Could Your Old Make-Up Be Bad For Your Health?

New research warns us all to think twice when it comes to our cosmetics bag...

Before you drag that old foundation out of your mascara stained toiletries bag, hiding under a pile of congealed lipsticks, you may want to read this and give your make-up hoard a spring clean.

Beauty retailer Escentual.com joined forces with London Metropolitan University to analyse out of date make-up from the high street and the findings make for a shocking read. According to the report, beauty products that were only a few months out of date were a breeding ground for potentially deadly bacteria.

In fact, Escential claim that four out of five products they tested - a blusher, lip gloss, foundation and lipstick - tested positive for Enterococcus faecalis, a deadly strain of bacteria which causes meningitis and Septicaemia.

The Enterococcus faecalis bacteria is one of the main causes of the meningitis infection, which kills more children under five than any other infectious disease in the UK, around 10%.

Escentual CEO, Rakesh Aggarwal, said: 'Most women are totally unaware that their cosmetics are a potentially breeding ground for deadly bacteria.

'But if you think about it you wouldn’t keep food for months after the use by date so why should this be acceptable for cosmetics.'

Makes you think, doesn't it?