How to Safely Clean Items for Beauty Resale
- Karen L.
- Aug 5, 2025
- 4 min read
Because presentation + hygiene = trust (and faster sales!)
Selling secondhand beauty isn’t just about great prices — it’s about gaining trust with potential buyers. Clean, well-presented makeup and skincare products show buyers you care about quality, hygiene, and their overall experience. And let’s be honest — a clean product photo is way more scroll-stopping than a dusty palettes/mirrors, and smudgy caps and tubes.
Here’s how to safely clean makeup and skincare items without compromising the product itself.
1. Start With Clean Hands (and a Clean Surface)
It sounds simple, but it matters. Wash your hands thoroughly, lay out a clean towel or paper surface, and have your cleaning supplies ready to go.
🧴 You’ll want:
70% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle
Cotton pads and paper towels
Cosmetic spatula or clean knife (for powders)
Sharpener (for pencils)
Q-tips
2. Powder Products (Eyeshadow, Blush, Powder Foundation)
These are the easiest to clean!
Gently scrape off the top layer using a clean spatula or edge of a clean knife
Lightly mist the surface with isopropyl alcohol
Let it fully air dry before closing the lid
✨ Bonus tip: Wipe down the outer compact or palette with alcohol, spritz a (clean) paper towel and let dry, close the palette with the paper towel inside as an extra layer of protection against breakage during shipment.
3. Pencil Products (Eyeliners, Lip Liners, Brow Pencils)
Sharpen the pencil to remove the outer layer of product, revealing a freshly sharpened like-new appearance
Dip or spray the tip with alcohol and let it dry
Wipe down the exterior with alcohol
✨ Bonus tip: Test the alcohol on an inconspicuous spot with a cotton swab along the pencil before wiping it down. You don't want to accidentally remove the print. If stuff is rubbing off with alcohol, stick with plain water.
4. Twist-Up Makeup (e.g. lipstick) and Skincare (e.g. serum sticks)
Cut or shave off the top layer (about 1–2mm)
Twist product up, and dip the bullet in alcohol for 15–30 seconds or spray generously
Let it fully dry before replacing the cap
✨ Bonus tip: Take a pictures of both the product twisted all the way up and all the way down so that buyers can see how much product there is.
5. Bottles with pumps/sprays (e.g. foundation, fragrance, lotions)
You can’t (and shouldn’t) open up and clean the inside, but you can make the packaging look fresh.
Wipe down the exterior with alcohol
Make sure you clean inside the cap and seams with a cotton swab
✨ Bonus tip: Buyers will want to know the usage levels of the product. If the bottle is see-through, try to get a picture showing the amount of product inside. Otherwise, give your best guess for how many pumps/percentage of product you have used. You can even use a sticky note with an arrow to indicate where the product level is at.
6. Avoid These
Some items just aren’t worth the hygiene risk or effort:
Anything with a built-in applicator or wand that has touched your face directly, like mascara, concealer, liquid blush or bronzer ( best to toss these, as painful as that is)
This includes any products with droppers, like serums, that have touched your face. (TBH, even with your own product, it's best to never have direct skin contact with droppers because you are contaminating the product and reducing its shelf-life and efficacy.)
Jars or pots that require finger-dipping
Heavily used cream/liquid products
Most importantly: Old products that no longer look, smell, or feel the same as when they were new (these are the signs the products have gone bad!! Please clean and recycle with a local beauty retailer, or throw out!
7. Take Fresh Photos After Cleaning
After your items are clean and sparkling, snap fresh pics! A clean product not only builds trust — it straight-up looks better.
📸 Tips:
Use natural light
Show close-ups of the product AND the packaging
Highlight the condition clearly
👋 Final Tip: Be Transparent
Let buyers know how the product has been cleaned and handled — especially if it's been lightly used or swatched. A simple line like, "only swatched on the back of my hand" or "only used once before I realized this wasn't for me" in your listing description goes a long way.
👉 Want More Seller Tips?
Head to our Seller Guide for more trusted advice on building your resale reputation, earning more, and becoming a secondhand beauty pro.
Why You Should Trust Us
At Glou Beauty, we've spent years immersed in the beauty resale space — building the first purpose-built marketplace for secondhand beauty, gathering real-world data, and working closely with buyers and sellers. Our insights aren’t just theory — they’re informed by lived experience, interviews, and behind-the-scenes knowledge from every corner of the industry. We know what works, what doesn’t, and what’s worth your time (and money). Whether you're here to rehome your stash or shop smartly, you can trust that every Glou guide is grounded in honesty, expertise, and a deep love for beauty — minus the waste.
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