Why You Should Be Throwing Your Make-up Away…
In light of yet another beauty guru drama (yes another one…), the release of Jaclyn Hill Cosmetics, a line of 20 lipstick shades which have been turning up to customers’ doors reportedly with holes, mould and hairy fuzz all over them, we discuss well how long should we be holding onto our fave lippies?
Jaclyn Hill took the leap of creating her own makeup brand this year.
With a following of 6.2 million followers, and having collaborated with major beauty brands such as Becca and Morphe, designing her own cosmetics line was certainly no surprise, as many within the beauty world ventured into their own entrepreneurial journeys, such as Huda Kattan. Yet the long-awaited release of her line, Jaclyn Cosmetics (after five years of teasers and mini previews from the beauty guru) certainly did not go according to plan.
Fans of the influencer went to the online store to purchase the range of 20 lipsticks in a hurry on release day back on the 30th May, selling out the line.
However, as their highly anticipated purchases finally arrived, they were in for a shock. Many of the lipsticks were covered and infested with white hairs, moisture patches, small black beads, and oil holes.
Despite the lipsticks looking conspicuously mouldy, customers tried the products, hoping that some of the lipsticks had just become duds in the delivery process. Embarrassingly so, now consumers are reporting to Twitter to blast the beauty mogul for giving them allergic reactions to mould after trying out said lipsticks.
As Jaclyn tweeted in response, claiming there is going to be a thorough investigation into a large number of disappointed customers, saying she will release a proper statement (other than liking tweets in defence of her somewhat indefensible products) it has led us to ask: how long should we be keeping our make-up for?
What is safe?
LIPSTICK
As a general rule of thumb, lipsticks should be thrown out after six months. Think about it, swiping it around your mouth a couple of times a day, even after eating, plus they’re made of oils and fats, it’s no wonder that lipsticks can go bad so easily.
MASCARA
Mascara needs to be thrown out every three months, and straight away if you have an eye infection.
FOUNDATION
Foundation is dependent on its storage – so if it’s a pour bottle like Estee Lauder’s Double Wear or Nars Sheer Glow, it will age quicker.
Something like the Fenty Foundation which already comes with a pump, and is airtight, generally will age less as it’s not open to the elements.
Customarily, the more water a product has, the more it is likely to turn – however, always check the labels to be sure.
(Check out our chuck-away-checklist below for a more detailed list of products and their sell-by)
You may not know this, but every make-up product is required by law to have an expiry date.
The rule goes that if un-opened the product lasts more than 30 months, the product has to show a ‘period after opening’ time – i.e. the length of time you can use the product safely.
This will be symbolised by a jar of cream with a number and an ‘M’ – meaning how many months it will be beauty-beautiful.
If the product lasts less than 30 months, it will have a sand timer symbol with a ‘BBE’, or ‘Exp’, followed by the date.
However, it’s not just mould that is the reason for an end-date on your make-up. The older the product is, the harder it becomes to work with, it can oxidise, dry-up, or generally not look as great.
On the other hand, while powder products will have a ‘period after opening’ symbols like ’24M’ it’s generally still good to use after that, all powders can do is start to dry-up and become patchy over time. So fret not – that Charlotte Tilbury blush that you got for Christmas last year doesn’t need chucking away just yet.
Like food, make-up also follows a rule of thumb, if it looks or smells bad… bin it.
And ultimately, definitely don’t apply it if it has hairs and mould on it.
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