Share: the oldest beauty item you still own?

I was trying to clear my beauty drawer the other day and I came across some beauty items that are so old, they should really be binned. Most of these are makeup items and it’s not like I took pains to keep them in a pristine condition. Yet, I was still unwilling to part with them; I seem to be emotionally attached to them somewhat or maybe I foresaw that they’ll come in handy for a post like that. (#k8SjZc9Dxk.#k8SjZc9Dxk)

Oldest item – 22 years ago
Looks like I was fond Christian Dior’s makeup huh? Well, actually, I did like their lipsticks a lot but I was probably first attracted to them due to the packaging back then. So I got a bunch of their stuff at the Heathrow airport 22 years ago because they were relatively cheaper. However, that bunch of products is now reduced to just this eye pencil.

Almost brand new eyeshadow palette
I got this Christian Dior eyeshadow palette in Singapore but as you can see, I hardly used it. I think I just used a little of the purple and blue and the rest are very much in its original state. If I have took some effort to keep this eye palette, it will probably become a collector’s item huh?

Dark colored lipsticks
It’s a shame I threw out the Christian Dior’s lipsticks and yet, I kept these. I threw away a dozen of old lipsticks recently and decided to put these away and they now come in handy. I was a fan of MAC lipsticks at one stage of my life. Another one is Philosophy. I realized that most of my old lipsticks are very dark in color back then – I must have favored a Gothic look of sorts! Interestingly too, most of my old lipsticks have a ‘hole’ in the middle because I was always applying with a lip brush.

Tweezed my fine hair for over 15 years
Okay, I don’t use the old lipsticks anymore for sure but I still use this Tweezerman. It’s a gift from my bestie. She was using it and liked it a lot and so she bought one more for me. Although I did think of buying a Tweezerman with a new design, there is really no need to because this old one has been serving me very well.

Browns of sentimental value
I kept this brown eyeshadow palette because it reminded me of my ex-colleague’s sweet gesture to me while I was staying at her home in UK. She had invited me to stay at her home for a night and this was part of the toiletries she had prepared for me! Although I only used one of the browns extensively for coloring my eyebrows, I kept the set with me because of her kindness and thoughtfulness.

An organic foundation that has mold after 2 years
As you can see, most of my old beauty items are REALLY OLD but yet, apart from the eye pencil and lipsticks, the rest look kind of okay. However, this organic foundation of slightly over 2 years has mold now! But granted, this is organic and the shelf life is way shorter; at least the mold proves to me that no strong preservatives were used. Ha. Okay, okay, I didn’t mean for this picture to happen. The foundation was still looking fine up to a few months ago but now, it has found a place in the trash.

Share your oldest beauty stash
So ladies, do you have a habit of keeping your old beauty items, be it skin care, makeup or beauty tools? How old is your oldest beauty item? I always throw away my skin care products but I do keep my sunscreens, not for application, but just in case I want to take some pictures. Heheh.

Comments

  1. Joyce September says:

    That palette of browns looks pretty, what brand is it?

    This CoverGirl blush belonged to my Mom. Less than 20 years ago, but I remembered it was sitting on her dressing table for as long as I remember ?

    http://www.atelierbeauty.com/?p=154

  2. sesame says:

    A brand you found an ant in one of their products. LOL.

  3. Joyce September says:

    Wrong brand lah, haha! That was the lip balm by you-know-which.

  4. makeupmag says:

    You can still Back2MAC the lipsticks! ?

  5. Paris B says:

    I remember those Dior palettes! I had some too but I did not like the packaging (looked old somehow) so I eventually got rid of them ? I don’t own many old cosmetics anymore. I go through my stash now and again and cull and cull! That foundation with mould is quite icky though – wasn’t expecting powder makeup to grow mould

  6. Estara says:

    When I was a teenager living at home I found my grandmother’s old mascara, foundation, and concealer. What was amazing was the concealer and mascara were in perfect condition and are still usable.
    As for something older, we did live in a house that was 110 – 115 years old and we were walking in the back yard and found Revlon makeup bottles from the 1920s, we estimated. Perfect glass shaped bottles, just dirty. Turns out people back then dumped and buried their trash in their backyard.

  7. sesame says:

    Oh wow, Revlon makeup bottles from the 1920s…what a find! Did you keep it in the end?

  8. sesame says:

    Yeah…I kept it for so long and decided to check on it again and oh boy, the mold!

  9. sesame says:

    Heheh…might just do one of these days.

  10. soiia says:

    I don’t own old cosmetics anymore, because I just throw it out when it’s about time to do so, in case I forget and use it and it gets me infected (example: mascara!). But I have an eye brush that has been in the house for as long as I remember…. probably a good 15 years XD My mom got a gift set of brushes from Lancôme (not sure, they don’t seem to do this nowadays anymore), but yeah, I still have that brush.

    My god, that mold-ed foundation totally owns O_O

  11. Miggs says:

    An eyeshadow palette ‘ShadyLady’ by The Balm from 2009.

  12. Carrie says:

    Wow~ that last photo sure gave me a shock! But yes, as you said, it did prove it did not contain any harsh preservatives.

    I normally clean my make-up/skin care products every 3~4 years so I don’t think mine will be as ‘old’ as yours ? But you sure had a lot of history and stories in there, I wonder if it’d be a good idea to open up a cosmetic museum with those one day?! XDD

  13. sesame says:

    Haha…I don’t have enought for a cosmetic museum yet. But it’s quite an interesting idea to have one for the public. I am sure there are others who have really antique collections too.

    The mold in the foundation is quite a scare right? I actually stopped using that foundation after a year but didn’t see the mold till now. Can you imagine the others of nearly 20 years look as new? I think they would look fine even after another 10 years.

  14. sesame says:

    Oh I googled for the image…a nice palette there. You still use it?

  15. sesame says:

    15 years! Actually I need to go through my mom’s stash…she probably has very old items still lying in her drawer.

    But really, it’s a good practice to throw away old items – like what you mentioned, just in case you use them. Or store them apart.

  16. Miggs says:

    I actually try to because the colors are still vibrant and dang it, it cost a pretty penny. But I’ve stashed it away because I’m now using Sephora’s Colorista palette, and that has a gazillion more colors.

  17. Estara says:

    Actually, I think my mother still has those bottles. We’re history buffs so we don’t throw stuff like that away. The bottles were so much more delicately crafted back then, pure glass, TINY, still had a little bit of stuff in them.

  18. Estara says:

    And upon further research, it would have to be after the 30’s, because Revlon was founded in ’34. Still, not much after, because people stopped throwing trash out their back window soon after that!

  19. sesame says:

    Still very old. Wow…so funny how people dispose their garbage in the past. Maybe there were no bins around. ?

  20. Lily Evangelene says:

    Oh my gosh… I saw this on my mom’s table…! This must be ancient.
    Lily Evangelene last post is: Photo

  21. sesame says:

    Yeah, they’re quite old.

  22. Jyoan says:

    haha, since I only started trying makeup a few years ago, my oldest is a pretty Make Up Store foundation with really great packaging and mirror inside. It’s my first, so there’s a bit of sentimental value. It hasn’t spoil, a bit of slightly strange smell after 5 years. But I want to keep it cos there’s the mirror inside too.

  23. sesame says:

    I guess it’s not moldy. Look at mine…I finally threw it away.

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