How Old is Too Old??

It is no secret that my favorite mascara is Bad Gal by Benefit (and surprisingly, they do not pay me to say that!). I've never tried Dior Show but I think they are very similar in terms of the effect - which is really flippin long lashes. HOWEVER. There's a recession going on and I can't indulge in $20 tubes of mascara (because that is pretty much a whole outfit from Forever 21 or some super cute shoes from gojane.com), which is just as well because, as a general rule, your mascara has about a 3 month shelf life after you open that tube. I posted earlier about some guidelines for sharing (or, I guess I should say, NOT sharing) your makeup, and the same stuff applies here. Basically, mascara is just one of those things that you shouldn't share and you shouldn't hang on to for more than 3 months. You should also steer clear of pumping the wand up and down into the tube to load up the wand when you start running low. This actually will push air into the tube, which will make your mascara clumpy and it won't go on as well. But, back to my Bad Gal obsession, there are some great drug store options out there now that will only set you back around $6 when it's time to toss your tube in 3 months - trust me, I was always very reluctant to throw my $20 mascara away. I'm on my third tube of Lash Stiletto by Maybeline, and I"m pretty happy about the results, I get a lot of length without looking clumpy. Mascara isn't the only thing you should toss on the regular, though - your makeup sponges should get tossed every week, pressed powder should be tossed when you start to notice oil spots (this is actually caused by putting your powder puff back into the compact face down, which leads to the powder absorbing the oils your face left on the puff - so to make your powder last longer, don't put the puff side down when you close it), and foundations and concealers should both be tossed if you can't use it all before around 6 months. Again, keep your application tools clean and your makeup will last longer and go a lot further!