Here's Where To Donate Your Beauty Products To Those In Need

Cosmetics and skin care are a luxury that most of us are fortunate enough to have access to day to day.

Filling in our brows, adding a sweep of bronzer or cleansing our face are more than just a  superficial way to improve our appearance. They can provide us with the confidence we need to tackle the world while feeling our best.

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All women deserve to feel beautiful, but those coming out of crisis situations whether it be domestic violence, cancer treatment, human trafficking and general hardship don't always have access to product that most of us consume in excess.

These situations often result in a loss of self-esteem and appearance-related sensitivity. 

So if you've got unneeded beauty products, toiletries and sanitary items that are crying out for much needed homes, we've listed a group of charities and organisations that will connect you.

Look Good Feel Better

LGFB, run by the Cancer Patients Foundation is dedicated to teaching cancer patients how to manage the appearance-related side effects caused by cancer treatments.

They offer physical and virtual workshops, covering both skin care tips (dry skin and sun sensitivity are common with treatment), as well as makeup techniques on how to correct redness, sallowness, pigmentation and dark circles. These also include how to draw on eyebrows and advice on headwear, such as styling wigs.

Alongside these workshops, attendees are gifted a 'Confidence Kit' full of skin care and makeup products. The same kits are also home delivered for those unable to make the workshops.

Each kit incorporates a range of brands, divided into cooler and warmer shades and tailored for light, medium and dark shade complexions.

If you'd like to make donations, please consider soft and neutral colours only.  For further information, please see the LGFB page, here.

Image credit: @lookgoodfeelbetter

New Day Box

What started as a small scale idea amongst a group of friends and colleagues, New Day Box now works with amazing women every day, who are finding safety and rebuilding their lives after domestic violence.

New Day Box distributes boxes filled with skin care, cosmetics and treats to women in crisis accommodation.

How to donate? Fill an empty shoe box with hand cream, mascara, nail polish, bronzer, blush, perfume and drop it off or post it in.

For full details see their website, here.

Pink Cross

Pink Cross provides support for women and men in the sex industry.

Items to donate for womens pack are, but not limited to, cosmetics such as lip balms and eyeshadows and toiletries including shampoo, conditioner and deoderant.

For more information on what to donate, see here.

Every Little Bit Helps

Did you know that many shelters which offer basic showering facilities don’t have access to any toiletry products? Well, this 100 per cent volunteer-run charity is working to change that. Every Little Bit Helps collects, packs and redistributes care packages (including unwanted hotel toiletries, makeup, cosmetic samples and sanitary items) to the homeless, asylum seekers, victims of domestic violence and youths across Australia.

Click here to find your closest drop-off location.

Share The Dignity

Share the Dignity is an Australian Charity bringing dignity to women and girls experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and period poverty through the distribution of sanitary items.

As an organisation, Share The Dignity hosts several initiatives including:

Dighnity Drive,  where sanitary items are collected and donated to registered charities which supply homeless, at-risk women.

It's In The Bag, which happens each November. Handbags are filled with personal care products, which become Christmas gifts through partner shelters and charitable organisations. 

Dignity vending machines, which place free pads and tampon vending machines in schools and public places where they are needed most.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can get involved, check out the website here.

The Beauty Bank

The Beauty Bank provides packed bags with essential toiletries and small gift items for mainly women, but also men and older teenagers leaving places of domestic violence of hardship. 

Aiming to provide quality essential hygiene items and a touch of luxury to those in need.

All products must be new, unopened and in date.

Items to donate include: 

• Roll on deodorant

• Sanitary pads and tampons

• Toothbrushes

• Shampoo and conditioner (no larger than 400 mL)

• Hairbrushes and combs 

• Soap

• Hand cream

• Lip balm 

• Skin care items

• Makeup items

For the full list, check out The Beauty Bank website, here.

Pinchapoo

Pinchapoo (short for pinch-a-shampoo), has been encouraging the ‘pinching’ of hotel toiletries for over a decade, in support of disadvantaged men, women and children. Labelling themselves the “modern day Robin Hood”, Pinchapoo have redistributed more than 8.5 million personal hygiene products to hundreds of thousands of Australians each year.

The organisation is currently in urgent need of any roll-on deodorants, face washers, single-use soaps, kids toothpaste or toothbrushes, but they also accept skin care, makeup, fragrance, haircare and more at any time. To check out the full list of accepted donations or to send something directly to their Victorian HQ, see their website here.

Image credit: @pinchapoo

Main image credit: Getty

Have you got excess beauty products you'd like to donate? Have you ever donated to any of these organisations?