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How long does it take for you to use up a product?
How long does it take for you to use up a product? Lipstick, gloss, eyeshadow, blush?
It takes me a year or longer to finish my go-to eyeshadow for filling in my brows! I’ve never finished a blush before, though MAC Margin has the most pan showing, and that was one of the only blushes I owned for years. For lipstick, I would say a year or longer if it’s in regular rotation. Gloss would be a bit less – but I just don’t use anything consistently enough to finish.
Thanks to Grace for today’s question! Got a question idea? Submit yours here.
I also don’t use anything consistently enough to finish. I have too much products and I buy always new things.
Same! I think the only product I’ve actually completely finished is foundation. I hit pan on my brow powder but I don’t use that particular one any more. I remember the first time I hit pan – I thought I had broken it!! xP
It depends what it is, really. I have many products that I wear a certain way because it reflects my mood or how I’m dressed. I’ve never actually finished a lipstick or a lipgloss before or even an eyeliner, but I have finished 50g tubes of BB cream and I’m on my 3rd Etude House powder. Granted, since I graduated high school (I’m doing uni externally) I’m only leaving the house a few times a week, rather than everyday and a couple nights a week.
I’ve never hit pan on any blushes, bronzers, or highlighters. I have never used up a pigment or an eyeshadow either.
The only items I’ve actully used is the MAC MSF Natural (which usually took me 9 months to finish up). I have also finished up a Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua within 6 months.
At least a year. I don’t put on makeup much, but I realise that during periods of time that I keep doing makeup, I am consistent and will keep using the same one.
I can finish my loose powder in months, because that’s something I use to matte my sunscreen. And I am fussy with blush colour, so once I like a shade, I keep reaching for it.
I am horrible at lipstick and lipglosses. I have so many, but I can’t be loyal to one.
Mascara is another fast-gone one because I double coat.
The only things I’ve even hit pan on are my eyeshadow powder and translucent powder (I need to use it before powder blush or it applies weird on me for some reason). I have too many of the other things to finish lol.
I am so trying this trans powder then blush great tip!!!
I’m happy to help xD. For some reason powder blush always goes on patchy unless I use powder first, if that’s the problem you have then this will most likely help 🙂
I have never finished a makeup item, nor nail polish. Not even basecoat or topcoat. I don’t even finish most non-makeup beauty products – I’ve finished exactly one fragrance that I can remember (Calgon Agua Fresca Very Berry – smelled just like freshly-washed strawberries).
I’ve definitely gone through black eyeliners, pressed powders, concealers, and foundations. I’m at pan on two different bronzers, so after I use them up that’ll be another item to the short list! I have never finished an eyeshadow, but did go through a tube of UDPP in the old packaging. I don’t even finish lip balms before I lose them, so I have never gone through a lipstick!
I’m on my 3rd tube of Clinique Tenderheart lipstick (someone gave it to me as a Christmas gift about 16 years ago – so of it’s a color I use somewhat regularly, it takes about 5 years to use it all).
I never finish a product. Products expire on me faster than I finish them. The only thing that I’ve come close to finishing is MAC’s Refined Deeper Bronze bronzer which I’ve had since freshman year of high school and I’m in college now and it’s just now showing a decent amount of pan.
this is such a thought & guilt provoking question ! lol.. i also dont use anything consistently to finish it. i used to tho, before beauty blogs and you tube channels entered my life. I had very few products with limited beauty application knowledge and i used to purchase new ones when i would need them. now i have a running notepad list going while i look at new launches and watch hauls and tutorials!
FOREVER!
I have a question about the “shelf life” of makeup… I read online that your supposed to throw mascara after 3-6 months, pigments at around a year and eyeshadows after 2-3 years…is this true?!? Kind of broke my heart when I read it! I dont want to throw away anything! How long should I expect makeup to last??
Don’t worry too much about the recommended “shelf life” of makeup.
Makeup that is frequently used will have a shorter “shelf life” due to frequent contact with your natural bacteria and vise versa. Discontinue a product when it starts to smell funny, taste funny (lipstick/lipgloss), look funny, etc.
