5.11.14

EXPIRY DATES - DO THEY MATTER?

Agreed.

Makeup costs a lot and maybe you will never find that shade again, but then all good things must come to an end and the same applies to our favourite cosmetics. I know, its hard to part with your perfect shade of foundation (trust me, I know this one), when you can still see contents in its bottle BUT the product has reached an expiry date. Honestly, I never thought much about checking out the expiry of my makeup products before but recently, whilst cleaning my make up stash, I made an eye opening discovery that convinced me that expiry dates matter! 


Firstly, how do you find an expiry date? Many companies mention these expiry dates on the containers or packaging by using a symbol of
an opened tub which generally has a number followed by M (Month) or Y (Year) on it. This signifies the number of months/years it is safe to use the product after it has been opened.
 
 

I am quite greedy when it comes to makeup and specially foundations as it literally is the hardest task for me to pick the right shade of foundation - yes, even harder than raising three vikings! Therefore, once I find the right shade, I become ravenous and buy two bottles just in case I don't get the same shade again. The extra bottle usually gets thrown in the back of my makeup drawer as the time passes. Madam is totally oblivious to expiry dates, you see.

So as I was saying that recently I cleaned my beauty stash and found a tiny tub of foundation, most likely an old sample. Upon opening the lid, I made a yucky discovery. The foundation had tiny growth and bubble (weird mixture of both) on it. Now, I am no makeup expert but the mega amount of time invested in reading and gaining all the beauty jazz from those posh magazines, has me well taught that my foundation had become a soccer field for some gross bacteria.




What worried me the most was this theory always preached,  'If your cosmetics smell bad or have changed colour, throw them out'.

Well, (hope you are still reading) do you see what happened here?

The foundation did NOT smell bad AND/OR did NOT change colour either, but surely it had reached its expiry date resulting in the contamination. Now, if this foundation was still in a pump dispenser, there is no way I would have found out what was happening (or growing shall I say) inside!



*Worry and guilt over came me*

Have I really been using many of my products way past their expiry date?
Oh, yes!

Is my carelessness and greed taking its toll on the skin ?
Definitely!

While many of us may argue that expiry dates mentioned on the jars are a marketing gimmick to make us spend more money, have you ever thought about giving this date a second thought?
I was wondering, do you use your products within the time frame mentioned OR are you one of those shocking 82% of women who use their make up way past its best before date?  I have no clue how old some of my makeup products ACTUALLY are! They look and work absolutely fine. The pictures above are a proof that contamination happens and sometimes without any change in colour or smell. Then why am I still finding it hard to let go of products that might have aged but still have life in them? Greed; I tell you, is a bad, bad thing. This brings me to another very valid point, am I in a position then to blame beauty cream companies that their product isn't/wasn't effective as I might be spending mega bucks on it but at the same time, I am using contaminated products on my face as well? 


After seeing what happened to my foundation above has me thinking that it may be costly to throw out expired makeup, especially if they are designer brands, these expiry dates are put in place for a reason; aren't they? Then, why do we over look them? I have been doing just that-sadly.

*Whispers in your ear* 
''Are you really, really willing to throw your £18.50 Benefit push up liner as the expiry date for a mascara is mere 4 months?''



  • Do you believe the date mentioned?
  •  Are you an expiry date monitor? 
                               OR
  • You like living in the grey zone and follow your senses and not the numbers?  

Trust me, I am so confused dot com today.



2 comments:

  1. I've started making sure I don't open new products before I finish old ones to prevent this, especially mascaras! I'd have loads open at once and it as such a waste.

    I can't believe how that foundation clumped up.

    Corinne x
    www.skinnedcartree.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am guilty if using products past their expiry dates! If it looks and smells fine I carry on using it even though I know I shouldn't! I feel so gutted throwing away something I have barely used but has expired lol! Www.theluckydiamond.blogspot.co.uk

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A LITTLE WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT GOES A LONG WAY.