Stowaway Cosmetics, a company that makes and markets “right-sized”(AKA smaller sized) beauty products, teamed up with consumer insight data firm, Poshly, to find out how makeup wearers behaved and what they thought when it came to makeup expiration dates. Out of 4,000 women surveyed, results showed women tend to have an enormous collection of half-used makeup at the bottom of purses, in bathroom closets and hidden around the house. Products often date back years with expired eye products as the items most difficult to throw away. Here, results from the survey, which Stowaway believes makes a case for its smaller-sized items:

  • 75% of the average consumer (25-50 years old) doesn’t routinely finish their makeup. Not just before it expires, but at all 
  • 89% of women hang onto old makeup just in case they might need it later even though 87% of women know makeup has expiration dates 
  • The average consumer owns almost 40 makeup products but only uses and carries five of them daily. That means the average person owns 8 times more makeup than they use 
  • 82% of women for whom old makeup causes them to break out, still feel guilty about throwing it away. 
  • The most common makeup to stick around too long is eye makeup. Even though it expires the fastest. 
  • Less than 1 in 5 consumers discard their mascara in the recommended 3 month time frame. 
  • 50% of 25-34 year olds feel that there’s too much makeup in each product. 
  • More than 80% know makeup has expiration dates and have problems with old makeup. Yet still don’t discard it because they forget, feel guilty about the money they spent on it, or worry they may need it later.