Saving On Products – Page 2 – Barefoot Budgeting

Us couponers are funny, aren’t we? We can all of the sudden find ourselves with an overstock of the weirdest items. That’s right. Believe it or not, it is not just groceries and drinks that we relish in stocking up on! Many of us end up getting lots of free items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, nail polish, and more. One of the items I almost always get for free is eyeshadow. I’m not kidding either, I currently have about 20 containers of eyeshadow just sitting there waiting to be used. My wife will never use that much on her eyes though, so it got me thinking and looking up (Pinterest is great isn’t it?) ideas for how I can use all of this free eyeshadow. 1. As Eyeliner Grab yourself a thin, sharp brush or eyeshadow applicator and use your shadow as an eyeliner. This works very well if you like the smokey eye look. 2. Root Touch Up If you have dark hair and your grays are starting to show, you can simply brush some eyeshadow over your roots to hide them. 3. Plump Up Your Lips If you have bright and/or light colored shimmering eyeshadow, brush it onto the thick part of your lips in the center. This gives the illusion that your lips are fuller than they actually are without having the work done that is typical of plump lips. 4. Blush & Bronzer Depending on your color preferences, you can easily use eyeshadow as blush or bronzer. (umm, I could have written the book on this! I've been doing this since before bronzers were popular!) 5. Eyebrow Filler No more trying to color in your eyebrows with a pencil! For this beauty trick, grab a thin, angled makeup application brush and use an eyeshadow (preferably one that matches your hair color) and then you can fill in and shape your brows. This is much easier than other eyebrow tricks that you see in how-to videos. It is also a more subdued way to fill them in than harsh pencils. (this is a new trick I'm using these days and i'm loving it!) 6. Bright Eyes If you suffer from dark circles around your eyes, these free eyeshadows can be a lifesaver. Okay, so it may not save your actual life, but it will help you to conceal those dark circles. This is best with a matte orange color typically, but you can experiment until you find the best colors for your skin tone. (another I could have written the book on!) 7. Give To A Women's Shelter These gals could use a pick me up and a little bit of makeup can go a long way to helping another person feel good about themselves. Many have fled their situations with little to no personal care items. Some shelters specialize in helping homeless women find training and careers. A bit of makeup could help them feel confident enough to ace that interview! 8. Gift Bags Similar to shelter gifting but with a twist. Gifting bags are more commonly put together with a grouping of necessities such as tissue, advil, toothpaste, toothbrushes, warm socks, some change for public transportation, even first aid kits. Adding something special to the gifting bags like a pretty scarf and a free eye shadow can make a woman's day when she's struggling. 9. Bridal Bags Have a wedding coming up? Are you hoping to have the bridesmaids all wear similar shades of nail polish and makeup? Well, we all have different complexions but eye shadows can be a bit easier to convince everyone to wear the same or very similar colors. You'll find it a lot easier to convince your bridesmaids if you give them some of these goodies in a pretty gift bag. 10. Makeover Parties Do you have a teenager that loves experimenting with makeup? As a teenager I know I used to spend hours putting on one another's makeup and experimenting with what looked just right for the trending styles. Put a basket of freebie items together (face cleaners too haha) for your tween or teen girl to have her own spa and makeover together with her friends. 11. Doll Makeovers O.K. so maybe you have younger girls. I remember this too. We used to use magic markers though Uh Oh! Grab some colors and have the girls makeover their dolls. Colors can be used for lips, eyes, cheeks, even doll hair and all easily washed off with some soap and warm water. This could be a fun party theme for young girls too. Isn’t it amazing the things that you can do with eyeshadow? Until recently, I really had never thought about using it for more than just eyelids. Have you found any other uses for eyeshadow? I would love to hear about it!