Getting Your Moneys Worth.

I am obsessed with using up every last drop of each and every product in my out of control beauty repertoire. Makeup is expensive and I want to get every last penny out of every single product I own. It may sound insane, but if you spend $60 on a foundation, you might as well get your money’s worth. Am I right? I wholeheartedly recommend slicing and dicing your plastic makeup packaging. And once you start to do this, you’ll never be able to stop yourself. I apologize in advance for creating money-saving, use every last drop, makeup-using monsters.

My beloved Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation post de-potting

Tube packing is great because you feel like you can squeeze every last drop out of the bottle. But one little snip of that plastic package in half will reveal a slew of product inside that you had no idea existed. I can usually get 1-2 weeks of daily usage out of the product that I scrape from the inside of the package. To me, that is worth it.

Packaging generally stops your liquid and cream products from drying out. The best way to get every last drop is to place your chopped-up packaging into a plastic Ziploc bag until you can scrape everything you need out. If there is a small amount left, or it is something that I know I will use up within a week I will leave it on my makeup table in the baggie. If this hurts your organization-obsessed system, or it is something that you know you will not use up immediately, you can simply de-pot the product. De-potting is basically when you take something out of it's original packaging to save space (usually reserved for referring to snapping eyeshadow pans out of bulky packaging to save space. I like to use this term for any time I remove something from its original packaging).

What was left inside of my Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation before de-potting

I always save any sample containers I get. When you request samples at Mac, Sephora or any beauty counter, they will give you a lovely little plastic pot with a screw top or snap lid. These are perfect for re-using over and over again. They make the perfect place to store your almost used-up, de-potted products. You can also purchase these little pots at beauty supply stores such as Sally's Beauty Supply but since this post is about saving money, I prefer to get mine for free.

Mac Cosmetics sample jar next to a full-sized Mac eyeshadow

As you can see I could no longer squeeze anything out of my beloved Laura Mercier Silk Crème Foundation so I snipped it open. Using a Q-Tip ( a clean finger will work as well) I scraped the product out of every last crevice and put it into this little pot. What was left in the packaging is enough to almost completely fill the sample jar. Anyone that has received a foundation sample before knows that these samples can last anywhere up to a week or two. Since de-potting this baby I have used it approximately 5 times and still have more than half the pot left.

If you aren't lucky enough to have plastic tube packaging, you can scrape the inside of glass packaging with a small concealer brush or Q-tip and do the exact same thing. Ever since I cut my first plastic tube open I have been amazed at how much product gets stuck to the inside of these containers. Have fun slicing and dicing your makeup packaging and saving a little money while doing it. If you have any money-saving beauty tips please leave them down below. I am always down to save a couple pennies (or, if you're Canadian, nickels since pennies don't exist anymore).