Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

While it's recommended you always apply a skincare SPF of 30 or higher for daily protection, many women further shield themselves with makeup items that contain sunscreen. "As a general rule, chemical sunscreen products have expiration dates listed on the bottle, after which you should toss because the protection will degrade. Physical blocks like titanium dioxide don't usually have expiration dates, and are good for about three years. But that's not to say the makeup won't turn before then," says Dr. Josh Zeichner, spokesperson for The Skin Cancer Foundation.

If you can't remember how long you've had a particular product, take a whiff and look at the texture. If the product is clumping up, turning runny or smells funny, it's time to throw it out.

Cover FX's Brite Prep Foundation Primer contains a high SPF 50, and smoothes over pores and fine lines for a more flawless foundation application.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

Just about every beauty brand has their own version of a gel eyeliner out now, and most women either own or have tried one. Gel eyeliners have a tendency to dry out before they turn bad, and you should toss at this point or else risk tiny flakes of liner malting from your lashline to the darker undereye pad underneath.

But if your gel eyeliner stays moist, it still has a time limit.

"Any liquid or wet product that is used around eyes can easily harbor bacteria, so you should be diligent about tossing if you wet your brush to apply the gel eyeliner. if you use a dry brush, toss after a year," advises Carmindy, makeup artist on TLC's What Not To Wear.

Smashbox's Jet Set Teal Waterproof Eye Liner is the flirtatiously hot shade for spring; we love the look of lining both top and bottom lashlines with a thin stroke of the bright turquoise beauty. In the mass market, Maybelline's Eye Studio Gel Eye Liner is the latest entry, with an oil-free formula that is smudge and water-proof.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

"It's time to toss the liquid concealer if it begins to separate. One side will look like water and the other side will be thick and dry. This means it's really too old to use anymore!" says New York makeup artist Nicole Bryl.

"Also, if your stick concealer is so dry that it breaks apart when you try to use it, or its cracked when you take the lid off, I would suggest tossing as soon as possible. It's a sign that bacteria is forming on it, and you would never want that close to your sensitive eyes," adds Bryl.

Milani's HD Concealer brings the reflective, soft focus pigments once only available in high end lines to the mass price point with an easy-to-blend click-through brush built right into the product.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

The way you care for your brushes can greatly affect how long they last; weekly washings with gentle baby shampoo ensures you'll get the most amount of wear out of your investment, says Sonia Hodzic, national makeup artist and director of education for Tarte Cosmetics.

Most brushes will last for several years. Be on the lookout for excessive shedding or a change in feel to the bristles. If strands start feeling coarse and don't blend product as easily as it used to, it's time to toss for a new brush.

Sonia Kashuk is known for making the most affordable quality makeup brushes, and her brush design this spring embraces nature-inspired wood handles and a super chic matching clutch.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

With the constant swiveling up and down and swishing in and out of lipstick and lipgloss, these two makeup musts often end up the gunkiest offenders in cosmetic cases.

Lipstick can freshly last for up to 14 months, especially if you wipe off the bullet with a tissue and alcohol every so often to sanitize, says Elizabeth Gerbino, a freelance makeup artist with Julie Hewett Los Angeles. Lipstick begins to turn if you see beads of formula separation forming on the bullet, or if the surface becomes hard and drier.

Lipgloss is better judged by its smell and taste; if either get strong and crayon-like, the gloss has turned. And if the gloss has a doe-foot applicator, it's more prone to collecting bacteria, and should be thrown out sooner, around the 6 month mark, says Hodzic.

Julie Hewett's dramatic Femme Noir red lipcolor celebrates the season's matte look in a fierce way, while Tarte's Natural Lip Stain combines the flush of a lipstick with the naturally healthy and shiny finish of a gloss.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

There's an ugly reason for the pretty well-known three-month rule for tossing mascara.

"Everyone has little microbial eyelash mites -- called Dermodex -- that are generally harmless. But if you use the same mascara for an extended period of time, they can build up and cause an infection," says Gerbino.

The constant in-and-out swishing motion of the tube exposes more of the contents to air, which can further multiply bacteria. So the experts we asked all agreed; heed the three month time frame on mascara, because infections and styes in your eyes are just not worth any amount of risk.

Rimmel's Max Volume Flash Mascara features volume-plumping collagen and keratin, and maximizes lashes with a super-sized brush designed to hit as many lashes as possible.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

Cream and liquid formulations should last a solid year, and any bottles left laying around should be shaken every once in awhile to ensure that the formula doesn't prematurely separate. But if the color changes, gets thinner or smells funny or stronger, get rid of it, advises Carmindy.

Powders on the other hand can last up to two years without any issues because bacteria doesn't develop as quickly, says Gerbino. If the pigment gets darker and the texture harder, you'll find that it's harder to pick up product on your puff or brush, and that's your cue to chuck it.

Bobbi Brown's Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation with SPF 15 is the updated and soft matte version of Brown's original oil-free foundation. Powder ingredients absorb skin oils during the day, and we're impressed with the full range of available shades.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

More than any other product, women are often guilty of trying to eek out more uses out of blush long after it has hardened and the color changed.

"Toss your blush if there is a huge hole in the center of it and it has been sitting around in your makeup case for over a year untouched. Yuck!" says Bryl.

Using too-old blush can actually make your complexion look stale, as micronized reflective particles dull as bacteria grows and changes the texture. The result? The shade no longer glows and reflects light on your cheekbones, and instead just looks hollow. To prevent bacteria build-up, tissue the top layer of your blush off every once in awhile to keep color fresh.

Cargo's bouquet of spring blush lovelies all pack a color pop that is best blended onto the apples of the cheeks and along the mid to upper ridge of the cheekbone for a lifting effect.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

When left to lay around for more than a year, lip and eye pencils can get dry, making it impossible to easily glide pigment on skin, says Bryl. If the pencil crumbles when you're using it, it's time to get a refresh with a new one. Your eyeliner will go on smoother and blend more easily too.

There's a simple trick that can double or even triple the lifetime of pencils. Simply sharpen every once in awhile for a full sanitization unlike anything else you can achieve with other makeup products, and the warmth of the sharpening friction can even keep the pigment softer for longer.

Stila's Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner is a new pencil version of the brand's cult kohl pot liners. Try applying one of the vibrant shades to your upper lashline, and then use your fingertip to smudge into shadow for a sexy, sultry look.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag

Cream shadows often come in pots or sticks that require some finger work to blend, and as a result can turn into grimy breeding grounds for bacteria. All you need is a swipe of alcohol every once in awhile to sanitize and refreshen product without interfering with the texture or application, says Gerbino.

Both cream and powder shadows typically last for up to 14 months as long as you sanitize or wipe down top layers as needed. Loose powder shadows can often go even longer because they're usually kept in air-tight containers. Shadow has turned once you find yourself digging into the product with your brush, yet hardly lifting any pigment.

CoverGirl's Smoky Shadow Blast is a double-ended creamy color stick that pairs the perfectly rounded lid shade with an angled crease color, so all you have to do is aim and blend.

Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag