Your how old?

It's the age old question, how long can you keep your makeup for before throwing it away? How long is good? There are a bunch of different opinons out there, but here's a basic guideline:

Brushes – wash every 2-3 months (Sephora has an inexpensive cleaner that works great)
Concealer – up to 12 months
Eyeliner – 3 years, but sharpen on a regular basis
Eyeshadow – 3 years
Foundation – water-based, 12 months; oil-based, 18 months
Lipliner – up to 3 years
Lipstick – 1-2 years
Mascara – 4 months
Nail Polish – up to 12 months
Powder – 2 years
Sponges – 1 month but wash weekly

If you’re like me, you’ve got a lot of beauty products, way too many to be able to know when you purchased what and when. (Yes, the photo is a small snippet of my stash.) So how are we supposed to know when the time's up on my mascara, eyeliner etc. without just guessing?

Enter these genius little gizmos! Timestrips are postage stamp-sized labels you stick on your cosmetics, which accurately monitor elapsed time and temperature. Simply activated, the indicator changes color when your makeup is no longer safe to use. So no more guessing if your mascara has met its maker.

Now you're out of excuses!