Binky’s Make-Up Detox

Binky's Make-up Detox

With the holidays over, I’m detoxing and spring-cleaning; it’s my regular January ritual!  I’ve been freshening up my wardrobe by taking a few things down to the charity shop and more importantly cleaning up my beauty cupboard.

And I’ve found a few fossils at the bottom of the make-up bag that are well past their sell-by date. Yes, make-up has a use by date! I’m just having a peek at the bottom of my Le 2 Mascara by Guerlain right now and on the bottom it says ‘6M’ which means it will last 6 months

Unfortunately mine is probably around 2 years old, I remember buying it when I was filming Series 1 of Made In Chelsea so it’s got to be about 18 months out of date. But I’m not the worst culprit for keeping hold of out of date cosmetics. Escentual did a survey last week and found that on average women keep their eyeshadow for over 6 1/2 years, when its use by date is only 12 months from the day of breaking the seal.

Old make-up can become a breeding ground for bacteria, especially eye products which if shared or kept for a long time can spread infections. So it’s not just a fashion thing.

Be ruthless and honest with yourself and don’t be a hoarder! Ask yourself : When was the last time you used it? Does it suit you? Has it dried up/smell funny/or look odd? And don’t forget to give your make-up brushes a thorough clean and throw out any overused sponges as these harbour bacteria like you wouldn’t believe. I keep a bottle of bareMinerals Quick Change Brush Cleaner to keep on top of it.

To keep my make-up bag fresh and free of nasty bugs, I’m swapping over my products – making sure that everything in my make-up bag in January friendly. Like you would stash away winter coats in the summer, I like to sort out my ‘beauty wardrobe’.

I’m trading my glittery shadows, from New Year (sob), for some autumnal shadows, I’m loving Stila In The Light Shadow Palette, which has a lovely bunch of neutral shades

I’ve also made sure I’m stocked up with moisturiser, serums and lip balm.

As you guys know, I love my bronzer but I’m only keeping one compact in my make-up bag this January, which will be the brand new Sculpt and Slim Effect Contour Face Powder by Daniel Sandler – I love it!

I’ve finally convinced myself that freshening up your make-up bag is the best way to be this 2013. There’s obviously no point in carrying around summer and party make-up in January, it’ cold out and I doubt you’ll be wearing that New Year’s Eve glitter liner any time soon!

Enjoy the spring clean!

Some results from the Escentual ‘How Old Is Your Make-Up Bag’ survey:
– 32% of respondents said that eyeshadow was their oldest item of make-up
– Powder is the most likely cosmetic to be renewed frequently, with just 4.3% of the total vote
– 20% of respondents said that their oldest item of make-up was more than 6 years old
– 42% of respondents said that their oldest lipstick was more than 2 years old, 7% of whom confessed that their oldest was in fact more than 8 years old
– 36% of respondents had more than 5 fragrances in their collection, and 22% of all respondents had owned their oldest perfume for more than 4 years

 

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