Can you donate opened toiletries or unused cosmetics?

Short answer: new and unused, still sealed in original packaging, is what most charity shops can accept. Opened or lightly-used toiletries and makeup aren't a charity-shop donation, but they're very much wanted elsewhere.

What your local charity shop can take

Unused gifts, hotel miniatures, and sealed cosmetics or toiletries are genuinely popular donations — unwanted gift sets in particular. They must be sealed and unused for hygiene reasons; this is standard policy across major charity retailers.

Opened or lightly used? There are dedicated schemes for this

• The Hygiene Bank runs a network of over a thousand UK drop-off points for unused toiletries and cleaning products, redistributed to people experiencing hygiene poverty.
• Toiletries Amnesty is a directory connecting spare toiletries and cosmetics directly to food banks, shelters and community causes that need them.
• Some beauty-specific schemes accept gently-used, not just sealed, makeup for redistribution to women's refuges — check current terms before donating, as accepted items vary.

It's a genuinely easy way to clear out a bathroom cabinet without anything going to waste — it just isn't your local charity shop's job to sort through opened products. Check the directory for which local shops currently take sealed toiletries and gift sets.