If you dump out your makeup bag right now, how many pieces of plastic would you find? It’s likely that every single item would contain some plastic. From the foundation, to eyeliner pen, lipstick tube and even the brushes…it’s probably all plastic.

Depending on usage, you could easily replace all the contents of a single makeup bag each year. Multiply that by the millions of Americans that wear make-up daily…and that’s a lot of plastic waste!

But there are simple ways to avoid this waste. If you want to cut the plastic out of your makeup routine, follow these 6 tips:

1. Simplify your makeup routine
2. Purchase items packaged in bamboo, glass, metal or paper
3. Choose double duty items
4. Look for refillable options
5. Replace old brushes with wooden ones
6. Make your own

Let’s dive in, shall we?

1. Simplify Your Makeup Routine

On the day of my wedding I wore no foundation. *Gasp* I know. I hate foundation. I hate that it feels like a layer of mud on my skin. I hate that it wipes off on things. I am not a fan.

So, on the day of my wedding I told my make-up artist (who I’ve worked with for years through modeling gigs), that I didn’t want to feel weighed down on my wedding day. Plus, I knew the amazing things my photographers could do with lighting and was sure my face would look wonderful.

My point is, the greenest, most eco-friendly, plastic-free makeup, is the one you don’t buy in the first place.

So, if you can simplify your make-up routine, that’s reducing the plastic in your makeup bag. Chances are that you learned how to put on makeup when you were young and you’ve kept the same routine since. If you’ve always put on foundation and blush, then that’s what you do every day. But do you really need it?

I wear no makeup to work. After years of competitive dance and modeling gigs I was tired of huge amounts of make-up.

So, I stopped wearing it every day. But when I do wear makeup it’s usually just the essentials eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lip gloss. That’s it!

2. Purchase Items in Bamboo, Glass, Metal, or Paper

Elate Cosmetics is one of the most popular makeup brands with the plastic-free community. Their makeup is vegan, toxic-free and mainly packaged in bamboo. The only downside is besides being available at some small boutique stores, they are mainly online. So, you can’t touch and feel the makeup prior to purchasing it.

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Antonym Cosmetics is another online brand that packages in bamboo.

Besame Cosmetics packages mainly in metal and sells mascara cakes which is awesome! Just like LUSH eliminated plastic bottles by forming shampoo into a bar, turning mascara into a cake is a great way to avoid the plastic tube! Besame mainly sells online as well.

Next, I went to a local mall to see what I could find in person. While not perfect, there are some great options. At Sephora, I found a paperboard packaged eyeshadow and blush palette from Aether.

I found paperboard packaged blush with a wooden brush and foundation in a glass bottle from Benefit. The glass bottle foundation did have a plastic cap and the blush brush had a thin plastic sleeve on it, but these were the best options at Sephora.

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Generally, any make up that is packaged in glass will have a plastic lid. While not perfect, this is an improvement on an item completely packaged in plastic.

The best option if you want to touch and feel the makeup before buying it, is to ask the sales lady at your local makeup store what plastic-free options there are. They can usually direct you to the options available. But since plastic-free packaging is still not mainstream, it’s unlikely you’ll find bamboo packaging or non-traditional forms like mascara cakes.

3. Choose Double Duty Items

I also stopped by a makeup store called Nyx that I’ve passed by a million times.

They had some shadow cremes that could be used for bolder eyeshadow or liquid eyeliner. Along with the usual shades, they also had these fun colors!

When choosing makeup, finding these cream type options that can work as eyeshadow or eyeliner are a great way to reduce the number of items in your makeup bag.

Another option is if you purchase a dark eyeshadow palette, you can wet your brush with water or coconut oil and create eyeliner from your eyeshadow.

By choosing items that serve more than one purpose, you eliminate redundant items in your make up bag which reduces clutter.

4. Look For Refillable Options

The best thing I found at Nyx were these paperboard eyeshadow palettes you can customize with refillable tins.

