Do a quick check of any woman's bathroom, and chances are you'll find jars of rarely used face cream, the dregs of a favorite powder blush, and at least one tube of lip gloss squeezed within an inch of its life.

But this hoarding habit has a catch: Beauty products go bad. At best, they stop performing as well as they used to, and at worst, they can cause irritations or infections. Beyond the obvious signs, such as dried mascara or separated foundation, it can be tough to tell when a product is past its prime.

U.S. labeling regulations don't require an expiration date on most cosmetics. But Good Housekeeping has some easy tips on when to throw away what.

Face makeup

Toss-It Time: Six months for liquids; two years for powders.

Insider Info: You increase the odds of bacterial growth -- and the chance of breakouts or irritation -- when you repeatedly dip your brushes and fingers into liquid foundation. Powders present less of a problem, because bacteria can't grow where there isn't any water. However, over time, powders with botanical ingredients like aloe or jojoba can become harder to blend and are more likely to crumble, as their trace amounts of water evaporate.

Mascara

Toss-It Time: Three months.

Insider info: "A mascara tube is a dark, wet environment -- the perfect breeding ground for bacteria," said New York City optometrist Dr. Andrea Thau.

"Preservatives in a mascara only work for so long." Thau knows this from firsthand experience: She once developed a sty from a makeup artist's mascara wand. Plus, three-month-old mascara is a nonperformer.

To avoid hastening the demise of mascara, never pump the wand -- that pushes air into the tube, causing it to dry out faster. Instead, slowly draw out and twist the brush to scrape the tube's interior and pick up product.

Eyeliner and eye shadow

Toss-It-Time: Liquid eyeliners, three months; cream eye shadows, six months; pencil eyeliners and powder eye shadows, two years.

Insider Info: Bacteria tend to flourish in liquid-eyeliner tubes, and the product dries out. Pencil eyeliners have a longer shelf life because you can create a fresh, clean surface each time you sharpen them. Just be sure to regularly sanitize your sharpener with rubbing alcohol.

Powder shadows, like pressed powders, are less prone to contamination because they also lack water (if you wet them, toss after six months). But aging eye shadows have performance issues -- they get packed down, making it harder to pick up pigment with your brush, said makeup artist Cristina Bartolucci.

Lipstick and lipliner

Toss-It Time: Lipstick and gloss, two years; lipliner, two years or more

Insider Info: A lipstick's water content makes it a potential mini reservoir of bacteria. Not surprisingly, lipsticks also dry out with age.

According to New York City makeup artist Tina Turnbow, older lipsticks "no longer look creamy on the lips." Long-wearing formulas may have an even shorter life span, because they often contain ingredients that evaporate more quickly than creamier formulas.

Pencil lipliners, like eyeliners, may last a little longer since putting them through a sharpener removes the old surface.

Stay-fresh makeup secrets

You can protect your beauty products with these five easy steps:

Step 1 Wash and dry your hands thoroughly before putting your fingers into a product.

Step 2 Stop using all eye makeup if you have an eye infection and lip products if you have a cold sore.

Step 3 Smell your mascara when you purchase it. If you recognize that scent, you'll know when it goes bad. Expired mascara takes on a funny, chemical odor.

Step 4 Choose a cotton-dipped swab or disposable sponge to apply makeup to a pimple -- and avoid double-dipping. Going back and forth from the product to the affected area can lead to contamination.

Step 5 Try Timestrips ($14.50 for 50, timestriponline.com), stickers that "remember" when a product was first opened, and will alert you when it's no longer wise to use it.

On another matter

Redoing the floors in your home can lead to makeover madness when you make countless trips to the store and overdose on a million little tile, carpet, and wood samples. Instead, Good Housekeeping suggests you stay grounded with help from the World Floor Covering Association's amped-up Web site. On wfca.org, you'll learn care tips for each type of surface and take quizzes to learn what you should choose, from bamboo to Berber. You can virtually "install" your choices on the site's preloaded example rooms. Or for $25, try the advanced feature, in which you upload and customize photos of your room with as many as 826 floor styles and find out what each version would cost.

Recalls alert

The following products and vehicles were recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unless otherwise indicated, discontinue use of the products immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund. For more information about the products, call the manufacturer or CPSC's toll-free hotline, (800) 638-2772. Only some cars or trucks recalled are affected. Contact a dealer for your model to see if it is included in the recall. The dealer will tell you what to do.

Michaels Stores seasonal writing pens (Flower Writers, Christmas Writers, Easter Writers and Spooky Writers) sold at Michaels Stores from August 2007 through March 2008 for about $1 The surface coating contains high levels of lead, which may be toxic to children if ingested. Consumers should stop using the pens and return them to a Michaels store for a refund. For more information, contact Michaels at (800) 642-4235 or Michaels.com.

2007-2008 Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger Unused electrical connectors for the tire pressure monitoring system could short-circuit and cause a crash without warning. Dealers will seal the wires free of charge. For more information, call Chrysler at (800) 853-1403.