Makeup Expiration Dates: What You Need to Know

Delaney is an aspiring writer with a love for all…

How old were you when you realized that makeup and other beauty items have an expiration date?

The expiration date on beauty items tells us how long the preservatives can keep the product fresh and safe for use. Understanding how long your products last can save you from dealing with annoying skin issues, such as acne, pink eye, and styes.

It can also save your bank account because knowing how long these products last will keep you from over-purchasing. If you’re anything like me, you can be quite the shopaholic in the makeup department. But when I know I won’t be able to make a dent in a product before the expiration date, it’s a quick way to get me to not swipe that shiny piece of plastic!

To help you make these same smart buying decisions and avoid skin irritation, I’m going to share with you the makeup expiration dates of the most commonly used beauty items!

Eye Makeup

Does anyone else insist on owning every eyeshadow color imaginable? I feel like an artist with paints when I look at my vast array of eyeshadow palettes. But it’s definitely time for a purge – because like every other product on this list, shadows and other eye makeup items have a shelf life.

Ensuring that the products you apply there are of top quality could save you from annoying styes and other eye infections.

Here are the expiration dates of the four most common eye makeup products!

Pencil Eyeliner

Two years

Liquid Liner

Three to six years

Eyeshadow

Two years

Mascara

Three to four months

Skincare

Some may argue that this is the most vital section of this article. And they may be right. Your skincare products are how you help replenish your skin from daily exposure to air pollutants, skin oils, and makeup.

Your skincare products need to be at their most potent to complete this task.

Keep your skin thriving and glowing – learn these crucial expiration dates!

Cream Cleansers

One year

Gel Cleansers

One year

Moisturizer

One year

Serums

Six months to two years (check the label of your go-to serum)

Luckily, if you stick to a tried and true skincare routine, you’ll use up many of these products before they go bad!

Lip Products

A thing we must all remember about lip products is that we inevitably consume them! A news report once stated that women who wear makeup ingest at least four pounds of lipstick in their lifetime. That is crazy!

With that information in mind, we should all be a little more careful about what we place on our lips. That includes never applying expired products.

Keep your body safe – here are the average shelf dates for three commonly used lip products.

Lipstick

One to two years (refer to the label on the product)

Lip Gloss

12 to 18 months (refer to the label on the product)

Lip Liner

One to two years

I used to have one of my mom’s lipsticks from the early 2000s up until I was 15. Don’t judge me!

Face Makeup

Makeup that goes on the entirety of your face should be of the utmost quality!

When these products expire, it could lead to annoying breakouts and skin rashes that can feel irritating and embarrassing.

Knowing when your favorite face products expire is essential for keeping your skin in great shape.

Water-based Foundation

One year

Oil-based Foundation

18 Months

Powders

Two Years

I can attest to the fact that old face makeup smells terrible!

How to Identify an Expired Product

To further help you weed out any potentially expired beauty products you own, here are three other ways you can identify an old product.

Smell

The sniff technique is one of the quickest ways to recognize when a liquid product has seen better days. When a liquid product expires, it will have a rancid and musty smell.

Label

On the back of every beauty product, there’s an expiration date… well, kind of. Turn your product over and look at the label. Do you see a little open container with a number and letter on it? If so, the label is telling you how long the product will last after opening! For example, if it says 12M, that means the product is good to use for 12 months after opening.

Separation

If you’re looking for a super-easy visual clue if a product has gone bad or not, then searching for separation is your friend! When liquid products such as foundation, concealer, and nail polish age, the different compounds begin to separate, leaving the product discolored and unusable. If your favorite red polish is starting to look orange on top, it may be time to toss it!

If any of your beauty products show these signs, toss them immediately!

Beauty Tool Hygiene

The products you use are only one piece of the beauty hygiene puzzle. You also need to know how to clean and sanitize your beauty tools. If you don’t perform regular sanitization, your brushes and sponges can begin to harbor harmful bacteria.

Makeup Brushes

You should thoroughly wash your brushes every two to three months. That will ensure you remove any product build-up. In between cleanings, you can use a spray cleaner and paper towel to remove the surface product from the brush.

Makeup Sponges

Attention all makeup lovers, for the love of all that is Kevin Aucoin, please wash your sponges weekly! You should also discard them at the end of every month. Sponges are notoriously known to be breeding grounds for harmful bacteria that lead to acne and skin rashes.

Your makeup will blend so much easier when you use clean tools!