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

I know the rules- mascara after 3 months, foundation after 12, etc. BUTโ€ฆmuch 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 palettesโ€ฆI have so many great palettes that I will occasionally pull out when looking for a specific shade and use. Iโ€™ve never had an issue with them but would never use up probably any full size palette in a yearโ€ฆso should I dump them? If people have actually experienced issues from using old eyeshadow palettes, I donโ€™t think I will purchase them again and will stick with single color purchases of the handful is go to shades I use up. Iโ€™m also curious if others are occasionally spraying their powders with rubbing alcohol as Iโ€™ve read that can help with the sanitary aspect of older makeupโ€ฆhelp!

6 Replies

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

@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 boxโ€”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??

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. โ™ฅ๏ธ

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

@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??

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 โ€œdailyโ€ bag that I only use once or twice a month for highlighting that has been in there for years ๐Ÿซข I am going to just pitch it and replace with a new one (itโ€™s drugstore and would cost next to nothing anyway!) thank you!!

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

@katyruddrn I pay little attention to expiration dates on makeup, especially powder. If it smells, looks and performs the same, I donโ€™t throw it out and still use it. When it comes to makeup, even powder, itโ€™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??

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

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