I’ve had eyeshadows for 3 years that are in perfect condition.
Hey G, I think it really depends. On mascara, you should smell it and note when it becomes dry–I have a tube of Lashaccelerator mascara that lasts a year (packaging indicates it and this has seemed about accurate), but I find that Lashblast only lasts about 6 months or so before the texture becomes far too dry to use.
For dry powder eyeshadows, I have had some for longer than 2-3 years and they are perfectly fine. Texture is unchanged. I would expect that after like 10 years, you’d see the plastic start to yellow and such, and I don’t think they’re meant to last that long…but 4-5 I would think is perfectly fine. As long as the powder is kept dry, it should be okay.
A cream or gel eyeshadow is different. Again, the texture can become dry, but also bacteria can get into it if you use it even once…so probably 2 years, depending? I have a gel eyeshadow that lasted about a year, but I have a Bare Escentuals cream eyeshadow (almost used up) that I’ve had for about 3 years and it’s just as good as it was when I got it. I’m not a big foundation user, but I would expect foundation to follow the same pattern.
For lipstick, at least with MAC, I really don’t expect them to surpass about 3 years. At about 2-2 1/2 years, the scent goes away (from my experience at least). If you take care to keep them out of heat, they don’t smell rancid, but do pay attention to the smell. When the vanilla is gone, you should probably use it up soon.
Just as a note, be really careful if you buy a lipstick or lipglass (at least MAC brand) from beautyticket online. I bought a 2009 cremesheen glass and it smelled like plastic (it’s not horrible but it’s definitely not the intended or original scent). I’m trying to use that up, and while the color is wonderful…I don’t enjoy the plastic smell! My guess is that they keep their products in a non-airconditioned warehouse or something.
The only thing that you should think about is how much water is in the product, as water can go ‘off’ (for lack of a better way of saying it.) You wouldn’t drink from a glass if water that had been sitting out overnight. But that’s in its purest form. With cosmetics and all the preservatives and ph buffers in them, the more water in them/the lower the viscosity, the quicker they will go off. Just remember to smell the product when you first open it (baseline reference pt) and then keep smelling periodically. Powders last for years but that’s if you keep the in a cool dark place. Lastly, when the cosmetics giants come up with expiration dates on items, they will have put the product t through EXTREME rigorous testing. Nothing like what we would put it throufg. To save themselves from unwanted litigation, they offer a ‘best before date’ as opposed to a ”use by date”
I use up at least 5 primers and 2 setting powders per year. Foundation is usually 2 per year (if I average out all the different mineral foundations and tinted moisturizers I have as well). I’ve used up one lipstick and that’s it. Not even close to pan on any blushes. I have way too much makeup -_-
I think the last time I hit pan or almost emptied a pigment was when I was 12ish and doing makeovers on my friends every other night! Now things tend to get yucky before they are used up.
Really depends, I go through eyebrow pencils and black eyeliners really fast! So I tend to buy several a year. Pressed powders tend to run out fast too. Foundation primers and liquid foundations run out too but not as often.
I go through foundations and black eyeliners very quickly~6 months. Mascara gets tossed every 4 months whether I use it up or not. My loose and pressed powders are the next to go~1 year and depending on the color I can hit pan on an eyeshadow in 6 months. I have yet to use up any blush, bronzer, lipstick, lipgloss, pigment, and majority of my eyeshadows and I’ve had some for 5+ years.
Ha- makes our concern for the dwindling size of some products seem funny, I suppose 😉 I go through my fav eyeshadow, Mac’s Tempting, in about 15 months. I use an Aveda foundation/powder every 4 months. 2 each of my 2 fav Lipsurgences in a year, and I think its taken me 2 years to finish each aveda blush I’ve bought. I started buying other blushes, though, so now I have 12 or 13 and will probably never finish any of them. I used to use up everything before I started buying more than I needed.
The only product I can recall I have finished many times before would be lip balms, generally in 1-2 months.
Depends on the product.
Mascara and concealers are my two big blow-out drugs. I usually finish a product off in six months or less.
