Your cheat sheet on how long to keep your make-up.

Unopened traditional products could have a shelf life of 3 – 5 years. Healthy beauty products that have water listed as an ingredient will have a shorter shelf life, even unopened. Toss after one year.

Foundation:
Liquid Water Based – 12 months & Liquid
Oil Based – 18 months

Powder and Pressed Powder:  12 months
*True Mineral Makeup Powders: Indefinite (All Simple Beauty Mineral products with the exception of the Ultra Light Mineral Foundations)

Concealer: 12 months
True Mineral Concealer Powders: Indefinite

Blush: 6 months
True Mineral Blush Powders: Indefinite (All Simple Beauty Minerals Cheek Colors)

Eye Shadow: 12 to 14 months
True Mineral Powder Shadows: Indefinite (All Simple Beauty Mineral Eye Shadows)

Eyeliner:
Pencil – 2 years
Liquid – 3 to 6 months

Mascara: 3 months

Lipstick: 2 to 3 years

Nail Color:  1 year

Skin Care Creams and Lotions: 6 – 36 months, depending on product. Look for expiration date. Healthy beauty products will have the shorter shelf life, due to lack of, or the use of a natural preservative system, usually being under the year mark.

These time frames are not only based on safety but on how long your cosmetics remain effective as well. After a while, colors change and application may not be as smooth.

*Minerals are inorganic and cannot collect bacteria, so they will never go bad.  However, many mineral makeup products mix in other ingredients, other than just pure minerals. Check the ingredient listing, if they contain ingredients other than minerals, they would have the above shelf life. If you are unsure, treat it the same you would traditional cosmetics.

If you are unsure if the ingredient is a mineral or not, you may always ask us over at Simple Beauty. Unless you know what you are looking for, it can be tricky to tell the ingredients apart.

3 Extra Easy Tips to Help You Determine Expiration Date of Make-Up & When to Toss It

1. One way to keep track of the shelf life of your cosmetics is to mark them when you buy them.  Keep a fine point sharpie in your makeup drawer.  You can mark the date on the container very easily and it won’t wear off.
   
   
2. There is a numbers sign on some jars and packaging that 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.
   
   
3. No matter when you bought your cosmetics, if they smell bad get rid of them!