Out With The Old! How To Revive Your Stale Skin Care Routine For Fall - Fashion Labels

Photographed by Sunny Shokrae. When it comes to our faces, we don’t rely on just anyone to tell us what our skin needs to get that ever-elusive glow. Instead, we turn to skin-care veteran (and celebrity fave!) Renée Rouleau, who knows it takes more than the right products to get radiant. Each week, she’ll be serving up her expert tips to keep your complexion in tip-top shape.

Beauty junkies everywhere, it's time to take a hard look in your medicine cabinet. If you're anything like me, you’ll probably find several products that you haven’t used in months, ranging from cleansers, to treatments, eye creams, exfoliants, and "do-it-all" magic potions. And, even though it's hard to let go of products that you spent your hard-earned cash on, if they're just taking up valuable real estate in your home, they're not worth keeping. Ahead, I've laid out six essential steps — the same streamlining process I tell my celebrity clients — to zone in on your skin care essentials.

Step 1: The Line Up
Pull out all of your skin care products — yep, that means body care products, too! — and set them on a table.

Step 2: The First Cut — Dates and Labels
Inspect each product and think back to when you purchased it. If it's been more than two years — which is generally how long products are safe and effective to use — or, if you can’t remember when you purchased it, toss it. At the very least, look at the packaging. If the label is peeling or wearing off, that may be an indication that the product is old and is no longer effective. For your next skin care purchase, write the purchase date with a marker on the bottom of the jar or bottle so you won’t have to rely on memory.

Step 3: The Second Cut — See And Sniff
With the products that are left, open each one and smell them. Keep in mind, some products may not have strong preservative systems and therefore may have altered over time. If it smells strange, if the ingredients are separating, or if the consistency appears to have changed, get rid of it. Then look at the product. If the product ingredients are separating, it has changed consistency, or it just doesn’t look right, toss it.

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