It’s that time of the year. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming! Aside from getting outside more, it’s also that time of the year where, for some reason, we’ve decided to dust off the cobwebs and get to cleaning. So, if your bathroom and beauty cabinet are on your ‘to clean list’, then listen up. 

Being a minimalist is great and the satisfaction of having a clutter-free cupboard is amazing but make sure you keep the essentials and use everything up before tossing it out. A good place to start it to organise your cupboard in a way that you can actually see everything. I sort mine into a couple of different sections:

• Skincare regimen
• Everyday makeup
• Extra special makeup 
• Nails, hair and hair removal

Another thing to try is doing a clean out and put your ‘last ofs’ in a basket. Then spend a week or two using them up. You get the satisfaction of having a clean cupboard and get to use the last of your moisturiser, that small amount of BB cream you have left and the last of your serum so you don’t waste a drop (and get your money’s worth)!

Did you know that your makeup has an expiration date? It doesn’t over ripen as fast as bananas but you’d be surprised at the shelf life of some of your favourites. The reason for this? It’s not a marketing ploy to get you to purchase more, after a period of time beauty products become a breeding ground for bacteria and can lead to an increased risk of irritations, infections and dermatitis. 

On the back of products you’ll see a tiny skincare tub with a number then a big M next to it, this represents a shelf life duration. If it reads 6M for example this means once you’ve opened a product you have six months to use it. Personally I find the best way to keep track of these is using a marker to write the opened month and year on the product. 

On some products in particular you’ll need to take careful notice of the expiry date itself. This is important for things like sunscreens as the active ingredients degrades and the product is ineffective. Also something to note is that because many natural and organic products don’t contain preservatives they will expire faster.

As a general rule here are the durations of use after opening a product:

Use within 3 months — mascara

Use within 6 months — foundation, oils, serums, sunscreens and moisturisers

Use within 12 months — lipstick, lip gloss and perfume

Use within 24 months — all powder based products (blush, eye shadow palettes, bronzers)

Once it’s empty then it is time to find the right end solution for your product. First up, many brands are starting take back programs for their own products. Better yet, if you’ve made a refillable beauty purchase opt for that!

The reason why your beauty products are so difficult to recycle is their size but also because they are often made up of a mixture of materials. For example, a milk bottle is made from one type of plastic. Whereas if you think of a standard eyeshadow palette you’ve got a glass mirror, a hard plastic exterior, a different type of plastic used on the interior and then a brush made from nylon bristles and a different plastic again. This is why many beauty products need to go to specialty recyclers to be recycled. 

At home:

Here are a couple of things to consider before placing a beauty product into your kerbside recycling bin.

1. Is it bigger than 150ml?
2. Is it made from just one material?
3. Is it empty?

If you answered yes to all of the above chances are it can be kerbside recycled. Generally speaking, the following can go into your kerbside bin but double check with your local council to see what they accept:

• Shampoo and conditioner bottles (unscrew all pumps)
• Body wash containers (unscrew pumps)
• Roll on deodorant
• Aerosol hair spray and dry shampoo cans 

In store: 

In store drop offs are available at David Jones, MECCA, Priceline and now Myer for all empty beauty products. To recycle empty beauty products online there is the BRAD program.

Important: these items cannot be recycled at all in kerbside bins or by the majority of speciality programs:

• Nail polish 
• Nail polish removers
• Perfume bottles