Holy rotted lipstick! Sixty-six percent of women knowingly use expired makeup
Most women wear some sort of makeup every day, but very few pay any attention to the ingredients and expiration dates. Perhaps your blush has started to crack or change colors, or your mascara has a bit of a funny odor, but you have barely used it-so...you'll just keep on applying? No harm, no foul, right?
Well, actually, a little harm and quite a bit of foul. Makeup can be a full of potentially dangerous bacteria and, if stored improperly, it can go bad within just a few months. Yet, according to a new UK survey, 49 percent of women do not look at expiration dates and 66 percent admit to using expired products because they're npot worried about health concerns. (This could be because 15 percent don't even realize cosmetics can go bad!) Here's a quick refresher on when to toss your favorite items:
Foundation: three to six months
Mascara: three to six months
Eye shadow, blush, and bronzer: one to two years
Lipstick and lip gloss: one to two years
Eye and lip liner: one to two years
Perfume: three years
Here are some quick tips to make the most of your products:
Store makeup in a cool, dry place.
Don't share your makeup with family members or friends
Use makeup brushes you can wash or disposable sponges to apply instead of your finger which can transfer germs.
Throw out eye makeup if you've had an eye infection to prevent re-infection.
Toss items if they separate, change color or texture, or start to smell bad. This one should be obvious, but we don't always like parting with our favorite items.
Do you look at the expiration dates on your beauty products? How many of you continue to use items way past their prime because you love them dearly or don't want to buy new makeup?
