Beauty Swap Shop

Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you are concerned by the current state of the environment and more than likely want to do your part in helping preserve the planet we have. As a beauty blogger, I have grown conscious of a), the amount of plastic within the industry and b), perhaps more concerning, just how much waste there is. Yes, becoming more environmentally sound is a serious issue but that doesn't mean we can't think of a few novel and fun ideas to do our part all the while looking and feeling great.

On the topic of waste, perhaps the best idea that came from a few glasses of wine shared with some close friends was holding a beauty swap shop. The idea being that we'd all gather together or unused beauty products that we had no need or use for and swap them amongst ourselves - saving money and of course preventing items ending up on landfill. The beauty of this concept is that it can be as grand or as small as you'd like, initially we settled on just the four of us but as word spread it is looking like the next event of this nature will be closer to 25 people and as such we've decided to make it more into a party. As my friend is moving down south in a few months and wanted to book events in Cheshire (her new hometown) to mark the occasion, one as such being a night on the tiles alongside a make-up swap shop. In the end, we have booked Mottram Hall and will be trading lipstick, gossip and moreover a ladies lunch but of course, you can do the exact same thing in the comfort of your lounge.

Other ways you can do your bit within the beauty industry is to look for recycling programmes; two of the best happen to be MAC and Lush. With MAC, if you round up six of your empty MAC products and return them, they will give you a free lipstick of your choice - it really doesn't get much better than that. Lush have a similar policy with their plastic tubs that often contain body scrubs, lotions and of course masks. Again collect 6 empty pots, return them to your local store and you will receive a free face mask of your choice.

Admittedly the area I am struggling to get to grips with the most is shopping locally; home fragrances has been a fairly easy switch thanks to Shearer Candles (a Scottish business with plenty of shops dotted around Glasgow) and for my bath and body needs, there is the Scottish Soap Company, but beauty brands tend to be few and far between. So far, I have found Sara Hill which is nothing short of excellent but otherwise, offerings tend to be scant.

I'm open to all suggestions big and small to play my part so please feel free to leave any ideas below and let me know if you are open to a beauty event like "Swap and Shop" on a larger scale?