Between our obsession with Huda Beauty highlighter palettes, our endless stash of hair smoothing serums and the colour coded mass of rainbow nail varnishes that's housed in its own Muji perspex stack, it's easy to lose track of just how many beauty products we rely on everyday to preen ourselves to perfection.

But what if your financial situation was so dire you couldn't even afford the most basic of hygiene items? Forget fourteen-part eyeshadow palettes, we're talking about deodorant, shower gel, toothpaste, tampons - the essentials you need to simply wash yourself, that we take for granted everyday.

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Most of us are lucky enough to live safe in the knowledge that we have the beauty products to hand to help ourselves feel presentable, confident and, at its most fundamental level, human.

So it seems unimaginable that for the 13 million people living below the poverty line in the UK, living without access to the most basic of hygiene amenities isn't just a stat, it's a reality.

With a report by In Kind revealing that 37% of people in the UK have had to go without essential toiletries due to lack of funds, something needed to be done.

Enter the brainchild of beauty journalist Sali Hughes and PR Director Jo Jones - Beauty Banks.

A non-profit initiative that aims to provide basic hygiene and grooming toiletries alongside existing food and clothing banks across five locations in the UK, Beauty Banks aims to make the issue of having to choose between food and simply brushing your teeth, a thing of the past.

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'Some people don't have enough money to survive, so what's going to go? The thing that you don't need to stay alive. But I don't think having clean teeth is a luxury. Having clean hair isn't being spoiled - in 2018, in Britain, it's a right', co-founder Sali Hughes told the BBC.

The Beauty Banks locations so far include a women's refuge and a food bank in Staines, a homeless shelter in Cardiff, and food banks in Milton Keynes and Ladbroke Grove.

'People really need these things and not being clean and being dirty is the difference between having a bad or good day, of feeling employable and feeling good about themselves,' Hughes continued. 'These are things we take for granted. We often don't think twice about buying shower gel, but [for some] that can make the difference between being clean and not being able to eat.'

How You Can Get Involved With The Beauty Banks

1. Start collecting products

Whether the old bubble bath set your in laws misguidedly gave your for Christmas, hotel minis, or popping an extra pack of tampons in your trolley, if the products are unused, then the Beauty Banks want them.

2. The products have to be unopened

To abide by health and safety rules, all products donated must be unopened. So leave that lid on!

3. Solvents are out

Nail varnish, nail varnish remover and perfume contain solvents so keep these for yourself.

4. Only products please

Monetary donations are a no as Beauty Banks is a non-profit venture, but if posting products is a bit old school for you then skip the middle man and purchase toiletries direct from their Amazon wish list. They'll get sent directly to the Beauty Banks HQ and passed on to the selected location.

5. Send, send, send

Once you've got your solvent-free unopened stash of products ready to go, it's time to post to the following address:

Beauty Banks, c/o Jo Jones, The Communications Store, 2 Kensington Square, London, W8 5EP