They have a shelf life, and you may be surprised.
Your beauty products have a shelf life.
According to healthline.com, makeup will last for two to three years, even if unopened. Once opened, the clock start ticking for how long that product will remain usable and effective. This is known as the “period after opening.”
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been guilty of keeping makeup much, much longer than that. I won’t even tell you how long, because it’s embarrassing! But, to my credit, I have been getting better at offloading stuff that is just ridiculously old. I mean, why keep lipstick or blush with funky colors that you hate, just because you spent good money on them? Every time you look at that product, you’ll be reminded of how you wasted money. Throw it out! Then you won’t be reminded anymore (says me to me).
What better time to purge than now? If you haven’t already gone through your entire house and gotten rid of everything you don’t use during the past year and a half’s lockdown, get on it now! Purging is going to feel really good.
So how do you decide which items to toss? Avon has given us some general guidelines to follow.
| Product | Recommended Time for Period After Opening |
| Cleanser | 1 year |
| Exfoliator | 1 year |
| Toner | 6 months to 1 year |
| Serum | 6 months to 1 year |
| Moisturizer | 6 months to 1 year |
| Eye Cream | 6 months to 1 year |
| Facial Mask | 1 year |
| Primer | 1 year |
| Foundation | 1 year |
| Concealer | 1 year |
| Eyeshadow | 1 year |
| Eyeliner | 1 year |
| Mascara | 3 to 6 months |
| Lipstick | 1 year |
| Powders | 2 years |
When following these guidelines, use your common sense too. First, check for expiration dates. If it’s passed, toss.
Give it a sniff. If it smells like paint, the oils in it have gone rancid. Toss! If it just smells funky, toss.
If you can’t remember when you opened that foundation/primer/concealer, bet to throw it out. After a year, liquid products will start to grow bacteria that you can’t see. The product may also separate, which definitely means it’s time to go.
If your mascara or liquid eyeliner is more than six months old, toss. You just don’t want to mess with your eyes and bacteria.
If your blush or powder gets that oily film over the top (I used to scrape that off with tweezers, ew!), just toss it. That goes for powder eye shadows as well.
Lipsticks may look fine, but really, if they’re more than two years old, you should toss.
Always, always, when in doubt, throw it out! Bacteria in your makeup can cause skin irritation, pimples, rashes, and even staph and eye infections.
As far as your skin care products, if you’re using them every day, you’ll probably use them up before they go bad. These products usually have expiration dates on the packaging, so you can always check that. Or if it seems off in smell or texture, replace it. To maximize the life of your skin care products, be sure to tightly cap them after use, and clean off the exterior of the containers after every few uses. This ensures that no gunk or bacteria falls into the product itself. Also, when using products such as creams that you put your fingers into, make sure you wash your hands before using so the product does not get contaminated. Better yet, use a spatula to dip into the product.
My Favorite Things!
Once you’ve made your purge, you’ll no doubt want to try some new and innovative products! Here are some of my personal favorites for you to check out:
Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy – just the thing for dry, sensitive skin. This dermatologist-recommended cream contains lipids similar to those found naturally in skin that help repair and strengthen skin’s moisture barrier, restoring hydration your skin needs to stay strong and visibly healthy. I’m using it every other day, alternating with my Isa Knox Anew Day Cream. Also available: Physiogel Facial Lotion, Physiogel Intensive Cream for Face, Physiogel Dermo-Cleanser for Face, Physiogel Body Lotion, Physiogel A.I. Lotion for Face, Physiogel A.I. Cream for Face.
VDL Creamy Stick Jelly – My new favorite makeup product! This creamy stick provides sheer, buildable coverage with a dewy finish and can be used on lips as well as cheeks! Toss it in your purse and you’re good to go for touchups! I absolutely love this, as it blends to a natural glow, with no clown face. Comes in four shades: Gretel (deep burgundy), Floege (hot pink), Riding Hood (red), and Rose Flake (soft glow with ultrafine pearl).
belif The Garden Eau de Parfum – My new favorite fragrance! This brand-new, fresh and vibrant scent takes you on a stroll into the garden, where belif unearthed the energy of nature. Sparkling bergamot (that’s what flavors Earl Grey tea) and dewy spring blossoms are wrapped in white musk for an unforgettable fragrance with a bright, buoyant feeling. You’ll have everyone asking what you’re wearing!
belif moisturizing eye bomb – How did I ever live without this? Just a tiny bit on your fingertip dabbed under and around the eye area feels so good, and helps keep the area firm, resilient, and smooth. This lightweight cream cools on contact and provides 26 hours of moisture. Contains pennywort (a/k/a cica), an herb known to soothe skin and boost elasticity. No matter what your age, you will love this stuff. I’m 65 years old, and look how bright my eyes look!
