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Ask Jenna is a monthly beauty advice column from Bazaar’s beauty director, Jenna Rosenstein. Do you have a burning beauty question that you want answered in next month’s edition? Don’t be shy: You can always slide into Jenna’s DMs on Instagram.
Dear Jenna,I was cleaning out my makeup and was wondering if I really need to throw out mascara, lipstick, etc., if they’re older than a few months. It all still looks fine? Does makeup really expire?
Does makeup expire? Yes, absolutely. But do I, a seasoned beauty director, still use eyeshadow palettes and powders from the Obama administration? Yes, on occasion. I have been collecting discontinued or forgotten makeup for 15 years—original KKW powders, Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palettes, limited-edition Star Wars products from Pat McGrath and CoverGirl. I am not perfect by any means, but I’m always trying to be better—which is why I asked experts to weigh in on whether we should take our makeup expiration dates much more seriously.
The start of a new year is as good a time as any to take inventory of the products you’re using on your precious, beautiful face. “Expired makeup products can cause skin irritation or, at worst, cause infection, like with expired mascara. The risk for eye and lip products is certainly higher than blush or powder makeup that’s not used around mucosal membranes,” says Rachel Nazarian, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Nazarian Dermatology. “I personally see complications from expired makeup and skincare products every few months… not common, but it’s not fun.”
How do you locate the expiration date? It should be right there on the packaging, a little jar symbol indicating how many months it’s good for. “Think of makeup preservation not just as a recommendation, but as a fundamental part of product safety,” says Balanda Atis, L’Oréal Paris Brand Chemist. “This is why the Period After Opening (PAO) symbol, that little open-jar icon on your packaging, isn’t just a suggestion but a scientifically based deadline. It ensures you aren’t inviting unwanted microbes onto your skin and in your eyes.”
The general rule is three months for eye products like mascara and liner (unless you were recently sick, then toss it ASAP), six months for liquid foundations or any creamy base products, and anywhere from a year to to years for powder products, if kept clean and dry. “The eye area is exceptionally delicate, which is why eye products have the shortest lifespans. Every time you use a mascara wand or an eyeliner, you risk introducing contaminants to the eye,” Atis says. “While powders and blushes don’t have the same environment of moisture that bacteria can grow in, they are not excluded from microbial contamination. Whether it’s your fingers or a makeup brush, powders and blushes can still become hosts for unwanted organisms to grow. In the world of formulation, no product is a ‘free pass’ when it comes to expiration.”
I’m not the only beauty pro guilty of holding on to products a little too long. “I’m not a germaphobe, so I definitely keep products longer than I should,” says Erica Taylor, a L’Oréal Paris League of Experts makeup artist and social media sensation. “I am much stricter when it comes to anything around the eyes.”
To keep your makeup clean, Taylor says to regularly sharpen eye and lip pencils, which removes the top layer where bacteria live—and then don’t forget to clean your sharpeners, too, with rubbing alcohol. “Spray-clean your brushes after use and do a deep clean once a month with shampoo or brush cleaner,” she says. “And for powders, gently wipe the top layer with a tissue or lightly mist palettes with 70 percent alcohol to sanitize.”
Both Nazarian and Atis are super-strict about expiration dates, so maybe we should all be, too. “No matter how much I love my L’Oréal Paris Extensionist Mascara or the perfect shade of my favorite L’Oréal Paris True Match Foundation, I toss them the moment that PAO hits,” says the chemist. “The reality is that the most dangerous part of an expired product is what you can’t see. Safety will always be more beautiful than a few extra swipes of an old favorite.”
Atis recommends leaning on technology to help you remember when to toss your products. “It might feel a bit tedious at first, but the moment you open a new product, set a calendar alert on your phone for the PAO date,” she says. “Treat it like a beauty subscription to yourself.” At the very least, it’s a valid excuse to go shopping.
