Looking great with makeup is not just about knowing what are the best products or how to use them ... it's also about knowing when to toss, revive and how to revamp your favorites too!
Because cosmetic companies are not required to add expiration dates on their products it's important to learn the rule of thumb for when it's time to say good-bye to your make up. Certainly if anything changes color, consistency or starts to separate or smell you should get rid of it.
Watch the video {HERE} instead.
FOUNDATION
Expiration date is 12 months. Oil based makeup might last 18 months. Mineral makeup technically has no expiration date because it is made up of inorganic materials - literally ground rock, but if it is combined with other products such as sunscreens then this does not apply.
Mineral makeup looks great in real life and can be a perfect foundation to use if you have sensitive, oily or acne prone skin, but on a whole it is not great for photography because they tend to be overly sparkly and contain certain micas and other materials that create a lot of sheen and "hot spots" for your face on film.
The SAVE: If you come home with a new foundation only to find it is too dark for your skin tone, combine it with your favorite moisturizer for an instant body bronzer.
MASCARA
This is one of your beauty products with the shortest shelf life, 3 to 6 months. Many times it will dry out before then. To keep it fresh make sure you are twisting, not pumping the wand and keep it tightly closed out of heat and sunlight.
The SAVE: To revive dried out mascara, add a few drops of saline or eye drops and stir it around. Start with just a couple and add as needed. Make sure you only use sterile solutions and not water without preservatives to keep it bacteria free.
Keep your old mascara wands and use them to comb unruly eye brows with a little Vaseline or tame flyaway hair by spraying an old wand with hairspray to smooth them. You can get different effects with the same mascara by using different types of mascara wands. Bigger ones will grab more product and volumize lashes while skinny comb like wands will lengthen.
POWDERS
Eye shadows, compacts and blushes. Keep them for about 2 years. as long as you are cleaning your brushes regularly and not introducing bacteria.
The SAVE: It never fails that we end up dropping our favorite powders and they break into a crumbled mess, spilling into everything in our makeup bag. Instead of tossing it, add a few drops of rubbing alcohol to make it look like new again.
LIPSTICK
If you take very good care of your lipsticks they can last 2 -4 years.
Do what the makeup counter girls do and clean yours with alcohol each time and store them away from sun and humidity.
The SAVE: If you end up with a color that is too bright use it as a cream blush. This is a good tip to remember when you end up going out after work and your face needs a little color, we almost always have a lipstick in our handbag!
PENCILS
Lip and Eye pencils can stay fresh for about 2 years, especially if you are sharpening them regularly to get rid of bacteria. Pencils dry out faster if you aren't storing them with their caps on.
The SAVE: If your pencil doesn't go on smoothly try heating it up with your blowdryer, or if it is too soft harden it up in the refrigerator before sharpening.
BRUSHES
Oil and bacteria can hide in the bristles of your brushes and cross contaminate your makeup so I suggest washing them every 2 weeks. Cleaner can get to be expensive and I find the best products to clean and restore them is something I already have in my kitchen.
The SAVE: Use an antibacterial dishwash soap to remove and disinfect every single thing that may be on your brushes. So that you don't strip the hairs of natural oils when they dry, add in a little olive oil to recondition the brush. Let them dry upside down so that the water doesn't drip into the handle of the brush and loosen up the glue that's holding the bristle hairs in place. Watch the end of the video for a tutorial on how to so this with chopsticks and a hair band.
For more secrets and tips on looking your best check out my new book Face This on Amazon {HERE}.
0 comments
Post a Comment