Beauty

[FLGranny]

Just telling you all what happened to me so maybe it won't happen to any of you. I had purchased a rather pricey eye cream duo some months back. I didn't open it right away because I wanted to use up what I had. I went to start using the new one this morning and the smell was horrible. I opened the other one and same thing. I called the company and read off the numbers she asked for and turns out it expired April 2025. She was very nice and sympathetic but made no offer to give me a discount or compensate me in any way, which I guess I shouldn't have expected. I never had this happen before and I feel pretty stupid at myself for not being a more informed consumer. Is it common practice for companies to sell products cheaper when it's near the expiration date and have no obligation to advise the consumer? Any one else have this happen? Now I'm not sure I want to buy my beauty products unless Im almost out.

[Shelbelle]

I cant imagine anything that expied just a couple of months ago could be that bad, I keep some creams ands serums for very long beyond that as long as smell is fine, consistency is fine and color is fine. For my money that should not happen so soon after the date. It could have been mfg with no preservatives in it. 

[SilleeMee]

Some companies will have sales to reduce their older stocks. When buying close-to-exp products use them quickly and store them in a cool place, possibly a fridge, to help keep them from going bad. Most products containing 'actives' should not be bought and stored for long periods. Actives should be purchased when needed, don't stock them or buy mega sizes.

[Shelbelle]

I have to agree, I never order mega sizes, but I do have a bad habit of ordering not when needed but when a great deals comes my way. I can open my own  Sephora !!!

[RespectLife]

@FLGranny 

It would be helpful to me at least if you stated the product name/brand and where you purchased it from.

You have me wondering which vendor/store may be selling older stock.

[santorini]

I wish that whole process could be changed to make it mandatory to place "Mfg on ___; Use by _____" on the bottom of all cosmetic products that expire with time.

I notice how they are very vague when asked on air about how long they should last.  Most of them cut it short and say "2 year shelf life."  Well that's great but that's from the original manufactured date.  How long has it been sitting on YOUR shelf before you shipped it to us?  If that info was included on the bottom of the jar, we could see for ourselves.

[SilleeMee]

Products shipped during the hot summer months means they are exposed to heat which means it's possible that some ingredients can be affected. Heat destroys and alters ingredients making them less effective plus heat can deactivate the preservatives used in skincare products. That means some products will spoil sooner in those situations. We have no idea just how long products sit in a hot delivery truck. It's probably better to purchase skincare products during the cooler months of the year whenever possible.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@santorini wrote:

I wish that whole process could be changed to make it mandatory to place "Mfg on ___; Use by _____" on the bottom of all cosmetic products that expire with time.

I notice how they are very vague when asked on air about how long they should last.  Most of them cut it short and say "2 year shelf life."  Well that's great but that's from the original manufactured date.  How long has it been sitting on YOUR shelf before you shipped it to us?  If that info was included on the bottom of the jar, we could see for ourselves.

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@santorini   @FLGranny 

It's a good idea, but not really possible, since products make many little transfers along the way before it ends up on your bathroom counter.  

Example ...  The XYZ Company makes a good skin care product.  They ship it out to many retailers, often by trucks, which might not be refrigerated. 

The trucks drop the large boxes of those items to a warehouse, which might not be temperature-controlled. 

They may ship those boxes out AGAIN to retail locations .... OR  the products could sit in a hot warehouse for many months.  

A retailer might have excess inventory and it ends up being shipped to a Marshalls or T J Maxx ... it happens all the time. 

While cosmetic manufacturers might think 2 years is a reasonable use-by recommendation, they cannot guarantee how products are handled getting to their final destination. 

It's just not possible, IMO. 

[santorini]

@Tinkrbl44 it seems easy enough for me.  The info on the bottom doesn't change no matter how many places it gets shipped.  Place it on there once and it remains accurate no matter who is selling it.

[SilleeMee]

Cosmetic companies use batch codes as their way to keep track of their manufacturing dates. Each company uses their own coding method and there isn't a universal system in the industry. If you know the code and the company phone number/email address then you can ask them what the expiration date is for the product in hand by giving them the code. Batch codes are not the numbers under the bar code. Batch codes are usually a string of less than 10 or so numbers and are printed on the bottom of the container or somewhere next to the barcode.