Ladies, lets have a show of hands here.
How many of you abide by the “Toss your mascara after 3 months” rule? This is a “makeup rule” that we’ve been indoctrinated with and have had it drummed into us for so long its become “the norm”. The primary reason, we’re told, is that this is to protect our eyes, and prevent infections.
This “3 month rule” is also the reason for many people to go with a pharmacy or drugstore brand mascara. What’s the use of buying a more expensive mascara (never mind that it may look nicer) if we’re just going to toss it after 3 months anyway right? It’d be a waste of money! There’s a lot of truth in all that.
So come on, don’t be shy – Do you toss your mascara after 3 months? Even if its not gone bad or dried out? 🙂
Well I have a confession. I don’t 🙂
I never have, to be honest. I mean, I know the general rule and all that but I feel loathe to toss a product that is still working well just because its “the norm”. Its a waste of money too. Being a bit of a conspiracy theorist, I felt that this was a major conspiracy by the cosmetics companies to make us spend more money on mascara. I know right? I also believe in aliens and UFOs 😛 I usually toss my mascara only when its dried out or doesn’t work anymore.
Well, I’ve got one more thing to support my argument for not tossing out your mascara after 3 months – the cosmetics companies tell you you don’t have to! But how many of you notice this? 😉
I’ve picked at random, some high end and pharmacy/drugstore brand mascaras and the minimum and average life span for a mascara that I see, is 6 months from date of opening. Its that symbol of an open tub that you will see on most packaging. The number inside tells you how many months you have from date of opening before it is considered expired, and they all say 6M barring the Shiseido one that weighs in at a staggering 24M! That’s 2 years! Actually, my Shiseido Perfect Mascara has been going strong and its been with me a while and is only now starting to dry out (no trouble in all this time).
However, despite the clear marking on the packaging, we are still being told to toss our mascara after 3 months. Well, I say, lets wise up for a moment, step back and look at things objectively. The case for NOT tossing your mascara after 3 months is manifold:-
- The companies suggest a minimum of a 6 month lifespan from date of opening
- If you are the only person using the mascara (and you should NOT be sharing mascara please) and do not have an eye infection, there is no reason to assume that using it longer than 3 months will give you an eye infection
- Technology has moved on and we should expect the product to be of better quality and last longer
- If the mascara is not dried out, its a waste of money to toss it.
However, if you have an eye infection I will suggest you toss any mascara you are then using during your eye infection, because it could well be contaminated. But if your eyes are fine and the mascara is working fine and not dried out, don’t waste your money. Look at the box/packaging. Think about things and see if its logical for you to just blindly abide by a “general rule” or if you should just go with your gut 😉
What say you, Ladies? Do you currently toss your mascara after 3 months? Will you change this habit after this, or will you still stick to the 3 month rule? My personal habit is why I don’t mind splurging on a higher end mascara that works (RMK and Shiseido are 2 I will readily replenish despite the cost) because they last, my lashes look impressively good, and I don’t toss them out after 3 months anyway 🙂
Paris B
Haha thank you Paris for interpreting the code! Well I read the symbol of the open box many many times but never know what is it!!! LOL.. I have this habit of reading the box of anytg I buy hahaha..
This is really a good news! Now we have reason to make mascara to it’s full use! Although I never toss them out anyway hahaha
LOL! Maybe the code deserves a post all by itself! 😀 I actually thought everyone knew about it already 😀
oh yes please Paris! wanna learn more symbols please!!
oya, may i know how long can your perfect mascara from sheseido last before drying out???? tempting to purchase it since i can use it up to 2years!
Lets just say mine is over a year old, and still going strong but I think it might be time to bin LOL
thanks Paris! Yay~
I’ve heard some people advising to throw it out after 6 weeks. 6 weeks!! Like you, I only throw my mascara out after it dries out. It’s such a bleeping waste to throw it out after mere months, especially when you purchase a high-end mascara. I also go by smell – when it starts smelling sour, that’s when I toss it out. Usually that only happens with mascaras that are over 8 months old.
I’m with dom on this one, and am a huge proponent of checking out smell and consistency of formula before deciding whether to toss or not. Also, guiltily, I’m far worse at tossing out tubes of mascara that I absolutely love – I had my Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara for a year and a bit before I finally bit the bullet and decided it was time to let it go!
