We just can't help it — products you use everyday are just prettier without labels and traditional packaging. Simple bottles are the way to go, and making this kit for visiting guests will keep them out of your medicine cabinets and help them to help themselves to sun care!
No one is immune to the sun and bugs and the irritations that come with them. Spend all day at the beach? Go for a nature walk and get eaten alive? Even if you don't have guests visiting, this can still be a great way to keep frequently used skincare products extra accessible for your own family.
The idea from Martha is simple; clear pump bottles are purchased and filled with your favorite products. It does away with the bright packaging and photos that come with it. Relief should be soothing, not have you seething over the array of things it requires to calm the burn or the bite. This look is easy to do and keeps things in plain sight to make it easy on everyone.
Image: Martha Stewart
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Comments (12)
The only problem is the problem some people might have with the ingredients. Without the list it all looks very Martha but lacks practicality, unless you want to go to the effort of creating your own ingredient labels. Who has the time!
Not a fan of this either - what is the point of decanting from one container to another?
I love the decanting- it removes so much visual noise.
Honestly, to me there is nothing more inviting than a small collection of useful essentials waiting in a room when I'm staying somewhere as a guest. It instantly makes me feel at home and welcome.
I peel the labels off of everything that isn't hidden away. I don't know why, it's just something I have always done.
And what happens if you or your guest should need to read the instructions?
It looks very sweet and all, but the expense of going out and buying new bottles just to put into them stuff that's already in a bottle seems a bit unnecessary. I was recently a house guest and the hosts just attractively arranged some soaps and whatnot (in their apparently rage inducing packaging) and I thought it was a very sweet gesture all on its own, with no extra work to the gracious hosts.
Who needs instructions to apply sunscreen or lotion?
The issue isn't needing to use instructions, but usually people want to know what it is they're putting on their skin, in a little more detail than "sunscreen" and "hand lotion."
Honestly, I suspect that any guest that wants more detail is going to be most comfortable bringing their own anyway. Regardless, the original bottles could be kept out of sight but available if anyone asks.
It's a good idea for those costco-sized bottles that don't look good on a dresser or in a bathtub.
I think guests who are so picky they need to know what brand of sunblock you provided them will bring their own stuff. If they care that much about what they put on their skin, even if you gave them a bottle of coppertone, they probably will shudder or something.
Most packaging is just ugly or just too big, especially for us Costco shoppers, so I do like decanting... but I wouldn't ever decant sunscreen. I learned the hard way that sunscreen expires (in fact, it has a relatively short shelf life), and decanting would make it all the more easy to forget when it's time to refresh the supply.