Are your cosmetic makeup products making you ill?

I always thought that when you were told to renew your mascara every three months, or your eye shadow once every six months, that it was all part of a ploy by cosmetic makeup companies to make you spend money. But apparently I’m wrong! As are millions of other women who all believed that out of date cosmetic makeup was just a myth!

Check that your cosmetic makeup items are full not putting your looks and health at risk:

Our beauty essentials, such as foundation, blusher and perfume all have a ‘period after opening’ which means it is safe to use the make up. What we, especially British woman are not clear about, is the actual dangers that can occur from using old cosmetic makeup. Make up perfume and skincare products used after their recommended expiry date all carry a big risk of irritation and infection because of the bacteria that builds up in them over time and especially bacteria that is carried in the air which is transferred into our cosmetic makeup. Products that are of high risk are products that we use repeatedly throughout the day such as lipsticks and lip gloss.

The funny thing about women and throwing away make is that we would never eat food if we thought it was off or out of date, but I suppose with cosmetics it is different as firstly you can’t see when the product maybe off due to the packaging and colours covering it up, and also it can be expensive to replace, say mascara, as often as we should. However, as products get older and pass their sell by date they become less effective anyway as they can dry up.

Below is the recommend time that you should keep certain cosmetic makeup products:

Mascara 4-6 months
Concealer 6-12 months
Liquid Foundation 12 months
Eye shadow / blush 18-24 months
Eyebrow pencil 18 months
Cream Blush 12 months
Pressed / loose powder 12 months
Liquid Bronzer 12 months
Powder Bronzer 30 months
Lipstick / Lip Gloss 12-24 months
Eye / Lip liner 18 months
Perfume 36 months
Hand cream 12-24 months