When In Doubt, Chuck It Out!

Did you think that today’s post heading only pertained to suspect food in the fridge? Well, the same goes for cream based cosmetics. The nose knows. We have all seen those natty little drawings (PAO symbols) on most cosmetic packaging of a round container with the lid ajar and a number and the letter M (M = months) around it. The varying numeral on the jar states how many months the cosmetic company reckons you can safely use their products once opened before they are meant to “go off”, so to speak and need replacing. I’m not entirely convinced that these stipulated periods of time are wholly accurate, but more a not-so-subtle indicator as to when you should go and *wink* buy more. This most certainly seems the case with dry powder based products, as they can last ages just as pristine as when you first purchased them. But, In all fairness, they must be a somewhat reasonable life span indicator for cream based products, because some cosmetics can certainly turn a bit manky soon after this duration. My suggestion to you is to not only plan to turf cream based items within this time period, but to sniff them every now and again to be sure to be sure. Most oils and waxes within products will definitely “turn” eventually and have a slightly sharp and possibly more rank and or pungent smell to them. Trust me, rank and pungent is never good in cosmetics. Even that smell of something that makes you feel a bit unsure is your cue to place that cosmetic item in the circular file: the bin. When in doubt, chuck it out!