The Shelf Life of Your Makeup

Just about every woman has a pile of makeup in her drawer that she “sometimes” uses.  Translation: “never uses”, but she keeps just in case she learns how to properly apply it or if she needs it for a special occasion.

What is important to know is that beauty products have a shelf life.  Many women do not realize that the blue eye shadow that you brought with the glimmer a year ago for that special occasion has probably expired.  So here is a quick guide on the shelf life of typical beauty products.  Keep in mind that you will probably not die from using expired products, but the use of expired products may increase the chances of irritation and possibly infections.

Typical Shelf Life Guidelines:

*Concealer – Up to 12 months.

*Powder – Up to 2 years.

*Cream and gel cleansers – Up to 1 year.

*Pencil eyeliner – Up to 3 years and it should be sharpened regularly.

*Eye shadow – Up to 3 years.  *TIP* - A dark eye shadow can also double as an eyeliner, in fact many makeup artists use eve shadow as eyeliner.  In order to achieve this, you will need a super-flat eyeliner brush (MAC, Sephora and Aveda brushes work well).  Instruction on how to achieve this look will come in the segment on how to apply eyeliner.

*Brushes – Wash every 2-3 month in a mild detergent (more info to come in upcoming blogs).

*Sponges – Wash weekly and discard monthly.

*Foundation – Check the ingredients.  A water based foundation will last up to 12 months while an oil based foundation will last up to 18 months. *TIP* - You may find that you need two different shades of foundation each year.  An example of this would be one foundation for the summer which is a bit darker because your skin naturally is a little darker and one foundation for the winter when your skin typically is a little lighter.

*Lipsticks – Some say 1-2 years while others say up to 4 years.  The general rule of thumb is if smells bad, then it is time to discard.

*Mascara – Mascara expires the fastest of all makeup.  This product should be thrown out after 4 months. *TIP* - If you don’t want the product to expire faster than the fresh date of 4  months, try not to pump the wand in and out of the tube; this action only exposes the product to the air thus, facilitating the expiration process.

Always remember, if your makeup starts to smell rancid that is a good indication that bacteria has set in and it is time to replace your products.

If you are looking for makeup application or you are interested in hosting a Mary Kay party, contact Keisha at 917 282-1977or at Keisha@tracklessonline.com.  If you are interested in purchasing makeup products please visit http://www.marykay.com/keishachilds/default.aspx.