Out of date skin products & make up

[Spink]

Hello,
Just wondering really what’s the norm.. I usually ignore the packet info that tells you to bin the product in however many months. I use skin creams & foundation til they’re gone, & chuck mascara when it goes claggy.
I realise that there may be colonies of bacteria growing though in those little pots & tubes & wanted to plumb Mumsnet wisdom on the matter :)

[DaisyRenton18]

I thought about starting a thread like this!

I'm still using a Benefit Perfect 10 blusher/bronzer combo, which they discontinued in 2013... My Urban Decay palette is probably even older. I do wonder whether they should be thrown out, but I still use them so really don't want to. I appreciate some people will be recoiling in horror at this!

Creams I throw away when they smell horrible. I'm generally not as bad as using up creams or liquids; I think because if I'm worried that something's been open for a few years months, I just slap a bit more on or repurpose, e.g. face moisturisers might also become hand creams.

[Spink]

Argh Daisy you’ve just reminded me about my ancient eyeshadows ... surely they last forever?!

[AnaViaSalamanca]

I bin everything that is past expiry. Whats the point of skincare that would harm you? I buy very little though, I have one foundation, once concealer, one eyeliner,one eyeshadow palette etc

[12345onceicaughtafish]

I'm a bit neurotic about cosmetic dates but for me it's not that I'm worried it's gone off, it's more about if there was dirt or infection or something on my skin...that makes me sound gross. I'm going to stop

[simbobs]

I try not to overbuy and use all creams until they are finished. If they are at the end of useful life I will use on arms or legs. Anything with a powder base |I use way past recommended time, but I would chuck if I got a bad reaction. That has not happened so far. Mascara, I will carry on using if I like it but discard at 6 months otherwise. I think these shelf lives should be used as a guideline.

[PleaseDontGoadTheToad]

I never stick to expiry dates on products. I just tend to use them until they're gone.

I have a couple of expensive eyeshadow palettes that I know I will keep and use for years. I would spend a fortune if I kept replacing them every time they 'expired.

[Spink]

I get that liquid-based products could harbour bugs & I think I mostly do use them up before they expire.... But surely powder based cosmetics aren’t so bad?

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

I have three Body Shop body butters from five years ago, unopened.

Dint like the the scent, but am too tight to throw them away, so they sit in my cabinets.

What do I do with them?

[Spink]

You need a Petri dish so you can see what grows on a smear of each. If nothing does, you can safely offer them to friends & family. You can buy them on amazon. Rather brilliantly they have a ‘shelf life of 6 months’.

That’s probably not very practical though, sorry.

[CakesRUs]

I ignore it and use till they're finished. Never had a problem.

[BusterGonad]

I use my common sense and if it smells or looks off I bin it generally creams will separate, lipstick gets a white coating on it and tastes nasty, eyeshadows will get a shiny coating so you can't get any on the brush, foundations tend to separate too or go glumly. I have eyeshadows I've had for years and I won't throw them out until I have too. Mascaras are binned when they stop making the pop sound when opened.

[BusterGonad]

Cakes I've never had a problem either. I think they put the use by signs on the packets to make us buy more, also just to add I do keep my brushes and make up very clean and tidy.

[Mbear]

I get irritated with the ones that have a very short use by time frame on. I don't that at all, my muji toner has 3 months on it, I just can't use it that quickly. If they were genuine about it all, they should sell it in sizes that you could use in that time frame. Grrrr.

Rant over 😊

[Spink]

This article gives guidance on the shelf life of various cosmetics.. http://www.byrdie.co.uk/makeup-expiration-dates-mascara-foundation-lipstick/slide11
Mascara is 3 months.. I think I’ve had my latest one for about 9

[Jerseysilkvelour]

I change my mascara regularly. Otherwise I go by the consistency/appearance etc - if it changes, I bin it. Am a lot more vigilant with liquid products than powders. Anything you have to stick your finger in to apply is going to go off quicker because you're constantly introducing bacteria.

[BusterGonad]

You can help by regularly sharpening eye and lip liners, scrapping off ends of old lipsticks, using clean fingers and brushes and buying pump action foundations etc...
I often go through my make up and clean lids and pumps with children's hand wipes, wash my brushes and clean the ends of my lipsticks. I actually really enjoy it!

[brogueish]

If it changes appearance, texture or smell, I bin it. Otherwise it stays in use. I have powder products that are 20+ years old...

(I have way more stuff than I actually use!)

[Spink]

I’ve actually still got these, from my mum in the 70s.. have never thought about using them on my face though I remember colouring in with them as a child

[Fishandthechips]

Ive always wondered with expiry dates, is it the date that you purchased the product that counts or the date from which you opened the product? So if a product says its 6 months, is that from buying or opening?
Also I don't bother so much with powders. Does anybody remember when Urban Decay used to release the book of shadows eyeshadow pallets around Christmas time? Still dutifully using my 'I love nyc' one...

[Ukelou]

I always assumed because the picture is of the item open (so a tub with the lid up) and then 6 months 12 months etc its from when you open the product.

[violetbunny]

If eyeshadows get a shiny coating, it's often down to using brushes which aren't clean (as oil/residue from the brushes builds up on the surface of the powder over time). Powder eyeshadows should easily last longer than liquid products.

[Spink]

Ukelou- that’s what the article says, it’s time from opening, not purchase

[BarchesterFlowers]

I recently bought a new eyeshadow - mac quarry, the last one was far from finished but I thought it might be a bit old as I bought it on a 30th birthday shopping spree down the Kings Road.

I am 49. No detrimental effects at all.

[HildaZelda]

I bin mascara every couple of months, but that's because it starts to dry up around then anyway.

[Ukelou]

i didn't read the article