Makeup testers aren’t new to the makeup world. Brands at department store makeup counters and beauty stores (Nordstrom and Sephora to name two) allow sampling of nearly all of their makeup and beauty products. Those testers are extremely useful, because they give you a chance to try out a product before you commit. They’ve definitely stopped me from making some serious makeup mistakes!

Unfortunately, these wonderful testers have yet to make their debut in one vital makeup market: the drugstore. With all the hype currently surrounding drugstore brands, I’m constantly surprised at the lack of drugstore makeup testers on the shelf. The drugstore is a huge makeup market! 

Each and every time I set foot in a drugstore I find myself wishing there were testers so I could test out that exciting cobalt blue eyeliner or swatch a foundation before committing my money to it. Sadly, my wishes for such things have not been answered, so I decided to take a more forward step with a post. 

Here are two reasons why drugstore makeup testers need to become a trend, stat.

Table of Contents

1. Contamination

First, there’s the issue of contamination. If you’ve ever looked through makeup at the drugstore, you’ve inevitably come across an open container or two. During my days working at a drugstore, I can’t tell you how many times people opened up foundations and lipsticks and just left them sitting on the shelf. 

I know most people do this with the intention of testing out a product, but that doesn’t make it any less gross. Just think about it. Every time you open up a foundation bottle for testing purposes, you expose that product to contamination. All of the bacteria and germs on your skin and in the air have the opportunity to ruin that product.