stay connected! subscribe to the newsletter today!

↑

Read. Write. Mom!

The Personal Blog of a Gen X Mom.

  • Home
  • About
  • Press
  • Disclosure
  • Contact
  • Lifestyle
  • Printables
  • Blogging
  • Heart Surgery
  • Food

How to Find Discontinued Makeup and Other Items

October 8, 2017 By Mandy 3 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. View our disclosure policy here.

Spread the love

How to find discontinued makeup and other items when something you really love is no longer sold can be a real struggle!  I swear, this is the story of my life lately.  I find a product, fall in love with it, and then it seems to get yanked from the shelves!  I have gone to some big extremes to find the things I use and love that are no longer being made.  I’ll share how I hunt down some of those hard to find items online.

how to find discontinued makeup

 

Discontinued Makeup

This is definitely the product category that hurts my heart the most when something I use gets discontinued.  Most recently, the brand of makeup I have used faithfully since I was 13 years old has shut down their business.  I just recently learned that Beauticontrol has gone out of business and I am literally stunned and left scrambling for my favorite products before they disappear for good. 30 years of customer loyalty is a long time and I’m not thrilled about having to search for an alternative.   As much as I’m shocked that this happened, it also doesn’t surprise me because of the huge changes that have taken place at that company in the last ten years or so.  The products became smaller in size (but certainly not price!) and you could tell certain colors (like my favorite foundation) weren’t exactly the same formula anymore.  I hung in there hoping it would get better and now it’s all over.  I’m encouraged to read online that someone from inside Beauticontrol will be starting a new cosmetics company that will hopefully bring along the best of Beauticontrol while also taking things in an even better direction, but until then I’m on the lookout for my foundation, powder, eye shadow, and blush

Where to Buy

So where DO you go to buy your favorite discontinued makeup or other items?  I check around in a few places:

Amazon–  I start here because I can usually find plenty of my item in stock and at a fair price.  The shipping is fast and often free if you’re a Prime member, which you can try free for 3o days.  It’s a great deal if you regularly order from Amazon.

Ebay–  Like Amazon, Ebay is also a place online to find just about anything, even those vintage items no longer made.  I’ve had great luck on Ebay finding those hard to find discontinued items, but this is where you have to be careful because sellers here are looking to make a profit and my favorite discontinued makeup is selling for 4 times as much as its original cost.  Naturally, I won’t pay that price, but some people will.

Direct Consultants– Did you buy your favorite makeup directly from a consultant?  Brands like Beauticontrol and Mary Kay are sold through consultants, so checking with them for any leftover product is smart.  If they don’t have it, reach out to consultants on Facebook, through Twitter, or Instagram.  They may be able to help as well.

Discontinued Beauty has some of the more upscale salon products for the hair and body and BuyMeBeauty carries the major drugstore brands of cosmetics.  Discontinued Lipstick can custom mix cosmetic shades of your old discontinued favorites.

Dollar Stores and Salvage Stores– I recently lucked up and found bottles of my favorite scent of detergent that had been discontinued at our local Dollar Store.  Once I discovered this jackpot, I also went around to several more around town to see if I could score more!  If you have those salvage stores nearby, you might also luck up on some of your favorite discontinued products that are there simply because the box may have a dent in it or it just wasn’t selling well elsewhere.

Holding Onto Hope

Somewhere deep down I always hope that companies will bring my favorite things back, even for a short period of time.  I was recently just tickled to see a Caboodle in a store the other day.  Now, I’m in my 40’s and really have no need for one, but the urge was strong to buy one of these again, just like the one I had when I was 14.  In the event that you just can’t find your favorite product anywhere, sometimes you just have to move on and try something new.  As much as this isn’t fun, sometimes you just might find something better.

Photo/Eshan Namavar

 

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Saving Money Tagged With: beauty, saving money

Comments

  1. Kathleen ODell says

    June 30, 2022 at 4:20 pm

    JI would like to know where I can purchse “Marc Jacobs – 500 Lush and Libido” blush as it has been discontinued.

