While we are staying distant and staying home, lets do something positive!  Its time to clean, and purge, honey.  As one of Baltimore’s ‘go-to’ beauty teams, we are proud of our kits, and our good hygiene practices.  The images in this article are of our professional set ups…makeup kit porn!

Look into any makeup lovers bathroom, vanity, or closet and you will see it all.  The half empty, squeezed-within-an-ich-of-its-life, and the “oh, I forgot about this” are all categories that take up valuable space in our beauty vaults at home.  We love shopping for, using, and hoarding all the gorgeous things we spend our hard-earned cash on.

Here’s the catch though, babes.  That treasure isn’t forever.  Its goes bad, and it should be used-not hoarded.  When your cosmetics begin to age, they will at least, stop performing as well as they did, and at worst, leave you with breakouts, irritations, and infections.  If you need a helping hand for when to let those beauties go-this ones for you.

Before we dive into the ‘time to toss timeline” lets talk about storage!  Yes, there are ideal storage conditions for cosmetics and skincare, and you are probably not keeping your beauty stash in the most ideal place.  Cool, dark, and dry spaces are best.  Heat, humidity and sunlight will quickly degrade many of your products, making the windowsill in the steamy, hot bathroom the worst place to keep your goods.

Even if you don’t have a You-Tube-worthy beauty room with the iconic Alex drawers for storage, there are plenty of good places to situate your products to keep them fresh for as long as possible.

The Fridge

A perfect way to store eye creams, moisturizers, and serums is your refrigerator.  Keep them fresh and amp up their de-puffing powers with added coolness.  Another favorite item for the skincare fridge is facial rollers and guahsas.  If keeping your skincare next to the grated cheese makes you feel weird-grab one of these minis for cosmetic goods only.  They are perfect for the vanity or dresser top.

The Linen Closet

Its checks all the boxes.  Its cool, dry and dark.  Its also handy to keep those items near the facial towels, cotton, and wash cloths.  Provided this closet lives outside the bathroom, its a great option and my personal go-to before my beauty room went in.

The Guest Room or home office

Both are great out of the way, temperature controlled places to create a place of refuge and relaxation for you, your getting ready process, and your precious beauty goods.

When its time to toss…

Remember:  These timeframes are from the time you open and start using your products, not the time of purchase.

Eyeliner & Mascara

3-5 months.  One caveat here.  I put my liquid eyeliner and mascara in the same category.  They will begin to dry out and harbor bacteria at this stage and should be replaced.  You’ll noice these liners starting to “skip” and thats when you know, its time to let her go.  That the first sign of drying out.  Pencil liners can go out to about a year, and are easily “decontaminated” by keeping them sharpened.  Also, my other rule of thumb here, is smell.  If it smells weird.  Chuck it.

Concealer & Foundation

About one year.  If anything thickens, smells “off,” cracks or separates, its time to replace it.  If you notice the color oxidizing (changing color once it dries on your skin) more than normal, thats another sign that it has outlived its shelf life. ALWAYS avoid dipping your fingers into any cream,

Blush & Eyeshadow

18-24 months.  Creams will “expire” sooner than powders as they tend to dry out, crack and start smelling interesting.  Powders will last longer, provided that they are not exposed to too much humidity.  Make sure that you tighten lids on cream products to keep them fresh!  Traveling makeup bags tend to loosen lids as they shift around in the bags.

Lipsticks & glosses

8-12 months.  You will know when its no longer viable.  The smell can’t be missed when applied that close to your nose.  If you experience a cold sore, its best to chuck out any lip products used during those situations.

Good Makeup Hygiene

Since sanitizing and cleanliness is always on our minds as a good, clean, professional set up is what we literally do for a living, the following tips should help keep your beauty stash clean, fresh, and performing well.

• Keep fingers out of all of your products.  Use an orange stick, or small spatula to dip into any cream product-this goes for makeup or skincare.
• Always close your containers tightly.  Keeps them fresh, and bacteria free.
• If your makeup bag is a crusty mess, wash it or replace it.
• If your makeup or skincare drawers are a crusty, goopy mess-clean with an antibacterial cleanser.
• Use an alcohol wipe on your eyelash curler once a week.  More often if you curl your lashes after you apply mascara.
• Shampoo your makeup brushes every other week.  Clean face brushes more often if you are experiencing a break out.  Once dry, spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol.
• Deep clean reusable sponges every other week.  Fill a basin with hot water and let soak first, then repeat using a soap of your choice.  (Baby shampoo, Dr. Bonner’s liquid castile soap, or beauty blender cleaner).  “Squish” with soap and rinse and soak again if needed.
• Invest in Beauty So Clean.  This is a must have for us.  Spray your eyeshadow pallets, or any pressed powder to clean and disinfect.
• Wash your hands before applying makeup and make sure your skin is clean before applying makeup.  (That doe foot applicator on your concealer touches your face everyday-think contamination).