Not Just a Makeup Kit--It’s a Lifeline

So you got some perfume this Christmas that you don’t really care for? How about that full cosmetics kit, the one you don’t really need, that came with the $15 purchase?

Take a tip from Sally Beauty Supply: Donate those things to a domestic violence shelter. The company, based in Dallas, has been sending Christmas packages to shelters around the country for the last three years.

“You have no idea how essential it is,” says Karen Earl, executive director of the Jenesse drop-in center in Los Angeles. “A lot of times the women come in with just what is on their back,” and cosmetics can be the first step to rebuilding their self-esteem.

Kathy Pitts agrees. A volunteer and donation coordinator for the Women’s Shelter of Long Beach, Pitts says she is especially interested in hair products for minority women, but will gladly accept all sorts of good products--nail polishes, shampoos, perfumes, mousses. “We get a ton of hotel products and that’s not quite doing it,” says Pitts.

So look into your hearts and your medicine cabinets.

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To give to the Jenesse center, call (213) 751-1145, or mail your contributions to the center at 8803 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90003. To contribute to the Long Beach shelter, call (562) 491-5362.