7 Ways to Test Makeup ...

I’m sure you might get some stares if you start stroking your arm hair with the mascara wand. You’ll be able to see how much it clumps, even thought it’s being spread across a hairy arm and not a set of eyelashes. This will also give you a chance to see what the actual color is when it isn’t coagulated onto the wand. If you don’t have arm hair, then take along a friend who does when you know you’ll be testing out new mascara products.

When testing makeup from a tube, squeeze out the small amount right near the opening and wipe it off with a tissue. Throw this little dab away and squeeze some more onto a testing strip or the back of your hand. You’d be surprised at how much contaminated product can fit into this small area of a tube of makeup!

Makeup counters where large tubes of lipstick are used as testing units are required to sanitize each tube before it gets used by a new customer. The outer coat of the lipstick is to be scraped off to get rid of any contaminated product. Due to the amount of time this technique takes, most cosmetic counters have single-use samples for people to try. The samples also eliminate a lot of wasted lipstick too.

No matter how clean your hands are, you have no idea where the person before you had her hands previous to inserting them into a jar of makeup. Small plastic spatulas should be available at the counter for you to dip into any container. The portion on the spatula can then be used in a normal manner. Even if it’s something like hand lotion, you should still practice safety and scoop the lotion out with a spatula to then be placed on your hands.

Makeup counters generally carry samples of most of their products. Lipstick, foundation, eye shadow, and any number of products are offered in single-use packages for people to try out. These small samples are much more sanitary than a group of strangers passing around a tube of lipstick or liquid foundation.

If you aren’t able to receive a sampling of the type of makeup you desire, then apply the makeup to your cheek to see how it looks with your skin tone. As long as it doesn’t come into contact with any of your mucus membranes, you should be safe. I personally still wouldn’t take the risk.

When it comes to testing lipstick, you can get an idea of how the color looks when it’s out of the tube by drawing a short line on your hand with the lipstick. The back of the hand is also good for checking out the actual hue of eye liner, eye shadow, and mascara products.

You don’t have to be an avid makeup wearer to practice these 7 ways to test makeup safely. It’s always a good idea to test these products in a way that will cause you the least harm. How do you test makeup when you are buying it from a public place?

Top Photo Credit: Look In The Tunk