Makeup·
I wore makeup for years without ever knowing when any of it expired.
I knew it could expire. That part was obvious. What I could not find was a date. I kept turning boxes over looking for one, the way there is one on a carton of milk, and there never was.
Then it came up with a friend. I told her I had things I had been using for years and no idea whether any of it was still good. That is when she said: turn it over and look for the little jar.
I turned a bottle over, and there it was. A tiny drawing of an open pot with a number next to it.
What the symbol means
Turn over almost any cosmetic you own. Foundation, mascara, moisturizer, lipstick.
Somewhere small, usually on the back of the box or printed on the bottle itself, there is a little open pot with something like 12M or 6M beside it.
That is the period after opening. The number is months, counted from the day you first opened it. Twelve months. Six months. Not from the day it was made, and not from the day you bought it. From the day you opened it.
Once you know to look for it, you cannot stop seeing it.
Why there is no printed date
In the United States there is no law requiring cosmetics to carry an expiration date at all. The FDA says so plainly. Sunscreen is the exception, because it is regulated as a drug, so it does carry a real date.
In Europe and the UK the rules are different. If a product lasts longer than thirty months unopened, the brand does not print a date either. Instead it has to show the open jar symbol.
That is why you see the symbol on products sold in the United States too. It is not required here, but brands that sell in both places print one label for both, so the symbol comes along with it.
Which also means it is not on everything. A product made only for the US market may have nothing at all. Some products are exempt even in Europe, because they do not really spoil after opening: single-use packets, aerosols, and some powders.
So on most of your makeup there is no expiration date because there is not supposed to be one. There is a clock instead, and it does not start until you open the lid.
Roughly how long things last
The number on the package is the one to follow, but these are typical.
Mascara and liquid eyeliner — three to six months. The shortest life of anything you own. Every use carries bacteria back into a dark, wet tube, and it is going near your eye. The FDA notes that manufacturers usually suggest replacing mascara a few months after purchase.
Liquid foundation and concealer — six to twelve months. Water and oil in a bottle, opened and touched daily.
Cream products — about twelve months. Anything you dip a finger into ages faster than anything you do not.
Powders, blush, eyeshadow — one to two years. Dry products have far less for bacteria to live on, which is why they last so much longer.
Lipstick and gloss — one to two years. Gloss is wetter, so it goes first.
Sunscreen — read the actual date. It has one, and the protection genuinely fades.
How to actually keep track
The symbol tells you the length. It does not tell you when you started.
So write the month on a sticker the day you open it, and put the sticker on the bottom. Two seconds, and you never have to guess again.
When to throw it out early
The date is a guideline. Your senses are better.
Toss it if it smells different, especially anything creamy or oily going sour or waxy. Toss it if the color has shifted, or if a liquid has separated and will not shake back together. Toss it if the texture has gone grainy, sticky, or dry.
Toss anything that touched your eye during an eye infection, without exception.
And never add any liquid to dry mascara. Not water, not eye drops. That is the FDA's specific warning, and it is a good one — you are pushing bacteria straight into the tube.
Two habits that make everything last longer
Keep the lid on and the container clean. Air and moisture do most of the damage. A bathroom shelf next to a hot shower is the worst place to store makeup, even though it is where many of us keep it.
Do not share, and be careful with store testers. You may be sharing more than a color. If you do try something at a counter, use a fresh applicator, never the one sitting there.
One last thing
If you have been wearing makeup for years and never knew where the date was, you are in very good company. I was three or four years in before anyone told me.
Go turn over the cosmetics on your counter tonight. The little jar is printed there, and it has been there the whole time.