Mono Pop Eyeshadow Palette – All the shadows you need, in one convenient palette! Choose from Mood Coral or Mood Brown. Each one has a mix of matte and shimmer shades for day or evening.
Rice Water Bright Foaming Cleanser – I love love love this cleanser! It feels so soft and creamy, and has a delicate fragrance. Makes a lot of lather, and leaves my skin so soft and clean feeling. And the size of this tube! It’s huge – a full 10 ounces. My first tube lasted me over six months!
Anew Hydra Fusion Daily Beauty Defense Broad Spectrum Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 – I can’t stress enough how important it is to use a good sunscreen every day, all year. I could have lost my life over a little grayish spot on my nose that turned out to be melanoma, because back in the 1950s and 60s when I was a kid, no one really knew or thought about sun protection. My mom used to put t-shirts on my brother and I at the beach to “protect” us from getting burned. Yeah, that didn’t work. I had second-degree burns pretty much every summer. Burn, peel, burn again. I’m very fair and never tan. So at age 50, I got this spot on my nose that people kept trying to wipe off because it looked like a pencil smudge. Thanks to my dermatologist and a fantastic plastic surgeon, I only lost the tip of my nose and had to endure a few weeks of stomach-turning cleaning activities I won’t get into here. But the point is, PLEASE WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN! Skin cancer is no joke, and it’s definitely not fun. That said, this Anew Hydra Fusion sunscreen is the best I’ve ever used. It has SPF 50, yet doesn’t feel thick and greasy like some of the other brands. It’s lightweight and goes on smoothly, and you can apply your primer and foundation right after putting it on. I use this every single day, even if I’m not planning on leaving the house.
FMG Cashmere Lipcream – These Lipcreams are infused with antioxidant vitamins C and E, shea butter, avocado and coconut oils to nourish and soften lips. Nine sumptuous shades come in your choice of two formulas – matte and satin! The matte comes in a slimline case and is not drying at all – it feels soft and creamy on your lips. The satin shades come in a traditional tube. All of them are beautiful!
Magix Prime Face Perfector – Avon has come out with a lot of new primers lately, and I’ve tried them all, but my favorite is still good old Magix Prime! It smooths, mattifies, and blurs all of the little imperfections, like discolorations and tiny wrinkles, so your foundation glides on over it for a flawless finish. This vegan formula is infused with a hydrating blend of fleece flower and rose extracts and has an SPF of 20. Some people even wear this alone (but I’m not that brave). And the price is a bargain!
Glimmersticks Eyeliners – A must-have for everyone’s makeup bag! I swear I have every color in mine. And they are one of my top-selling items too. Creamy sticks go on easily, don’t smudge, and last all day. So many fun colors, and they come in Cream, Waterproof, and Diamonds formulas. Don’t forget about Glimmersticks Brow Definers and Lip Liners, too!
Hi-Brow Sculpting Gel – This stuff is amazing! If you’re in my age group, you may have overplucked your brows back in the 70s, only to find out they don’t come back. At least that’s what I did. Ugh! But since I discovered Hi-Brow, I can fill in all those bare spots with this fabulous gel that gives the illusion of real hairs. It’s water-resistant so it doesn’t come off during the day either. Contains oil-controlling clay and conditioning kiwi extract and vitamin E. You do need to use the waterproof eye makeup remover for it.
Love at 1st Lash Mascara – I’ve been on a quest to find a mascara I love for the last 50 years – and I’ve finally found it! Love at 1st Lash makes my lashes long and lush, with no clumping and no raccoon eyes. The Love Complex™ contains lycopene, olive oil, and vitamin E, plus volumizing and lengthening heart-shaped fibers and rich black pigments. Whatever’s in it, it’s magical! And it’s paraben- and sulfate-free, too. Comes in regular and waterproof formulas.
These, of course, are just a few of my favorite things. Be sure to check out the entire Avon catalog at joyoflipstick.com. You’ll be amazed at all the new products if you haven’t seen a brochure lately!
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The Joy of Lipstick 