How to dispose of beauty products you tried but didn’t like

Yes, it is possible to recycle barely used beauty products.

Before you know it, these products (and more) will end up in your “bottom drawer of ruin” along with your discarded scrunchies and dried mascara, where they’ll live out the rest of their days until they’re inevitably thrown away. .

It’s no secret that the beauty industry has a huge waste problem, with an estimated 120 billion products ending up in landfills each year.

Rather than throwing away foundations that are too dark or scents that are too sweet and causing problems, there are other ways to recycle your beauty junk that are kinder to the planet (and potentially a boon to your bank balance).

Not just for spring, cleaning out your beauty salon drawer may reveal a treasure trove of forgotten products that haven’t seen their best yet and want to reintroduce them into your routine.

It likewise provides an opportunity to be realistic about the products you do and don’t use, such as that metallic green liquid eyeliner you’ve been saving for “someday.”

Treat tidying up like taking stock of your inventory. Sort products by category, from makeup to skin care, hair care, body care, and fragrance.

For hygiene reasons, some products cannot be reused.

Products with opened, reusable applicators, such as mascara, lip gloss, concealer, and nail polish, can be donated or resold, as can opened jar packaging that requires dipping your finger in to remove the product. is not suitable.

Avoid using any opened or swatched cream-based makeup products that are expired, available by prescription only, or used for oral hygiene, as they can be breeding grounds for bacteria. would be better.

Thankfully, there are many recycling initiatives in Aotearoa that make it easy to dispose of these beauty items in an environmentally friendly way.

TerraCycle, the nation’s largest waste management and recycling provider, has partnered with several beauty brands and department stores to encourage consumers to take their empty or nearly empty beauty products home for cleaning, sorting, and recycling. We are implementing take-back initiatives and free recycling programs. reintroduced into the chain.

Garnier, Gillette, Jeuneora, Kiehl’s, Maybelline, Mecca, and Sephora are just a few of the brands that have partnered with TerraCycle, while others such as Emma Lewisham and Aleph Beauty extend the lifecycle of a single jar. and has adopted unique circularity initiatives to close the loop. .

Charities such as Auckland City Mission, Women’s Refuge and Dress For Success are happy to accept all types of lotions and potions in unopened condition, but please call ahead before donating gently used products. We recommend asking.

Auckland City Mission Accepts toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner, soap, and moisturizer. You can also donate through Soap For Society, a charity affiliated with the mission to address sanitary poverty in Aotearoa.

dress for success To help women re-enter the workforce, they are seeking shampoo and conditioner, toiletry bags, small bottles of body lotion, perfume and shower gel.

women’s shelter Last February, the company held the Love Grace Handbag Appeal in honor of Grace Millane, calling for donations of beauty products such as toiletries and hand cream, as well as luxury items such as makeup and perfume.

AuntiesA charity supporting women recovering from abusive relationships is appealing for hotel-sized or full-sized toiletries to help women in need.

Beauty consignment company Second Skin collects, sanitizes, and sells disused and unused beauty products on behalf of sellers. This is an idea that founder and managing director Anastasia Donna Chaid came up with during the lockdown in March 2020.

What started as a single exfoliating product that Anastasia herself tried and didn’t like, quickly turned into a bona fide business proposition to combat beauty waste.

It took Anastasia six months to create a way to protect both consumers and sellers in the previously untapped beauty resale market, and in September 2020, she created an e-commerce platform and a rapidly growing social We launched Second Skin with media services.

Second Skin adheres to strict product resale standards to protect consumer safety and build trust. All products must be authentic, within their expiry date, and undamaged, but we must be able to verify the exact authenticity of unopened items.

Opened products should be verified to ensure that the approximate amount of product remaining is within the PAO listed on the bottle.

Anastasia says her initial reaction to the beauty consignment business was hesitation, but once consumers realized that all products go through a rigorous hygiene and disinfection process, sellers quickly came around. he added.

Of course, many products, such as mascara, cannot be resold, but the bulk of our business (about 80% of sales) comes from new, unopened products.

“We didn’t want a peer-to-peer marketplace model where used beauty products are sold directly due to the lack of trust and credibility. Instead, we started a consignment model with robust product standards. All products have been evaluated by me through an audit process so you can shop with confidence,” says Anastasia.

She said Second Skin is a great antidote to the current cost of living crisis, with sellers receiving up to 60 per cent of the sale price (excluding GST) and buyers purchasing quality beauty products from popular brands such as I added that it can be done. Purchase Mecca, Paula’s Choice, and Drunk Elephant at a fraction of the suggested retail price.

“We have provided a solution for purchasing items that have been gifted but never worn. Buyers can now select their favorite unopened or gently used items at a deep discount. It’s very attractive,” says Anastasia.

Sellers can have their rarely used or new products shipped directly to Westmere’s Second Skin warehouse, or they can purchase a sales kit to package their own items and schedule a courier pickup. can. Products rejected during the audit process are collected as part of TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box.

It is Anastasia’s hope that Second Skin will continue to capture the attention of beauty enthusiasts looking to make some space in their doom drawer.

“We want people to know more about what we can do with unloved and unused products. Our biggest goal is to grow our customer base of sellers and buyers.”Anastasia says.

“We want to make the process of reselling beauty products as efficient and smooth as possible.”

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