OUT WITH THE OLD
Determine which products have passed their use-by-date and discard those that are out of date, you’ve never used that perfume sample that you got at David Jones ten years ago and the chances are you’re not going to. Cosmetics have a finite shelf life; for example, unopened shampoos can last for about three years whilst perfumes about five. Opened cosmetics and bathroom products have a shelf life of about six months to a year. Whilst most expired products simply stop doing what they’re supposed to do some can cause skin irritations and even infection.
GIVE GENEROUSLY
If you have unopened products you know you’ll never use, rather than just hoarding them, put them to good use by donating them to a charity like Sydney’s Beauty Bank. They will take your donations and include them in bags given out at shelters across the city. So next time you’re going to pop those Molton Brown shampoos from last weekend’s hotel visit in the cupboard and forget about them, consider that someone else a little less fortunate might really appreciate them.
STICK WITH A SYSTEM
Once you’ve got the collection down to a manageable size, learn how to keep it that way. Some kind of storage solution is the best way. There are clear plastic storage boxes available with a variety of compartments that are perfect for lipsticks, perfume samples, nail polish and shampoos. Keep these stored somewhere cool, dark and dry to get the maximum shelf life out of the products. Don’t be afraid to reassess what can stay and what has to go regularly. Most of all if you’re going to keep them, use them!
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