Protect Your Skin - Foundation Expires!

All of us can be guilty about keeping makeup longer than we should. There are so many times where I keep using expired lipstick or nail polish. You just don't think about makeup expiring. However, we really should; especially when it comes to foundation. I gave this no thought until recently when I was applying my foundation and it just wasn't doing its job. I knew something was off and that was when I discovered that foundation does expire! I thought I would share a few points on how you can also determine if your makeup expires.

1. For one, your skin will look darker. The foundation tends to oxidize much more when expired than when its not. You will definitely notice that something is off with the colour of your skin. If this happens, check your foundation.
2. Even though my skin was looking darker, I kept on using my foundation for a few more days. I thought that maybe the discoloration would stop after a few days. However, in addition to my skin looking darker my foundation was just not giving me the complete, flawless, smooth look that I was aiming for. I know how well my foundation performs and applies on my skin. When you notice that something isn't right about the application or finished look, most likely it can be due to expired foundation.
3. This is a weird one but I also noticed that my face was a lot more oily then usual (and I use an oil controlling base before I apply makeup). It just didn't seem right as I wasn't running a marathon throughout the day for my skin to be that oily. Also my diet didn't change and was pretty much the same. With the above two points combined with my oily skin, I knew that I was dealing with a case of expired foundation.

Luckily I had a brand new bottle of my usual foundation on hand as my first bottle was almost done. I then switched to the brand new foundation and boy, did it make the world of a difference! I knew instantly that I definitely was using expired foundation for a few days. You can just tell.

I don't think I'll be using expired foundation anytime soon as now I know what to look out for! I hope my experience can at least be of a little aid to you in what to look out for in your foundation. A good tip is to write the date on which you bought your foundation directly on the bottle. This way there are no excuses to loose track of time. Besides, you want to ensure that you are protecting your skin especially the skin on your face since it can be extremely sensitive.

I hope this helps! While I know what to look out for in foundation, I can definitely use some assistance in determining other expired makeup products - lipstick, eye shadow etc...

What tips do you have to tell when makeup products are expired?

~Usha