Eyeshadows depend on the color. If it’s something I use a lot (like purples or neutrals), I can hit pan within a year. Otherwise, I can have them for years before I finally toss them out of safety concerns.
I’ve never actually managed to use up an entire lipstick or gloss before – since lipstick in my cosmetic Achilles heel, I own too many to really wipe one out. Usually it winds up getting tossed first. However, Covergirl’s Lip Perfection in Soulmate is quickly becoming my go-to lipstick, so it might be my first legitimate stock out for a lip product.
I’ve only ever finished a bottle of foundation.
usually,a loooot…i got a lot of old stuff :)) especially lip things cause i don’t do my lips often
eyeliner(which i use constantly and a lot) lasts me 6 months if i like it.
foundation, mascara n concealer are used in a smaller amount of time.
A foundation I wear most of the time (and face products I like) will finish in about a year. I had one Chanel eyeliner I finished in a year but pencil eyeliners don’t receive much love from, prefer gel. I do finish mascara but most of the time they dry out before that happens, so 6 months max.
I’ve hit pan on my Bobbi Brown matte browbone highlighter but “colour” cosmetics like blushes, eyeshadows and lipsticks have yet to hit pan. But I’ve only been collecting for less than 3 years and I’m not too intense about it. I have faith I’ll use up at least half of it. =P
It usually takes me about 6-8 months to finish up a foundation, if I use it consistently. I don’t think I ever used up a mascara, nailpolish or blush. I used up my Guerlain Bronzer after about 2 Years, and have to by my go-to brow highlighter once a year, but other than that I tend to throw away products more often than I hit pan on them.
It actually depends! For foundations, face primer, lip primer, it usually takes me only 2-3 months until I use up the whole bottle. But for the powder blushes and lipsticks, I don’t think I would get to finish anything soon since I just used most of it once or twice. LOL!
I go through mascaras the quickest–2-4 months–not necessarily because I actually run out of product but because it dries out quicker than I can finish it (I have at least 5 mascaras open at a time, bad habit). I’ve only hit pan on a handfull of eyeshadows and they’re still going strong (MAC Satin Taupe, WnW Brulee, Maybelline Natural Smokes Quad, Urban Decay Sin). Back when I used to use pencil liner, I would replace those every 2-3 months. I have used up 3 jars of MAC fluidline in my makeup career, so it takes me over a year to finish up a jar of gel liner. I haven’t ever completely used up a bottle of foundation, I just throw them out as they go bad or if the color match is especially awful, usually within a year of purchase. I finish a pressed powder every 6 months.
It takes me usually 6 months to finish a liquid foundation , 3 months for a pen highlighter (touche eclat) – 1 year for under-eyes concealers, but I have never finished any other products other than those , especially blushers I think I’ll have mine for ever lol
I’ve only ever used up MAC MSFN and lip products – lip balms, lipsticks and gloss and that usually takes about a year.
I’ve hit pan on two bronzers, a couple of eyeshadows, paint pots and concealers and in each case it takes at least a year but I’m nowhere near using them up completely!
As for blush… I have too many and I have not even come close to hitting pan 🙁
If used everyday, or several times a week (not every single day)
mufe face and body foundation – 4-5 months
mac studio tech foundation – 3-4 months
mac lipstick – 4 months
fix + 3-4 months
mac liquid last used everyday – 6-7 months
eyeshadows and paint pots take 1 year or longer
I have finished a Dior blush… once. It was given to me by my aunt ^^
There’s also a Lancome blush she gave to me that’s hit pan. Other things I’ve let go are either spoiled or broken. Aside from that, my HD foundation lasted 5 months with daily wear. Amazing value considering.
Forever. I just use such a variety which is why I’m not usually concerned with the amount of product I get and am annoyed when I’m charged more for more product I’ll never finish. I’m talking to you mac prolongwear eyeshadows! I’d rather have less for less so I can get more variety. The only things I really finish are mascara, lipgloss, foundation, and pressed powder.
