How long does it take for cream products to dry up?

Seriously though, how long do cream products actually last before they are so dry and crusty you can't use them? Makeup packaging has little icons that say when you should toss a product, but I personally ignore those suggestions unless the product changes in smell, texture, or function. In the name of science (ish), let's take a look at some of my super duper old cream products:

Inglot gel eyeliner: Currently 2 years and 2 months after purchase. I saw no changes at all for a year and then product pulling away from the edges and hardening slightly after a year. By the second year anniversary, there was a huge crack down the center of each and the texture is a dense, dry putty instead of a smooth cream. Now, at 26 months, they are basically useless. If you were desperate, you could probably use Inglot duraline to limp along to the 2.5 year mark. Gel eyeliner shelf life is about 2 years.

Maybelline color tattoo cream eyeshadow: Currently about a year and a half after purchase. I like Maybelline color tattoos, but they aren't incredibly long lasting. I have owned several matte and several metallic shades, and the matte shades have a much drier, firmer texture initially and dry up faster. My metallic shades have all been fine for the first 6-9 months but show serious dryness at 9-12 months. Now, a year and a half in, the product has pulled away from the edges of the pot and the texture is incredibly dense and flaky. I can only use this by patting the product on the lid with my finger because it flakes/pills with swiping motions. It's basically dead. I recommend repurchasing annually or finding a formula with better longevity.

Anastasia dipbrow pomade: Currently 2 years and 2 months after purchase. I noticed product pulling away from the edges of the pot after about 6 months (!), serious dryness around 9 months, and then no changes at all in year 2. Oddly, I prefer the dry, stiffer texture because less pomade picks up on my brush. It still works okay for doing natural brows, but its days as a gel eyeliner or serious instagram brow pomade are OVER. Weirdly, I'm loving it more as it dries out. If you love the texture of the brand new product, you will start getting crabby 6 months from purchase.

Concealer comparison swatches - NARS Radiant Creamy / Urban Decay Naked Skin / Maybelline Instant Age Rewind

Today's post is a quick swatch comparison of the three under eye concealers I have in rotation right now. I have fair, dry skin with blue-purple dark circles, so I am always looking for a concealer that will be pigmented enough to cover discoloration, brightening enough to make me look awake, and not exaggerate dry skin or fine lines.

Urban Decay Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla is my favorite of the three for all purpose use. Especially now that I'm nearing the end of my tube, the drier texture can look cakey on dry skin under my eyes. I find it has the best coverage of the three, especially for post acne pigmentation or blue - purple dark circles. The shade Vanilla is a hair too deep for my face and doesn't provide any brightening under the eyes - I wish they made a shade between Vanilla and Chantilly!

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Fair Neutral is the newest concealer to my collection. I kept seeing it in 2015 favorites videos on YouTube, so I wanted to give it a try and see if it lives up to the hype. Fair Neutral is quite a bit lighter than I thought it would be, but the next shade deeper is quite a bit deeper and more yellow. Even on my fair skin, Fair Neutral can give me a reverse panda effect if I am heavy handed. I absolutely love the thin texture - it blends into my skin beautifully and brightens well. It is pigmented compared to a standard concealer like Maybelline Fit Me, but it has less coverage than NARS RCC or Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Fair is in between textures of the NARS and Urban Decay. It feels a little more creamy than the Urban Decay, but is much more thin than the NARS. This is a great concealer if you are worried about dry skin texture and want a little bit of coverage and brightening. It isn't as high coverage as the NARS and it isn't as brightening as the Urban Decay, but it is a good compromising formula. I'm sure a different shade would be more brightening, but this is the lightest in the range as far as I know. This is my hands down favorite drugstore concealer - I haven't found anything with as nice of a texture around the same price.

Is it a dupe? Nars radiant creamy concealer vs. Maybelline fit me concealer

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and Maybelline Fit Me Concealer is another one of those internet famous dupes. I see this one everywhere online, from blogs to reddit to YouTube. As the owner of both of those products, I feel compelled to put them to the test.

I have shade Light 2 Vanilla in the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($29, .22oz) and shade #10 Light in the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer ($6.99, .23oz). Vanilla is the second to lightest shade of the NARS (Light 1 Chantilly is much lighter) and the NARS comes in 10 shades. #10 Light is theoretically the lightest shade in the Maybelline Fit Me range of 6 options, but is much darker than Vanilla and is rumored to be darker than shade #15.

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara - review & lash demo

I adore trying new mascaras, especially free samples that come with online orders. I got a sample of Urban Decay's new Perversion mascara from Sephora awhile back and I have used it for almost three months. Perversion mascara is an extension of Urban Decay's Perversion line that contains pencil, liquid, and gel eyeliner. Apparently Urban Decay needed a break from milking all possible dollars from their Naked line, so they picked another faux scandalous product name to milk. True to the original Perversion eyeliner pencil, this mascara only comes in one shade - advertised as a true dark black.

Perversion mascara retails for $22 for 12ml / .4oz of product. An Urban Decay Perversion mini mascara is also Ulta's free birthday gift for July, August, and September 2015, so if you have a summer birthday you are in luck!

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer pen in Ivory 320 review & swatches

I have been curious about highlighting concealer pens, so I picked this one up at CVS. I ended up paying $1.28 thanks to CVS extra bucks and a coupon! I chose the shade Ivory, # 320, which is the second lightest in the range. Radiant, the lightest option, looked very pink (almost like color correcting pink) so I passed and chose Ivory.

Dream Lumi Touch has very standard concealer pen packaging - you click the bottom of the tube a few times to push a bead of concealer up through the attached brush tip applicator. The clear cap fits securely over the brush. The writing on this tube is poorly adhered and already is starting to flake off.

I usually like Maybelline concealers (still sad about the discontinued Maybelline Minerals concealer) and this one fits into the pattern. Like its sister product, the Maybelline Age Rewind concealer, this one has an overly complicated name and a frustratingly stupid applicator. I ripped the gross sponge tip off of my Age Rewind concealer long ago, but this brush tip isn't easily removed. Granted, the brush tip looks easier to clean than the sponge, but a squeeze tube or mini pump would be an asset to this product.