GENERAL FAQ: Shelf-life of cosmetics

CantAffordMAC

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by erine1881
there are little pics on the boxes of makeup now that show how long the product lasts once it is opened.

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: tells you the recommended number of months within which the product should be used after you have first opened and used it, provided the product has been stored under normal conditions and not exposed to extreme temperatures. For example (24M) means that you should replace this product within (24 months) after first opening. The “Period After Opening” number will vary based upon the type of cosmetic product.

use this as a guideline, as well as smell, taste, color, texture and constistency.


wow! you're great. I always wondered what that was for! i'm going to check ALL of my makeup tonight lol.
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arctical

New member
what if you're trying to build up a COLLECTION? how will you collect if you have to keep throwing things out every 2-3 years? i know it's not realistic to say im "collecting" and not ever going to use the products.
But i've started collecting and don't plan to open about 3/4 of what i buy until much later, or when i particularly need something.

if none of these products are OPENED, how long should they last?

blush, shadow, anything powder i know i can expect to last quite a long time if its still in its package. but what about things like gloss and lipsticks? what about shadesticks??

i know there aren't published professional answers to all of this, but what do you guys think?

how long have you ever kept your makeup, and how long would you say it kept until it went bad?

im asking because im pretty excited about this collection im trying to build up, but ive been worried about how long i can actually keep my collection!
and to be honest, im more interested in what the people at specktra have to say other than professional advice, or advice found on the internet.
do you know what i mean?
im glad i found this topic, ive been wondering about this for months!
 

Winterwhite

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by arctical
what if you're trying to build up a COLLECTION? how will you collect if you have to keep throwing things out every 2-3 years? i know it's not realistic to say im "collecting" and not ever going to use the products.
But i've started collecting and don't plan to open about 3/4 of what i buy until much later, or when i particularly need something.

if none of these products are OPENED, how long should they last?

blush, shadow, anything powder i know i can expect to last quite a long time if its still in its package. but what about things like gloss and lipsticks? what about shadesticks??

i know there aren't published professional answers to all of this, but what do you guys think?

how long have you ever kept your makeup, and how long would you say it kept until it went bad?


I can understand the wish of having a huge make-up collection, but I guess the limits come from that this is a product which can change, in contrast to other collectibles like, well, books, clothes, CDs (even though these also will not last forever, but you get the idea) which stay the same, especially when not used or not used often.
It´s the same with collecting perfume, also there the product ingredients put a limit to this. There are people who keep perfume for a long time, and of course cool and dark, but still the product can change.

Thus the make-up which is more dry, like the powders and eyeshadows, are going to last for a longer time, as you also mentioned (several years probably) but everything with oils in it, such as lipstick or cremes, will inevitably go rancid after latest five years.

My personal experience is that powders, blushes and e/s absolutely never went bad, and some things I´ve had for over 7 years -and of course un-used things lasted longer. Lipsticks by MAC have lasted very well so far, too, but no longer than 4 years (when in use and still kept cool / dark), then they started smelling funny.

Most n/p I have (by other brands) started to separate already a few months after purchasing
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and Lipgloss is hard to store, too, so unopened 2 years would be the maximum as well.

Probably when you build up a collection you can plan in a few years for your products, but it can happen that the money is wasted and stuff goes bad before you´ll even start using it.
 

sofabean

Well-known member
wow, i did not know that. my make up products usually seem to last me forever... way more than a year...
 

xcoco

Well-known member
Hmm I have alot of makeup that I almost never used.
For eyeshadows, I use it 2-3 times to see what it looks like and if I don't like it, I just put it somewhere and never use it again. I wanted to know, can you keep the eye shadows for longer than 2 years (maybe 4 years?) if you almost never use it? =/ Cause I just realised that I spent alot of money on makeup that I almost never use and im scared they will expire...
 

Nails

Active member
Well the whole change in texture thing explains what happened to my chapstick many years ago. Suddenly it stopped hydrating and left a gross chalky layer on my lips!

I think as long as you pay attention to general hygiene - clean brushes/buds, no fingers, select pump bottles over jars and store everything properly, you should be okay.

Once an eyeshadow stops delivering as much pigment, it's usually time to go. Another thing to think about is; you either use an eyeshadow a lot, often or only sometimes. After two years, it's either gone, halfway there or barely touched. Halfway there is when you should be watching it. If you use it a lot, you probably need to replace it anyway. Barely touched - give it more stage time or rethink why you got it.
 

nico

Well-known member
there's no way I can finish my eyeshadows in one or two years.I wonder what people have been doing with huge collections.what really happens when somebody uses expired make-up products anyway? it's not like it will kill me
 

MACATTAK

Well-known member
Re: Shelf life

With the exception of mascara..no. I go by smell, texture, and color. If any of those things change, I toss the product.
 

Dani

Well-known member
Re: Shelf life

This should probably go in Product Safety...but no I use my makeup till it's gone. Bad me =P
 

krt

Member
I had a friend in high school (around 02', 03')that used mascara that was her mom's in like...at least the late 80s (you could tell by the old cover girl packaging) or really early 90s and it was so dried out and smelled so gross....I mean, I could literally smell her mascara when she'd talk to me...but whatever she could manage to get on her lashes she felt made them look fuller... and somehow there was still this dry, gooey mess in that atleast 10 year old bottle, that she'd force out and onto her poor lashes. I tried to explain all this numerous times to her but "new mascara didnt give the same effect" to her, to me they just looked really flaky and gross but she liked it that way.
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Surprisingly I dont recall any obvious infections though

I wonder if she still has her sight?
 

foxxylatina07

Well-known member
I have a couple of fluidlines unused that I just bought and received through swaps and I also have some blush powders there that are new, which I bought recently it hasn't even been six months yet. I have them stored in a huge makeup bag closed up that way I keep humidity out. However, I also make sure that their still in their original condition by checking once in a while. I also have some l/s too and I always check them to see if they're melting or something. Ok that's my two cents. LOL
 

pretebrowneyes

Well-known member
ok, i have a question....i have some mufe face/body l/f that I got 6 mths ago. I just started using it daily...I would use for a couple of weeks then leave it alone....now that I reach for it more often I notice that it has a settled jelly-like consistency until I shake it up. The smell is still the same and I honestly can't remember what it the consistency was like before now (just started really paying attention to my makeup). Does this mean I need to throw it out? The bottle is barely at the halfway mark....thx
 

Repunzel

Well-known member
ok i don't know if this is the right thread for this but i would appreciate if some1 could help me.my mineralize skinfinish natural has gone rock hard.u can't even swatch it nothing comes off.it happened a month into use.i can put my nail into it and its solid.(i have long acrylics)my daisy chain e/s it also getting a shell on 1 corner.ideas?
can i fix it?return it?.why did it happen?.
any help would be great thx.
 

LeMacDiva

Active member
If it looks like it's going bad, smells different changes color etc... I toss it. Not worth putting on your skin at that point. I'm a germ/clean freak!
 

MsChrys79

Well-known member
I removed my Urban Decay Primer Potion from the jar and put it in another jar, it was unused and I use a new q-tip each time I use it how long should it last??
 

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