by Ashley Pawelczyk
Cutting Loose on Main –

So it’s that time again, time to liberate your house of all the leftover holiday chachkies , clutter and dust that came with them. As much as some of us absolutely abhor the task, it is generally rewarding and lets face it, it gives us an excuse to go shopping for new and better chachkies!

It’s easy to remember to clean the kitchen, the laundry room and garage but most of us forget that cleaning your makeup bag is just as, if not more important. The things we use on our face and skin carry just as much bacteria as any household item and most have a shorter shelf life than you would imagine.

Mascara, for instance, is the ideal breeding ground bacteria because of it’s wet, dark environment. You can prolong your mascara a little longer if you don’t continually pump the mascara wand in and out of the tube. This causes air to enter the bottle and cause more bacteria to breed. Liquid liners and creamy shadow pose the same problems. After about 3 months they start to build bacteria so make sure you keep them in a dry, dark place. Dry powders and shadows can last up to 2 years because the do not contain any liquid for bacteria to grow.

Foundations are much more time sensitive. You should replace liquid foundations every 6 months if not sooner. Since most people use their fingers to apply their foundation, it will get infected by bacteria faster which will make you break out or worse (which is a great reason to use a blending sponge or brush).

Now here is the thing with lipsticks: Good quality lipstick has the ability to last a little longer than most products. They can generally last up to 2 years, but do have a tendency to get slightly discolored with time.

So do you skin a favor, throw out that cakey foundation, dried mascara and treat your makeup bag to a much needed spring makeover!