Beauty Products + Expiration Dates

 I was on BuzzFeed the other day, and came across a really interesting article about beauty products! I've seen plenty of other articles covering the same subject, but for some reason, this one really stuck out for me. 

Essentially, the article explains that instead of trying to remember how long your lipstick or mascara is good for (is it four months or six?), you can actually check for yourself on the product packaging. This way, you'll be able to know once and for all whether your MAC eye shadows really will last longer than your Revlon ColorStay quads. The trick is, you have to find the icon that indicates how long the product is good for. On most products, it resembles a small, slightly open jar, with a number in front. That number represents the number of months the product is guaranteed to be good for. Unfortunately, not every single product on the shelves has a clearly visible expiration icon, but luckily, most do!

Dior BB cream (12 months), Tarte Amazonian
Clay blush (12 months), Nars lipstick in Roman Holiday (24 months)

I know a lot of people who will use their makeup and beauty products after the suggested expiry date, and in some cases, this is perfectly fine. What you need to be careful about, is using your makeup products long after they've expired! If your blush expired last month but you still have a fair bit of powder in the compact, and it's not causing any skin irritation, I don't see anything wrong with using it. However, if you're using mascara that expired a year ago and is clumpy and dry when you pull out the wand, you really need to toss it! Ultimately, the most important thing to take into consideration is how your products are reacting with your skin. The expiration dates on your makeup are there to guide you, but if you're having trouble with any products at any point, it's always best to let them go. 

If you're interested in checking it out the original article on BuzzFeed, I've posted the link here.