Beauty

[ILoveFragrance]

If you do not open them keep them in the box in a cool dry place  Do you think three years would be safe on skin care?

[ALRATIBA]

I found a couple of skin care products that got "lost" in the cabinet.  They were probably a couple of years old .... and they had separated - solids/liquid.  I tossed them.

I guess if it looks and smells okay ... try it. 

[noodleann]

I was on the verge of a mini M. Asam splurge last on HSN, but forced myself to see what I had in reserve from the old days. I had A TON of sealed, unopened products. Six shoeboxes full. I opened a tube of cream Vinolift cleanser last night, and it was completely fine. I used it and again this morning, and nothing was off. Great cleanser, too.

The products in the boxes still have their seals, so they were never opened, and I'm sure that's helped. The real test will come when I try one of the moisturizers, but that can wait. The M. Asam products, even the cream cleansers, are rich in oils, so I'm pretty confident they're okay, too.

The boxes were in a closet off the bedroom, which is air conditioned a few days a year, if that. They date back about 8 years.

[Ibby114]

It depends if there are parabens in the products- how they were stored, etc. But if something is 3 years old and I'm first opening it- I try to use it up within 6  mos.

[SilleeMee]

If the product contains acids, peptides or vitamins then it should be tossed after 2 years unopened or not. These "actives" will not be effective after long term storage. Of course this is just a general rule of thumb so you may find some things last longer and some don't.

[Shelbelle]

Manuela said last week her products have a 3 year shelf life. I keep things for al ong time, If they smell fine, look fine, color is good I use them.

[ECBG]

On the net, items with oil go bad sooner.  Unopened, sealed items, max is three years, use up in 6 mos.

Nail polish is two years.

[juperier]

How long a skin care product is safe to use is going to depend on the ingredients used, how it is stored, etc. Bacteria can grow, oils get rancid. active ingredients lose effectivenes (or perhaps worse, can get more potent). Products deteriorate over time. It's not that a product is "good" one day and turns "bad" at the stroke of midnight on the expiration date.

@ECBG Nail polish is kind of unique in that it has to be assigned an expiration date due to EU cosmetic requirements. However, due to the ingredients involved, it doesn't pose a health hazzard as it ages. What does happen is that ingredients separate (shake it up...sometimes for a long time), solvents evaporate resulting in thickened, strimgy polish (use thinner, never remover, to rejuvenate), pigments fade and glitter tinges a clear base this can happen in far less than two years; storing polish in a dark, cool place can help, but sometimes it's just the nature of the ingredients). The best explanation I've read regarding nail polish "expiration" is here.