or cracks on the skin? Try mixing a dab of foundation with a drop of any facial oil.
Throw Away
Guess what? Yes! Smell it. You know what to do.
Uncertain?
If the makeup smells bad, old, or completely different, it's obviously time to throw it away. But sometimes it smells just like normal despite having had the product for a long time. Makeup has a best before date or open jar marking (use within x months after opening). Follow that, and if you can't find a date, then:
Throw away if you've used the product on and off for several years.
Keep if you've used the product almost daily since you bought it.
Throw away if there's only a little left, e.g., liquid makeup in a tube or bottle. A small amount of makeup means a lot of air, and there's a high risk that your product has oxidized, especially if it has remained unused for a while.
Keep your loose mineral makeup if it's liquid and oil-free. Pure minerals last for an incredibly long time, especially if you tap the makeup into the lid and don't dip fingers or brushes directly into the product.
Keep your water-free cream makeup that often contains coconut oil, waxes, or shea butter. It usually lasts longer than the expiration date.
How to clean your makeup
Makeup brushes
If you don't usually wash your makeup brushes after each use, now is the time. Fall-clean your makeup brushes and other applicators. Your skin will be healthier and your makeup will last longer. Clean your brushes with mild soap and water. The best soap to clean with is Dr. Bronner's soaps. It makes the entire washing routine easier and more enjoyable.
Soap and polish
Soap and water
Time to wash your makeup lids! All dirty lids, especially for mineral makeup, need to be freshened up now and then. Now is an excellent opportunity. Wash with soap and water. Then dry thoroughly. If the makeup is stuck very firmly, you'll need to scrub with coconut oil and a little baking soda to loosen it. Then wash away oil residue with soap and water. Dry off. Done!
Mineral makeup can be really stubborn. Here scrubbing with coconut oil and baking soda was required.
Wipe
We all know how sticky it can get around a powder compact, the edges of your cream makeup jar, outside bottle necks, etc. Wipe with soap and water or coconut oil. Only clean the packaging without getting soap and water in the makeup. Use a tissue or soft paper to wipe off the makeup product itself.
The edges were easily cleaned with soap and water.
Polish
Makeup gets unpleasant fingerprints and other sticky marks on the outside of packaging. Even skincare and hygiene products that are left out get unsightly limescale stains and perhaps even toothpaste splashes on them. With an effective polishing agent, it becomes both easy and fun to keep containers and bottles clean!
Glossy makeup containers easily become sticky. Especially if you use facial oil.
@ekotipset has a good recipe for an environmentally friendly window cleaner that works perfectly for polishing makeup containers, bottles, and other items in the bathroom.
Mix
4 dl water
1 dl 24% vinegar
5 drops of mild and environmentally friendly dish soap
or
3 dl water
2 dl 2% vinegar
5 drops of mild and environmentally friendly dish soap
Pour into a spray bottle and polish away! While you're at it, polish mirrors, shower glass, faucets, bathtubs, and windows. Works best with a clean microfiber cloth. Enjoy your shiny clean surfaces and bottles!
