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How Can I tell When It’s Time To Purge My Make-Up?
They say “all good things must come to an end,” and unfortunately, the shelf-life of your make-up is no exception. At some point, they expire either from age or contamination and it’s time to purge and replace. So how is one supposed to know how long to expect their make up to last?
Look on the product box or label for the PAO (“period after opening”) symbol on your cosmetic. This symbol will tell you how long the product will last once you have opened it. The symbol is a cosmetic jar with an open lid. You will see a number and letter inside (6M, 12M, 24M) indicating whether it is good for 6 months, 12 months, 24 months etc.
If you don’t know the PAO of a product, here are a few signs that it’s time to pitch a cosmetic:
- It smells wonky
- If it looks bumpy or chunky instead of smooth after you apply it.
- If small, shiny or shimmery areas appear on the top of your powders (pressed powers, blush, eye shadows); this means oils from your skin, fingers, make-up brushes etc. have been transferred onto the surface of your powder. You can try to gently scrape it off but if it has penetrated very deep, it’s time to pitch it. It will be difficult to get a good application, as your makeup brushes will have a hard time picking up the makeup from its compact and distributing it evenly.
- If you have had an eye infection or a cold sore.
There are a few keys to preserving most cosmetic items:
- Do not share your make up – with ANYONE. Seriously. No really, don’t do it. Sharing your makeup means sharing the millions of micro-organisms present on your skin! Ewe! Someone else’s micro-bacterial bits transferred to your skin (or vice versa) isn’t exactly a beauty booster and take it from someone who spent the last few days of her freshman year in an eye patch trying to pass her final exams half blind, an eye infection is no joke!
- Keep your finger out of them. Oils, debris and bacteria from your fingers can contaminate your makeup and shorten its shelf-life.
- Always use a clean brush. Avoid double-dipping your makeup brush once it has touched your skin. Cross-contamination from your make up brush into your makeup compact or container can cause you to have to pitch your product.
- When applying liquid foundations, concealers or cream makeup, use spatula to remove the amount your will need and dab it on the back of your hand like a palette. You can double-dip your brush or use your finger as often as you like at that point.
- I also recommend an anti-bacterial brush spritzer after each use. Then once a week, soak them in a glass of water with Shampoo (for brushes made of real hair) or gentle anti-bacterial soap for synthetic brushes. Then rub them with a little hair conditioner, rinse and let them dry.
The typical shelf-life times for most cosmetics:
3-4 months range-
- Mascara / liquid eyeliner:
These are first on my list for good reason. You want to stick pretty close to the shelf-life dates these ones. They will go bad and are easily contaminated. When oxygen gets in the tubes, it dries out the product so try not to “pump” the wand, instead just rotate it. This will help you make it to the 3-4 month mark. In the event that you have any type of eye irritation or infection, conjunctivitis / sty, then boom! It goes straight in the trash! It’s contaminated and could re-infect you.
6 – 12 month range-
- Cream blush, cream eye shadows:
Expect them to last 6-12 month unless you are dipping into these creams with your fingers, which can transplant the oils, debris and bacteria living on your skin into your makeup and shorten their shelf life.
12 -18 Month range-
- Liquid Foundations & Concealers:
- Pressed Powder
- Lipsticks, Lip Liners, Lip Gloss
- Eye Liner Pencils
12 -24 Month range-
- Powder Blush
- Powder Eye Shadow
Happy Purging!
Sincerely,
Your Skincare Specialist
Roxanne Grace
G. D. Castillo, M.D.
COSMETIC PLASTIC SURGERY http://www.cosmeticplasticsurgery.com
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