How long can you realistically keep a lipstick?

[thepriceoffish]

You know how everything has a jar symbol on it now and a lipstick is meant to be binned after 12 months etc? Do you stick to that? I buy travel sized mascara and bin it every 6 months but that's about it. I've got a lipstick that's 3 years old is it realistic to think it's ok? Or is there going to be mould and stuff on it? They never used to have the jar symbols on.

💋

I think my oldest lipstick is about 14 years old but I lose them faster than I use them hence only buying cheap lipsticks xD

I recently threw a lipstick out that was 20 years old, as it started to smell a bit weird. Colour was still ok and so was texture.
I’ve got an eyeshadow that is 21 years old and a benefit lemonaid from 2006 that’s still use 🤷‍♀️

If it doesn't smell and looks the same I use it! In fact I consider my 2 year of Clinique one pretty new !

I've still got my wedding lipstick too, it's Chanel, years old now, but it hasn't changed at all in smell, colour or texture.

I do have a rummage every couple of years or so, and check they haven't gone dry or smell funny, but mostly they are fine. Like others I have some that are so old they are lost to time. The ones I have thrown away, tend to be because the smell "odd", which I think is just the oils and fats degrading, but isn't something you would like to put on your lips!

I have one that was my mums from her wedding day. That was 1953. It still smells OK and looks OK.

I threw my wedding lipstick away on my 20th anniversary

I have some very old things although I chucked something recently as it made my skin react and I twigged the second time that it was ancient and so binned it.

I rarely wear make up so things last me forever. I’ve never used all of anything up, it just dries up on me.

My wedding lipstick is 9 years old and going strong!

So you replace them!

I've lipstick older than most MNers!! I'd happily use it if I was going to use lipstick (cannot remember the last time I did!!)

I don't get why it tells us to throw it away is there less preservatives than in the old days maybe

They want you to throw it away and buy more. Same as many food products like sauces and pickles.

Despite all their environmental claims, big companies don't want their customers to be less wasteful, they want them to buy as much as possible, even to the point of encouraging them to bin perfectly good products.

I'm a 'never throw anything away' type. I haven't worn make up for decades but still have some that is probably 20+ years old and I wouldn't expect there to be anything wrong with it.

The only time I've noticed a problem with something 'old' was a bottle of shampoo that had to be about 20 years old as it had got stuck at the back of the cupboard and when I tried to use it the bottle had gone all brittle and cracked. I managed to decant some of the shampoo into another bottle and used it up, and it was fine.

Ooh that's a throwback! I remember that line.

I firmly believe these dates on make up in recent years are basically to get us to buy more regularly 🙄

I've got 7 year old lipsticks

I use my eyes and nose to judge these things, rather than any arbitrary date.

Same goes for food, mostly!

12 months.

Decades! They only say that to get you to buy more.

I keep them as long as I want to.
I found an old one and now love it, but I will never be able to get another one as it's been discontinued :(

I have lip tints ? Lipstick in bottles that are years old they are all fine I wouldn't throw them out my lipsticks are also years old I've had a clear out of colours I don't like anymore but that's it,

Those of you who have really ancient make up, is that because you don't like it, and therefore don't use it, or you have so much that some is never used (much)?

I never have more than 2 lipsticks, use them daily and replace when they are used up. They last for around a year or less.

I go through my make up box once every year or so and bin anything that's not being used (usually because it was a mistake buy!)

From a hygiene point of view, it's more important to wash make up brushes so you don't use dirty brushes on your eyelids for example and get an eye infection. Anything that is sealed like foundation in a bottle is fine.

Sometimes when I am having a make up clear out I slice the used section off lipsticks that have been around for a while, to give them a fresh (and hopefully germ free) top. Agree with previous poster who suggested cleaning brushes is more important.
I often use a clean spoolie to apply mascara and hope that keeping the integral brush away from eyes will prolong the shelf life of expensive mascara. Otherwise I try and buy travel/sample sizes of mascara and discard after a few months.

I don't wear make up often but I went through a phase of buying a new lipstick every time I was going out ! I did throw foundation out it went a weird shade so now I have the stress of picking a new one.

Decades here too but I always cut a wee bit off the top before reusing them as I sometimes get cold sores and have got some in the past when reusing old lipsticks. I wondered if the virus can remain in the lipstick or was it just coincidence?

Cold sore virus can definitely stay on a lipstick. One reason why one should never share lipsticks.