"What do you think?" Wednesdays - Are makeup use-by dates worth listening to?

I have a confession. I have never ever (and probably will never ever) taken notice of use-by dates or 'throw out' guidelines when it comes to makeup. Every product is treasured in my collection and therefore I would struggle to throw out something that I've not yet used up.

I've always had the view that use-by dates on cosmetics were solely put in place so that the companies can get you to purchase more of their products more frequently, but is that really the case?

First of all, I must explain myself a little in that if I came across a product that was looking a bit dodgy - has changed colour, separated, lumpy, so on and so forth - then I wouldn't hang on to it for much longer, however if it still looks fairly good then I wouldn't consider chucking it out for a second!

Now that you know that, back to the topic. Use-by dates. Before writing this post I was aware that there were such things as use-by recommendations for makeup but I didn't know what they were for each product so I looked them up and here is what I have found.

Mascara - 3-6 months
Moisturiser - 3-12 months
Foundation - 12-18 months
Powder - 2 years
Concealer - 12-18 months
Blush - 2 years
Eyeshadow - 2 years
Eyeliner/lipliner - 2 years
Lipstick - 2 years
Perfume - 2 years

Of course, the answers vary according to who tells you what, but this is about average in general.

I don't know about you, but I certainly have products that have outlived their recommended time period and according to the 'rules' they should be thrown out. Am I going to? No way.

I imagine for some of you, this might evoke a response of disgust. You might find the prospect of keeping a makeup product too long much like eating mouldy yoghurt that has been stewing in the dark depths of the fridge for a couple of months, in which case I can understand why this post and my attitudes towards the topic might gross you out. However, in my view unless there is some detectable change that I can notice (even smell or taste change - like for a lipgloss) then I would carry on using it as I always had. After all, I paid for it and therefore I want to get maximum use out of it.

I appreciate that there is the flip side of the argument whereby you tell me that germs are too small to be seen and that there is a fair chance I have hoards of bacteria breeding in my eyeshadows ready to attack my eyeballs at every opportunity. You may be correct, but I've not yet found such to be a problem.

I also think that some products are more susceptible to acting as lovely breeding grounds, like mascara. I would be hesitant to apply a mascara that has been opened for a couple of years, especially because it is bypassing the skin barrier and going straight for the eyes, thus making it considerably easier for it to infect me!

When it comes down to it, I am pretty relaxed about it all in that I never even consider makeup use-by dates, instead waiting for a product to go funny until I throw it out. I probably could be a little more careful and put practices in place that extend the life of my products, but until I actually come across major problems with it, I think I shall remain careless and continue ignoring the guidelines.

How do you feel about makeup use-by dates? Do you care about them at all?