Makeup Expiration Dates: When to Throw It Out

There is no single expiration date that applies to all makeup, and in the United States there is no law that requires one. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says plainly that no U.S. laws or regulations require cosmetics to carry specific shelf lives or expiration dates on their labels. What the agency does give is a firm number for the product that matters most, which is mascara: manufacturers usually recommend discarding it two to four months after purchase. For everything else, you work from the packaging, the product's type, how it has been stored, and what it looks and smells like now.

This guide explains what the FDA does and does not say, how to read the small jar symbol that appears on many products, how product type changes the risk, which signs mean a product is finished, and what to think about when you buy sealed makeup that has been sitting for a long time.

What the law says in the United States

Many people assume that if a product has no date, it does not expire, or that if it is on a shelf for sale, it must be within date. Neither assumption is safe.

According to the FDA, manufacturers are responsible for making sure their products are safe, and the agency considers determining a product's shelf life to be part of that responsibility. Companies are expected to use appropriate testing to decide how long a product stays stable and safe, but they are not required to print the result on the label.

There is one important exception. Products that are classified as drugs, such as sunscreens and acne treatments, are held to different rules. They must be tested for stability and must carry expiration dates on their labels. That is why a sunscreen has a date and a lipstick usually does not. A product that makes both cosmetic and drug claims, such as a foundation with SPF, can fall into the drug category, so check the label for a date.

The takeaway is that a missing date on a lipstick, mascara or eyeshadow means the law does not require one, not that the product lasts forever.

What the FDA says about mascara and eye makeup

The FDA gives specific, practical guidance on eye products because the risk is real. The eye area is delicate, and mascara is an ideal home for bacteria: a wet product, a brush that goes into and out of the tube each use, and a user who touches the lashes and eyelids with it.

The key points from the agency's guidance are these.

• Manufacturers usually recommend discarding mascara two to four months after purchase. Eye-area cosmetics generally have shorter shelf lives than other products.
• If mascara becomes dry, throw it away.
• Do not add saliva or water to mascara to moisten it. The bacteria from your mouth can grow in the product, and water dilutes the preservatives that are there to protect it.
• Do not share eye makeup. Another person's bacteria may be hazardous to you. This applies strongly to store testers that many people use.
• Wash your hands before applying eye cosmetics, because bacteria on your hands can cause eye infections.
• If you get an eye infection, stop using the eye products you were using and replace them. The FDA advises replacing eye makeup after an infection.
• Keep cosmetics away from heat. The agency warns against leaving them in places such as a hot car.

Do not pump a mascara wand in and out of the tube. It adds air without adding mascara and, in practice, dries the product out faster. If a mascara is clumpy and dry, that is the sign to replace it, not to revive it.

Reading the open-jar symbol

Many products, especially ones sold internationally, carry a small symbol that looks like an open jar with a number and the letter M, such as 12M. This is a period-after-opening symbol, often called PAO. It indicates how many months the product is intended to stay good after you first open it. The symbol comes from European cosmetics rules, which are set out in the European Union's Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, and it appears on products sold in many countries including the United States.

Here is how to use it.

1. Open the product and note the date. A small label or a marker dot on the box or bottom of the jar works.
2. Check the number on the jar symbol. If it says 6M, the maker intends it to be used within six months of opening.
3. Throw it out when that time is up or sooner if it looks or smells wrong.

Two cautions. The PAO number is the maker's estimate under normal use, so careless storage or a dirty applicator can shorten it. And the clock starts when you open the product, not when you buy it, so a product that waited a year in a drawer unopened does not have the same remaining life as a fresh one. We could not confirm a single universal rule for how long an unopened product lasts, which is why the next section matters.

Product type changes the risk

The FDA does not publish a month-by-month list for each type of makeup, and we have not repeated numbers from sources we could not check against the original. What can be said reliably follows from how products are made and used.

The pattern is the one that matters. Wet products near the eyes are the most sensitive. Dry powders are more forgiving. Anything that you touch with your fingers or put on your mouth picks up bacteria with every use.

Signs that makeup has gone bad

The FDA notes that products can degrade when preservatives break down and allow microbes to grow, when emulsions separate, when products dry out or crack, or when color and texture change because of heat or light. In practice, you can see most of it.

