topic Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup?? in Makeup Is Life

Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

katyruddrn — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 14:46:45 GMT

I know the rules- mascara after 3 months, foundation after 12, etc. BUT…much like so many other things in life we are told to pitch before we really need to, what do others think about throwing away old makeup? Specifically eyeshadow palettes…I have so many great palettes that I will occasionally pull out when looking for a specific shade and use. I’ve never had an issue with them but would never use up probably any full size palette in a year…so should I dump them? If people have actually experienced issues from using old eyeshadow palettes, I don’t think I will purchase them again and will stick with single color purchases of the handful is go to shades I use up. I’m also curious if others are occasionally spraying their powders with rubbing alcohol as I’ve read that can help with the sanitary aspect of older makeup…help!

Re: Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

Kim888 — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 15:43:08 GMT

@katyruddrn I pay little attention to expiration dates on makeup, especially powder. If it smells, looks and performs the same, I don’t throw it out and still use it. When it comes to makeup, even powder, it’s always been very obvious something has gone off. Expired things smell or have mold.

I do adhere to it for mascara because my eyes are very sensitive to dried out/old mascara. I basically exclusively only buy minis (or just redeem the 100 point ones) to avoid this issue.

Re: Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

katyruddrn — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 16:25:57 GMT

That makes perfect sense and is reassuring! Also, great idea about the minis, I’m not too picky about my mascaras anyway and that will ensure I’m pitching them often enough. Thank you!

Re: Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

SportyGirly125 — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:36:48 GMT

@katyruddrn From personal experience throw away your old makeup especially eyeshadow palettes or anything eye related. I used an old eyeshadow palette and my eyes became infected. Good thing for eye medication I had. Mine was a couple of years old. I do wipe down my palettes after each use. I also used to sanitize my palettes with alcohol since I was in makeup school and we had to practice good hygiene.

Re: Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

WinglessOne — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 03:42:41 GMT

@katyruddrn I have sensitive eyes that are prone to infections. The only makeup item I'm strict about tossing after expiration is mascara. I try not to use mascara (or any eye makeup) while my eyes are in allergy or infection mode. If I do use a mascara while I'm sick, I either use disposable wands with that mascara (no double dipping, so I end up using 2-4 wands per application) or I'll toss that mascara if I used its original wand. Kinda sucks because I waste mascara that way, but it's better than reinfecting myself.

Cream and liquid eyeshadows that don't come in a squeeze tube (with no doe foot wand) get tossed if I had an infection when I last used them and wasn't careful about not double dipping a brush/wand.

Powder eyeshadows get sprayed and wiped with isopropyl alcohol for sanitation from time to time. I've yet to get eye infections from old palettes and singles, probably because I avoid using any shadows while I'm sick with a virus or when my eyes have any bacterial or viral infection. That's my advice for keeping powder shadow palettes for years: sanitize them every so often and don't use them while you're sick or eye-infected. Of course, the safest thing to do is to ditch old palettes.

I have far more lipstick than any other type of makeup, and most are solid bullets. I periodically check them. I wipe some of them down with alcohol, but if a lipstick looks or smells off, I ditch it.

Oh, and when I ditch old makeup, I try to recycle as much of the packaging/casing as possible. Most folks know about MAC's recycling program, and I highly recommend using it if you have MAC products. If you have a local Nordstrom, see if their beauty department has a TerraCycle drop box. If they do, you can drop any brand's empty makeup packaging in that box. You do need to empty out the packaging first: scoop out old eyeshadow, break off and scoop out old lipsticks, rinse out tubes of concealer/lip gloss, etc. If your eyeshadow palette is cardboard with a plastic insert holding the shadows, separate the plastic from the cardboard; put the cardboard in with your local municipal recycling, and put the plastic part in the TerraCycle drop box—unless the plastic has a recycling symbol your local program will take, of course.

Re: Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

katyruddrn — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:25:42 GMT

Great advice thank you! I need to start doing some sanitizing from time to time, I have only heard of this in the past few weeks from some podcasts I listen to and now from you! Also, I recycle as much of my skincare and makeup contents as I can but have not looked into terracycle- will do so, sounds awesome. ♥️

Re: Do I REALLY need to throw out my old makeup??

katyruddrn — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:28:58 GMT

I am definitely going to start working sanitizing into my routine. Trying to get more consistent with washing brushes. I am thinking of one particular eye shadow that I keep in my “daily” bag that I only use once or twice a month for highlighting that has been in there for years 🫢 I am going to just pitch it and replace with a new one (it’s drugstore and would cost next to nothing anyway!) thank you!!