I have finsished powder foundations, blot powder, Painterly paint pot, concealer and hit pan on several eye shadows and my bronzer. I also finished nail polishes (small size) or they dried up with a small rest inside. It took me between one and two years.
I exchange my mascara every 3 month, so that doesn’t count as used up.
It takes a month and a half for me to finish a lip balm because I use it so much.
I go through powders and lip balm like crazy! The only eyeshadow ive actually hit pan on was MACs All That Glitters and ive had that since junior or senior year of high school…i’m a junior in college now! I rarely use lipstick so that’s just sitting in my collection ha
I never use up a product, I just love make up so much I have drawers full
wow, good question
I always used up Bourjois blush in 35 Lune D’or, ever since I started to buy it, and now I always buy back-ups for it, takes about from 6 months to a year.
Chanel nail polish in 18 rouge noir about 9 months to use it up.
Black eyeliner pencils – I used a ton af lancomes, now I have a whole collection of them, don’t think I will ever finish them before they expire…
Chanel pressed powders, and eye-trios(I think before they came up with quads they had trios, love love love them, I used up the most natural colour always its similar though to MACs painterly in colour, but it was an usual presses eye-shadow in a trio)
YSL faux cils mascara-every 2 months
I can go through lipstick and lipgloss in a month or so because if I like the color I tend to reach for it all the time. But I also have a drawer full of a B and C-list lippies that I’ve have for 2-3 years. Blush takes forever to finish, to the point of frustration! I have used a single MAC blush nearly every day for a year and a half, and pan is no where in sight! The only eyeshadows I have ever used up are MAC Jest and MAC Naked Lunch…the rest in my collection will be around for years.
I’ve only been using make up for about a year now, but I’ve hit pan on my MAC Goldmine which is close to 2 years old. I’ve made a huge dent in Carbon, ’cause I use it for my brows everyday.
I’ve been using blacktrack ever so often so I’m almost done with one of those.
AND, my Nars Casino, I’ve hit pan.
The only products I consistently use up are foundations and lip balms. Foundations usually take me at least a year, if not more and lip balms all depend on the product. Nivea lasts me no longer than a month, but my Rosebud Salve lasts up to six. I’ve used up a handful of lipglosses, mostly when I was a teenager, and I’ve never finished an entire eyeshadow (I’ve only ever hit pan on two…and I bought them both almost eight years ago). I rarely use the same products consistently enough to finish them and I buy new things almost every week lol
I have used 3 Mac eye shadows in “Cork” since 2007, Mascara I definitely finish within 3-6 months, however, this is forced because I don’t want to waste it having it dry up plus it’s not healthy to use it longer. Mac blushes, I have never finished a single blush since 2007. Now glosses are an exception…I nearly use them up but, again they are another item that I just refuse to finish out the tube if I’ve had it for that long. If I was to use the same bottle of foundation with very little trade-off of a tinted moisturizer maybe (I have finished 2 tinted Mac tubes in about 3 years), it would last me 1 year. Prior to using high end make-up I would go through way more, and definitely finish a product less than a year. Fun Question!
Fluidlines – BlackTrack, which I use daily, takes about 8 months
Lipsticks – can be years
Paint Pots – I’ve had one that I’ve used daily for over a year.
Mascara – a month
Lip Pencils – 8 months to a year if used regularly
Brush Cleaner – 4-6 months
Eyeshadows – never hit pan
I go thru MAC Peach blush in a few months cause its my main one i use daily. ANd I go thru MAC paint pots in a few months as well since I use that daily. But I have lipsticks and eye shadows that I know will take years to use. I like mini nail polish bottles cause I’ll never use up a full size polish.
Reading everything makes me feel I’m a little obsessed with using things up.
I usually have one foundation and one powder going at a time so those are used up in 4-5 months with daily wear.
With colored powder products, I consider them done when they have a ring of powder left and shows mostly pan. The three eyeshadows I’ve finished up (MAC All That Glitters, Brule, and Vanilla) all took 1.5-2 years with consistent use. I’ve also used a blush up using the same criteria (MAC The Perfect Cheek) and that took two years.
