CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP EVERY DAY! Hands Contaminate Makeup Anytime we use make-up, be it mascara, lipstick or a compact, the germs on our hands can contaminate it. Lipstick harbours all kinds of bacteria, especially viruses. Even if you’re the only one using it you could still harbour an illness that you had a couple weeks earlier. -- Dr. Mehmet Oz / DoctorOz.com Sharing Makeup Means Sharing Germs "If a woman has a cut on her lip and borrows lipstick from someone who has a cold sore, she'll get a cold sore. You can pass herpes [the cold sore virus], conjunctivitis [pink eye] and all sorts of things through sharing makeup," says Dr. Zein Obagi, a dermatologist based in Beverly Hills. -- LAtimes.com

CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP EVERY DAY! 2 Thousands Contract Skin and Eye Irritations The U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission reports that thousands of people contract skin and eye irritations from shared testers. -- today.msnbc.msn.com The U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission reports that thousands of people contract skin and eye irritations from shared testers. -- today.msnbc.msn.com Your Own Makeup Can Cause Blemishes Dermatologists say your old makeup may be causing you blemishes or even worse — it could lead to a dangerous infection. The bacteria can get in there and the preservatives might not be working quite as well as they were when you first opened it. Some women may develop a peri-oral dermatitis from using some old, expired makeup that might irritate the skin and cause little red bumps that look like acne -- consumeraffairs.com

CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP EVERY DAY! 3 Research Finds that Women Often Use Expired Makeup The new research conducted in February 2010 by Debenhams highlighted that many British women are using cosmetics well past the use-by date, unaware that products can be a magnet for germs which could cause damage to their health and looks. Make-up, perfume and skincare products used after the expiry date carry a risk of irritation and infection. This is due to air and bacteria infiltrating the products. Multiuse products carry an even higher risk as they can spread germs from eyes to skin to lips. The study also found that 68% of women only replace make-up and skincare when they run out, however long that might take. 72% of women never wash their make-up sponges or brushes, even though they should do at least once a week. 81% of British women also regularly (at least once a week) go to sleep without removing make up. Sara Stern, Director of Cosmetics at Debenhams concluded, "Hopefully this call to action will encourage women to have a ruthless spring clean of their cosmetics collections.” -- mynewsdesk.com The U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission reports that thousands of people contract skin and eye irritations from shared testers. -- today.msnbc.msn.com

CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP EVERY DAY! Bacteria Contaminates Makeup Upon Opening Expiration dates are simply "rules of thumb" and a product's safety may expire long before the expiration date if a product hasn't been stored properly. From the time you open it, the life and effectiveness of the product decreases and bacteria grows. Treat makeup products with care. Makeup preservatives should kill common-use bacteria. But, as FDA studies show, a little bacteria is present in makeup before we buy it. As soon as you open your new product, airborne bacteria rushes in. Then you usually add bacteria by touching the product with unclean hands or with an unclean applicator or brush. -- cbsnews.com

CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP EVERY DAY! Human Related Bacteria on Makeup Testers “I found human-related bacteria in all of the makeup,” microbiologist Connie Morbach says. “I found it in the lipstick, the brushes, the lip gloss, the eye shadow. So if you happened to use a Q-tip when someone else didn’t, and you put that on your eye, you’re still transferring the bacteria to your own eye.” Seven out of nine samples Morbach tested had enteric bacteria. That is bacteria related to our digestive systems. That kind of bacteria can cause mild cases of diarrhea and stomach aches in healthy people and more serious gastrointestinal problems in those who have compromised immune systems. And we found more. Streptococcus, which can cause strep throat, was found in almost half of our samples. All of the samples from the makeup testers were contaminated with common bacteria, which means, according to Morbach, that other germs, such as viruses, could also be present. We didn’t test viruses. -- Today Show / today.msnbc.msn.com The U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission reports that thousands of people contract skin and eye irritations from shared testers. -- today.msnbc.msn.com