Part 1: The Big Cleaning of The Make-up Kit

To prepare for the start of the school year, the children cleaned up their school bags and their pencil case. So imitate them by going around your old makeup kit where expired products accumulate! Our experts help you choose what to keep and what to discard.

You would never leave rotten food in your fridge, but keeping a five-year-old mascara in your purse does not bother you at all. Well, believe it or not, expired cosmetics can be as dangerous to your health as moldy foods!

Dr. Paul Matewele, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at London Metropolitan University, tested five types of beauty products, from big houses to cheap ones, that had passed their expiration date or were about to expire. achieve. These cosmetics, which included foundations, lip glosses, and lipsticks, contained traces of the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, which can cause deadly diseases such as meningitis or sepsis.

More broadly, his study showed that products that had expired a few months ago could contain other deadly bacteria, including Eubacterium (which causes vaginitis) or Staphylococcus epidermidis (which is resistant to antibiotics and can lead to death when it attacks weak people). "Most women do not know at all that their makeup can be fertile ground for the development of deadly bacteria," says Rakesh Aggarwal, CEO of Escentual.com, who commissioned the study. "To be honest, I must say that we ourselves have been surprised at the results and the seriousness of the risks posed by expired cosmetics."

That's the motivation to start a big housework, is not it? The first thing to do is to empty your kit, your cheap makeup bags, and your drawer bottoms forgotten cosmetics there for a long time, then to clean all these containers. The second is to throw away old products that may harbor whole colonies of dangerous bacteria. "Many women do not remember when they bought this or that cosmetic. What matters to them is to get their money's worth and get the most out of the little tube of the foundation they have just offered at an extravagant price. They want it to last as long as possible! "Says Cindy Berthault, professional make-up artist for NARS.

Beauty products made in Europe have a shelf life after opening. "This is a logo representing a small pot with a number, which indicates how many months the product can be used after being opened," says Dr. Nina Roos, a dermatologist based in Paris. But several factors affect the shelf life of make-up products. "If they have been exposed to significant changes in temperature, they will not be preserved very long," says the dermatologist. Cindy Berthault adds: "Heat is the worst enemy of cosmetics. To make yours last, put them in the fridge. It will extend the life of your nail polish and your foundations! "