And ladies, I am thisclose to hitting pan on a NARS blush. That’s pretty rockstar, isn’t it?
Lip products with consistent use: 6-8 months. I’ve used up two MAC lipsticks (Syrup and High Tea) and two MAC lip glosses (Nymphette and Smile)
This is a great question. Items I have finished completely:
Mascara (I double coat)
Foundation
MAC eyeshadows in Shroom, Naked Lunch, Hush, Vex
A few lipglosses
MAC Prep & Prime Setting Powder
MAC Fluidline
MAC Blot Powder
I think I finish my mascara and foundation powder in 6 months, my lipstick in about a year or less, eyeliner 6 months or less, and I have never finished an eyeshadow or blush because I have way too many and don’t wear makeup everyday.
Just clean your brushes and other tools as often as possible and don´t keep your stash in the bathroom. I have makeup from years ago that I still use…not mascaras though! those dry out after a few months anyway….
I don’t finish many color cosmetics, but, let’s see…
– Liquid Concealer, 6-8 months, though this depends on how many blemishes I need to conceal 😉
– Mascara, ~4-6 months, I could probably go longer, but my HG mascara is a fiber one, and they tend to thicken up more quickly
– Eyeshadow primer, 9-12 months of consistent use will use up one UDPP
– Face primer, I used up a tube of UD Pore Perfecting in 6-8 months, but between me mixing up my face cosmetics and my freebie primer from Ulta’s pump breaking halfway, it’ll be awhile before I use up another container entirely.
Out of all the makeup I currently own, I am not even close to finishing anything. I feel like my pigments and blushes especially will last years and years because there’s hardly a difference in them from the day I bought them! I’m way more likely to throw something out because it’s gotten old than because it’s used up.
Took me 10 months to completely use up my beloved Lancome Rose Fresque blush–and I mean digging the edges out with the brush handle. I’m not a big experimenter when it comes to blush, so this is in use every day. I will also completely use up eyebrow pencils–same deal–use everyday.
It takes me a really long time to use most products. However foundations I go through pretty quickly because I have acne scarring and need a pretty full coverage. Revlon colorstay usually lasts me about 3 months. My loose setting powder lasts me around the same. Concealor lasts me maybe 6 months. Black pencil eyeliner lasts me 4-6 months depending on the brand. I have never hit pan on powder e/s only cream. Never on blush either. And my mascara dries up before I ever really finish it.
It takes me about a full year to use up liquid foundation, i’ve never used up any lipsticks, eyeshadows, or blushes…i’ve used up powders but it took years…
I usually only end foundations – 1 to 1.5 year (I only have 2 foundations…mac studio fix for when I’m in a hurry and guerlain lingerie de peau), mascaras – 6 months (only have one open), mac blot powder – 8 months and UDPP – 1 year. The only lipstick I ever finished was mas viva glam V which is my go-to lipstick for 2 years now. The rest I just collect and collect 🙂 I have a blush from macs summer collection (can’t remember the name right now) that I wear a lot and looks like it’s brand new (except for the golden flower, of course).
I usually replace my products before they expire. The blushes and powders i hit pan often are MAC sheer pressed powder,Chanel LE blushes and LOreal’s pressed powders – these usually take me a month.
I may be strange but i enjoy totally using up products! Apart from the usual foundation, concealer, eyeliner, mascara- i’ve hit pan on my Nars orgasm, deep throat and laguna. Also Benefit sugarbomb’s almost gone 🙂
Haha ! I feel very proud when I hit pan on a product because I almost never finish any of my makeup ! In my young drugstore products days, I’ve finished pressed powders and blushes, but since then… I can’t think of anything except a bronzer (Pop Beauty) and a few pen eyeliners. Maybe I’m too light handed !
The things I consistently finish are concealer (1-2 years, usually), mascara (4-6 months a tube – I wear it almost daily) and lip balm. Eyeshadow I usually end up having to toss after I’ve had it an ungodly amount of time. I’m getting better with lip gloss, though – I wear it now more than I used to and am actually making progress on my favorite tubes.
This question made me feel guilty. Haha.