Edit your Beauty Collection

Fall is the perfect time to edit your collection by disposing of expired products and purging things that you don't use or just don't like.

To get you started, let's talk about the shelf life of products. Shelf life refers to how long you should keep a product before it expires or turns bad.

When do my products expire?

Some product manufacturers now add expiration dates and/or symbols to their labels in order to help you understand how long their shelf life is.  One of the most common symbols is the pot with the number of months the product is good for inside of it i.e. the product below would be good for 12 months.

Image source nymag.com

If your product does not have an expiration date or symbol on it you can make your own. I use these colored stickers that I got at Target to help me keep track of my collection. I write the date I bought the item and stick it to the product. The best part is that they are color coded to make it even easier: purple is 6 months, green is 1 year, yellow is 2 years.

How long should I keep my products?

Start with your skincare products because they are the most important to keep fresh:

• Facial Cleansers & Toners 6 mos.-1 year
• Moisturizers 6 mos.-1 year
• Serums 3 mos.-1 year

Facial products usually have the most active ingredients and therefore have some of the shortest shelf lives. Serums with special ingredients like enzymes and fruit acids have short active lives and should be used up as soon as possible.  Most products are designed to be used up within 3 months if used twice a day every day, but realistically most people don't use them that often and so if stored properly they will last longer but it is best to do your research on the products you are buying to get the most benefit from them.

Body Products:

• Lotions & Butters 6 mos.-1 year
• Powders: 1-2 years
• Self-tanner 6 mos.-1 year
• Perfumes: Body Spray 1-2 years; Perfumes & Cologne 2-5 years
• Scrubs 6 mos.-1 year
• Hand and Foot Creams 6 mos.-1 year

Hair Products:

• Shampoo & Conditioner 1-2 years
• Styling Products 1-2 years

Cosmetics:

• Foundation 1-2 years
• Primers 1 year
• Face Powders 1-2 years
• Blush: Powder 1-2 years; Cream 6 mos.-1 year
• Mascara 3-6 months
• Eye Shadows: Powder 1-2 years; Cream 6 mos.-1 year
• Lipstick, Lip Gloss, lip balms 3-6 mos.
• Nail polish: 1-2 years

If you don't know when a product expires a good rule of thumb is this: If it has active ingredients (they should be listed on the product label as such) keep it for a year; for all other products no longer than two years. Active ingredients have the shortest shelf life because of their potency; The longer you let them sit, the less potent they become until they stop working.

Of course all of this is just to give you an idea of how long products should last. Obviously not everything is cut and dry like this because if stored properly products can last for much longer. I have products that I keep way past the guidelines suggested expiration dates. Nail polish can last up to five years if you take care of it properly; I use nail polish thinner to help with separation issues, but once that stops working it's time to let go. The important thing is to keep track of your products and test them to see if they have gone bad. If something is dry, cracking, smells funny, or is discolored then get rid of it or you risk exposing yourself to harmful bacteria.

Purging products that are unused:  Try to find them new homes with friends, family, or donate them.  Don't keep them if you are not going to use them because it just makes clutter which distracts you from finding what you really need and want in your collection.  Keep products in their packaging until you go to use them, this way you know what has and has not been opened.  If your products are relatively new, less than 3 months old, you may be able to sell them on eBay if they are unopened and in good condition.

Purging products that are used: If you have products you have used and just don't like, it is best to dispose of them safely.  If they have been used only once and are still relatively new, less than 3 months old, you can try to sterilize them with rubbing alcohol and gift them to a friend or family member.  You can not sterilize mascara and it needs to be disposed of because it is the number one source of eye infections amongst cosmetics.  When you use mascara, you brush the wand through your lashes picking up bacteria onto the wand which you then push back into the tube which contaminates the entire product.

A note about storage: it is best to keep most of your beauty products stored in a safe, dry, dark place such as a closet or in drawers. The humidity in a bathroom can be murder on expensive products like serums, moisturizers, and perfumes by making them go bad fast. Really, the only products that you should keep in your bathroom are those that are specifically designed to be there like shampoo. Look at the preservatives in your products to know whether or not you should keep them in your bathroom; the more preservatives the better in this case.  I keep most of my products in baskets on top of my dresser in my bedroom mainly because I don't have any extra closet room otherwise I would store them there.  Everything else is stored in drawers.

Disposing of Products Safely:  Some manufacturers allow you to return containers to them for recycling, or will refill your container to reduce waste.  If you are disposing of a product with chemicals, like perfume, you should find your local harmful chemical waste disposal center and take it there for proper disposal.  Some grocery stores, like Whole Foods, are offering plastic recycling for plastics that would otherwise not be accepted by a recycling center, such as No. 5 plastics.  You can try to take your empty containers there but make sure to clean the containers of any product first.  You can clean products like facial cleanser and shampoo in the sink, but heavier products like moisturizer, lipstick, eye shadow, etc. should be disposed of first before rinsing.

I personally edit my beauty collection every 3 months in order to keep it under control but you should do it at least once a year. The silver lining is that now you can get new stuff!