This Is When It’s Time to Replace Your Mascara, According to a Beauty Expert

Mascara is a staple product in one’s makeup routine. This product helps enhance the look of your eyelashes through thickening, lengthening and volumising. The most common mascara shade is black as this colour also works to define the lashes and the eyes, making you look brighter and more awake.

And, while using mascara is extremely straightforward, there are a few dos and don’ts when it comes to mascara maintenance. In fact, the team at Tarte Cosmetics made a handy TikTok video about mascara and how to take care of the product as well as how to tell when it’s time to replace it.

So, here’s what you need to know about the all-important product that is mascara.

When to Replace Your Mascara

There are three factors to consider when it comes to replacing your mascara. The first thing to consider is how long you’ve had your current mascara. Can you remember when you opened it? If it’s been more than three months, it’s time to ditch it.

Mascara should be replaced every three months to keep it fresh and working at its best. This is an incredibly short lifespan we know, but if you leave it any longer, you’ll begin to notice it doesn’t work as well. The other two signs to look out for are the smell of the product — if it smells different, it’s time to bin it — and if it looks clumpy, flaky or dry, it’s at the end of its life.

Using dry and clumpy mascara is downright awful so don’t battle through this. If you’re in a pinch and only have said flaky mascara to use before picking up a new tube, you can try to add a few eye drops into the tube to bring the product temporarily back to life.

Avoid Pumping the Mascara Wand

We’re not quite sure where the advice to pump your mascara came from — when we say pump, we’re referring to when you push the mascara wand up and down while in the tube — as it’s not at all good for the product but we have been guilty of previously doing this.

The idea behind pumping the wand is that it will allow more product to adhere to the bristles but what it actually does is force air into the tube, causing the product to dry out far quicker. If you find that your mascara dries out long before the three-month mark, this could be why.

And that’s it. Keeping these in mind will help avoid being stuck in a situation with dry, smelling, ineffective mascara. You can watch the TikTok video below.