Background: I am on a major household purge of random detritus that has hung around here far too long. Tonight’s project is the master bathroom.
I practically never wear eyeshadow or lipstick. I have some that’s…well, let’s just say significantly older than how long any source I’ve ever read says you should keep it. (Somehow I got out of the habit.) But it looks fine (and some of them were samples or gifts that weren’t used, or used maybe a couple of times).
Keep, or toss? How long do you guys actually keep that stuff?
Conventional wisdom says 6 months. Personally, I think used can be kept up to two years unless it’s getting funky (and most of it does start getting clumpy or sticky). If the stuff is brand new, I think it can be kept a couple of years longer unless it’s funky.
Me, I just tossed all of mine the other day. I suspect it was 6 or 7 years old.
I use up my favorite mascara, eye liners and lipsticks regularly so they don’t get old. I have a couple of blushes that are maybe a year or two old, because I rarely wear blush.
I have some other stuff that is close to 10 years old, probably. Mostly it’s stuff I rarely wear, but every once in a great while I want gold or silver eye shadow for some fancy event so I have hung onto those. I should probably throw them out and get new ones.