Thursday, March 20, 2014

When to throw away your make up

Using expired beauty products such as make up can be considered hazardous and dangerous to one's health just as it is eating expired food products. Expired skin products such as make up can cause skin irritation due to high levels of bacteria therefore it is important to get rid of these once in a while. Natural or organic skin products contain less preservatives therefore their shelf life is far shorter than conventional products and can harbour even more bacteria.

Not all make up products will have the same shelf life some range in shelf life from 6 months up to 2 years. This is an essential reason to check the expiration date to make sure you are not using an expired product. Since some products don't have a clear expiration date, below is a quick guide to follow.

Eye Make up




Eye Pencil... 24 months

Eye Shadow... 12 months

Liquid Eyeliner... 3-6 months

Mascara... 3-6 months



Skin Products


image courtesy of photoexplorer @freedigitalphotos.net

Blusher... 12-18 months

Foundation... 6 months

Lipstick... 18 months 

Tinted Moisturizer... 12 months



Another quick tip is to always check the jar symbol on your beauty products with a number which indicates the months the product lasts before it expires. This is just a brief guide to get an idea of the shelf life of certain beauty products as well as informing of the commonly unknown dangers of using expired cosmetics.

Sources: dailymail.co.uk/femail/beauty/article