Is Your Makeup Past Their Use By Date?
The New Year is a great time to start out fresh, get rid of clutter and simplify your life. I’d like to suggest you extend this to your makeup as well.
During my one-on-one makeup lessons in Melbourne, I assess my clients’ makeup kits. Most of the time, I notice old products that are way past their use by date. What’s more, most of these products are hardly used but they are kept for those “just in case” days.
According to Good Housekeeping, the average shelf life for the follow cosmetics products are:
Liquid foundation – 6 months
Powder foundation – 2 years
Mascara – 3 months
Liquid eyeliner – 3 months
Cream eye shadow – 6 months
Powder eye shadow – 2 years
Pencil eyeliners and pencil eye shadows – 2 years
Lipstick and gloss – 2 years
Lip liner – 2+ years
You may not find use by dates on the product itself, so you need to rely on your own judgment. For example, if you notice a change of smell, colour, texture or consistency, chuck it out.
To keep your makeup fresh and avoid contamination:
- Use appropriate brushes to apply makeup rather than your fingers. Definitely avoid sticking your fingers in pots to scoop out creams or liquid makeup.
- Wash your makeup brushes regularly after use. I recommend washing any brush that you use to apply cream or liquid makeup (e.g. lipstick, foundation, concealer) after each application.
- Store your makeup in a dry area. While it’s convenient to keep your makeup in the bathroom, it’s not the best place to do so.
- If you haven’t used your makeup for a while, just clean the surface with a makeup sponge to remove the top layer.
