Hey Divas! Wondering what the shelf life is for all of that makeup in your junk drawer? We all know that you have a pile of makeup in your junk drawer that you will get to "one day". In other words - you will never use it, maybe because you don't know how or the makeup consultant "forced" you into buying it and you're too embarrassed to return it.
In case you didn't know, beauty products do have a shelf life, however, chances are the makeup you were compelled to buy years ago has long expired, Honey. Here's a quick guide on the shelf lives of typical beauty products, listed in alphabetical order [something like that]. Please keep in mind that these are estimates, no matter what your know-it-all girlfriend will tell you, it's unlikely you'll go blind from using that 2 year old mascara.
Brushes - Wash every 2-3 months in a mild detergent or Tea Tree Shampoo.
(Sponges Wash weekly and discard monthly.)
Concealer - Up to 12 months.
Cream & gel cleansers - 1 year.
Eyeshadow - Will last up to 3 years. Tip From Kisses: A dark eyeshadow can be used as eyeliner [or a brow filler]. I swear by it. All you need is a super-flat eyeliner brush for this: Get the brush a little damp and dab in dark eyeshadow (black, brown or deep jewel-tones work great). Wiggle the brush into your lash line focusing on the space between your lashes, then sweep the color just above your lash line. For the brows, grab an angled definer brush, brown eyeshadow and start filling.
Pencil Eye Liner - Should be sharpened after each use. It can last up to 3 years.
Lip Liner - Up to 3 years. Tip From Kisses: Skip the push-up lip liners. They're expensive, tend to break and you never really know how much you have left until you run out – which really sucks, especially when you’re putting it on in the car on your way to a date. Oh, that’s never happened to you before? Either way, there’s no need to spend money on push-up lip liners, stick with the pencil.
Foundation - ABC[YI] - Always Be Checking Your Ingredients. Yes, I made that up. Anyway, a water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 18 months. You may find you need two different shades of foundation each year: One for summer when your skin is naturally darker and one for winter when you're lighter. Tip From Kisses: If your water-based foundation dries out before it's expiration date, simply add a few drops of alcohol-free toner and shake it like a polaroid picture. No need to add anything to oil-based foundations since they contain oil - they will tend to separate. Just like my favorite jar of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter - "oil separation is natural, just stir and refrigerate." UGH, I really hate when that happens but a nice shake and stir gets everything right back in place.
Powder - 2 years.
Lipstick - Some experts say 1-2 years. Others say up to 4 years. What everyone agrees on is that if it smells sour, just throw it out, it's spoiled. Tip From Kisses: If you store lipstick in the refrigerator, it will last longer – just like everything else.
Mascara - Using 2 year old mascara will cause blindness. Juuuust kidding. This product expires the fastest though. Throw it out after 4 months. Tip From From Kisses: Be easy on the pumping. There's really no point in doing that in the first place. Everything you need is on the wand as soon as you take it out. Pumping in and out causes the mascara to dry quicker and forces bateria into the wand. Swirl the brush as you pull it out. If it starts to get cakey, try dipping the tube in boiling water for about 15 seconds. It will make the makeup gooey again and may even kill some bacteria.
Nail Polish - Up to 12 months, depending on the quality and how many times you take it on a plane (we all know the cap always unscrews on a flight. Don't believe me? Try putting it in your purse they next time you fly. You'll have a purse full of a fumey mess!).
Rule of thumb, if it looks like this:
TOSS IT! Really, how long have I had this?
Okay, so I was doing a little seasonal cleaning. I found a container full of nail polish I hardly ever used. I decided to go through it after catching up on Monday night's episode of Gossip Girl.
The rule of thumb for everything during major cleaning – when in doubt...chile, just throw it out! Besides, there's always the "next best thing" out there ready for your purchase.
Until next time, happy tossing!
In case you didn't know, beauty products do have a shelf life, however, chances are the makeup you were compelled to buy years ago has long expired, Honey. Here's a quick guide on the shelf lives of typical beauty products, listed in alphabetical order [something like that]. Please keep in mind that these are estimates, no matter what your know-it-all girlfriend will tell you, it's unlikely you'll go blind from using that 2 year old mascara.
Brushes - Wash every 2-3 months in a mild detergent or Tea Tree Shampoo.
(Sponges Wash weekly and discard monthly.)
Concealer - Up to 12 months.
Cream & gel cleansers - 1 year.
Eyeshadow - Will last up to 3 years. Tip From Kisses: A dark eyeshadow can be used as eyeliner [or a brow filler]. I swear by it. All you need is a super-flat eyeliner brush for this: Get the brush a little damp and dab in dark eyeshadow (black, brown or deep jewel-tones work great). Wiggle the brush into your lash line focusing on the space between your lashes, then sweep the color just above your lash line. For the brows, grab an angled definer brush, brown eyeshadow and start filling.
Pencil Eye Liner - Should be sharpened after each use. It can last up to 3 years.
Lip Liner - Up to 3 years. Tip From Kisses: Skip the push-up lip liners. They're expensive, tend to break and you never really know how much you have left until you run out – which really sucks, especially when you’re putting it on in the car on your way to a date. Oh, that’s never happened to you before? Either way, there’s no need to spend money on push-up lip liners, stick with the pencil.
Foundation - ABC[YI] - Always Be Checking Your Ingredients. Yes, I made that up. Anyway, a water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 18 months. You may find you need two different shades of foundation each year: One for summer when your skin is naturally darker and one for winter when you're lighter. Tip From Kisses: If your water-based foundation dries out before it's expiration date, simply add a few drops of alcohol-free toner and shake it like a polaroid picture. No need to add anything to oil-based foundations since they contain oil - they will tend to separate. Just like my favorite jar of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter - "oil separation is natural, just stir and refrigerate." UGH, I really hate when that happens but a nice shake and stir gets everything right back in place.
Powder - 2 years.
Lipstick - Some experts say 1-2 years. Others say up to 4 years. What everyone agrees on is that if it smells sour, just throw it out, it's spoiled. Tip From Kisses: If you store lipstick in the refrigerator, it will last longer – just like everything else.
Mascara - Using 2 year old mascara will cause blindness. Juuuust kidding. This product expires the fastest though. Throw it out after 4 months. Tip From From Kisses: Be easy on the pumping. There's really no point in doing that in the first place. Everything you need is on the wand as soon as you take it out. Pumping in and out causes the mascara to dry quicker and forces bateria into the wand. Swirl the brush as you pull it out. If it starts to get cakey, try dipping the tube in boiling water for about 15 seconds. It will make the makeup gooey again and may even kill some bacteria.
Nail Polish - Up to 12 months, depending on the quality and how many times you take it on a plane (we all know the cap always unscrews on a flight. Don't believe me? Try putting it in your purse they next time you fly. You'll have a purse full of a fumey mess!).
Rule of thumb, if it looks like this:
TOSS IT! Really, how long have I had this?
Okay, so I was doing a little seasonal cleaning. I found a container full of nail polish I hardly ever used. I decided to go through it after catching up on Monday night's episode of Gossip Girl.
The rule of thumb for everything during major cleaning – when in doubt...chile, just throw it out! Besides, there's always the "next best thing" out there ready for your purchase.
Until next time, happy tossing!
