KNOW THE LIFESPAN OF YOUR BEAUTY MAKE-UP

Beauty products do have a life-span. That’s a generic fact. Chances are that blue eye shadow with the glimmer bits that you bought a couple of years ago has long expired. Here’s a quick guide on the shelf lives of typical beauty products.

Nail polish

Polish is a pretty product and can last up to two years, unless you wear it with fungal infection. Anytime your make-up items come into contact with an infection, they should be tossed immediately. So in the end, use common sense and if it smells funny or looks strange it should be tossed away.

Eye liner

For most experts, it is ideal to throw away liquid eye liner and mascara every three months or so. The only exception is if you have an eye infection; eye infections mean that you need to toss all eye make-up and start over again. And as for pencil eye liner, it can last up to 2 years, if properly stored and sharpened regularly.

Eye shadow.

Eye shadow may last up to three years. A dark eye shadow can double as eye liner. You’ll need a super flat eye liner brush for this. Get the brush a little damp and dab in dark eye shadow (black, brown or deep jewel-tones work great). Wiggle the brush into your lash line focusing on the space between your lashes, and then sweep the colour just above your lash line.

Foundation.

A water based foundation will last up to 12 months; oil-based will last up to 18 months. If your water-based foundation dries before its expiration date, simply add a few drops of alcohol-free toner and shake to mix it in. no need to do this to oil-based foundation because they contain oil, they will tend to separate. If your foundation has a pump then it will stay fresh longer, but if you are dabbing your fingers into a bottle everyday you should think of tossing your foundation make-up every 6-8 months. If you are prone to break outs and are using the dabbing method, you should toss your make-up no later than six months. But keep in mind that your foundation colour can change at least twice a year.

Beauty can only be a charm when properly handled.

Powder face make-up can last over a year, if there is no shiny build-up on the surface and you have not had any major skin irritations during use. As a general rule of thumb, if it smells funny or looks strange you should toss it.

Lipstick

Some experts conclude that, lipsticks can last 1-2 years. How true this is, calls for poll correspondence. For others, it can last up to 4 years. This also leaves to be desired. However, if you store lipstick in the refrigerator, it will last longer. If you want your lipstick to last longer during the day, shade in lips with lip liner before applying lipstick.

Mascara.

This product expires the fastest. Throw out after four months. If you don’t want your mascara to expire faster than its actual date, don’t dump the wand in and out. Doing this will only expose the product to drying air.

As a general rule of thumb, change out your make-up every six months. If there is ever a doubt about whether to keep it or toss it, you should always just throw it out. Finally, if you have switched to natural make-up make sure you give the products a regular check, since they could turn rancid quicker because of the lack of preservatives.