Hello everyone, As I learn more about the shelf life of products, I doubt the effectiveness of companies sending products made in 2019 as it is now 2021. I have taken the plunge and I decided to buy the La Mer Soft Fluid Longwear Foundation with the code A79, which means it was made in July 2019. It is almost 3 years old. Is it still good? Despite this, I also have Bare Mineral makeup with the batch code: 9205Z6. What do you think of the products made a few years ago? Thank you all!
First off, it depends on the product! I’d be grossed out if it was lipstick, but foundation isn’t as bad. Something to consider is that we have foods (like canned foods) that can be shelf stable for years, and that’s something you put *inside* your body.
Secondly, there’s a lot of chemicals/preservatives in traditional makeup. Nowadays, “natural” brands actually can expire on the shelf because of lack of preservatives, or from using “natural” preservatives. In most normal makeup, you’re going to have a product that is shelf-stable for many years.
Thirdly, the biggest risk to your makeup is bacteria! That’s why the expiration date is phrased as a time period after opening—because that’s when the bacteria has had time to get into the product, grow, and make your product funky or pose a risk to you.
Long story short, I think that foundation is probably fine to use. Technology has come a long way in preserving products. If you buy a new one, I’d be curious to see the performance of the new vs the old, though 👀
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If a product is going to last less than 2.5 years from the date of manufacture then it has to have a specified expiry date on it, if it will last more than three years then it only has to have the “period after opening” symbol – the little picture of an open pot on the packaging with “6M(onths)”, “2Y(ears)”, etc. These labelling regulations are only a legal requirement within the EU, but brands typically use the same labelling globally for consistency.
So something made in July 2019 should definitely be good until at least January 2022, unless it has an earlier expiry date written on it or it has already been opened. And even then, it might still be good after that date it’s just that the manufacturer doesn’t guarantee it. Makeup isn’t like milk where you can be pretty certain it will have gone bad in a specific time frame, I have some stuff in my collection that I’ve had for 10+ years and it’s still fine. But makeup is like milk in the sense that if it has changed colour, changed consistency or smells bad, then you should chuck it out.