I was going through my stash of makeup a couple of days back and realised that I've had quite a few products for a pretty long time. A foundation actually goes back 3 years! Not that I use all the products regularly, but sometimes I am guilty of applying lipstick and blush which are a couple of years old. It's just so hard to throw them away!! Now that my collection is increasing at a rapid rate, I wanted to know the shelf life of makeup products and exactly when I should put a stone on my heart and ditch them into the trash can. Unfortunately, the FDA does not require makeup companies to print expiration dates on their makeup so it's up to us to ensure that our vanity case has a clean bill of health. I turned to google for help and this is what I came up with.
Approximate shelf lives for common makeup products:
1. Powders (including blushes, bronzers and eye shadows) - Two Years
2. Cream shadows and blushes - 12-18 months
3. Oil-free foundation - One Year
4. Cream Compact Foundation - 18 months
5. Concealers - 12-18 month
6. Lipstick and lip liner - One year ( Oh noooo :((
7. Lip gloss - 18-24 months
8. Pencil liner, kohl/kajal - 2 years
9. Liquid or gel liner - 3 - 6 months
10. Mascara - 3 - 6 months
Some Extra Tips:
1. If your product doesn't smell the same when you purchased it, or just smells bad, ditch it. You don't want to apply bacteria or fungus on your face.
2. If the product starts to separate, its's not a good idea to continue using them
3. Make sure the caps to all your products are secured after using and store makeup in a cool, dry place like the fridge for lipsticks
4. Do not pump the mascara wand in and out of the tube to collect more product. You are only providing easy access to bacteria to get in.
After getting all this information, I think I''ll have to do a major cleanup of my makeup :). Will break my heart to throw some beauties away but what to do?? I'd rather have a clean and healthy skin than tons of old, expired makeup!
What about you? Guilty of using products that are too old? Do share below.
Images sourced from google