How to Make your Cosmetics Last Longer

When it comes to cosmetics be they skin care or color cosmetics, they cost and can cost heavily.

Whilst they may be claiming to be the best anti-ageing moisturizer or longest lasting lipstick, knowing a few tricks of making them stretch further is helping you get better value for money and the most out of your cosmetics.

Many cosmetic fans end up wasting their prized Mac foundation or expensive body oil when there are simple ways of extending their life and making them last longer.

Having trained and worked as a Beauty Therapist, Freelance Make Up Artist and Cosmetic Consultant spanning over 20 years, I have picked up many quick and easy beauty tips including ways to get the most from your products.

As I had to have a large selection of cosmetics, trying to save money by getting the most out them, was essential.

The cosmetics industry is big business, all the brands competing for a slice of the pie that we all contribute to in one way or another.

Commonly used cosmetics that you may not think of include soap, shampoo, deodorant and shaving cream.

Let’s take a look at my top tips on how to make your cosmetics last longer and save you money.

Invest a few dollars or less and buy a paint tube wringer.

One of the best inventions for making products go further I discovered when my mum used them for her watercolour, acrylic and oil paints.

It is amazing how much extra is lurking in those tubes of cosmetics when you use them. Not just for paints and toothpaste they are great for ALL cosmetics in tubes.

Prolonging Foundation

Mixing your foundation with your moisturizer is a great tip which really helps your base last much longer.

This is particularly good to do for summer time if you wear foundation.

No need to have more than one which many women will do for seasonal changes.

Nearly Finished Bronzer

Mix the last bits of your bronzer with some moisturizer and use as a body shimmer for arms and décolletage areas.

You can use liquid or powder bronzer for this and even a tiny bit of bronzer will go further with moisturizer.

Do you love the feel of body oil on your skin after a shower or bath? Wish it was not so darn expensive?

Take a quarter of your oil and pour it into a small clean sterilized pump container, fill it up with water and hey presto you have a handy spray that you can leave in the bathroom and use instead which will still leave your skin well moisturized , soft and supple.

You will make your oil last considerably longer this way.

No Shaving Cream?

No worries use a drop of your hair conditioner instead. Ideal if you have a conditioner you are not happy with, no need to chuck it out. Hair conditioner will leave your legs silky smooth and soft.

Another useful alternative is olive oil one of nature’s most useful ingredients. Ideal for men and women to use, it leaves the skin soft, supple and moisturized.

When finished lightly blot the skin with a tissue or give a splash of cold water and pat the skin dry. Other oils if you don’t have olive oil are avocado, jojoba, coconut or apricot kernel oil but they may not be cost effective to use permanently.

Razor Sharp

After shaving, soak your razor in baby oil as it prevents the metal oxidizing and will keep the blades sharp longer. No need for a new blade just yet!

Use old, broken or nearly finished blush to make your own Creme Blush which is easy, quick and gives a fresh dewy look to the complexion. You can mix a few different blushes together to make a unique shade that will compliment your skin tone.

Another thing you can do with broken blush is to add a drop of rubbing alcohol to the compact it was in and press the blush back in. The powder will set back into the metal pan.

Broken Eyeshadows

Never discard a broken eyeshadow as it can be recycled and used loose by popping it into a small eyeshadow or lip gloss jar.

Any travel size jars work as do arts and crafts jars, or jars for jewelry findings or seed beads.

Another idea is to using it as powder eyeliner, so check out how to apply loose powder eyeliners and how to quickly remove eyeliner mistakes for more tips and tricks that will save you money and make your cosmetics last longer.

Old Mascara Wands

When your mascara is finished, keep the wand and stick it in the dishwasher or clean and sterilize thoroughly. Use this wand to keep those eyebrows groomed.

Another couple of uses are to spray with a little hair spray and keep any straggly hairs in place around the hairline and to use in how to get beautiful eyelashes and eyebrows with castor oil for applying the castor oil.

If you find your eyeliner, eyebrow or lip pencils go soft and are a nightmare to sharpen then pop them in the fridge.

Particularly in hot climates the wax in the pencils melt making it harder or near impossible to get the correct application.

You end up using too much product you don’t need and will be sharpening the pencils into oblivion.

Sharpening your pencils is important and there are great double ones for thick and thin pencils which are worth buying instead of two separate ones.

Using Every Last bit of Lipstick

There is always a bit of lipstick still left in tubes that seems impossible to remove. Use a lip brush, Q-tip, plastic spatula, toothpick or cocktail stick to remove every last bit of your favorite lippy.

Another trick for extending the life of your lipstick is to store in the fridge in humid or hot conditions. It prevents the wax going soft and more susceptible to breaking.

For keeping your lipstick hygienic, dip the tube in rubbing alcohol for 15-30 seconds, remove and wipe the top off. Popping your lipstick in the freezer will also sterilize it and kill any bacteria.

If you have broken lipsticks don’t discard the broken part but pop it in a small pot and use with a lip brush.

Make cream blush from old lippy.

If you are a diehard fan of nail polish and fed up of them getting thick, sticky or hardening, there are a few tricks to reviving them back to life.

Rubbing the bottle between the palms of the hand will warm up the polish and will sometimes be all that’s needed.

As a quick fix, a few drops of nail polish remover will thin out the consistency but only put a drop in from a Q-tip to stop it thinning out too much.

Nail polish thinner is also commercially available which does the trick too and is widely available at different price points.

A tip is to put your nail polish in the fridge before using. Ideal as a preventative measure it stops solvents evaporating and the polish from thickening.

Pump Dispenser Cosmetics

Any cosmetics you have that have a pump, unscrew the top off and you will see there is usually more product on the long tube which you can use. The tube is also good for lifting off any product that is on the edges of the container.

Looking after your makeup brushes will prolong their life as I know only too well. They were the tools of my trade and expensive to replace.

It does not matter if you have one brush or twenty, you can apply a few simple tips that will save you replacing them.

If your makeup brushes are losing bristles, take a pair of pliers to tighten the metal part at the base of the bristles. This is a very easy and simple way of preventing any further shedding.

Another tip is to clean them properly so check out how to make DIY makeup brush cleanser solution which gives great ideas and recipes on homemade brush cleaners using commonly found ingredients in the home. Not only is it cheaper to make your own but they clean makeup brushes effectively while being gentle on the bristles.

These are some of my top tips to try out that will really make a difference to prolonging all your beauty products. The savings will mount up and are easy to start implementing now!

For more ideas check out

How to Find Good Quality Makeup Affordably

How to Make Perfume Last Longer

When Should You Throw Out Your Makeup?

Makeup Crafts for Teens

How to Make Homemade Layered Lip Gloss

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