I feel like by the age of about 16, most females have acquired a never ending stash of beauty products. At least...that's what happened to me and I'm writing this hoping I'm not the only one stricken with this problem. And I'm not talking about the nicely packaged beauty products that earn a well placed spot on your counter. I'm talking about the "under the sink" kind. The extras. The freebies. The gifts that you received and don't know what to do with. They all end up stuffed somewhere, forgotten and barely used.
Well for me personally I don't have a sink in my little cube of a dorm, so I have a beauty bin. as the bin i use a storage ottoman from target, a great space saver in a small dorm like mine!
This morning before I left my dorm for class, I was desperate for a Chapstick. Unable to find the one in my purse from the previous night I reached in to my beauty bin and grabbed the first one that I could find. Well during class i kept smelling something off, only to realize it was my lips that we're causing this smell! My Chapstick had EXPIRED. I didn't even know chopsticks did such a thing.
After this I decided I needed to do something about letting all of these products just sit there unused, waiting to go bad. So i pulled out everything in the storage bin and after some sorting, thought of ways to use up and make the most of the beauty tools I had.
"Woah how was all of that hiding in there!"
One of the things I found were extra perfume samples and rollerballs. Now I love perfume samples and roller balls to travel with, but it seems like I've accumulated quite a few. Yikes!
To fix this I found a cute little container to keep the perfumes OUT where I can see them on my vanity. This way (fingers crossed) I will be able to use them up. I got the container at Anthropologie, they have the cutest home goods and can often be found on sale! I chose one of their latte bowls for 2.50$.
Face Creams
And lip balms
And hair products. Oh My...
Since I can't keep everything out where I can see it without my vanity and desk getting very crowded I decided to make a check off list with the products expiration dates to put in the bin so I knew the time I had left to use them up.
To do this I had to do a little research on the expiration dates of beauty products and I was a little shocked by what I found. I had been hanging on to a ton of overdue products! Here's what I found:
1. Face moisturizers and toners: 2-4 years
2. Perfume: 2-5 years
3. Lip products: 2-3 years
*put lip products in convienience spots like your car, desk, and gym bag so you always have one on hand when you need one!
4. Eyeshadow: 1 year
5. Mascara: 2-3 months (had NO idea this expired so quickly)
6. Eyeliner: 3-4 months
7. Hair products: 3-5 years
8. Powder foundation: 2 years
9. Blush: 2-3 years
10. Body scrubs and soap: 1-2 years
11. Eye cream: 4 months to 1 year
12. Liquid Foundation: 6-12 months
13. Nail Polish: apparently after 2 years nail Polish goes "bad" to fix this you can put a little thinner in the bottle
What I learned: if you hang on to any beauty product for more than 5 years, TOSS IT!
Much Love,
Namu
