All those make-up items which adorn your dressing table are your ticket to looking good. But did you know that they might actually be harming you? Every cosmetic product that you buy has what is called a €œshelf life€. After a certain time, they expire, and are no longer suitable for use. But most of us tend to ignore the dates and keep on using those old products, which puts us in danger. Experts say that using a product beyond its shelf life means risking skin allergies, irritation, acne, and rashes. Sharing make-up, exposing them to sunlight, or adding water to liquid products to make them last longer can cause infections from microbes. Sometimes, the side-effects of using old make-up can be irreversible. So how do you know when it€™s time to throw away that make-up product? Ideally, the product container will mention the date of packaging, and the relative date of expiry. Liquid foundations, compact face powders, blush-ons, nail enamels, lipsticks, and lip glosses have an average shelf life of 24-36 months (2-3 years) from the date of packaging. Eye make-up items like mascaras and liners last only about one year, but eye pencils and eye shadows can last longer, up to 2 years. However, products can expire much sooner than. Powdery make-up can flake or crack, while liquid make-up can dry up. Nail enamels and lip glosses can change in their consistency, while lipsticks can have beads of oil showing up on the sides. All of these are signs that say that the product needs replacing.