If I love a mascara I hold on as long as I can too. But the ones that don’t work and don’t get much use out of, go into the bin quite quickly, or when I remember to clear out 😀
6 weeks? That’s bonkers! Its about when it just starts to get good. Evidently, having read everyone’s responses, it seems like no one here bothers about the “rule” which is a bit weird coz everytime I mention a mascara, everyone’s all “Oh but its got to be tossed in 3 months!” LOL funny… 😛
I won’t toss my mascara after 3 months just because of the rule. Lol. I feel like it’s a waste and they haven’t even drying out yet. Definitely I will wait until it’s starting to dry out then only I will consider to throw it away. 🙂
Sounds like that’s what everyone’s doing here! 😀
Nah, I don’t. Especially that stint when I was solely on the CLinique mascara and it was too expensive to do it. The air here is a lot drier as well so I am assuming less chances of bacteria growth?
I’m not sure about bacteria growth to be honest. From what I can see, there’s loads of preservatives in products like mascara so I’m guessing that most bacteria can’t really grow anyway. But that’s just me 😉
I don’t! But I try not to keep an open tube for more than 6 months. And these are generally the ones I don’t like anyway! Those that I like could barely survive 3 months of use:).
But you are right. I don’t go for expensive mascara mainly because short life span is one of the reason. The other being there is just so, so many new ones popping up at drugstore that I just have to try. Btw, Rimmel Scandaleyes is quite good 🙂
Oh, eww…. Don’t ever share mascara and lipstick!
Ahh! I just saw Rimmel Scandaleyes on sale yesterday and remembered someone saying its good 😀 But I didn’t pick it up because I opened the tester and the size of the brush scared me! Weirdly, I always see people actually testing mascara and lipstick at the tester counters. I can’t help but shudder when I see it – don’t they realise they are spreading germs (and maybe contracting some?!)
3 months! i’ve to confess, i have never tossed out any functioning mascara even after a year, but that’s just me being stingy and unhygienic. thanks for pointing out the very fine print on the packaging. and eh, who came up with the 3 month rule ah? we keep hearing it but never ever know who was the Grand-master of the 3 month rule 😛
Shh… neither have I! If it functions, isn’t dry, isn’t smelly, well I use it 😛 No point in wasting a good thing, I say! I bet its the cosmetics brands themselves – gotta sell more product!
Guilty as charged! I have been using the same Maybelline one for 10 months now… and it’s still not goopy or anything so imma keep on using it! =X
LOL! I know right? Sometimes, its past the 3 month mark when it starts looking good!
I don’t! Because it’s working fine even after 3 months! it would be a waste of money, hihihi… I also have to confess that you are right, I don’t buy the high end ones because mascaras has a short life span …
Ah see! You’d buy a nice pricey lipstick though, won’t you? 😉 Probably has the same lifespan, but I don’t check 😉 That said, if a drugstore mascara works well, no harm using it. Its doing the same thing after all, more or less 😉
ops, I dont either. Looks like we aren’t as adherent to some rules as some would want us to be eh? hehe, I usually toss out mine only when it 1) dries out, 2) irritates my eyes.
Otherwise, it’ll still be sitting on my little mascara container for… oh, I dont even remember… =p
Yeah clearly no one’s into tossing their mascara after the 3 month mark. I don’t even toss after the 6 month mark if its still working well 😉
I usually use one mascara at a time, until it gets clumpy or dries out. However, I only keep it for max 6 months. I did get an eye infection before and it made me more wary of the expiry dates. I use a mixture of brands and sometimes, the cheaper mascaras outperform the expensive ones!
Oh in many cases, I’ve found that cheap mascara can work wonders! It doesn’t make sense to buy pricey ones sometimes, except when you can be very sure they’ll give you the effect you want that none others can 😉
Haha…I’m guilty of hanging on to my RMK even after 6 months, although it has started to somewhat dry out already.
On a side note, I don’t know if this 3M/6M thingy holds for Talika’s Eyelash Lipocils but I’ve been using my current tube for a year already…-___-
My RMK one is staying nice even after 6 months! Granted, I don’t use it as often so that might be why. I’m not sure about the Talika thing. I think its meant to last 6 months? I’m not too sure but in my case, it dried out eventually so that was that 😛
I toss mascaras after 3 months that are inside my train case just because of the fact I use it on different clients, though I use a disposable wand, I still feel its a better choice but of course, I do check the 3m/6m thing too!
