How long does makeup last?

How long does makeup last? Most products last somewhere between three months and two years once opened. Mascara is the shortest, at around three to six months. Liquid foundation, concealer, cream products, lipstick and pencils usually keep for about a year, and powders often last two years or more. The most reliable figure for any single product is printed on it: the small open-jar symbol with a number such as 6M or 12M. Beyond that, your senses are a good guide. A product that smells, looks or behaves differently from how it did when new has had its day.

Here is how to read those dates, product by product, and how to tell when something has gone off.

What does the open-jar symbol mean?

Look on the back of the packaging or the box for a tiny drawing of an open pot with a number and the letter M inside or beside it. This is the period-after-opening symbol, and it tells you how many months the manufacturer expects the product to stay in good condition once it has been opened. 12M means twelve months after first use; 6M means six.

The clock starts when you first open or use the product, not when you buy it, which is why the number alone is easy to lose track of. A simple fix is to write the month you opened something on the packaging with a permanent marker, or on a small piece of tape.

Some products, particularly those expected to last less than a few years unopened, also carry a best-before or use-by date. Where both appear, go by whichever comes first.

Does unopened makeup expire?

Yes, but slowly. Most sealed products stay in good condition for a couple of years or more if kept somewhere cool and dry, and longer for many powders. If a product has a printed expiry date, follow it. If not, an unopened product that has sat in a hot car or a steamy bathroom for years may still have changed: check the texture and smell when you open it.

How long does each product last?

These are typical ranges after opening. The symbol on your own product takes priority.

Mascara: about 3 to 6 months

Mascara has the shortest life of any everyday product. Every time the wand goes back into the tube, it pushes in air and whatever is on the wand, and the formula dries and thickens. Most manufacturers give it three or six months. Replace it at that point even if there is product left, and sooner if it becomes clumpy, flaky, dry or smells different.

Liquid foundation: about 6 to 12 months

Water-based foundations tend to have a shorter life than oil-based or silicone-heavy formulas. Pumps keep foundation in better condition than open-necked bottles, because less air gets in. Signs it is time: separation that will not shake back together, a change in colour (often darker or more orange), a thicker texture or an off smell.

Concealer: about 6 to 12 months

Liquid concealers in a tube with a doe-foot applicator behave much like mascara, because the applicator goes back into the product. Stick and pot concealers last a little longer.

Cream blush, cream eyeshadow and cream bronzer: about 6 to 12 months

Cream products dry out and can develop a hard film on the surface. If the texture changes or the colour no longer blends, replace it.

Powders: about 1 to 2 years, often longer

Pressed and loose powders, powder blush, bronzer and powder eyeshadows last the longest, because there is little water in them. They are done when they develop a hard, shiny crust that will not pick up on a brush, change colour or smell odd.

Lipstick and lip gloss: about 1 to 2 years

Lipsticks often outlast their symbol if kept cool. Gloss, especially with a wand, has a shorter life. Look for a waxy or rancid smell, beads of moisture on the surface of a lipstick, or a texture that drags.

Pencils: about 1 to 2 years

Lip and eye pencils last well because they are sharpened, which removes the used surface. Sharpen them regularly. Retractable, non-sharpenable pencils behave more like creams.

Liquid and gel eyeliner: about 3 to 6 months

Liquid liners dry out quickly once the seal has been broken, and gel liners in a pot can harden. Replace them when they skip, flake or dry on the brush.

How to tell if makeup has gone off

Whatever the symbol says, your senses override it. Throw out any product that shows these signs:

• Smell. Most makeup smells faintly of its fragrance or of very little. A sour, musty, waxy or chemical smell means it has turned.
• Texture. Thickening, drying, crumbling, a gritty or lumpy feel, or a hard crust on a powder.
• Separation. Liquid sitting on top of a foundation or concealer that will not mix back in when shaken.
• Colour. A shade that has darkened or shifted from how it looked when new.
• Performance. A product that no longer blends, applies patchily or wears off in an hour has stopped doing its job, whatever its age.
• Anything visibly growing on it. Spots or fuzz on the surface of a cream or powder. Bin it.

Storage and climate

Heat, humidity and light all shorten a product’s life. A steamy bathroom, a sunny windowsill, a handbag in summer and a car in any warm weather are the worst places to keep makeup. Where you live matters too: in a hot, humid climate, products will often turn sooner than their symbol suggests, and in a cool, dry one they may last close to it.

Some simple habits help:

• keep makeup somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sun, such as a drawer or a cupboard outside the bathroom;
• close lids and caps properly after every use;
• use clean hands and clean tools, and do not add water to products to revive them;
• keep the applicators clean, because dirty tools carry old product and oil back into the pan or pot. Clean brushes help products last, as well as applying better.

Should you finish it or replace it?

A long-lasting powder palette can stay in a drawer for years and still be fine. A mascara cannot. If you buy a lot of makeup, it is worth knowing that most people use only a handful of products regularly. Buying fewer, in smaller sizes, means you finish them before they turn, which is better for your budget and for the bin.

The same goes for fragrance, which lasts much longer than most makeup but is not immortal either. Our guide to making perfume last longer covers the storage that keeps it at its best. And if a clear-out leaves you with fewer, better products, use them with pleasure: makeup is a tool for you, not an apology.