Beauty

[Porcelain]

I keep some of my makeup way longer than I ought to. Cool but not daily-wearable lip colors and eyeshadow kits especially. But if it looks or smells or lays down weird, toss.

Seems to me that when you sharpen a makeup pencil, you are working with clean fresh(ish) product. It's a matter of whether any oil in the item has gone off. If you keep powder products dry and closed up, they should stay good for quite a while. Mascara dries out on me too fast for it to get old.

[ginabfly]

I judge each item by how it looks or performs. To me it's usually pretty obvious when something has gone bad. Powder shadows or blushes harden and stop giving pigment or are discolored, same with eye liners, they harden and don't glide on anymore. Lipstick and gloss changes texture and color. Liquid foundation separates or smells bad. Mascara is one that I usually do toss after a few months, especially if it starts to dry out or get clumpy. If I'm using it ever day, some get clumpy and dry out faster than 3 months.

[myshell624]

Only mascara. I toss it after about 3-4 months.

[LuluOnBeauty]

Heavens, no!

[Tinkrbl44]

I have a very strict hard and fast rule .........

I NEVER keep any makeup item longer than twenty years!

[Irshgrl31201]

Just my mascara. Powder products I will keep for much longer. I have blush in my makeup drawers that is from 2005 I think.

Liquid products I keep a closer eye on though. I may have some liquid foundations that are maybe a year old but I don't keep them much longer than that and I haven't had a problem.

I have so many products that there is no possible way is H E L L that I could use them up that quickly.

[Clover29]

On 6/4/2014 Tinkrbl44 said:

I have a very strict hard and fast rule .........

I NEVER keep any makeup item longer than twenty years!

We just moved house and I found some lipsticks in an old handbag that are at least 15 years old. The colors were discontinued and I thought I'd lost them a long time ago. It was like meeting an old friend, I was delighted to see them again. They smell just fine.

[lovesrecess]

I think some of these timelines are just to make sure we toss and have to buy more. I wear mostly LG and it is baked and lasts forever even when I use it daily.....I toss mascara when it gets clumpy in the tube and lipstick when it no longer goes on without dragging.

[gazelle77]

On 6/4/2014 Tinkrbl44 said:

I have a very strict hard and fast rule .........

I NEVER keep any makeup item longer than twenty years!

Thank goodness I am not alone....I have bare minerals from WAY back that I stocked up on...lipsticks I only toss if they smell bad... The only thing I toss more often is mascara....but that is all!

[silkyk]

I just give it the sniff test. If toss that sucker and get some fun new stuff.