Are Makeup Expiry Dates a Myth?

If you look anywhere for advice on when to toss your makeup products, the only consistent piece of information is this: throw out mascara after three months. This makes sense – anything that’s going to specifically touch your eyeball should probably be as bacteria-free as possible and mascaras tend to dry out pretty quickly.

But what about everything else?

I’ve seen guidelines that range anywhere from 2-5 years for powders, 6 months to 2 years for cream shadows, lipsticks and blushes, 1-5 years for eyeliners and 2 to 10 for nail polishes. Typically there is always at least one comment from someone who is still using an eyeshadow pallet from 15 years ago and swears the shadows are still clean and work well. So what is the truth?

Well, my Mother is friends with a woman who manages a high-end department store in the city. She worked her way up from a makeup counter, so she knows cosmetics. And her opinion is that, apart from mascara, it’s all BS.

If your product actively smells, or if your powders aren’t giving any payoff, then toss them. Otherwise, “expiration dates” are merely a way to keep you rotating your collection faster than you could actually get through it.

This is one area where you do see the quality in higher-end products paying off. My Dior 5-eyeshadow pallet from five years ago still blends beautifully, while a drug store pallet I bought a couple of years ago has already gotten a little hard and chalky.

So it depends. But in the end, when it comes to expiration dates (apart from mascara – seriously, toss it after three months), let your eyes and nose be your guides.

What's your take? Are makeup expiry dates factor or fiction? Do you still have some lipstick rattling around from 1998?

GH Review; e.l.f. High Definition Powder

 

I'd heard that the e.l.f. powder was a good dupe for MUFE's HD, so I picked it up the 8g Translucent for $6.00 at Target a while back. It was the very last one left, and I'd never been able to find one before, so I assume a lot of people have bought this in the hope of getting that "unfocused" look.

Where to Find Bourjois in Vancouver

Not that this is helpful to me now, but I have finally found the best location in Canada for any and all Bourjois Cosmetics needs. While the Shoppers Drug Mart at Metrotown has an okay selection, the 1202 West Pender Street location (on the same side as the Waves coffee house and across from the 7-11) has the best set-up I've seen yet. They have nearly all of the little round pot eyeshadows, blushes, a huge number of the mascaras, the foundations, bronzers, etc. 

If you're looking desperately for a good place to buy all of the Bourjois products you've seen on British guru channels, this is the location I'd go with to avoid disappointment.

They also have the best Soap and Glory selection I've seen yet as well -- including Flake Away, Hand Food, Clean on Me and nearly all of the moisturizers and lip plumpers.

Happy Shopping!

Disclaimer: Not that this isn't obvious from the picture quality of my reviews, but this blog is not sponsored, nor do I receive free items or money for plugging particular stores or brands. The "goo hoarding" reviews essentially imply that this is all stuff I've bought, but I wanted to be absolutely clear about this, given the nature of this particular article.

Video of the Week: Lisa Eldridge's Guide to Dark Lips

I'm still on my Lisa kick. She really is the most professional, seasoned and talented makeup artist on YouTube, and while she doesn't do big haul videos or v-logs, her tips and tutorials are absolutely the best there is.

Here's her video on how to apply and wear dark lipstick, which doesn't seem terribly revolutionary, but is packed with a lot of great advice.