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5 New Uses for Old Makeup

How to recycle old makeup
Written by emilyc

Sometimes, discovering that your beloved bronzer has cracked to pieces is enough to crush your spirits for the whole day (first world problem). You’ll never know frustration until you see the remnants of that perfect nude gloss on the sides of the lip gloss tube – just out of reach of the application wand. Not to worry, this is the age of Pinterest where anything can happen – at least in the DIY/fix-it-yourself world. Here are a bunch of new uses for old makeup that’ll totally set you free:

How to recycle old makeup

Do you have tons of almost-empty lipsticks laying around that you still haven’t thrown away? Scoop out the remains with a knife, and melt them together in a spoon over your stove. Who cares if it looks like you’re running a meth lab – you’re about to have an amazing new shade of lipstick! New makeup means more than your reputation. You can also melt it with some petroleum jelly for a tinted balm.

We all have broken or cracked bronzers, powders, and eyeshadows. Don’t worry; all is not lost. Just crush the pieces into a powder, add rubbing alcohol, and stir to create a thick paste. Let it sit overnight so that the alcohol evaporates. You’ll be left with makeup that’s solid and good as new.

Are you the crafty type? I’m not. It’s great if you are though, mostly because you have a reason to make your own glitter paint. Simply mix old eyeshadows with glue, and there you have it. You could also mix the old shadow with clear nail polish to create a custom nail shade!

I have many nearly empty perfume bottles strewn around my apartment. There’s so little liquid left, you can’t spray them anymore, but they look pretty. To make the most out of those last bits of fragrance, pour the remaining contents into an unscented lotion and mix. DIY scented lotion!

You know that frustrating point in time where your fave lip gloss is running out but you can see that there’s still plenty on the sides of the bottle? If only that stubborn applicator wand could reach. Problem solved: soak the bottle in hot water, and the remaining gloss will fall from the sides of the tube to the bottom. You can do this with mascara, too!

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About the author

emilyc

Emily is a New Yorker trapped in a Floridian's body and loves every minute of her big city life. With a major in international business and years of being surrounded by ill-fitting suits and all the wrong shoes, she learned that the importance of fashion needs to be communicated to the world. To her, fashion is on the same level as charity work and feeding hungry children. Emily can be found frolicking the streets of her gayborhood enjoying the off-color humor of the gays.

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