    Reply
    • Mandy says

      July 23, 2022 at 11:56 am

      Kathleen, check eBay, Mercari, and Poshmark. You just might catch some there. Good luck!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Ebay Is My Side Hustle says:
    September 27, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    […] Ebay since 1999, so this year marks 19 years.  I’ve bought a ton of things there, especially hard to find items.  I have also casually sold things here and there over those 19 years, but never listed things for […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

af Afrikaanssq Albanianam Amharicar Arabichy Armenianaz Azerbaijanieu Basquebe Belarusianbn Bengalibs Bosnianbg Bulgarianca Catalanceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)co Corsicanhr Croatiancs Czechda Danishnl Dutchen Englisheo Esperantoet Estoniantl Filipinofi Finnishfr Frenchfy Frisiangl Galicianka Georgiande Germanel Greekgu Gujaratiht Haitian Creoleha Hausahaw Hawaiianiw Hebrewhi Hindihmn Hmonghu Hungarianis Icelandicig Igboid Indonesianga Irishit Italianja Japanesejw Javanesekn Kannadakk Kazakhkm Khmerko Koreanku Kurdish (Kurmanji)ky Kyrgyzlo Laola Latinlv Latvianlt Lithuanianlb Luxembourgishmk Macedonianmg Malagasyms Malayml Malayalammt Maltesemi Maorimr Marathimn Mongolianmy Myanmar (Burmese)ne Nepalino Norwegianps Pashtofa Persianpl Polishpt Portuguesepa Punjabiro Romanianru Russiansm Samoangd Scottish Gaelicsr Serbianst Sesothosn Shonasd Sindhisi Sinhalask Slovaksl Slovenianso Somalies Spanishsu Sundanesesw Swahilisv Swedishtg Tajikta Tamilte Teluguth Thaitr Turkishuk Ukrainianur Urduuz Uzbekvi Vietnamesecy Welshxh Xhosayi Yiddishyo Yorubazu Zulu
en English

Most Popular

Six Signs You're Not Drinking Enough Water.

Six Signs That You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

quit smoking cold turkey

What It’s Really Like to Quit Smoking Cold Turkey

Bypass Surgery- What I Wish I Had Known About Before I Had It

Marie Kondo konmari method closet organization before and after pictures.

Closet Before and After Watching Marie Kondo

gifts for heart surgery

Gifts for Heart Surgery Patients

best taco soup recipe

Best Taco Soup Recipe Ever- Easy and Quick Dinner Idea

Shop My Amazon Storefront for all of my favorites!

Tags

activities auctions beanie babies beauty birthday Blog books Books bypass surgery cats christmas E.B. education facebook fall family fashion food Fun Activities funny pictures funny stuff giveaways Giveaways Halloween health holidays library life lifestyle Mississippi Mississippi Delta Living new year organization parenting Printables Reading Fair Projects recipes reviews saving money school St. Patrick's day Thanksgiving travel valentine's day weather

Reading Challenge

2025 Reading Challenge

2025 Reading Challenge
Mandy has read 0 books toward her goal of 15 books.
hide
0 of 15 (0%)
view books
Mortgage Payoff
 
$129,969 $0
get a progress bar at dollartimes.com
Student Loan Payoff
 
$9,846 $0
get a progress bar at dollartimes.com

Blog Love

Cheryl’s Frugal Corner

Home Ec Major

Cash Only Living

Just Simply Linda

Living Better One Day At A Time

My Tireless Retirement

It’s Always Something

Diary of a Stay At Home Mom

My Little Corner of the World

Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea

Live and Learn- Toss and Turn

Days of My Life-Window To My World

Rocking Retirement

Memphis Bridges

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Moments Frozen In Time

Northwoods Scrapbook

 

Archives

All links may be affiliate links and should be considered as such. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.  As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.

Stay Connected!

Subscribe to the newsletter today!

Connect with me

Copyright ©2025, Read. Write. Mom!. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs