If there is one big particular thing that we could learn from the past (almost two years) of the ongoing pandemic, it is that our priorities regarding the future of our health have changed. Securing and protecting our hygiene, our environment and our planet is the only way to live. Thus, the importance of choosing sustainable approaches should be undeniable. The world is slowly ‘’healing’’—from an excessive amount of international travel, hyper-consumption of consumer goods, the fast-fashion manufacturing, and most importantly the production of within the cosmetic industry—are all slowly playing their parts to mitigate the condition of the planet earth. 

And when we mentioned ‘’sustainable practices’’ among the cosmetic industry, we’re clearly aware that beauty moguls across the world are taking more precautious ways in creating zero waste packaging, environmentally-friendly and most importantly, reducing plastic footprint. But above all, how can we, as a consumer, help to play our part as well? (Besides opting for these clean brands of course). That’s right, we need to recycle more beauty products. Our eyeshadow palette to be exact. 

But how could we do so? Aren’t makeup products supposed to have expiry dates? Yes, and that is why instead of throwing those barely-used makeup products—especially those expensive ones, we have to put on our creative hats and play around with reusing current products that we have. So, we at Beauty Insider will teach you a way or two on how you can transform your old, expired eyeshadow palette to a better one.

(Source: Unsplash)

Why Does Makeup Have an Expiration Date? 

Just like foods and beverages, your beauty products also came in with expiration dates. And just like foods, expiration dates were set by the companies to ensure the quality of their products, their performances and more importantly to keep you safe. Every product that is produced with active ingredients inside can dry out, separate, rusted and degrade throughout time. And in results? They’ll appear rough, clumpy and dangerous to be applied to your skin. All of these can lead to rashness, inflammation and worse, skin cancer. But that’s not all though, whether you’re aware or not, beauty products, and we mean, all beauty products are prone to trapped bacterias. How can they not? Imagine all those dirty brushes, hell, dirty fingers transferring from one product to another—creating a huge amount of clampiness. This is when expiration dates came into play. When you start to notice there’s a slight change in texture, colour or quality, you know that’s the time to toss it out. Particularly, eye products like eyeshadow palettes, because they can be very very dangerous. 

When Do Eyeshadow Expire? 

Each makeup product varies in expiration date. But since eyeshadows are prone to air-exposure, the average eyeshadow usually lasts between six to 12 months only. But please bear in mind that different brands will also have different shelf-life. In short, if you opt for a clean, vegan and using only 100% natural ingredients then, expect a longevity in quality due to its zero preservatives in their products. However, if you have a cream-based eyeshadow, their entity would be much shorter than powder-based products. The reason is because cream-based products are usually made for hydrating purposes, and hydrating ingredients are a breeding ground for bacteria to multiply. So, yuck! So before you swipe your credit cards at the cashier counter please ensure that expensive-glamour-looking eyeshadow palettes have their own expiration date—for the sake of your skin concern. 

(Source: Unsplash)

What To Do With Your Old Eyeshadow Palette? 

Surprisingly, there’s a lot, and we say it again, a lot of different methods you could do to recycle or reuse your old, expensive eyeshadow palette. Let’s face it, everyone (including me) who owns makeup products, as small as it seems, there will come a time when you know you should get rid of them, no matter the reasons behind—expired products, non-suitable ingredients, wrong shades, so on and so forth. Especially when you know you invested so much money into purchasing those products. But fret not, just as the usage of beauty products are customizable, so are the ingredients. Believe it or not, eyeshadows shouldn’t just stay as ‘’eyeshadows’’ even if they have passed through its termination. So, how to make use of your old eyeshadow palette, you ask? Easy, check out these easy but creative ways to keep your eyeshadows with you, without having to toss it in the bin. *Insert sad face emoji here*.

Try Scotch-Tapping Your Palette

There would be a moment when you will come across with an ‘’ugly appearance’’ to your eyeshadow palette. Due to its heavy usage, your eyeshadow palette might come off scrappy, falling out and just overall low in quality. If you know that you’re still safe to use those palettes but need a quick fix to its look, we suggest you try scotch-tapping your palette. Because eyeshadow palettes are prone to absorb oily elements faster than any makeup products, it’s important for you to clean and get rid of all those dirts and leftover sebum that are trapped inside those sparkly beautiful powders. So, how do we do it? One Reddit user presented that by using a few pieces of duct tape, (depending on how large in perimeter your palette is), and just simply pressed it down onto the surface and made sure it adhered. It’s actually the same technique as waxing those unwanted hairs on your body area, but without pain and redness at the end. We’re just going to drop the full thread here. Happy scotch-ing! 

(Source: Unsplash)

Turn Your Eyeshadow Into Sparkly Nail Polish

Yay, another DIY! Who doesn’t love a good ole’ nail polish? Can you imagine if someone were to ask, what colours your nail polish are? And you confidently answered, ‘’I’m using FentyBeauty on my nail,’’ knowing damn well there are no FentyBeauty nails—just yet. So, what to have and do in this technique? Make sure you start by pouring out about ⅙ of the those clear, transparent nail polish in a brand new clean bottle. However, if you already have a half-used clear nail polish bottle available, you can go ahead and use them instead. Next, after you identified and confirmed which eyeshadow palettes to let go of, gently crush the powder until it turns out to be soft and small in sizes. We recommend you use a cuticle, it’d be much easier. Then, as you would expect, pour the crushed powder into the nail polish bottle. The amount of eyeshadow you add to your polish is completely dependent on you, though, the more products thrown into the bottle, the better it looks on your nails. Make sure you shake them well before using them so it’ll create a more opaque colour. Oh, and you might want to secure the lid as well. Have fun trying!

Our Final Verdict 

With all that being said and explained. It is important to actually take care of your skin by stopping using products that have passed the expiration date. However, with the current situation of the world that we’re facing, it is equally important to take care of the environment and start recycling and repurpose old products. We know sometimes it can be hard to throw away good beauty products that you own but hey, there are indeed some other fun ways you can do to keep them around! Happy DIY-ing! 

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