How Old is Your Mascara?

Our Organizing Challenge this week was to clean out the medicine cabinet. One reader, wrote and asked about the shelf life of cosmetics.

According to Beauty and Wellness Expert Dayle Haddon in an article written by Brian Bernbaum for CBS News:

'Cosmetics aren't required by law to have expiration dates, so you can't just look at the label to know when a product has expired.'

A solution to this problem? When you purchase cosmetics, label the container with the purchase date so you'll know when it's getting old. Here are some general guidelines.

Liquid Foundation: 3-6 months (Cream foundation can last 4-6 months)

Foundation in a bottle should last 3-6 months, but wide mouthed jars can expose the product to more air and should be tossed sooner. You'll know it's time to purchase a new bottle, when the ingredients begin to settle or separate, the texture thickens or thins, or the smell changes.

Concealer: 6-8 months

Powders: 1 year

Pressed powder, eye-shadows, blush or mascara: 3 months (Note: You should never keep mascara for any longer than 3 months (air pushes bacteria back into the tube). Never 'pump' your mascara.

Lip gloss and Lipstick: 1 year

Eye and/or Lip Pencils: 1 year (Note: Eye and lip pencils should last 1 year or more, but you should sharpen pencils at least once a week to prevent bacteria from being transferred to your eye area. You'll know the product has gone bad if it dries or crumbles).

Comments

[Patrícia]

Hello, Usually I do this from time to time. The good thing in Portugal is that most products I have have expiration date, the others must have the information for how long they are good after opening. What I do (when I remember) is to write the date of opening in them.

Congrats on a great info/tips site.

[Trisha]

Thank you so much for the expiration times for the makeup. It made my job so much easier. I had to get rid of everything that I had as it was all over a year old. Now I can go out and get some new items and try something different.

[Lori]

Cosmetics sure don't last long! I never use any of mine that fast. Sounds like the industry needs to package in much smaller quantities (at lower prices) so we don't have to throw so much away.

[Lori]

Here's another idea... Anything that you don't throw away for this clean-up session, mark with an "x." Then, Maria, remind us in a year to clean out our makeup again. Anything with an "x" would definitely be more than a year old. (An "x" could even stand for 3 months if you wanted to do the reminders more often.)

[Denisines]

Thanks for those recommendations, but for those of us who don't wear makeup daily, it would be ludicrous to buy mascara every 3 months!

(Makes me wonder if the makeup companies want us to be tossing & buying more often than is really necessary?)

__________________

NOTE FROM MARIA GRACIA

Mascara is one makeup product in your bag that you want to keep tabs on. It's a breeding ground for bacteria. You risk eye infection the longer you keep the product. It's not worth it to keep it around if it's older than 3 months.