I'm one of the many women who stockpile skincare and makeup items well past their advised shelf-life. In my case there's no excuse - except laziness and sentimental attachment to certain shades - because as a beauty editor I get a steady supply of new items to test. But if you've forked out good money for products it can be hard to bin something that you think you might use again.
Chances are, as with clothes, something that has been sitting around unwanted for more than a year or two isn't going to get a look in. If like me, you're a bit of a hoarder, however, the inclination is to hang on rather than heave ho.
I'm also a bit sceptical about expiry dates generally; let's face it a food "best before" can be stretched considerably and even the "use by" is on the conservative side. Most of us have sniffed and poured milk that may be a day or two past its stated time, but safety concerns or telltale signs usually prevent us pushing our luck too far.
The same cannot be said for cosmetics. A weekend drawer declutter uncovered eye pencils and lipsticks that were years past their recommended best. Same goes for lipsticks and nail polishes, but unless they go gluggy, I'm sure I've not been alone in figuring why waste them.
This clean-up I got ruthless. Now I can see what I have, so with any luck I will get more value from each item's regular use.
