There are general rules of thumb to follow when tossing your makeup products, but the manufacturer will also lend you a hand in figuring that out as well.
Look for a Period After Opening (PAO) date, which is a symbol showing an open jar with a number, followed by an M. The "m" stands for "months" and the number is the amount of months that the product will generally still be good once opened. This is displayed on a majority of makeup products, but some manufacturers may decide to use an actual expiration date or even a use by date. All three of these, no matter which one they use, can normally be found on the bottom or back of the container. Sometimes the use by date will only be found on the box, but then you will normally see a printed date on the product as well.
For a general guide on when to toss your makeup, if you forgot to take note of when you opened it, simply check out when to Toss Out Your Makeup.
