Let Go and Let Clean: Expiration Dates for Beauty Products

When the seasons change, I clean. Not that I don’t clean between the seasons (hmmmm), it’s just that the change of seasons inspire the anal retentive fashionista in me. With the entrance of the equinox and solstice out comes the big generic garbage bags, yellow plastic gloves, and near death experiences caused by the mixing of ammonia and bleach. Tobias, sensing an estrogen-influenced period of domestic craziness in his wife, sent me a link to an online article by Real Simple Magazine that gives the expiration date not only for beauty products, but also for groceries and other common household products. Just as you need to know when to buy, you also need to know when to throw out.

Here’s when to let go of beauty products:

• Bar soap—18 months to 3 years

• Body bleaches and depilatories—Unopened: 2 years, Used: 6 months

• Body lotion—3 years

• Foundation, oil-based—2 years; Foundation, water-based—3 years

• Lipstick—2 years

• Mascara—Unopened: 2 years, Used: 3 to 4 months

• Nail polish—1 year

For more expiration dates, Visit the Real Simple Website.