We all know that our makeup has a shelf life, but I am willing to bet that 95% of us (myself included) tend to ignore those expiration dates. After years of collecting lipsticks and concealers I had to finally ask myself the question, “How long do I have before I need to throw this makeup away?”
After doing some research, I compiled the most commonly accepted makeup expiration dates along with some helpful tips for making smart makeup purchases in the future.
STEP 1: Group your current makeup collection
First before you do anything else, pull out ALL of your makeup and organize your products by category (i.e. face, eyes, lips – or if you have a ton of products get even more granular: foundations, powders, eyeshadows, eyeliners, etc.).
STEP 2: Clean your makeup storage solution(s)
Once everything is grouped out in the open then take a minute to clean your makeup drawer or organizer or medicine cabinet (wherever you’re storing all of your products).
STEP 3: Clean your makeup brushes
Take one more minute to clean your makeup brushes.
STEP 4: Throw away old makeup products
Get a trash bag ready and use the below as your guide.
Makeup Expiration Guide:
EYES
- mascara – 3 months
- liquid eyeliner – 6 months
- eyeliner pencil – 1 year
- cream eyeshadow – 1 year
- powder eyeshadow – 2 years
LIPS
- lip gloss – 1 year
- lip liner – 2 years
- lipstick – 2 years
FACE
- cream/liquid foundation – 1 year
- concealer – 1 year
- face powder – 2 years
- cream blush – 1 year
- powder blush – 2 years

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