It’s odd to think that your mascara can go off just like the milk in your fridge or the bananas in your fruit bowl, but beauty products beauty products have expiry dates too. We’ve compiled a handy guide to let you know just when you need to wave bye-bye to your favourite beauty bits. Nothing says ‘eww’ quite like foundation fungus.

Now, when it comes to checking the expiry dates of cosmetics, it isn’t quite as simple as looking for a dd/mm/yyyy stamp on a packet of crisps or the lid of a yogurt. However, if you know what you’re looking for, the packaging of your favourite products can give you some helpful tips about when it’s time to chuck them in the bin.

Usually, a cosmetic product will have a symbol like this on the label. The number suggests how long you should use a product for after it has been opened. For instance, if the number says ’12M’, that product is good to go for 12 months after you cracked it open for the first time.

But what do the professionals think? Lynda Robson, store manager at Space NK Newcastle, said: “Once opened, a foundation will be good to use for around 12 months. With mascara, you’re looking at a lifespan of about 3-6 months before I’d recommend changing the product. A common mistake that is made with products going out of date is that people will buy SPF in bulk for their summer holiday, stash what they haven’t used that year, and then use it again the next year. Once you’ve opened SPF, it needs to be discarded after 9 months otherwise you run the risk of getting sunburnt.”

To keep your makeup stash in check, we’ve provided you with a handy little pdf which you can refer to (and download) here.

When we asked you lot over on Twitter if you’re particularly conscious about the expiry dates of your cosmetics, a whopping 95% of you said no.

This result leads us to believe that although we’re given guidelines by the industry professionals and the cosmetic brands themselves, it’s really up to us (the consumer) when we deem our makeup to be ‘expired’. If you notice a funny smell when you crack open your foundation bottle, it’s probably time to re-home that stuff to the bin, but if you’ve held on to your favourite lipstick for years and it doesn’t seem like it’s going a bit weird, it surely would seem wasteful to chuck out a useable lipstick. It’s only really when it comes to things like SPF and mascara when you need to be wary, as no one wants a gunky eye infection or third degree burns during their weekend in Ibiza. As long as you’re staying safe and you’re comfortable with the products your using, the beauty rules are yours to write.