Bad Makeup
.. no, I don’t mean makeup that just plain sucks and I wouldn’t recommend, maybe I’ll post about that in the near future 
What I’m really talking about is makeup gone bad … spoiled! It’s easy for this to happen … women tend to hoard, stuff gets forgotten and pretty soon you see some obvious signs such as dried mascara or separated foundation. Generally though, it’s usually tough to tell when makeup has gone bad, and unfortunately, U.S. labeling regulations don’t require an expiration date on most types of cosmetics.
So how do you identify bad makeup? Here are some tips and suggestions:
Face Makeup – when you repeatedly dip your brushes and fingers into liquid foundation, you increase the odds of bacterial growth, and with that, the chance of acne break-outs or other facial irritation. Powders present less of a problem, but they’re still likely to get harder to blend over time, and often crumble. Typically, the life span of face makeup is six months for liquids and two years for powders.
Mascara – is often described as the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Add to that, the fact that the preservatives in a mascara typically only work for so long and no more. Thus, never keep mascara for longer than three months.
Eyeliner & Eye Shadow – Bacteria tend to flourish in liquid-eyeliner tubes, and the product can also get dried out. Powder shadows are less prone to contamination, but they have performance issues over time. Thus, for liquid eyeliners, toss them after three months; for cream eye shadows, keep them no more than six months; and for pencil eyeliners and powder eye shadows, keep them for two years max.
Lipstick & Lip Liner – Lipstick and lip gloss’ water content make them potential breeding grounds for bacteria. Never keep lipstick, lip gloss or lip liner for more than 2 years, tops!