I’ve been meaning to share some advice regarding makeup and how long it should last. People sometimes ask me how long my products last and I could never really give a concrete answer. I recently decided to put dates on the product labels or mark on my calendar when I started a new product just so I have an idea how long they truly last me.
(Please note: Keep me in mind, the longevity of a product will obviously vary from person-to-person depending on how often the product is used, the product itself, how much is applied at a time, and many other situational factors).
The last time I started my last bronzer compact, I wrote the date on the bottom just to see how long it was going to last.
In case you were wondering (and you know I have nothing to hide here ;)…I hold no beauty secrets and I’m here to blog to put it all out on the table)…it took me a whopping 9 months to the exact day to go through it! I sometimes meet women who go through bronzer like water; they replace it every month or two and I can’t help but think, how is this possible?! This has lead me to write this article to share with you ways to extend your makeup products so you’re not running to replace it as frequently.
Invest in high quality pigments and products: With cosmetics along with many other things in life, I believe in the basic principle, you get what you pay for. And cosmetics is no different. When it comes to eyeshadows, I ONLY use MAC and NARS. I’m always open to other brands but their shadows’ pigment quality is the best I’ve seen on the market. What does that mean exactly? Breaking it down for makeup novices, I mean a single swipe of a highly pigmented eye shadow will GO A LONG WAY. Whereas with other brands that are not as pigmented, you may have to apply a few layers just for the color to show up. This is not a good thing. That means you will go through it so much quicker because you have to apply more of it to activate it (or show up).
Less is more…[you don't need to apply a massive amount to get the product to work]: I like to watch how others apply their makeup and the majority of the time, I can’t help but notice that people are using WAY TOO MUCH product. There is really no need to be digging so much into a product to get it to work. If you do, that means the cosmetic quality is poor and it’s time to upgrade and invest in better quality. Or you just have to practice on being more “light handed” (apply with softer strokes with light pressure) vs. heavy handed. With practice, this is an easy habit to fix and can be fixed over time!
Switch it up: If you have the option to not wear the same exact products everyday, naturally, the products will last longer. I’ve NEVER gone through an entire tube of the same lipstick. May sound shocking as a makeup artist, but it truly shouldn’t because you have to keep in mind I don’t wear the exact same shade everyday. I switch it up. Now with bronzer, I do wear the same exact bronzer everyday (–or I should say whenever I wear makeup, hey, I’m only human and have my no makeup days too!). It still lasted me awhile being that the pigment quality is high and I don’t use a ton of it because again, I don’t need to use a ton for it to show up! Again, back to this original point, if you have a variety of products to choose from and not using the same exact product everyday, it will last a long time!
[Any other tips? Any questions regarding products I use and its usage?]
stylebymeli
