Detox your make-up

Compiled by PHYL CLARKE

Detox your make-up

When was the last time you cleared out your make up drawer? If you haven’t seen the bottom of it for quite some time, chances are you’re wasting precious minutes every morning filtering through a load of unused products to get to the select few you use every day. A serious clearout should take no more than an hour (plus time added for trying on that long forgotten lipstick/eyshadow/etc). You’ll feel so virtuous with your new and improved cosmetic collection that you’ll give yourself a mental pat on the back the next time you do your face.

Phone a friend – it’s much more fun to do it with someone else and you won’t get easily distracted if you’ve both set aside time to do your clear out, not to mention the bonus of swapping items that never quite worked for you. Most of us apply our make-up in the bedroom, so start by spreading a plain, light coloured towel on the bed and emptying everything out. I mean everything – every scrap of make up you have must be together in one place.

Separate products into the following groups: Face: concealer, foundation and powder (matte and highlighting)

Face colour: blusher and bronzer

Eyes: shadow, liner and mascara

Lips: Pencils, lipstick, gloss

Be brutal. Do you really need 10 pinky brown lipshades or a dozen eye shadows in muted browns? Most of us are drawn to certain tones and tend to stay within a limited colour palette. So pick your favourites and donate or dump the rest (target trendy shades, and anything you bought for a fancy dress party)

Brushes hold more bacteria than creams or powders – you really should clean them once a week. Use a mild baby shampoo such as Johnson’s in a basin of lukewarm water. Immerse the brush heads and massage the hairs underwater to separate them (I find this strangely soothing). Try not to submerge the length of the ferrule (the part that holds the hairs onto the handle) in the water as this can loosen hairs over time. Rinse the brushes well in warm water and shake out excess water before laying them on a towel to dry, ideally with the heads overhanging a table edge to air dry. You’re probably on a roll now so wipe out the inside lids of shadows, bronzers and palettes and dry with kitchen roll. Ditto your make-up bag. Keep old mascara wands and wash them out (they make good eyelash separators or eyebrow groomers).

Now, isn’t that better?

Ditch it

If you haven’t used it in a year

when the hairs start falling out of brushes

If it smells strange or has separated

If it has a broken lid or no lid

How long does it last?

Check the longevity symbol on packaging when you buy an new product. The open pot graphic denotes the shelf life in months. Here’s a rough guide for cosmetics:

3 months: mascara

6 months: liquid eyeliner (change after three months if eyes are sensitive)

8 months: Liquid foundations, a pump dispenser will increase it to 12 months

12 months: Loose powders, blushers and bronzers

18 months: Compact foundations, but you will change that sponge won’t you?

24 months: eyeshadows and pencils, lipsticks and glosses, nail varnish