Beauty

[Flockmama]

Where's the Quality control? This is the second time in 4 months that I have been sent expired products on my auto delivery items. The first was a Tarte foundation. They sent me another one - also expired! I told them to just give me a refund.I wasn't about to try it a third time! Well, now I just received expired Proactiv. I am very upset about this.  This is not Quality, Value or Convenience!

[x Hedge]

Likely you were looking at a manufacturing date and not an expiration date which is not required on U.S.cosmetics.

The countdown toward an item's expiration doesn't begin until after the package is opened. That's the date to pay attention to.

Customer service isn't going to explain the legal regulations to you, or direct you to Google.

You're on your own to do that.

They're just going to take the shortest route toward resolving your complaint. They'll tell you to send the product back.

I couldn't find an explanation I could link here without being poofed, so I lifted the text, below:

Figuring out when you should throw away your beauty products is simple: Look at the packaging.

There's a tiny symbol on the label that most people don't even notice, which tells you how long your products will last after you've opened them.

Look out for the open cream jar icon, known as the PAO (or "Period After Opening") symbol, which includes the number of months a product is safe to use after it has been unsealed.

The PAO was introduced on cosmetics labels in 2005 by the European Commission, which requires all cosmetic products with a shelf life of 30 months or more to feature the symbol. Products that have a shorter shelf life than 30 months must include the minimum shelf life or best before date on the label.

While the US currently doesn't require cosmetics to have an expiration date by law, the U.S.Food and Drug Administration holds manufacturers responsible for ensuring their products are safe to use — and determining the shelf life of a product is considered part of their duty to consumers.

That's why, when you look through your makeup bag, you're likely to find the symbol on nearly all of your beauty products.

The shelf life varies depending on the type of beauty product.
Products for the face like primer, foundation, and blush will typically last for up to 24 months after they've been opened.
Lip products should be thrown away sooner.
And mascara should be replaced even more regularly.

In addition to your makeup, you'll find the symbol on your skin care products.

The period-after-opening symbol or PAO symbol is a graphic symbol that identifies the useful lifetime of a cosmetic product after its package has been opened for the first time. It depicts an open cosmetics pot and is used together with a written number of months or years.

[Flockmama]

The products had EXP which stands for expiration date! And it does matter on some products, like skin care, which is what Proactiv is. The effectivness or the potency on the product goes down. I can appreciate the info you provided. However, how long a product lasts after you open it has nothing to do with this. Products should not be sold to customers when the they are past that EXP date!!