Ask yourself the following two questions about the products in your bathroom cabinet: Which products do you use? How long have the products been there? Let us show you how to recognise expired cosmetics and how you can do something good for your skin with a natural cosmetics routine.

Product shelf life

PAO: Period After Opening indicates how long after opening the product should be used.

MHD: Best Before Date indicates until which date the product is usable.

In the furthest corner of your bathroom…

…are there products hiding that you never use and that have been sitting for a while? Then it is time to look at the expiration date! Set some time aside to tidy up your bathroom regularly. A disorganised bathroom cabinet not only disrupts your daily beauty routine, but it also means you are more likely to lose track of which products work for you and how long some products have been on the shelf gathering dust. If the products are still usable- more on that below- you can give them to family members or friends who can benefit from them instead of throwing them away.

How to tell if a product has expired

When sorting through your products, you should check all your products for their shelf life, because even cosmetic products can expire! Most products have a shelf life of 6 to 12 months after opening. At lavera, there are two ways of identifying shelf lives.

PAO- The Period After Opening

The “Period After Opening” tells you how long you should use a product after opening it. lavera make-up has a symbol with a cosmetics jar and a number. The number in the jar symbol shows how many months after opening you can safely use the product.

The MHD- The Best Before Date

Some packaging even tells you how long it will last. We have put a best before date on these products. The best before date shows you by when you should have used up the product. Look for an imprint; on the lavera tubes, for example, you will find this on the top edge. Once you have opened a product, you should use it up within 6-8 months.

Pro Tip

Use a marker pen to write the date you opened the product on the bottom of the cosmetic packaging. This way you are less likely to notice how long it takes to use up the products resulting in better purchases that are less likely to avoid waste.

Your Autumn routine with Hydro Refresh

If you are now putting together your beauty routine for the autumn months, you should rely on natural ingredients and products that can deliver hydration to the skin. If you wear sunscreen every day, you should double cleanse your skin thoroughly in the evening. A cleansing milk or cleansing gel is ideal for the first step, followed by a mild cleanser, for example with a micellar water. The Hydro Refresh series contains carefully balanced natural compositions with organic algae and natural hyaluronic acids to deliver intense moisture to the skin and ensure the skin looks naturally radiant.