Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine
Spring is here and it’s time for a fresh start! We may be quick to give our house a Spring clean, but we often forget to change our beauty routine and neglect one of the dirtiest places in our home….our makeup bag!
By this time of the year, our makeup bag is probably stained with blushers, dusty from powders, and tacky from leaky lip glosses! But that isn’t really the bad part, the most dangerous aspect of your beauty routine lies in expired makeup and unclean brushes!
So I’ve put together a helpful guide on when to throw out expired makeup and how to clean up your beauty tools and even the makeup itself!
Yes, you heard right…I bet you never knew you could sanitize your makeup!
Throw out Expired Makeup
Just like buying a new care, as soon as you drive off the lot or in our case open up that pretty packaging, that’s IT! The clock starts ticking down!
This may sound wasteful, as you probably only used that turquoise mascara once! But trust me, expired makeup can lead to infections, rashes, or spots.
Here’s a simple guideline to follow for expiry dates:
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Mascara: 3 Months (liquids are worse for being bacteria prone)
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Eye-liner: 6 Months (though pencil liners can last 1 Year)
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Foundation: 6-12 Months (toss if it starts to separate or toss sooner if you have acne-prone skin)
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Lip-gloss: 1 Year
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Concealer: 1 Year (powder concealers can last longer)
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Nail polish : 2 Years (if it starts to separate, toss it)
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Lipstick: 2 Years
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Powders: 2 Years
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Eye-shadows: 2 Years
As for fragrances, it is actually, somewhat of a myth that perfumes go “bad” after a few years.
With proper storage, fragrances can last many years! In fact, vintage perfume collecting is a huge industry right now with people buying and still enjoying perfumes over 20 years old!
Just make sure to store scents OUT of direct sunlight and in a cool/dark location (NOT the bathroom). Storing perfume in it’s original box helps greatly along with storing scents in the fridge!
Store Your Winter Skincare
Your skincare collection is another thing that should be culled at this time. Spring/Summer brings a lot of change to our skincare routines, so now’s the time to start storing your rich moisturizers and heavy creams.
But before you pack them away, check the expiry dates to make sure you won’t be pulling out expired creams come Fall! Most reputable brands will have expiry dates right on the bottles/packaging so make sure your products are still in date.
Cosmetic products which shelf life is less than 30 months MUST be marked with a “Best before” date according to common regulations in the most of the countries.
Most skin care products will have a PAO (Period After Opening) symbol on the packaging to give consumers an idea of how long after opening the product can be safely used without causing harm. The PAO symbol looks like an open cosmetic cream jar with a number on it, followed by the letter ‘M’, which refers to ‘month’. “So for example, a PAO symbol showing ‘6M’ suggests that the product is safe to use for 6 months after it has been opened.
If no symbol or date, then there’s another way to check the shelf-life. Find a code on the bottle/box, usually on the bottom. It’ll be a series of letters and numbers. Then go to this site checkcosmetics.net where you can enter the brand and code which will show you the manufacturing date. From there you can estimate when the product will expire using the guidelines below:
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Facial cleanser: 12 months
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Facial moisturiser: 12 months
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Facial serums: Six to 12 months
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Face masks: Six to 12 months
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Body moisturiser: 24 months
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Body wash: 24 months
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Sunscreen: Six to 12 months
Wash Your Dirty Makeup Brushes
Did you know that there is harmful bacteria lurking on your makeup brushes right now?! And every day, you are literally brushing bacteria onto your skin!
Don’t feel bad, there is nothing that you can do to prevent this, bacteria is everywhere. But, makeup brushes SHOULD be washed at least every month to prevent the growth and spreading of these nasty germs.
Check out these super quick and convenient solutions to keeping your makeup brushes clean.
Sephora makes great products that are not only effective at eradicating the bacteria from your makeup tools, but easy and quick to use. Spend 30 seconds spraying the Sephora Daily Brush Cleaner on your brushes, swipe with a dry cloth, and that’s all! Or, if even THAT is too much effort for you, then try their Cleansing Brush Wipes. All you have to do is swipe your brushes with these pre-moistened wipes and Voila! Take that bacteria!
The benefit of these products is that your brushes will dry within minutes, so if you’re mid-makeover and need to use the same brush twice you won’t have a problem.
And just so your trusty sponges aren’t left out (you’ll be shocked at how much gunk builds up in these little guys), Sephora also sells the amazing Liquid BlenderCleanser.
But if you aren’t one for extra products, try this easy
DIY Brush Cleaner Recipe:
Simply apply a drop of baby shampoo to your brush, then lather and rinse!
When rinsing, try and not get water at the base of the bristles as water can loosen the glue holding the bristles/brush together over time.
Then smooth the bristles back into shape and lay flat to dry. I lay mine over the edge of the counter so that the bristles can get air on all sides. Never let brushes dry standing up as, again, water can travel down the base and loosen the glue holding the brush together.
Although cheap, the downfall of this at-home cleaner is the cleaning time (it takes a good 2-3 minutes to properly clean/rinse each brush) and drying time (brushes need overnight to dry fully). But I would recommend this as a good monthly deep clean!
Sanitize Your Beauty Products
Not only does bacteria build up on your makeup brushes, but then, every time you place that brush onto a different eye shadow, or go from your bronzer to blusher, you are spreading the bacteria from the brush to the product!
This makes your products a potential breeding ground for bacteria!
But have no fear! Because I have a trick used by some of the largest cosmetics giants in the industry! A DIY sanitizing spray! This simple spray is used by beauty stores and beauty counters alike for their testers and makeovers.
All you need is Rubbing Alcohol! Create your own sanitizing spray by using at least 91% Rubbing Alcohol (has to be at least 91% otherwise it will discolor product) in a small spray bottle.
Then lightly mist (about 10-15 cm away) your shadows and powders and let air dry (takes mere seconds to dry). Or lightly mist a high-quality cotton pad and swipe the surface of your lipsticks or lip gloss wand.
This also makes for an excellent tip for professional makeup artists who are applying makeup to multiple people, or for those of us who simply can’t resist trying our sister’s/friend’s makeup from time-to-time.
But now that it’s Spring, this tip becomes even more relevant as it’s time to store away our darker Winter eye shadows and lipsticks. When we do, the last thing we want to store is bacteria! So before you put away your Winter shades, sanitize them first to ensure they’re ready to go come Fall.
OUT with the Unused and IN with the New
Be honest with yourself! I know you are saving that magenta eyeliner that was sooo last season but oh so cool and I know it’s hard to part with that Tom Ford gothic lipstick you wore last Halloween, but let’s get a grip here.
Be honest, there are all products and shades that we hoard either due to our irrational optimism or buyers remorse, but it’s time that we let go!
Spring is a time for a fresh start, a clean slate! So out with the old and unused and in with the new! And if you feel THAT guilty, why not use some of the sanitizing solutions above and donate your unwanted makeup to a theatre group!
Plus, it makes room in your beauty bag for some of Spring’s exciting new trends!
About the Author
The Perfume Expert The Perfume Expert is an online Perfume Blog, Beauty Blog and Skincare Blog all rolled into one so you can stay looking good, smelling nice and feeling great all in one place! Written by an expert you can trust, I provide you with Perfume reviews, Best Perfumes, Beauty reviews and Makeup trends that are all written with passion and an eye for excellence.
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Hello fellow beauty lover!
