Vintage BBB: Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine + 2011 Updates!

Posted by Amber in Featured, Hair Care, Headline, Makeup, Nails, Fragrance, Etc., Skin Care | 2 comments

Though Fall is my favorite time of year, Spring comes in at a very close second!  For me, shedding layers of heavy clothing in favor of lightweight blouses and sundresses, is trumped only by the prospect of new warm-weather beauty products! Around this time last year, I posted some of my tried and true tips for giving your beauty products a thorough spring cleaning. This year, I thought I’d share this info again, and add some extra tips. So, read on and be sure to share your personal tips in the comments!

1.) Toss Old Products. Puh-leaze! – I don’t care how much you love a product or how much it cost you, if it looks like its about grow legs and run away, toss it! I beg of you! Makeup can grow germs over time, and every time you use that product you put those germs on your face. Don’t even get me started on the gross germs in eye liners and mascara! Plus, that miracle skin care product you’ve been using for the last six months has probably lost its miracle-making mojo!

Some products are easy to spot when they need to go, but others may look okay to keep. So how to you know if that product has got to go? Follow these expiration guidelines from Good Housekeeping:

Your When-to-Toss-It Timeline

Every three months: Toss your mascara and liquid liner
Every six months: Toss your skin-care regimen, sunscreens, and liquid foundation
Every year: Toss your hair products (except hairspray)
Every two years: Toss your powder-based cosmetics (such as pressed powder and shadows), lipsticks, and nail polishes

If products are still fresh enough to keep, sanitize them on a regular basis to keep them clean. I discovered BeautySoClean ($12.50-$20) makeup disinfectant spray and wipes a couple of years ago at The Artist Summit. It was a total “Why didn’t I think of that?” moment! The spray disinfects your compact makeup, like blush and eyeshadow, and the wipes clean your lipsticks, liners, mascara and lip gloss wands. Definitely check these out!

2.) Wash Your Makeup Brushes! – I hope that you wash your makeup brushes regularly. I really do! Not to keep harping on germs…but your brushes are full of germs! Your brushes pass germs from your products to your face, and back again. Not good for the acne prone. Not only that, your makeup application is affected by a brush full of makeup. How can you apply your taupe eyeshadow when your brush is full of that orange eyeshadow you rocked last weekend? Exactly. No need to get fancy here. I use good ‘ole baby shampoo to clean my brushes every weekend and keep the bristles soft. It works like a charm! Celeb makeup artist Sam Fine (@SamFineBeauty) says he uses Dawn dish washing liquid to clean his! Cleanse brush bristles gently, rinse thoroughly, reshape bristles and lay flat to dry.

3.) Organize, Organize, Organize! – If you find yourself digging through a mountain of makeup and beauty products every morning, you may want to get your organization on! You’d be amazed how much time you can shave off your morning routine when your products are where you need them. I sort my products into 2 sections: products I use every day, and those I use less frequently.

The products I use every day are stored in small drawers like these on my vanity, so all I can always find what I need quickly. The products I use less often are stored in bins organized by the type of product, and kept in my beauty closet. If you need one compact storage unit for your makeup and skin care products check out the Tabletop Spinning Cosmetic Organizer, $28 by master organizer Lori Greiner, pictured above.

Venus Williams on a recent makeup shopping trip.

4.) Hit the Stores! – Now that you’ve freed up space it’s time to get to the fun part…shopping! Pick up new products that are on trend for the spring and summer seasons, because a brown bombshell deserves a little treat for all her hard work (wink, wink!). To keep from going overboard and undoing all your hard work, only pick up replacements for items that were thrown out, and any fun new products that are on trend for the season. Not sure what’s hot for spring and summer? Here’s what should top your 2011 spring beauty shopping list:

• Makeup – For spring, add blush and lip colors in juicy shades of orange, coral and tropical punch to your beauty arsenal (my product picks coming soon!). At first glance these shades may look hard to wear, but they really pop against brown skin. Very pretty!
• Skincare – Swap heavy winter face creams for lighter lotions and gels, or a tinted moisturizer. If you don’t already (for shame!) add a sunscreen of at least SPF 15 (though I prefer SPF 30) to your skin care regimen. If hyper-pigmentation is a problem, use a anti-dark spot product to perfect skin for those hot and sticky “no-makeup” days.
• Nails – The easiest and most inexpensive way to add a touch of spring to your beauty look is with nail polish. Pretty pastels and bold brights are perfect for warm weather, and you can get great ones from Wet ‘n’ Wild, OPI, Chanel and every brand in between!
• Hair – It’s already hot, so who wants to sit under a hot hair dryer or fool with a flat iron? Not I! Warm weather is a great time to wear wash-and-go hair. Both natural and relaxed hair types can sport wavy and curly styles by braiding or twisting wet, freshly washed hair with your favorite curling product. Let air dry and un-twist for sexy, tousled stands!

Got any tips you use spruce up your beauty products? Share them below!