For personal, I think same as you, it really depends on how the mascara feels, looks and smells! That’s how I decide if its time to throw it out or not 🙂
In your case, I think it makes a lot of sense to toss them out quickly and its great to know that you’re keeping your clients’ welfare at heart, Nikki! 😀
I learnt something new today from Miss Paris B. 😛
I never noticed that little open tub symbol because I seldom pay attention to product packaging except to note how pretty or user friendly it is.
Like most of the readers of MWS, I only toss my mascara when it’s dried out or not performing anymore and since I so rarely use it, I only have 1 tube open at a time.
Haha! Here to educate 😉 I usually glance at the open tub symbol to have an idea, but I don’t generally follow it the way I don’t generally follow many rules, making up my own as I go along LOL!
I never throw any until I finish it up. but some will dry out eventually.
Mascara is one thing that I can never leave house without!
Aww you have nice long lashes! 🙂 It took me so long to get used to using mascara and sometimes, I’d actually forget to put it on which makes it look weird if you have full eye makeup on LOL! But now that I apply mascara first, I never forget again! 😀
*put my hands up in the air* Haha, I don’t!
My mom taught me not to waste food, because I paid for it, because people starved to death in places like Africa, because I don’t want my future husband to have pimples all over his face, because I don’t want ME to have pimples erupting all over my face …, and all the other excuses that moms came up with to make you finish your food (:P), SO I have to appreciate and gobble up my food every time; Thus, why I don’t throw my Mascara out before they dries up? Because Momma taught me well! ;D
LOL indeed! 😀 I got that lecture about finishing up my rice too!
I never throw mine out either just because it’s 6months–and never had an eye infection from it either? I don’t use mine that often I guess so less chances of bacteria growth? Heh….
Yeah I don’t abide by either 3 or 6 month rule. Prefer to just go with sight and smell but of course, if its too long, it’d better go in the bin anyway 😉
A brand new mascara wand only starts picking up the correct amount of mascara after 3 months, to throw it away then??????? NO WAYYYYYYYYY…..
Haha! I hear ya! That’s when the texture is usually close to perfect 😀
nahhh, me too. i am wary of the little tub symbol, but never followed it to a T, and extend it to another 3-6 months depending on the condition of the product 😉 i mean i can count on one hand how many times i use my mascara in 3 months (not a regular mascara user), why should i throw it away? such a waste.
Thats true too for a non regular user. It shouldn’t go bad as quickly. In my case, I do find that sometimes the pharmacy brands dry out much more quickly than the higher end brands so I can really drag out the use of a high end mascara but for pharmacy brands, taking it to 6 months with regular use is sometimes impossible.
I dont throw out my good mascaras after 3 months either! It just makes no sense and I totally agree with you on the conspiracy theory lol 😉 and yes I have read the note at the back of the boxes which states that the mascaras are good for 6 months after opening and since I am the only one using my mascaras I see no good reason to throw away functioning ones at 3 months, some I van even stretch the use to 1 year! 😉 However, I do use the 3 month theory thing to make myself feel less guilty when I throw away mascaras which are horrible to use (smudges like crazy or extremely wet and dont EVER become drier, or just simply have no effect in my lashes) so is this case I do ‘abide’ by the 3 month rule. Also, 3 months is a good time frame for to gauging whether a mascara is trash or fabulous and whether a repurchase is in place or not.
Yay for a fellow conspiray theorist! 😉 I honestly do think someone out there is making big bucks from people tossing mascara out after 3 months and I’ve just been told, people even say 6 weeks! Seriously! What a waste! :O Like you, if the mascara is crap on me, it doesn’t even make it past the 1 month mark LOL!
I couldn’t even complete my mascara within 3 months. Nor even complete it without them drying~~ My usual mascara lifespan is about 6 months and the 6M symbol is definitely a new thing for me!! Thanks Paris for the sharing.
You’re welcome, Cynthia! I think many of us learnt something new this time – that mascara can last 6 months at least and that none of us here follows the 3 month “rule” LOL!