Here is a better question, when did you buy these products? If you just stopped reading, and thought about it, most likely it is expired. Just like food, cosmetics have expiration dates. However, people often do not think to look at them, and have had the same neutral shade of Urban Decay eye shadow in their makeup bag for about 2 years now.
According to the FDA, “there are no regulations or requirements under current United States law that require cosmetic manufacturers to print expiration dates on the labels of cosmetic products, as part of their responsibility to substantiate product safety. Failure to do so, may cause a product to be adulterated or misbranded.”
What are some signs that my makeup is expired? Mascara clumps on the brush, liquid foundation feels sticky or the ingredients appear to be separated (most of us shake our foundation so it looks mixed together again but that doesn’t mean it’s not expired).
If the product starts to smell bad, throw it away (even if the makeup looks okay --- and no you can’t clean the lip gloss with a paper towel, wipe off the excess lipgloss and make it look “clean” again). If you have had any makeup in your makeup bag for over a year, throw out the makeup immediately.
A savvy strategy to help your makeup last longer? Wash your brushes! Invest in a make-up brush shampoo, or use a gentle shampoo (California Baby or Johnson & Johnson are recommended) rinse. Leave your brushes to dry on a clean towel and viola!
Washing your brushes on a weekly basis can help eliminate the amount of bacteria. We all wash our pillow cases, and wash our own hair to prevent oils, and bacteria from being spread onto our faces. The same concept follows with makeup brushes.
Cleaning your brushes about once a week helps your brushes to last longer, prevents harmful bacteria, dirt, and oils from being transmitted into your cosmetics.
Your skin is more likely to break out if you wear expired makeup. If the eye makeup is expired, an eye infection can definitely lurk. Wearing expired makeup and using dirty makeup can introduce bacteria, fungi, or other microorganisms which can damage your skin, and harm your health.
Expiration dates are “pointers”, and the product may expire long before the expiration date if the makeup is not properly stored (i.e.: exposed to high temperatures or sunlight).
According to a previous SFC article ‘Hey beauty, “how-to” doing?’ written by, Stephanie Aronovich, “All you have to do is go to YouTube.com and type the video you want to see into the search box.” Detailed expiration details can be found on youtube! Be sure to check it out.
When you come home with your staggering new products, write the date at the bottom. Do not waste money on products you will not use. Makeup does not last until it’s all finished.
Afterall, you wouldn’t drink rotten milk, why would you wear expired makeup?