Sometimes I get asked how I manage to go through products so quickly, and while I am admittedly a 'slatherer' of skincare while battling the dryness of the desert, there are a lot of products that I try and simply don't like, don't work for me, are the wrong shade or type for my skin, or break me out. So into the 'Discard' pile they go.





It's part of the trial-and-error nature of cosmetics; sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes things are just mediocre. I have so many wonderful products to investigate that it's not worth holding onto products on the meh-to-NOPE scale. I'm also not going to resell products that I've used (obviously) and I'm not really into the logistical drama that comes with selling things. I would pass them on but none of my local friends are into Asian beauty products.





So what do I do?





DECANT CARE PACKAGES!

Decant all the things! Hundreds of tiny jars and bottles everywhere!

Underfoot! In Piles! Under chairs! In boxes! Driving my Spouse to the brink of insanity !

In this post:

How I got myself into this mess

Assembly of supplies

The decanting methods I used





How I got myself into this mess

Mizon bundle I got at a great price from Avecko

Yes, that is 6 boxes + contents of a padded

envelope (all flat rate) = 7 care packages

:3

Assembly of supplies

Pipettes and Droppers and Jars, oh my! Husband: "How long is this stuff going to be in our living room?!"

Plastic sheet to cover work surface (I slit open a garbage bag because that's what I had I'm classy like that, and worked in my living room for maximum natural light)

to cover work surface (I slit open a garbage bag because I'm classy like that, and worked in my living room for maximum natural light) Nitrile gloves which I originally purchased as part of my pH testing kit (read more here: Better Beauty Through Chemistry: Unboxing of my Digital pH Meter supplies )

which I originally purchased as part of my pH testing kit (read more here: ) Plastic pipettes to transfer my products from full-size to decant containers (from Amazon)

to transfer my products from full-size to decant containers (from Amazon) Plastic dropper bottles (with dispenser inserts) to decant liquids into (from Amazon)

(with dispenser inserts) to decant liquids into (from Amazon) Plastic screw-top jars for creams, gels, etc. (from Amazon)

Ziploc bags in 'snack portion' (aka: tiny) size , purchased at the grocery store (for powders and chunks of my Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick reviewed here ) These ended up being dual-purpose as dispensers (read on for details)

, purchased at the grocery store (for powders and chunks of my Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick ) as dispensers (read on for details) Paper towels (lots of them) from the local grocery store

(lots of them) from the local grocery store Tiny stick-on labels + a pencil to write the names, also a Sharpie to write on the dropper bottles since the labels refused to stick on their curved surface.

The decanting methods I used

So easy! This is going to go by so much faster than I thought! Wait, what's that sound of disaster approaching?

Creams do not like getting sucked up into narrow passages, FYI.

Image from my older review/demo on airless pump bottles (link) so please don't panic at the lack of gloves!

No product waste, woop!

Exile Exhibit A: Cosrx AHA BHA toner, too harsh for me

:3

**

Disclaimer: All products reviewed/mentioned in my blog, are 100% purchased with my own money, with a single exception of a press sample I tested & reviewed in 2015 which swore me off of them forever. This blog contains both affiliate and non-affiliate links, and clicking the former before you shop means that this blog may receive a small commission to assist in this blog supporting itself. Please see my Contact Info & Disclaimer policy for more information.

