Here’s a holiday party idea for you and your beauty BFFs! Do a Beauty Swap. Dive into each other’s beauty stashes and trade the stuff you never use for totally free makeup, nail polish, skincare and more!

How Beauty Swap Parties Work

Go through your beauty stash and sort out the items you rarely or never use. Remember, all beauty products have an expiry date – if you don’t share or give them away, they’ll end up in the trash bin anyway.

Invite friends to do the same. Make it a party. Chill the wine, order pizza, and prepare the following:

  • Small plastic jars or bottles
  • Makeup remover 
  • Nail polish remover 
  • Small funnel (for decanting) 

 Now let the beauty bartering begin! You decide what to get in exchange for your own stash — trade it with another product, sell it at a lower price, or ask for something else. (For example, your friend sets you up on a date with her cute co-worker in exchange for a MAC lipstick. We think she’s getting a good deal.)  

Trade or sell whatever doesn’t match your skin color or skin type

We’ve all got that foundation or lipstick that looked great in the bottle but just looked weird on our skin tone. Trade them with your friends, or sell them for a super low price. Or you can even give them away – it is Christmas after all, and they do you a favor by decluttering your makeup drawer.

Swap nail polish or perfume

Admit it: you’ll never actually finish that bottle. You don’t have to give them away or trade them permanently, unless you hate it or are sick of it. You can exchange bottles for a month, long enough for you to play with a new color or scent without ly buying a new one.

Exchange lipstick samples

So many lipsticks, so little time. It’s rare for any of us to finish an entire tube, even if we apply the same color every day. So here’s what you do: slice off a little bit of your lipstick and put it in a small plastic jar. Trade with friends. Now you all basically got to shop each other’s stash! It’s like getting free makeup samples from people who share your amazing taste in beauty products.

beauty swap

Decant skincare and scents

A lot of skincare products (toners, oils, masks, lotions)come in huge jars and bottles that take forever to finish. And be honest: sometimes you’re just dying to try something new, but you’re forcing yourself to wait until you run out.

Decanting your skincare does both! Just pour the product into a clean jar or bottle. It’s helpful to have a small funnel so you don’t spill anything.

So what are you waiting for? Message your beauty BFFs and organize a beauty swap. You’ll get free makeup and other beauty essentials, and you can spend a whole night just trying on new products and taking lots of pics.