You might wonder if makeup products you’ve had lying around for a while can still be used? Here’s a guide on how to clear out and refresh your makeup. With fewer bacteria, dirt, and old makeup, your skin will become healthier, have fewer blemishes, and glow. Your skin will thank you!
Mascara
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If the mascara has been dry since last winter, the waxes may have hardened. Some waxes melt around 35 degrees Celsius, so try placing the mascara in a warm water bath for 5 minutes. Then stir it around with the mascara brush.
? Throw away
If the mascara is dry despite a warm bath, it’s best to throw it away. Adding various agents to your dry mascara is not recommended. It’s simply old and probably 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
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Oils from your skin can sometimes stick to your pressed powder. Oils from your face transfer with makeup brushes, sponges, and similar tools. This can create a sticky, hard surface on your makeup that blocks and prevents your brush from picking up the product. Gently scrape off 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 every use to avoid this. You can also try wiping your brush on paper between reapplications. Make sure to wait until your face cream or oil has absorbed into the skin or wipe off excess oil on your skin with a tissue before applying your powder makeup.
Throw away
Most pressed powders like eyeshadow, blush, and various powders contain oils. Oils can go rancid over time. So smell your makeup to see if it has a sharp, harsh, or rancid odor. Throw it away if so, because rancid oils damage the skin barrier.
Lip makeup
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Does the lip gloss applicator feel dull? Maybe lipstick is stuck on it or it just looks unclean? Wipe and wash the applicator with mild soap. Then rinse off soap residue thoroughly. It’s important to let the applicator dry completely (until the next day) so no water gets into your product. Cover your lip gloss tube with plastic wrap to protect the product while the applicator dries.
Lipstick can look dull on the surface. Dead skin cells and bacteria may be stuck there, or it might have dried out or oxidized since you last used it. Wipe the lipstick with paper or swipe it several times on a clean sheet of copy paper if it looks really dull. This way, you get rid of the ugly surface.
Throw away
Smell your lip makeup whether it’s liquid or solid. Remember, you’re ingesting your lip makeup, so always throw it away if it smells rancid, sharp, or bad.
Liquid makeup
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Does your foundation feel a bit dry or thick so it crumbles or cracks on your skin? Try mixing a dab of foundation with a drop of any facial oil.
Throw away
Guess. Yep! Smell it. You know the drill.
Unsure?
If the makeup smells bad, old, or completely different, it’s clear that it should be thrown away. But sometimes it smells just like usual even though you’ve had the product for a long time. Makeup has a best-before date or open jar label (use within x months after opening). Follow that, and if you can’t find a date then:
- Throw away if you have used the product on and off for several years.
- Keep if you have used the product almost every day since you bought it.
- Throw away if there’s only a little left, e.g., liquid makeup in a tube or bottle. A little makeup left means a lot of air, and there’s a high risk your product has oxidized if it’s also been untouched for a while.
- Keep if your loose mineral makeup is free of liquids and oils. Pure minerals last incredibly many years, 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, which often contains a lot of 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, it’s time now. Do a fall cleaning of your makeup brushes and other applicators.
Your skin will feel better and your makeup will last longer. Clean your brushes with mild soap and water. The best soaps for cleaning are mild, natural soaps. It makes the whole washing routine easier and more enjoyable.
Soap and cleaner
Soap and water
Time to wash the makeup lids! All dirty lids, especially for mineral makeup, need freshening up now and then. Now is a perfect time. Wash with soap and water. Then wipe thoroughly. If the makeup is very stubborn, you need to rub with coconut oil and a little baking soda to loosen it. Then wash off oil residues with soap and water. Wipe dry. Done!
Mineral makeup can be really stubborn. Here rubbing with coconut oil and baking soda.
Wipe
We all know how sticky it can get around a powder case, the edges of your cream makeup in a jar, outside bottle necks, etc. Wipe off with soap and water or coconut oil. Only wipe the packaging without getting soap and water into the makeup. Use a tissue or soft paper to wipe the makeup product itself.
The edges were easily wiped clean with soap and water.
Polish
Makeup gets annoying fingerprints and other smudges on the outside of the packaging. Even skincare and hygiene products left out get dull lime spots and maybe even toothpaste splashes.
With an effective cleaner, it becomes both easy and fun to keep cases and bottles clean!
Smooth makeup cases tend to get sticky, especially if you use facial oil.
@ekotipset has a great recipe for an eco-friendly window cleaner that works perfectly for polishing makeup cases, bottles, and other bathroom items.
Mix
- 4 dl water
- 1 dl 24% vinegar
- 5 drops of mild and eco-friendly dish soap
or
- 3 dl water
- 2 dl 2% vinegar
- 5 drops of mild and eco-friendly dish soap
Pour into a spray bottle and polish up! While you're at it, clean mirrors, shower glass, faucets, bathtubs, and windows. Best used with a clean microfiber cloth. Enjoy sparkling clean surfaces and bottles!
