How To Make Your Beauty Products Last Longer

Gone are the days of roaming the aisles of Sephora or popping into a drugstore to snag an emergency lip balm—at least for the time being. While social distancing is a great opportunity to keep your routine makeup-free, there's a handful of products we're using to the very last drop, fearing that all-too-familiar squelch of a coveted CC cream running low. 

You might have to force the habit, especially if you rely on the pads of your fingers to blend everything from shadows to lipstick. But according to celebrity esthetician Joanna Vargas, you shouldn't dip your fingers into jars. Even if you wash your hands, your fingers can transfer bacteria and oil into the formula and expedite the shelf life. The applicators are there for a reason—use them. 

Even if you use the aforementioned tools to scrape out your makeup, it's important to keep your brushes and applicators fluffy and clean. In addition to washing them after every use, you may want to stick to high-quality makeup brushes from the get-go. "Very soft, high-quality brushes will pick up less product from the pan and will blend more efficiently on your skin," says makeup artist Jenny Patinkin. 

Your brush quality can also determine how long your products themselves stay soft and bouncy. Ever notice those shiny speckles on the surface of a bronzer? Those are likely due to the transfer of oils from your face to your brushes to the pan—taking away its efficacy. "Those little speckles harden over time, making it difficult to get any color pickup, so keeping your brushes clean will make a difference," Patinkin says. 

You may hear of old tricks and tips to extend the shelf life of your products. (You know, add eye drops to your mascara and the like.) And sure, those anecdotes may work in the short term—but you could be creating a whole other issue by testing the waters.