Decanting is something I already do with samples becauseand I like collecting pretty jars and bottles into which I decant the contents of my sample packets.I also sometimes decant product from the full size into a smaller container to save space, such as these, or because I want to keep the full-size in the fridge (cold and dark) without having to run back and forth between my bathroom and kitchen without my glasses on.I didn't start out to decant all the things, but an out-of-state friend (and fellow Asian product addict) ran out of theand I still had my repurchase fromsitting in storage, unopened.I was busily testing out theand working my way through my testing schedule (see stash link below), so it made sense to pass the starfish cream along to her since I wasn't going to be using it anytime soon.I figured that since I was going to be sending her a flat rate package regardless, I might as well send along some samples of productsthat she was interested in trying. So I linked her to my spreadsheet and told her to make me a list of everything she wanted to try, and if it was tested/opened/about to be opened (I don't open things unless I am confident I can use them before expiring) I'd decant some for her and send it along.You know how you make plans with a friend, and then another friend hears about it and wants to come, and then the next thing you know your squad has taken over half the restaurant? Yeah.The next thing I knew, it had grown into this leaning tower of care package love, destined for Asian beauty product users in multiple states.I'm starting to get care packages in return, so it's morphed into a giant "share the products that didn't work for us" network of decanted samples, with jars, bottles, and sample packets whizzing across the continental US.I would have happily sent things back home to Canada (or even to friends overseas) but the shipping costs were ... intense.FYI: You can fit aof stuff into a flat rate box or envelope, and you can print prepaid shipping labels right off the USPS site. You can pick up the flat rate boxes (they're freeeee) right in the lobby of many post offices, and also drop off your prepaid-label-affixed package 24/7 if you can't get there during office hours (like me!) or even schedule a pick-up from USPS although I've never tried that route.Pictured at left:Not pictured:ForI used plastic pipettes as tiny disposable syringes (which was necessary based off the HUGE number of different products I was decanting, washing/cleaning between uses would have been impossible) and they worked incredibly well.Just like a dropper, you squeeze the bulb, suck up your product, insert the tip into the dropper bottle, squeeze to dispense the product, and then when your bottle is filled to your liking, you pop in the dispenser insert so it doesn't leak all over the place. These bottles also have a neat little 'seal' feature (when it actually) that when you screw on the lid, it catches on the seal ring at the bottom. Unfortunately, it doesn't always seal completely so warn your recipients that leakage may occur., even when I tried to cut down the pipette; the texture of most creams was just too thick.So, I ended up grabbing the ziploc snack-size bags I had purchased and scooped product out of the jar into the bag with a spatula, and then cut off a corner of the bag and used it like an icingto full the jars,The great thing about using this 'piping bag' method is that there is no waste; once you have filled your decant container to your satisfaction,, like I showed in the airless pump bottle review.The most annoying part of the process was taking pictures, cleaning up residue, and leaning over for hours filling what felt like an endless supply of tiny jars and bottles until I was cross-eyed.I eventually roped my husband into writing labels for me so I would not have to de-glove between decants/get residue all over, because despite all my efforts, things are going to get a bit messy from time to time.It's really easy to fumble tiny containers when you're wearing nitrile gloves slick with product, so there was occasional casualties that landed on the plastic sheet after a somersault through the air that would make an Olympian proud.Even though this was a tremendous amount of work and a bit costly once I purchased all the supplies, knowing that my unwanted products were not just going to waste in my 'exiled' drawer was a huge relief.Not to mention the warm fuzzies from knowing I was assembling care packages that my friends were excited to tear into like Elvis on a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich. It's as exciting as a regular haul, but you get ALL THE THINGS, it was free, and it's full ofSome of them sent me unboxing and reaction pictures, which was adorable. Another regaled me with reports that the) pulled out 'grits' (blackheads, sebum plugs, and sebaceous filaments) better than any of the oil cleansers she's tried before, and she's thrilled. (And I'm thrilled that she's thrilled!)There's the beauty of decanting your discards;, and it can be really challenging to find samples of the products you want to try.For example, thewas not a successful dupe for my beloved) as it was highly irritating to my skin and thus there was no point in me using it past the comparison period. (Call me crazy, but if it's irritating my face, it's gotta go.) Rather than stashing an 80+% full bottle in my 'discard' pile, I was able to decant it all and let others try it before investing in a full-size bottle. Fly free, unwanted products; may you find new homes where you shall be loved.that aren't readily available in sample sizes, in case you're wondering if all of the products in the first image are rejects- they're not. But I didn't mind dipping into my stash so my friends could try out some new goodies.After all, who doesn't like getting care packages?-Cat