🗓️ Expiry Date Tracker
Choose your product type and the date you opened it to see the PAO-based expiry date, how many days are left, and whether it's still fresh, due for use soon, or expired.
🧴 Check Your Product's Shelf Life
What is an Expiry Date / PAO Tracker?
Most cosmetics don't carry a fixed best-before date — instead they show a PAO symbol, an open-jar icon with a number of months, that counts down from the day you first open the product rather than from manufacture. This tool does that maths for you: pick the product type (or your own custom PAO), enter your opened date, and it works out exactly when the product expires.
Use it to keep a clear-out list for your makeup bag, avoid using a mascara or foundation well past its safe window, and get an early "use soon" nudge before something crosses the line into expired — handy for skincare and makeup that all get opened around the same time.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PAO (Period-After-Opening) symbol?
It's the little open-jar icon printed on cosmetics packaging with a number like "12M" or "24M" inside or beside it. Unlike a fixed expiry date, PAO counts months from the day you first open and use the product — not from manufacture — because exposure to air, light, and repeated use is what shortens a product's safe life once it's opened.
How does this tracker work?
Pick your product type (or enter a custom PAO in months), then enter the date you opened it. The tracker adds the PAO months to that date to work out the expiry date, then compares it with today to show how many days are left and a status: fresh, use soon (under 30 days left), or expired.
Why do different cosmetics have such different shelf lives?
Water-based and cream products (liquid foundation, mascara, cleansers) support bacterial growth much faster once opened, so they carry short PAOs — mascara is often just 3 months. Anhydrous, pigment-heavy products like pressed powders, eyeshadows, and lipsticks last far longer, often 18–24 months, because there's less water for microbes to thrive in.
Should I still use a product if it's within its PAO but looks or smells different?
No — PAO is a general guideline based on typical storage and use, not a guarantee. If a product has changed colour, texture, or smell, separated, or been exposed to heat, sunlight, or contaminated applicators, discard it even if the tracker still shows it as fresh.