What's the Shelf Life of Your Cosmetics?

Is it time to 'spring clean' your cosmetics? If you're anything like me you've hoarded your make-up for years, but how long should make up really last?

If you hate being ruthless and throwing things away then bribe yourself with a promise of a new, gorgeous make-up bag as a reward!

Foundation is so important to get that great looking canvas for the rest of your cosmetics, but have you ever put on your foundation and found that it's left your skin looking patchy and cakey?   Well before you start swearing you're never going to buy that brand again, think about when you brought it because the chances are if it's a water-based foundation it's over 12 months old and if it's an oil based one it's over 18 months old.   Yes water based foundations only have a shelf life of 12 months and oil based foundations only have a life expectancy of 18 months.

There are ways to make your foundation last longer and the first one starts with what one you buy.   The best type of foundation to buy is one that comes in a bottle with a pump, this means that the foundation is exposed to less air and so will last longer.   Honestly if we didn't need air to breathe I'd be banning it from my home about now!   Another tip if you've already purchased a foundation and you don't have one with a pump then for goodness sake do not stick your finger into the bottle, that's what cotton buds are for.   If you stick your finger into the bottle it doesn't matter if you've just washed your hands the chances are you'll still leave bacteria in the bottle and with a repeat performance - yuk!
 

Want to add some color to your cheeks?   Well your powder blusher's life expectancy is 2 years.   You'll see that your blusher's color will lose some of it's intensity as it ages.
 

Eye pencils tend to have a shelf life of only 18 months.   They will become dry and you'll have problems making a line with them if they become to old.   If you want to get the most out of your eye pencil then you should sharpen it before each use - a little hint is to put the eye pencil in the freezer for 10 minutes before sharpening, this will make the pencil far easier to sharpen.
 

Powder eyeshadow apparently only lasts for between 2 and 3 years so buying the large eyeshadow palettes isn't always the way to go, even though I always do.   I just like having a selection of differnt colors to choose from.......mind you I normally find that I only use a few of them (hummmmm).   How do you know when your powder eye shadow needs to be farewelled?   When the shimmer no longer shimmers and the color has lost some of it's intensity it means that it's time for your eyeshadow to go to the big cosmetic counter in the sky.

The best way to make the most of your powder eyeshadow is to buy only a couple of colors in a small palette and to make sure that you always close the lid properly when you've finished using it.
 

After a little bit of investigating I discovered that Mascara is only supposed to last three months - oops!   Does this explain why mine is getting a bit gluggy?   There are ways in which you can help your mascara last longer however and one of these ways is not to pump the wand in the bottle.

You know what I mean, we've all seen people do it, but apparently this allows more oxygen to 'attack' your mascara which will shorten it's life and make it dry out.  It also leads to a build up of bacteria - yuk!

If you need to throw your mascara out keep the wand.   You can clean your old mascara wands and use them as eyebrow combs....it's almost like buying a new mascara saved you money as you didn't have to buy an eyebrow comb!   It is also always good to find a way to reuse anything.

If you're throwing out your mascara you're going to need a new one to replace it with.   Now you can't go past a black mascara for that classic look, but if you're fair skinned sometimes black can be too harsh - I always use a dark brown.    

Now we turn to our luscious lips. Your lip liner or lip pencil (depending on where you live) has a life expectancy of only 18 months after which it becomes dry and you'll find it really hard to get it to work - I've had this happen, extremely frustrating!

If you want to keep your lip pencil in great condition and try to extend it's life expectancy then you need to sharpen it before each use. A hint with this is (and if you've read up on the eye pencil you'll already know what's coming next) to pop your lip pencil into the freezer for 10 minutes before sharpening.

Now what about lipsticks and lip gloss, well their life expectancy is approximately 18 months, but it's quite easy to know when they've 'gone off'. Basically you smell them, yes get in the habit of sniffing your lippy and you'll be able to detect it when it's time to farewell an old friend!

If you want to keep it lasting longer then try to use a lip brush to apply it - the look is more professional as well so it's win/win. You just apply it to your lips you say, well I don't care if you've never been kissed your lips will still contain contaminants which will shorten your lipsticks life expectancy.

There you have it, now that you've cleaned out your cosmetics drawer and brought some brand new goodies you can look at buying a fantastic cosmetics purse to keep them in?