Products that can be found in Charity shops tend to come in four categories:
1. The Clear-Out Queen
Image found here.
Yeah, Marilyn Monroe was probably still alive
when some of these products were originally bought!!
The Bad Side: The problem with stuff like this is that a lot of the time, it tends to be stuff that is so out-of-date you probably wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, even if the Charity Shop paid you to do it!
The Good Side: On the other hand, this is potentially a great way to find products that are discontinued either because they were Limited Editions, or the brand just chose not to sell them anymore. This is of course going to be rare, but as my Nana always said "you never know what you might find in a Charity Shop".
2. The Hated
Image found here.
The title seems a bit harsh, but these are the products that most of us will purchase at some time or other. You know, the product that we bought because at the time, everyone seemed to be talking about it, so it was very much a "Hype Buy". Unfortunately, the product wasn't all it cracked up to be, it was hated, and ultimately ended up being passed on to the nearest Charity Shop.
The Bad Side: It's been used/tested/swatched, but let's face it, how many of us happily purchase used products from blog sales these days? Probably most of us, and I say that as long as you do all that you can to sanitise the product, it's unlikely it'll cause anyone any harm.
The Good Side: A lot of the time these products are still fairly new, hardly used and will probably be still available pretty much in the same condition in the shops, but these will be a great deal cheaper. In that sense, these are probably the best types of products to get your hands on, in a Charity Shop.
3. The Free Gift or Sample
Image found here.
We all like free stuff, but how many of us actually use it?
The Products sometimes come in fancy make up bags, or on their own, and they're typically miniature versions of products. These are quite likely the free gift that came with another purchase in Boots or where ever.
The Bad: The colours tend to be neutral, bland or "natural" tones, in a vain attempt to fit everyone, but unfortunately they are never going to suit everyone's skin tone or even their tastes.
The Good: Quite often they are barely touched, or even unopened, as they were probably never wanted in the first place. Buying these free gifts or samples is a nice way of trying a product without buying a large size one. So, in effect you're achieving the ultimate goal that the product had in the first place!
4. The Unwanted Birthday/Christmas Present
Or not...as the case may be...!!
I can imagine that the Boots Christmas 3 for 2 offer practically supplies the Charity Shops Beauty sections every year. Why? Because when we don't know what to buy someone, we always turn to the gift sets available in the Boots 3 for 2. It's a great offer: we can get points on our Boots Card, and of course the free gift we can keep for ourselves. The problem? Not everyone likes these gift sets, in fact, a lot of people seem to not like them, because by January 1st, the Charity Shops seem to be bursting with them.
The Bad: A lot of the Gift Sets can be a little naff, the one's that were obviously bought by an elderly Aunt that thinks you have the same tastes as her, but doesn't really get these "newer" brands. I hate to sound ageist, but it's unfortunately true.
The Good: We can find some really amazing Gift Sets, from top brands. In the past I've found some pretty expensive Body Shop-branded ones, or even some quite big brands. Personally, I'm a fan of the ones with bath bombs, purely because I hate buying them myself, because I can never choose ha!
I'm not going to deny that Charity Shops are full of complete and utter crap 99% of the time, but if you're happy to put the time in to keep checking, then I promise that it will be worth it ;)
Happy Hunting, and let me know if you find any awesome beauty products in your local Charity Shop!
