We all know make up does not last forever. Many cosmetics products have a small picture of an open jar with a number on it, on the primary or secondary packaging. This indicates how long a product is good for once it’s been opened. This is very useful especially for products that have SPF or other active ingredients as these have a shorter shelf life. Use your judgement. If something looks or smells funny, err on the side of caution and do not use no matter how long you have had it.  I generally follow this rule of thumb: powder products like eyeshadow, face powder, and blush are fine for up to 3 years. Lipsticks about 2 years, and glosses 18 months. Liquid foundations and concealers I would use for up to 2 years. Be careful with products that are used around the eye area and have a wand applicator like some liquid concealers. Don’t keep these products past the recommended expiration date.

The number one product that should definitely be discarded after 10-12 weeks is mascara. Bacteria thrives in dark moist places like the inside of a mascara tube. Since this product comes into contact with the eyes it is imperative that it’s changed frequently to avoid anything like this happening: A friend of mine used an old mascara that was laying around in her make up kit for I don’t know how long. Soon after applying her eyes started to burn and weep uncontrollably. She ended up in the hospital where they found tiny bugs in her lashes! Fortunately for her she received medical attention in time and is not blind! Don’t let this happen to you.

This entry was posted by leah on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 12:12 am. It is filed under HOW TO and has these tags: cosmetic shelf life, expiry dates on cosmetics, gloss, how long are cosmetics good for, Leah Elliston, lipstick, Lisa Nakamura, make up expiration dates, mascara, old mascara, powder, shelf life of foundation, snudgestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.