Give and Makeup this January

We all have ‘tried once, didn’t love’ makeup, skincare and toiletries.

Some of you may even have drawers full of the stuff, an archive of unsuitable presents and hasty purchases that are crying out for a new home. But don’t throw them all away in a fit of ‘New Year, New Me’ madness – if your New Year’s resolution is to detox, we’ve got a solution that will help you make others else feel a little better about themselves in 2015.

Donate your unwanted makeup and toiletries to Give and Makeup and you’ll be making a direct and tangible difference to women and children who’ve started the New Year in an unfamiliar place with limited possessions.

About Give and Makeup

Give and Makeup is a non-profit initiative kick-started in 2010 by skincare guru and all-round wonderful lady, Caroline Hirons. Upon realising that women and children who escape from abusive households arrive at women’s shelters with absolutely nothing, Caroline brainstormed useful ways in which she could help. And her answer was straightforward: to donate and encourage others to donate surplus makeup and toiletries to shelters in the hope of restoring some normalcy to the lives of those who have found themselves in a desperate situation. The idea took root, and as of 2015 the Give and Makeup initiative has ensured thousands of products have made it into the hands of those who need them the most.

Escentual works with Give and Makeup by acting as a donation point, which means that anyone who wants to donate can send their products through to us, and we will deliver them directly to Welsh Women’s Aid. It’s simple, straightforward and very easy to get involved.

What you can donate

When women and children make the brave decision to come to the shelter, they often arrive with absolutely nothing. This means every donation is very important, no matter how basic. We accept a wide range of products on their behalf:

The Essentials	Skincare & Makeup	Babies & Children
Shampoo & Conditioner	Cleanser	Bath products
Bath/Shower Gel	Toner/Water Spray	Body lotion
Body lotion	Moisturiser	Nappy rash cream
Hair products	Serum	Cotton buds
Toothbrushes*	Foundation	Cotton pads
Feminine Hygiene Products	Mascara*
At-Home Hair Dye	Concealer*
Shaving products	Eye shadow
Tweezers	Lip Gloss*
Heated hair tools	Blusher
	Makeup brushes

Regarding the condition of the products, the rule of thumb is: ‘if you’d be happy to give the product to a friend, we’ll take it!’ If you have products that don’t appear on the list and you’d like to know whether they’re suitable for donation, tweet @escentual and we’ll be happy to help.

*Due to hygiene reasons, we can only accept the starred items in a brand new condition

How to donate

Wrap your donation up securely and post it to:

Give and Make Up
Escentual.com
Neptune Point
Unit 1 Vanguard Way
Cardiff
CF24 5PG

What happens to your donation

When your donation arrives with us, we sort through it to make sure that everything included fulfils the criteria. Unfortunately, there are times when we receive products that are unsuitable for use (e.g. used mascaras and products that are almost empty), so try to follow the ‘What you can donate’ guidelines above to make sure that your donation is as useful as possible. Finally, we deliver the donations in bulk to Welsh Women’s Aid, who then get those essential products into the hands of women and children in sheltered accommodation across Wales.