6 Creative Ideas on What to Do with Empty Face Cream Jars

When you reach the bottom of your favorite face cream, you’re often left with a beautiful, sturdy jar that feels too good to just toss in the recycling bin. These little containers are perfect for upcycling! Giving them a second life is a fantastic way to reduce waste and get creative.

Instead of discarding them, empty face cream jars can be creatively repurposed into practical and decorative items. Six ideas include using them as travel-sized containers for other toiletries, organizing small items like jewelry or office supplies, creating DIY mini candles, using them as planters for small succulents, making custom spice or herb jars for the kitchen, or crafting personalized gift containers.

Before you start any project, make sure to clean your jars thoroughly. Scrape out any remaining product, then wash with hot, soapy water. A final wipe with rubbing alcohol will remove any oily residue and sterilize the jar. Now, let’s get creative!

1. Create Chic Travel-Sized Containers

One of the most practical uses for empty face cream jars is to downsize your other toiletries for travel. Their small, sturdy nature makes them perfect for short trips and complying with airline liquid restrictions.

Clean your empty jars thoroughly and use them to store small amounts of other products like body lotion, hair gel, thicker serums, or even your daily dose of vitamins or pills. This avoids the need to buy disposable travel-sized products and lets you take your favorite full-sized products on the go.

• How to Do It:
  1. Ensure the jar and lid are completely clean and dry.
  2. Use a small, clean spatula or spoon to transfer products like body butter, thick conditioner, or hair styling cream into the jar.
  3. For pills or vitamins, simply place them inside.
  4. Label each jar clearly with its new contents using a label maker, a permanent marker, or a cute tag.
• Why It’s a Great Idea: It’s sustainable, saves you money on buying travel-sized items, and ensures you have your trusted products with you wherever you go.

2. Organize Your Smallest Treasures

Face cream jars are the perfect size for wrangling all the small, easily lost items around your home, from your vanity to your desk.

Use empty face cream jars as stylish organizers for small items. They are ideal for holding jewelry like rings and earrings, hair accessories like bobby pins and hair ties, or office supplies such as paper clips, thumbtacks, and small binder clips. Arranging several on a shelf or in a drawer creates a neat, uniform look.

• How to Do It:
  1. Clean the jars.
  2. For an extra decorative touch, you can paint the lids a uniform color (like gold, black, or white) using spray paint designed for plastic or metal.
  3. Simply sort your small items into the jars.
• Why It’s a Great Idea: It declutters your space, makes it easy to find small items, and repurposes the jars into functional and attractive storage. This is a favorite trick of my client Anna, who uses old sample jars from her cosmetics line to organize her workspace.

3. Craft Your Own Mini Scented Candles

The heat-resistant glass or sturdy plastic of many face cream jars makes them suitable for creating your own mini candles, perfect for adding a cozy ambiance to small spaces or for gifting.

Transform your empty jars into beautiful mini candles. After cleaning the jar, secure a pre-waxed wick to the bottom center, melt soy wax flakes, add your favorite candle-safe fragrance oil, and carefully pour the wax into the jar. Let it set completely, and you’ll have a custom-made candle.

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• How to Do It:
  1. Use a wick sticker or a dab of hot glue to secure a small, pre-tabbed wick to the bottom center of the clean jar.
  2. Melt soy wax flakes (beginner-friendly) in a double boiler or microwave-safe container.
  3. Let the wax cool slightly, then stir in a few drops of candle-safe fragrance oil.
  4. Use a wick centering tool or two pencils to hold the wick straight and pour the wax into the jar.
  5. Let it cool and cure for at least 24 hours before trimming the wick to 1/4 inch.
• Why It’s a Great Idea: It’s a fun, creative DIY project that results in a beautiful, functional item. Custom-scented mini candles make wonderful, personal gifts.

4. Plant a Tiny Succulent Garden

The small size of face cream jars makes them perfect homes for tiny plants like succulents or air plants, bringing a touch of green to your desk, windowsill, or bathroom.

Turn your empty jars into miniature planters. Add a layer of small pebbles for drainage, followed by some cactus or succulent soil mix, and then carefully plant a small succulent cutting or an air plant. These mini terrariums are low-maintenance and visually charming.

• How to Do It:
  1. Place a thin layer of small stones or gravel at the bottom of the clean jar for drainage.
  2. Add a layer of activated charcoal (optional, helps keep soil fresh).
  3. Fill the jar with a well-draining soil mix suitable for succulents.
  4. Gently place your small succulent or plant into the soil.
  5. Water sparingly – succulents don’t like to be waterlogged!
• Why It’s a Great Idea: It’s an easy way to add greenery to small spaces and gives the jars a beautiful, natural new purpose.

5. Create a Custom Spice & Herb Rack

For the foodie or home cook, a collection of uniform jars can be repurposed into a stylish and practical set of containers for your favorite spices, herbs, or custom seasoning blends.

Clean and sterilize your empty face cream jars and use them to store spices and dried herbs. Create custom labels for the lids or sides for easy identification. A set of matching jars can create a beautiful, organized display in your kitchen pantry or on a spice rack.

• How to Do It:
  1. Ensure the jars are exceptionally clean and completely dry to prevent spoilage.
  2. Fill them with your chosen spices or herbs.
  3. Design and print your own labels, or use a label maker to create clean, uniform labels for the lids or the front of the jars.
• Why It’s a Great Idea: It’s a free way to get a matching set of spice jars, reduces clutter from mismatched store packaging, and makes your spice collection look organized and aesthetically pleasing.

6. Design Personalized Gift Containers

A handmade gift feels even more special when its packaging is also thoughtful and unique. Empty face cream jars are the perfect size for small, homemade gifts.

Use your decorated empty jars as personalized containers for small gifts. Fill them with homemade bath salts, a custom sugar scrub, gourmet flavored salts, hot cocoa mix, or even small candies. Decorate the jar with a ribbon, a custom tag, or paint the lid to match the occasion.

• How to Do It:
  1. Clean the jar thoroughly.
  2. Decorate the outside: tie a ribbon or twine around the lid, add a custom-made paper tag, or paint the lid.
  3. Fill with your gift item.
     • Gift Ideas: Homemade body scrub, bath salts, loose-leaf tea blend, small cookies or candies, a sewing kit, or a fire starter kit (cotton balls soaked in wax).
• Why It’s a Great Idea: It adds a personal, handmade touch to your gift, shows your commitment to sustainability, and makes the packaging part of the present itself. My client Mohammed from Iraq, who specializes in custom gift sets, would appreciate this level of detail!

Conclusion

Before you recycle that next empty face cream jar, consider the creative possibilities it holds. From practical travel containers and stylish organizers to charming mini candles and planters, there are countless ways to give these beautiful jars a second life. By repurposing them, you not only reduce waste and embrace a more sustainable lifestyle but also add a touch of personalized, DIY charm to your home and gifts.