Are you aware that make up products don’t last forever? I mean we buy these products and magically assume that they can be used for eternity.
Imagine my surprise when I realized as a make up new bee that there is a need to discard old and expired make up products. I was in disbelief!
Let me tell you a quick story that fueled my oblivion.
Story time
So, I ran out of one of my holy grail foundations at the time; it was my l’oréal super blendable foundation, to be precise, and I headed to a physical beauty store for a replacement. As I was about to make the purchase, I took a moment to admire this amazing product, it was at this moment I noticed some strange prints on the foundation bottle which read; Best before!
My people, the best before date printed on this product was long gone. In other words, this product had expired and was still being portrayed to me as a valid product.
Even in my oblivion, I managed to point out this strange observation, but the sales personnel dismissed it as being an error and infact tore out the stick-on label on the bottle.
After that day I went on believing that expiration dates on make up products don’t matter much, this was until I started to note some products in my box. Those I had kept for way too long weren’t performing as they used to. Infact, some began to smell really funny.
I decided to revisit the make up expiration date issue, in a bid to enlighten myself, and I am glad I did! I would share with you, all that I discovered fam by answering simple questions I had during my ignorant period.
Popular Questions about expired make up products and answers
1. Do all makeup products have expiration dates printed on them?
So here is the thing, not all make up products I have purchased in my years of product binging come with expiration dates written boldly on them. One would ask why yeah? but I honestly do not know the answer to that question. Perhaps it is a marketing strategy, and perhaps not.
However, the ones that do have the manufacture and best before dates written on them are the real OGs, because they save you the stress of guessing. Some also have it written but in coded ways, I still don’t understand why they choose to hide it and why they don’t just put it up in clear cut terms.
For example, if you see something like 3M written on a product cover, note that this means the product is valid for only 3 months.
2. When Should an expired makeup product be discarded
So, many people would get confrontational about the minute differences between the terms ‘Expired’ and ‘best before’
They would tell you that Best Before still gives you an allowance of a few weeks as it only means that the product is not in its best shape but still works as opposed to . I find this statement a bit dodgy. As someone who doesn’t joke with her skin I would rather discard any seemingly expired product immediately! to avoid stories that touch.
3. What are the consequences of using expired makeup products?
My dear the consequences are diverse, ranging from the flop of your whole makeup routine, to the harboring of germs and micro organisms on your delicate face which eventually lead to preventable break outs. Why not just save your self the stress hun and discard those expired cosmetic products.
A guide to Cosmetic shelf life
Now, it is best to inform you that cosmetic products have diverse periods for which they are still top-notch, depending on the exact type of makeup product. What I mean is that, the shelf life of say an eyeliner is world’s apart from that of say a foundation. So, I would drop a cosmetic guide below to keep you afloat.
- Generally, eye makeup, including liquid eyeliners, gel liners, and even mascara, should be kept for not more than four months of use. Another thing to note is that these cosmetic products are quite delicate as they usually come in close contact with the eyes. Therefore if you or your model develops a pink eye { Conjunctivitis} Please and please dispose it immediately to avoid reinfection.
- Moisturizers, cleansers and toners also should be discarded after use for a year.
- Foundations and liquid concealers should be thrown out after a year or a little over a year as the case may be
- Personal Lipstains, lip sticks and lip glosses should be thrown away after two solid years of use.
- Pencils of any form including brow pencils and lip pencils should be discarded after a year of use, however most times, my pencils finish way before the one year mark
- On a final note, if your cosmetic product hasn’t reached its recommended expiration date, but you notice any significant change in color, texture, consistency or smell of the product, it is very much advisable to discard the product immediately.
