How to Get Every Last Drop Out of Your Favorite Beauty Buys

Updated on Feb 12, 2015 at 7:00 AM

POPSUGAR Photography

Every editorial product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn commission.

When it comes to beauty products, every last drop counts! Allure's tips will make sure you get your money's worth with every bottle you own.

We've all been there: You're almost out of your favorite product — it could be a face lotion or a cream eye shadow or a conditioner — and no matter how hard you shake or squeeze or dig, you just can't get to those very last drops. You know there's enough in there for one last use, but you're forced to give up. Or how about this one: You twist and bend the tube into shapes it was definitely not meant to be twisted and bended in and then those last few drops fly out at lightning speed onto the shower wall. Either way, you're left with a plastic container that's not quite empty and you're having an internal debate over whether or not you can throw it in the recycling bin. How am I so sure that other people have experienced this devastation beauty situation before? Because a few of them came up with ways to fix it.

There's my favorite, the Every Drop Beauty Spatula, a tool that scrapes out the product at the very bottom of a bottle with an opening too small to shove your fingers into. (They're available at The Container Store as well as a few drugstores.) It's the tiniest spatula you've ever seen, attached to a long stick so there's no chance of getting your fingers dirty. I like using it with my Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow ($26), which comes in a glass so small that only a baby's fingers could fit in it. When all the shadow gets smooshed against the bottom, I use the spatula to dig it up so it's closer to the surface.

The most recent innovation in this category is the Waste Not Nut (think nut and bolts, not pecans and almonds), and it's actually kind of genius (Martha Stewart even nominated it for her "American Made" award). The brand calls it the "multitasking inverted bottle system," which is a fancy way of saying "bottle drainer." The nut, which looks like a plastic washer, snaps onto a clear plastic cup like the one doctors use to collect urine samples. Then you turn your bottle of shampoo, face wash, or Sriracha (beauty products aren't the only things that come in bottles) upside down and let it rest in the center of the washer. Everything stuck at the bottom slides down to the cap, making for easy squeezing when you're ready to use it. Or, you can remove the cap before turning it upside down and let the remaining contents fill up the plastic cup if the bottle is on the emptier side. The Waste Not Nut comes in a variety of sizes, with cups that hold anywhere from one ounce to a gallon. Your life won't get easier right away, though. The website advertises a Kickstarter campaign in January 2015 that has yet to launch. In the meantime, I'm going to think up a better name to suggest. Try saying Waste Not Nut five times fast — it's almost as annoying as trying to get to those few pesky last drops.

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Eye Shadow/0.12 oz.

From

$25