Spring cleaning: How to declutter your beauty drawer

If you’ve got a few jars, tubes and bottles lying around, it’s time to figure out what stays, what needs to go, and what can be replaced with a more eco-friendly option. Photo / Getty Images
If it’s time to clear out your beauty drawer, Lucy Slight has some helpful advice for decluttering and disposing of expired products, as well as refillable alternatives to help you start over more sustainably.
Spring is here, which often signals a need to declutter and create a more peaceful space after months spent indoors. The tradition of a “spring clean” originates from the idea that spring, with its warmer weather and longer days, is the perfect time to refresh and rejuvenate living spaces as we prepare for summer entertaining and more social interaction within the home.
Your linen cupboard may be a shambles and your pantry could do with a de-weeviling, but have you thought about all those beauty products collecting dust in your bathroom? Many beauty products tend to expire 12 months after opening (some even less) and that sunscreen you were using last September is definitely not okay to be lathering on now. So if you’ve got a few jars, tubes and bottles lying around, it’s time to figure out what stays and what needs to go.
Start by checking the expiry dates on all your skincare, which should be printed somewhere on the container. If not, many products have an open jar symbol on the back of the packaging with 12 M, 6 M, 3 M etc, indicating how long the formula stays fresh after it has been opened.
Anything that has been open for longer than the indicated month needs to be thrown away as it may be at risk of spoiling or harbouring bacteria. By using skincare, body care and makeup products past the use by date, you increase the chance of skin irritation and infection.
When it comes to makeup, these are the general guidelines for safe use of products: Mascara, three months; eyeliners and lip pencils, 12 months; water-based foundation one year and oil-based foundation 18 months; cream-based foundation and blush six to 12 months; powder products up to two years if kept dry; lipstick one to two years and lip gloss six months to a year.
Expiration dates aside, if you haven’t used a product in the past six months, assess whether the product is still useful in your routine. It may no longer suit your skin type or align with your current regimen. By decluttering properly, you are then able to identify gaps in your routine and get a better grasp on what’s about to run out.
According to social justice platform TRVST, the waste produced globally from beauty packaging amounts to 120 billion units each year, thanks to improper recycling. As of February 1, 2024, the accepted materials from households for kerbside recycling across Aotearoa are tins and cans, glass bottles and jars, paper and cardboard, and plastic bottles, trays and containers numbered 1, 2 and 5.
Beauty packaging often contains many different parts made up of differing materials, complex designs and it tends to be smaller in size compared with food packaging. This can make beauty waste difficult to recycle. Rather than throwing your empties in with the kerbside recycling (which may end up in landfill if it’s considered inappropriate for mainstream recycling), consider using a TerraCycle service instead. Environment.govt.nz has a comprehensive guide on what can go into council kerbside recycling.
Retailers such as Mecca, Sephora and Chemist Warehouse have partnered with TerraCycle – a global leader in recycling hard-to-recycle materials – allowing customers to bring in empty beauty packaging from any brand, which is then recycled to be made into new products. Plastic may be shredded, ground or melted and turned into outdoor furniture or rubbish bins. Metal packaging can be made into items such as nuts, bolts, washers and sheet metal. Glass, which is infinitely recyclable, can be made into new glass bottles.
If you have unopened beauty products that are still within their expiration date with the seals intact, consider contacting your local women’s shelter or charity to see if they are in need of donations.
Now that you’ve decluttered and disposed of the products you no longer have use for you can be more committed to using what you’ve kept right down to the last drop. By using what you already have before buying a product to replace it, you’ll naturally adopt a more conscious and sustainable beauty routine.
Research whether there is a more eco-friendly product option before purchasing too. More and more beauty brands are now offering refillable packaging, such as New Zealand’s own Emma Lewisham, Raaie and Jeuneora. Mecca and Sephora stock a wide range of refills too, and you’ll often save a few dollars at checkout by buying replacement pods.
Dior, YSL and Giorgio Armani are just a few of the fragrance houses offering refills of some of their much-loved perfumes, and home fragrance-wise, Circa has recently introduced diffuser refills for its best-selling Oceanique and Jasmine & Magnolia scents, which reduces the amount of excess packaging by 93%. Circa’s sister brand Glasshouse Fragrances offers diffuser refills too along with Ashley & Co and Ecoya.
Makeup-wise, lipstick bullet and eyeshadow pan refills are becoming increasingly prevalent among retailers now too. Look to brands such as Charlotte Tilbury, Hermes, Rose Inc and Lush.
Raaie Cocoon Ceramide Cream Refill $125.
Jeuneora GoLightly Plump & Protect Day Cream Refill $78.
Emma Lewisham Illuminating Exfoliant Refill $78.
Circa Oceanique 250ml Fragrance Diffuser Refill $44.95.
YSL Libre EDP Refill 100ml $288.
Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips 2.0 Refill $50.
Lush Lipstick Refill $23.
Rose Inc Shadow Duet Shimmer Smoothing Eyeshadow Refill $22.
Lucy Slight is a beauty and lifestyle columnist for the Herald. She has worked in print and digital publishing for the past 17 years in New Zealand and Australia, across several well-known fashion, beauty, entertainment, food and home titles. Recently, she’s looked into a TikTok trend that taking a magnesium supplement can help your anxiety, whether colouring your hair yourself is worth the cost savings, and why it’s not just the flame we need to be mindful of when burning candles at home.