I am a beauty hoarder. I have lots and lots of skincare and makeup products, and the oldest items of the lot should be 5 years old! Oppsies.
I started being interested in beauty products before I entered university. I had a part-time job as a cosmetic salesgirl at the departmental store and Sephora, which was when I learnt a lot about beauty products and started spending on them. I bought quite an amount of skincare and makeup items (the staff discount was a major plus point), and I also splurged on SK-II products (I wasn’t even 20 then), which I couldn’t bear to throw away even after 5 years.
As much as I love buying them and collecting them, I can’t bear to open the products and I was always afraid that I will finish using the product. I ended up using very little or almost nothing at all sometimes. Also, I have sooo many items that I can’t possibly finish using everything even if I have 10 faces. I have been sharing my items with my family and friends to prevent wastage.
One of the most “legendary” item that I own will be the tub of SK-II Facial Treatment Cream Foundation (already discontinued haha) which is 5 years old. I was using it every now and then during these years and my skin has never broke out before. To be honest, I knew I kept the item for quite some time but I never realized that it has been 5 years old until early this year. I was reluctant to part with it especially since it has been discontinued. :(
Earlier on this year, I decided to open a BB cushion from a Korean brand which I have kept for about 2 years. The printed expiry date was at the end of this year. The BB cushion was completely sealed before I tore open the packaging. Guess what? When I pressed the applicator sponge onto the “cushion” to use it, one huge lump of semi-solidified BB cream came up and it gave off a sour smell. Yucks! I threw it away immediately.
I went on to open another BB cushion from another Korean brand which was due to expire at the end of this year too. The technology of this cushion was slightly different as the BB cream has to pass through a certain hygiene filter before coming out of the sponge. Sadly, the BB cream has already solidified and cannot come out at all. Eeeek, 2 brand new BB cushions gone in a day.
After the experiences with the 2 BB cushions, I decided that it is time throw out some old products, especially those that have been opened for years and in cream/liquid form. Since brand new products that are months away from the expiry date can turn bad, those that have been opened from years have a high chance of turning bad too. On top of skin care and make up products, I also threw out many nail polishes as they have hardened and some has separated into 2 layers. I think I threw away a few hundred dollars or even over a thousand dollars that day.
However, I secretly kept some powder blushes since dry products should be a less risks of turning bad right? :X
Anyway, lesson learnt, I won’t buy more than what I can use, and I won’t store them only to let them spoil.