Is it time to throw away your expired liquid foundation? Read this article before deciding!

During the pandemic, I wear a mask every day, and my makeup frequency has dropped sharply... The biggest impact is my foundation! It's so expensive! All of it has expired.

Even though it’s expired, it doesn’t seem like a big deal…but when I think about the bacteria that may grow in expired products, I don’t dare apply it on my face…but when I think about the price of several hundred yuan per bottle, I can’t bear to throw it away!

Ah! Life, why do you want me to suffer such entanglement?

I'm not the only one who has this dilemma, right?! In the 16 foundation reviews released last year, more than 4,000 people liked the article and wondered, "Can expired foundation still be used?"

So we collected 24 bottles of foundation/cushion samples with different expiration dates from the entire company and our fans (I wonder if there is one that you are using?)

Advance note: We recommend that any product be used up within the shelf life!

This time we will tell you the conclusion: expired liquid foundation can be used, but in the following situations, you should give up! (Don’t just run away after reading the conclusion, remember to like + comment)

01

Real-life test

Expired liquid foundation vs. newly opened liquid foundation

Let’s start with the makeup effects. We randomly selected 5 bottles of expired foundation samples and repurchased all of them in the same style.

We also captured 5 colleagues with good skin condition and asked them to apply expired foundation on their left face and the same newly bought foundation on their right face. We conducted a 6-hour makeup test and took two sets of high-definition close-ups.

No beauty, no filters, and the kind of real shot where you can even see the mustache (don’t hit me!). Comparing all the pictures of the face, we made a shocking discovery - there is almost no difference in the makeup effect on the left and right faces!

If there is no mark, can you tell which is the expired bottle?

Although the difference in makeup effect is not big, it is something that is applied on the face after all, so we are still worried: Will it breed a lot of bacteria? What if the face is damaged?

02

Microbiological testing

Three situations are not recommended

Referring to the microbial detection method in the "Technical Specifications for Safety of Cosmetics 2015 Edition", we sent the 24 bottles of liquid foundation we collected to a third-party laboratory for microbial testing.

The "Specifications" require that the total colony count of liquid foundation should be ≤1000 CFU/mL. Although the expiration dates of these liquid foundation samples vary, fortunately the test results are all qualified.

This is actually because most liquid foundations are "oil-in-water" formula systems with relatively low water content. Add preservatives, and microorganisms cannot grow freely!

Based on the practice and test results this time, we can draw the following conclusion: as long as your "expired liquid foundation" is not heirloom-level, it is still fine for daily use.

However, if the following three situations occur, do not use it:

However, some fans left messages saying that the liquid foundation has not expired yet, or the water and oil have separated before it is opened.

We asked the customer service of a certain brand, and they told us that this was a normal sedimentation phenomenon caused by long-term standing, and it was not deterioration.

However, according to the analysis of a female daily chemical researcher, this may be due to the instability of the product formula system.

Under normal use, there may not be much of a problem, but for those who don’t wear makeup very often, it’s better to choose such products with caution. After all... it really affects the user experience!

03

Last words

Generally speaking, the shelf life of cosmetics is generally 3 to 5 years, and the shelf life here refers to the storage shelf life when it is unopened. The liquid foundation packaging will also be marked with a limited use date, which is the production date plus three years.

In addition, there will be a "12M" logo on the packaging, which means the shelf life after opening, which means it must be used up within 12 months after opening.

Taking 30ml of liquid foundation as an example, if the single use amount is 0.3ml, a bottle of liquid foundation can be used about 100 times. Even if you wear makeup every day, it will take more than 3 months to use up a whole bottle.

It can be said that the durability of liquid foundation is far beyond people's imagination. For those who love to stock up, can't resist when new styles are released, and don't wear makeup frequently, your liquid foundation will mostly have only one fate, that is, expired!

Adhering to the principle of happy makeup and not wasting money, we have also prepared the following suggestions for everyone:

Editor | Yuanyuan

Design | Damao

Source: Dad Review