· Makeup pencils: A lot of cosmetic companies have jumbo lip or eye “crayons” that work well but once you sharpen them you end up sharpening away a lot of product, too. A great way around this is to “de-pot” those pencils. You can purchase little containers at the dollar store or a beauty supply store to put the product in. All you need is a hairdryer and a pair of pliers or tongs. Holding the pencil, product side down, use the pliers or tongs (to avoid burning yourself) to hold the pencil in one hand while you apply the heat from the hairdryer in the other. It does take some time but eventually the product will begin to drip from the pencil into the container. Let it cool and voila, you will have use of the full amount of product without sharpening it and your hard earned dollars away.
o This is also a great technique to save a broken tube of lipstick. Instead of using a hairdryer, simply scoop the remaining lipstick into a container and use a lip brush to apply.
· Eye Creams: Anybody that has used a product that comes in a tube knows the frustration of trying to use “every last drop.” A great way to easily do this is to use a toothpaste squeezer. You can purchase them at places like Bed Bath and Beyond and while they’re designed to be used for tubes of toothpaste, they work well for other tubed products, too! Also, don’t forget about cutting off the end and getting to the product that way, too.
· Bar Soap: My husband is apparently “too good” to use those last little pieces of bar soap. He refuses to use liquid body wash to avoid this problem (even though I have about 20 in my stockpile) but leaves the little soap tidbits for me. An easy way to make use of those little scraps is to make them into a brand new bar of soap. Leave a glass jar in your tub and throw all the soap scraps into the jar. Keep a lid on the jar until you’re ready to make your new bar of soap. When you’ve collected enough scraps, fill the jar with about 1/3 the amount of water as there is soap and wait several days so the soap and water have time to melt into one another. Next, use a small dish that is about the size of a bar of soap (a plastic soap dish works well) and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the soap and water mixture into the dish and wait until it hardens and dries and you’ll have a brand new bar of soap.
o By mixing soap scraps of various scents you can even make your own custom soap blends. This is a fun project that the kids will love doing!
· Brush Cleanser: When I worked in the makeup artistry field, we used expensive brush cleanser to clean our makeup brushes. I have found over the years that baby shampoo works just as well and is much cheaper. Anything that’s gentle enough to be used on a baby is gentle enough for your makeup brushes. Put a small amount of baby shampoo in the palm or your hand, wet your makeup brush and swirl into the shampoo. Continue swirling and rinsing until the brushes rinse clean, reshape and lay flat to dry.
As always...shop like a Smarty Pants!
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