Secondhand makeup vs secondhand clothes: Why frown at one but not the other?

Japanese consumers create billion-yen industry for used cosmetics

Photo: Starkvisuals/Pixabay

I have never stepped inside of a secondhand store. Ironically, I donate clothing to the Salvation Army, Goodwill and clothing bins all of the time. I do it so much that at one point I decided to be a marketing writer with a for-profit reusable apparel company.

When Kohl’s stopped selling Jennifer Lopez’s JLO jeans, I was so frustrated that I finally gave in and opened a Poshmark account. Besides Apple Bottoms and Baby Phat jeans, which I’m far too old to be wearing nowadays, those are the only jeans that fit me correctly. I logged into Poshmark and bought every single pair of JLO jeans that I found in my size in one big sweep. For those jeans alone, I started understanding secondhand shoppers.

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And as much as I like finding cool items on Craigslist and Freecycle, used cosmetics is the one area I have never even humored. So when I read news from Business of Fashion that Japanese millennials are buying used makeup, I cringed. Pre-COVID, I couldn’t imagine doing it. Post-COVID, definitely not. And then I quickly had to admit I’m a hypocrite—because I sure did buy a pair of JLO jeans in the middle of the pandemic.

So what’s my gripe with secondhand makeup?