Spring Clean Your Beauty Stash

I always like to give my house an extra thorough cleaning at every season change. It feels good to go through closets, clothing, drawers, and shelves to get a fresh clean start for the season. The same is true for makeup and style. I like to go through my makeup stash, my closet, and all my dresser drawers to get a fresh new start for the next season. In fact, it’s time to clean out my makeup stash again. Have you sorted your beauty stash lately? Here are a few tips on what to look for.

Check the expiration dates

Acne products, for example, have a relatively short shelf life. They quickly lose their efficacy and can trap dirt and germs in the product, too. So if it is expired, replace it. What’s the point in treating your acne if the product is no good? When you purchase new products, it’s a good idea to check the expiration date before you buy it to make sure you can use it up before it has time to go bad.

If it’s been open for a year or more, dump it

After a year, (or even less) makeup starts to break down, especially if it’s a liquid. Foundation should never be kept more than a year if it’s been open. Mascara should be changed every three months just to be safe. Mascara, especially, is a breeding ground for bacteria and you don’t want to give yourself a nasty eye infection.

If it’s discolored, looks funny, smells odd, or just isn’t quite right, get rid of it

If it seems ‘off,’ it probably is. Just play it safe and get rid of it. You probably won’t even miss it because you probably weren’t really using it if it seemed suspicious.

If you’ve had it for three months and never tried it, heave it

If a product has been sitting around in your bathroom cabinet for three months unused, you probably won’t start using it now. Take it as a sign that it’s not the right product for you (I am reminded of the zebra print nail stickers sitting in my bathroom cabinet!). Or, if you are feeling bold and the product is still good, put it on your face right then and there. Just because you can.

If it is out of style and you don’t love it, lose it

That yellow eye shadow seemed like a good idea at the time, when it was fashionable and cool. But it never really looked right on you so you only wore it once or twice. If that’s the case, and that fashion has already passed, than pass that makeup right into the trash. If you didn’t love it when it was in style, you’re probably not going to want to even look at it when it is already out of style.

Once you studied your makeup stash and emptied all of the unusable, old, unsafe, or just unwanted items, go through to see what you are missing. It’s also a great time to replace those products you truly love.