Mascara
Everyone, especially beauty enthusiasts, should know this: Mascara’s lifespan is 3 months after opening. It’s used on your eyes, so be careful! Eye infections are not fun, and they certainly aren’t pretty! Remember not to “pump” your mascara or add water “to stretch it out”!I like the sample/travel sized mascaras. They are simply easier to hold and nice to keep in my purse. Buy two – one for home and one for your handbag. Eyeko Black Magic is one of my favorites. It does it all – volumizing, lengthening, and drying quickly!
Makeup Primer
Fun fact: Matte makeup primers tend to last longer than the others. Either way, toss the sprays or primers in a tube after 12 months. Keep this stuff around too long and you can say hello to breakouts or infections due to bacteria.
Foundations, Blushes, and Concealers
This holy trinity makes us happy. Don’t let your fingers touch the opening of the bottle or jar if a pump isn’t involved. For liquid foundations, blushes, and concealers, let go after one year. Keep stick foundations, blushes, and concealers for 18 months.For powders, (foundations, blushes, and pressed powders) throw away after 18 months. If this stuff gets too old and contaminated, bacteria can seep deeply through the skin and into your blood causing toxic shock or flesh-eating disease. Not kidding.
Eyeliners
The popular liquid liners today have the same lifespan as mascara – 3 months. To be honest, eyebrow and eyeliner pencils you can probably take to your grave as long as you clean the tips with alcohol before each use. Just buy a cute little container for alcohol and keep it next to cotton balls or Q-tips so you won’t forget.
Mold alert! Throw away immediately if you see the tip looking grayish, dull, or white. Remember these beauty items are used close to that water line on the eye rim. Get that eye dirty and you can say hello to a yucky stye when you wake up the next morning!
Eyeshadow
When I found out my 22-year-old daughter had the same eye shadow quad I bought her in 8th grade, I hit the roof. We are all guilty of buying huge eyeshadow palettes for a few choice colors. When those colors get low, throw the whole thing away.Powder shadows last 2 to 3 years. If you see crumbling, that’s the sign they’re drying out and it’s time to toss (the colors won’t stay on well anyway). Investing in good quality shadows that are heavily pigmented is your best bet.
Liquid shadows have the same life expectancy as liquid foundation – 12 months. Again, with eyes you don’t want to mess around…eye infections are hard to get rid of and unsightly (no pun intended).