Spring into Savings & Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine

When I hear the words “spring cleaning,” I immediately think of intense milestone projects like re-organizing the whole garage, clearing out the garden shed, cleaning all the stained carpets, washing winter-streaked windows, and wiping a season’s worth of dust off of everything from little-used shelves to ceiling fans.

But my favorite spring-cleaning projects do not involve such Herculean tasks. By looking no further than my make-up bag, medicine cabinet, and first-aid kit, I can get rid of expired products, replace them with new choices, and spring with confidence into the new season.

Make-Up Refresh
While we love to add new make-up and skin care items – from picking up a fresh tube of lipstick to a new face moisturizer – we rarely get rid of the old. But now’s the time to toss out what’s expired or literally been laying around for years:

• Mascara: If actively used, should be replaced every three months
• Make-Up Brushes: Washed with soap and air-dried overnight on a towel or replaced when frayed (or when you start seeing fallen-out bristles on your face!)
• Eye Make-Up: Eye pencils and powdered eye shadows tend to hang out in the bottom of a make-up drawer or bag for years. These should be replaced annually.  
• Moisturizers: Check for expiration dates! They have them – who knew?
• Lips: Since they’re applied directly on the lips, replace lipsticks and lip gloss regularly.
• Nails: If nail polish dries up, add some drops of nail polish remover to thin out. If that doesn’t work, time for a new bottle!

Medicine Cabinet Check-Up
We typically take quick dives in and out of our medicine cabinets – either for fast grabs or a middle-of-the-night search for children’s fever reducer – and rarely do a thorough clean out. And with the sheer number of products the typical family stores here – from prescription drugs to pain relievers to over-the-counter cough syrup – keeping track of the age of each product becomes an organizational headache that often just slips through the cracks.

• Prescription Medication: Check those expiration dates! Seriously.
• Check Expiration Dates: Unexpected items have them – from sun block to saline solution to calamine lotion.
• Do a Seasonal Clean Out: As the cold and flu season ends, look at the expiration dates of go-to products to make sure they’ll be ready to go for next year.
• Spring into Summer: Now’s the time to stock up on sun block and bug spray! And due to a warm winter, the mosquitoes and ticks are supposed to be terrible this season.
• Don’t Forget the Back Row: Nearly every family’s medicine cabinet contains a miscellaneous assortment of little-used products hiding in dark corners. These products – such as eye drops purchased after last year’s windstorm and sports cream last needed after the ill-fated ski trip – nearly always escape notice until needed. Make sure any expiration-date check includes these oft-forgotten supplies.

First-Aid Kit Renewal
Mostly, our first-aid kits remain out-of-site and out-of-mind – tucked into a kitchen cabinet or in the trunk of our cars – until a bee sting, skateboard crash, or back-yard scrape-up. Check expiration dates before the next emergency hits!

• Pain Relief: Stars of the first-aid kit, pain relievers can mean the difference between continuation of the family outing and an early trip home. Each spring, check to make sure pain relievers for both kids and adults fall within the expiration date.
• Ointments and Antibacterial Wipes: These expire, too!
• Loss of Elastic: Don’t forget to freshen up other kit staples such as band-aids and elastic wraps, and replenish the kit each spring with new supplies.

Springing into CVS Savings
Nothing like your neighborhood drugstore – my go-to is CVS – to replenish all these basics. I often find myself perusing the seasonal aisle at CVS for great deals – keeping a look out for spring coupons and promotions. When heading out to re-stock a make-up bag or medicine cabinet, don’t forget to take full advantage of the CVS ExtraCare Rewards program, which offers everything from coupons right on register receipts to special email offers. CVS also offers a Beauty Club, where purchases like cosmetics, skincare, and more count toward ExtraCare Rewards and customers receive a 10% discount when they sign up.

Check out my video on spring cleaning your beauty routine and click here to get the scoop on our giveaway for a chance to win one of five $100 CVS gift cards!

Take a look at our CVS Pinterest board!

Disclosure: Stacy DeBroff received promotional consideration from CVS Pharmacy, Inc.