The refills come in a paper envelope with a tiny little plastic window and the refills pods are made of metal. This is a great design and very reasonably priced. The empty palette was $5 and the refills were $4 a piece. There was also a big sale that day, so I got a discount!

Refills are a great way to avoid extra packaging. We refill our water bottles, why not our makeup?

By now, I’m sure you know that I love LUSH. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out “Plastic-Free Showering“.

So, when searching for plastic-free and potentially package-free makeup, I naturally stopped by my local LUSH. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything! But the good news is the sales girl told me that UK LUSH has an entire makeup line.

They have refillable solid foundation, lipstick, concealer, highlight sticks, and more!

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From what the sales girls told me it sounds like they’re piloting makeup in the UK first before expanding to other countries. Hopefully, it’s a huge success in the UK so it will hop over to stores in the US! Pretty, please?

Kjaer Weis is another popular brand for refillable makeup. Most of their makeup is packaged in metal with refillable pods.

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Kjaer Weis is more on the high-end spectrum of the makeup market but the refillable are more affordable.

5. Replace Old Brushes with Wooden Ones

While we tend to focus on the makeup itself, making sure your brushes are plastic-free is important too. You might not discard them as often but eventually they will need to be replaced. So, make sure you replace them with brushes made with wooden handles and if possible, make sure they have natural bristles.

Most makeup bristles are made from a synthetic material called Taklon which is a finer polyester and essentially plastic. If the brushes are vegan, then they are made of synthetic fiber bristles and are plastic. Natural bristles are made using animal hair like sable, squirrel or goat.

EcoTools is a popular and affordable bamboo brush brand. Their packaging is made with cotton and bamboo as well. The only downside is their bristles are Taklon…aka..plastic. I found this pouch of EcoTools brushes at my local Whole Foods.

I like that the packaging also is a convenient to-go makeup bag. Anytime packaging can serve a second purpose, I’m all for it!

It’s hard to win them all, so you have to pick what’s important to you. Either way, there are lots of brush options available that are made of wood.

6. Make Your Own

Bea Johnson is considered the mother of the zero waste movement. Her book, Zero Waste Home, is a great starting point for anyone looking to go zero waste. For makeup she talks about how she makes her own eyeliner with burnt almonds!

It had never even occurred to me that you could make your own makeup. She also makes her own Vitamin E balm, a great replacement for Vaseline, and lip stain.

Here is her recipe for lip stain:

• Cook beets, as you normally would, in a bit of water
• Eat the beets
• Reduce the left-over juice until it thickens
• Add a splash of vodka
• Pour into a glass roll-on bottle
• Apply on lips

Eyeliner is essentially charcoal so to be truly plastic-free you can burn some almonds to make charcoal. If setting items on fire isn’t how want to be spending your time, you can also buy charcoal capsules in the supplement section of your grocery store.

Here’s a great tutorial on how to make eyeliner from almonds:

Benefits of Plastic-Free Makeup

In adopting these tips, you’ll find many benefits. By simplifying your beauty routine you’ll be spending less. Spending less money buying extra items and spending less time doing your makeup. Plus, with less items you’ll have less clutter!

By choosing plastic-free packaging you’ll be reducing the demand for oil that gets turned into plastic. And that’s one less plastic item that can potentially pollute our ocean.

Finally, brands that care about the environment usually also care about your health. They make sure their ingredients aren’t harmful to you. Many mainstream makeup brands contain chemicals like parabens and phthalates that have been linked to cancer. Since the beauty industry is one of the least regulated industries, companies are free to put almost whatever they want in their products which isn’t always the best for your skin.

So, what do you think? Can you simplify your beauty routine and choose some plastic-free options the next time you need to buy makeup? If you try making your own, let me know how you like it! Tell me some of your go-to makeup items in the comments!

For related and random posts, check out:

• Plastic-Free Lip Balm
• Recycling is Not the Answer