We BGs love makeup, which means that we probably own a ton of it that needs to be tossed! I know that I have plenty of bin-worthy beauty products that are no longer good, but still taking up space in my makeup drawer.
In most cases, the expired cosmetics have been barely used or we simply don’t realize that our makeup must-haves are in need of a replacement. Wearing old products can wreak havoc on our skin and cause nasty bacterial infections that are not pretty!
BGG has gathered the facts to let you know the lifespan of the most common cosmetics.
According to various studies:
Mascara – Needs to be discarded 3 months after use
Lipstick – Toss after 2 years
Eyeliner Pencils – Replace within 3 to 6 months
Foundation – Find a new one between 6 months to a year after use
Blush, Eye-shadow, Face Powders – Get rid of after 3 years
Also, if any of your products have an odor or have changed colors, those are obvious signs that it’s time to throw them away!
Do you pay attention to the shelf-life of your beauty products?
N/A, just kidding! I only wear my faithful Carmex……..it was love at first site. I switch out the tubes every few months. Once in a was i’ll use the Mac lip gloss.
I’ve got to toss a lot of stuff. And it will help keep my makeup drawers/boxes/bowls under control
to be honest i really don’t. i don’t have have/wear that much and i don’t wear makeup too often – so i pains me to part with it when it hasn’t gotten that much use. things like concealer i usually use enough that its doesn’t hit expiry, but according to your findings i have some eye liners that need to go…oy.
BGG, great information! I wear make-up daily so nothing expires, it runs out! Sometimes I’ll take a chance on a new lipstick or mascara but I usually fall back on my old faithful, tried and trues. Those newbies get dumped in a basket until Halloween. That’s when I do my annual purge! It’s always good to make room for more foolish purchases!
Great information, BGG! Even as a beauty blogger I tend to overlook some of these “important rules”. Good think all of my make-up is all under a year or so. Lord knows I can’t imagine throwing away 50+ eyeshadows because they hit the 3 year mark. I would diiiie! LOL!
Thanks for the facts. I try to be careful about things like this but I don’t really wear much makeup so if something has expired i probably won’t notice until I open the case next time :-).
PJD
Ever Since I saw that Tyra Banks Show Episode about knowing when to throw away your beauty products (and with that woman who kept everthing she used for a year, it was breaking apart and a microscopic view showed it had a lot of bacteria, ewwww), I’ve know when to trhow out my products. Thanks for the tips BGG!
Good topic… I don’t really pay attention but every 6 months or so I do an ‘inventory’ and throw away items that I either don’t wear anymore, never worn or didn’t like so that it doesn’t add up and take up room.
I hardly wear my eyeshadows and dark lipsticks. It’s going to be so ard to throw them away. although I don’t notice a change in my powders, lipsticks tend to dry up so I can’t wear them anyway. I guess it’s time to head back to the store and buy new things
that looks like a fishing tackle box lol
Thanks for this post. I do try and pay attention but have to admit to using some oldies some of the time. Bad Girl that I am.
Bgg, thank you for the information and although I do agree with the sanitation part, I also find it a shame that we’re not only wasting our money but contributing to more garbage to the world.
I think there is a way in prolong the life of the cosmetics, but that means that the companies will make less money. Just a thought!!
I’m pretty good about cleaning out old products.
However, I tend to buy too many extras of limited edition lippies and they expire before I can use them.
Yes, I try to mark on the bottom with a sharpie and I love to update with fresh items. I mean we would not eat expired eggs, would we nor drink tainted milk!
Keep it fresh ladies…
I’m pretty good with switching out my favorite products and because I use them so much I just re-buy when I’m close to running out.
very interesting… very nice blog, stop by mine sometime!
now that i do makeup on others i’m very conscious of the spoil factor! which reminds me, i need to do a cleanup of some of my own makeup items! at least they have the back 2 mac program at mac 🙂
OMG! That picture looks exactlty like my make-up bin. My husband has been threatening to throw the entire bin in the garbage. After reading your article, I’ll be sure to throw that stuff away.
oh jeeezzzz, unfortunately i have stuff from high school still. mainly ‘costume’ make up that i use once or twice a year. glitter anything lasts me too long.
this is a problem for me. i dont wear makeup THAT often so everything i own is beyond it’s shelflife. that makes me sad.
thank you for this post! I needed to know how long i could keep my stuff!!
Thanks so much for this. I was actually going to email you last week and ask if you’ve written on this topic before. My face was so irritated and I figured it had something to do with using aged products.
Fab post!
No I don’t pay attention to what is said of the shelf life. I keep my products much longer than whats said and I don’t have a problem. I believe they tell us this information so you can throw out your products and buy more.
thnx for this post it really helped. i think i thre away a bag of stuff i no longer use and needed to throw away
Well, I must admit that I do keep a few things longer than what I probably should. However, I run out of eyeliner exactly every 3 months so at least I’m following that rule!! 🙂
You know I try to pay attention to the shelf life of my beauty products. I am so glad you posted this! I was just getting ready to clean up my make up drawer. Now I know I can hold on to my eyeshadow and blush for a little while longer. Thanks BGG!