Do beauty products really go off, and how fast?

[Pigtailsandall]

Just re-opened a tube containing a facial mask thingy which I bought in 2017 and used a few times. It looks, smells and feels exactly like I remember it from the days I did use it. The information online is a bit conflicting about the shelf life of beauty products. Sure, mascara gets clumpy and nail polishes separate but how about stuff that doesn't look like it's obviously off?

I kind of assumed that things like soap is good pretty much forever (you know, within reason) but apparently not. What's the rule of thumb here, if any? I hate waste but I'm looking at my products wondering how long they've got left in them

There's a little jar and lid symbol on most labels/ packaging with a number in it "24" would indicate 24 months/2 years from date of opening, "12" would be 12 mths and so on. If it's sealed then there's sometimes an expiry. Exception is eye products like drops, mascara, liner, which I generally only use for 3 months (many can be recycled at boots/terracycle/Tesco extra) x

Also dry products like powders can reasonably last indefinitely if kept away from moisture. You just want to keep brushes and hands clean to minimise pots becoming little Petri dishes for germs etc

I don't bother with those dates and nothing bad has ever happened to me as a result. I use things until they run out. Not doing so is kind of bad for the environment. Who gets through a tube of mascara or an eyeliner in three months?

@Fauvist I do think mascara lasts about 3-4 months with me but I do use it pretty liberally daily!

Good point about powders. I have some retinol which is now 2 years old and I wonder if I need to let the rest of it go...

I guess I don't use it every day and probably not that much each time so maybe that's why. I think I bought my current tube of mascara about a year ago!