When To Say Ciao, To Your Beauty Products.

As with everything in life, nothing lasts forever, not the good, not the bad, and certainly not our beauty products.  Sometimes it is hard to know whether our foundation is still wearable or if our mascara is still fresh.

It is very important to know the general shelf life of our favorite beauty products since they come in contact directly with our skin and eyes.  If we do not pay attention to those expiration dates, we could find ourselves with an unpleasant eye or skin infection.

Here are general expiration dates for the most commonly used beauty products, starting from when you first open the product.  I hope you find them helpful.

Lipstick and lip gloss:  Two years.  Lipsticks and glosses start to smell strange and they don’t apply as evenly as they did before.  Also, watch out for when they become sticky.

Foundation:  Depends.  Liquid foundation can last up to six months, while powder foundation can last up to two years.  A good indicator of when it’s time for a new liquid foundation is when it starts to separate, i.e. you can see the oil going to the top and the rest of the foundation staying at the bottom.  As for the powder foundation, it starts breaking up more when it’s ready for the trash bin.

Mascara: Three months.  Expired mascara is a magnet for bacteria and, if you’re not careful, you can get a serious eye infection.  Look out for when the mascara won’t cover the eyelashes evenly and when it’s clumpy/dry.  In order to keep your mascara as fresh as possible, close the tube tightly after every use since it’s the air that dries out the mascara.  When you are ready to apply it, don’t pump the wand up and down, but instead swirl the wand into the tube.

Face cream: Six to Nine months.  Face creams that come in a jar generally only last six months because every time we take a little bit with our fingers, we introduce bacteria.  If you want a longer shelf life for your face cream, try buying a cream that comes with an easy pump.  That little pump will give you an extra three months of usage.

Nail polish: Two years.  When your nail polish is expiring, it’ll become sticky, the color will start to fade, and the liquid will separate.  As you all know, nail polish is one my favorite beauty products.  But I still don’t understand why they are sold in such large bottles.  Never in my life have I seen an empty bottle of nail polish, not even at a nail bar.  By the time you’re halfway through the bottle, the polish is already expired.  So why doesn’t the nail polish companies save themselves some money and sell nail polish in smaller bottles?  

Extra tip: The perfect storage for nail polish is the refrigerator.  Yes, where you keep your food.  Why does this work?  It helps avoid the heat, which is what really messes up the nail polish formula.

Photography: Google Images

Author: Jenny Wendlandt

Editor: Jenny Perusek

Kiss kiss,

JW