• Smell. A sharp, sour, rancid, crayon-like or musty smell is the clearest sign. Compare against how it smelled when new.
• Separation. Liquids that split into layers and do not mix back when shaken or stirred.
• Texture. Hard, dry, clumpy, stringy or grainy product, or product that has become oddly greasy or watery.
• Color. Foundation that has darkened or turned orange, eyeshadow that has gone patchy, a lipstick with a white bloom or sweaty beads on the surface.
• Surface changes. A glassy, hard layer on the top of a pressed powder, which is usually oil buildup from the skin or brush.
• Skin reaction. New stinging, redness, itching or breakouts from a product you used without trouble before. If a product irritates you, stop using it and consider talking with a health care provider.

When in doubt, throw it out. The cost of a replacement lipstick is small compared with an eye infection.

How to make makeup last longer

You cannot stop aging, but you can slow it down and avoid contamination.

• Keep products tightly closed and out of extreme temperatures. The FDA points to heat in particular. Do not store them in a car.
• Skip the steamy bathroom. A bedroom drawer is a better home than a shower-adjacent counter.
• Wash your hands before you touch your face or the products.
• Wash brushes and sponges regularly.
• Never use saliva or water to rescue a dry product.
• Do not share makeup, and be careful with testers. If you try a tester, use a disposable applicator and never put it on your eyes or lips unless the store provides a clean way to do it.
• Close pots after each use, and use a clean spatula for jars.
• Write the opening date on the product.

What about sealed makeup that has been sitting?

This is where the question gets interesting for anyone buying from a marketplace, a live auction or a closeout shop. Is sealed makeup safe if it is old?

The honest answer is that it depends and that nobody can tell you from the outside. A sealed product is protected from the air and from your hands, but it is not frozen in time. Preservatives can wear down, formulas can separate, and heat during storage can shorten life. The FDA's concern about shelf life, as stated, is part of the manufacturer's responsibility, but the label rarely tells you how old the product is.

What you can do:

1. Look for a batch code. Many brands print a code that can be used to find the production date through the brand or a checker. Our guide to checking a perfume batch code explains the idea for fragrance, and the same principle applies to makeup: the code is how you find out age.
2. Inspect the product on opening. A sealed product that is separated, dried out or foul smelling should go straight in the trash.
3. Consider the storage history. Heat is the main hidden enemy. Ask where and how the product was stored if you can.
4. Be stricter with eye and wet products. Treat old sealed mascara and liquid liner with extra skepticism.
5. Be more relaxed with powders. They are lower risk when they look and smell normal.

When you buy from a live seller, seeing the item and asking questions is a practical advantage. A beauty seller on ShopBidz such as Miriam's Beauty Pickups is one you can watch live, which lets you see packaging, seals and condition on camera and ask about storage and codes before you bid. Casa de Beauty, from Miami, Florida, sells fragrance and beauty cosmetics on ShopBidz and is another seller whose live sessions let you ask those questions.

Our guide to makeup dupes, "Makeup Dupes: How to Find the Real Match," covers a related buying problem, which is knowing whether a product is what it claims to be.

Testers, samples and travel sizes

Testers deserve their own mention because they are a common source of contamination. The FDA specifically warns about sharing eye makeup and testers, because many people use the same product. A tester that has been open on a shelf for months has had many chances to pick up bacteria. If you use a tester, use disposable applicators and avoid eye and lip products. Do not buy a tester-grade item for eye use unless you know where it has been.

Samples and travel sizes have fewer chances to be contaminated because they are often sealed, but the same rules apply once opened. Mark the date, and use them up.

Should you worry about expiration dates on skincare and sunscreen?

Skincare that makes drug claims, such as sunscreen and acne treatments, must carry an expiration date under U.S. rules, so follow it. Sunscreen that has expired may not deliver the protection on the label. For other skincare, the same signs apply as for makeup: smell, separation and texture changes. Products in pump bottles and tubes usually stay cleaner than jars used with fingers, because less of the product is exposed.

A simple routine

Once a quarter, go through your makeup bag.

1. Pull out everything you have not used in months.
2. Check each item for smell, texture and separation.
3. Replace mascara and liquid liner on the schedule the FDA suggests, or sooner if dry.
4. Wash brushes and sponges.
5. Clean out the bag.
6. Note the opening date on new products as you open them.

Bottom line

Makeup does not carry a legal expiration date in the United States, but it does age. The FDA's clearest advice is to discard mascara two to four months after purchase and to throw it away if it dries out, never to add water or saliva, never to share eye products, and to keep cosmetics away from heat. For other products, use the open-jar symbol if there is one, then rely on smell, texture, color and separation. Be strict with anything wet or near the eyes, and be careful with old sealed stock, whose age you can check through a batch code and whose condition you should inspect on opening. When in doubt, replace it.