A British survey reveals women keep hold of their make-up products for six years after their expiry date – behavior that could potentially be a ticking health time bomb.

Many women are holding onto their make-up treasures much longer than the use-by date, exposing them to toxins and bacteria, which lead to unnecessary breakouts and risk of eye infections.

Eyeshadow was revealed as the item that spends the longest time languishing at the bottom of make-up bags, with women keeping hold of them for seven years – nearly six years too long.

Eye shadow t is also one of the worst culprits for spreading infections as it is applied close to the eye.

Next worst was lipstick and liquid foundation, which are kept for 4 years, and over 3 years respectively, which is more than three years longer than they should be kept.

Mascara is one of the worst culprits for spreading eye infections and was seen to be kept nearly two years past its use by date, and eyeliner is kept three years too long on average.

The most frequently replenished beauty products were face powder, blusher and bronzer but even they were kept a year longer than they should be according to the survey.

Emma Leslie, Beauty Editor at Escentual.com who carried out the survey, said: “We’re all guilty of clinging on to lip and eye colors in the hope they come back into fashion but make-up can easily become a breeding ground for bacteria like satphylococcus aureus and staphylococcus epidermis.

“Beauty products that surround the eye hold the greatest risk of infection and can cause bacterial conjunctivitis and blepharitis, an inflammation of the eyelid.

“So it’s alarming to learn that British women are holding onto eyeshadow more than five years past the expiration date.

“Liquid foundation, blusher, bronzer, concealer and face powder past expiration dates can clog up pores with bacteria, which can cause irritations, break-outs and rashes.”

A British survey reveals women keep hold of their make-up products for six years after their expiry date

In the most extreme cases – 6% of women admitted keeping eyeshadow for more than 14 years.

Seventeen per cent admitted to owning mascara seven or eight years old and 7% of respondents confessed to having eyeliner more than 14 years old.

Women have an average of three to six lipsticks at one time, and lipsticks are kept for an average of four years and eight months – which is more than three years past the expiry date.

These can be a breeding ground of cold sores, especially if women have ever shared their lipstick, and 12% of women claim they’ve kept their lippy for seven to eight years and 5% for 10 to 12 years.

Even with face powder, the least hoarded beauty item, a substantial 12% admitted to holding onto the product for 6-7 years.

The maximum amount of time you should keep each product

Eyeshadow – 1 year

Lipstick – 6 months – 1year

Liquid Foundation – 6 months

Eyeliner – 1 year

Mascara – 4 months

Concealer – 8 months

Blusher and Bronzer – 2 years

Face Powder – 2 years