Women are putting their health at risk by using out of date make- up.
In a new survey, nine out of ten women are putting their looks at risk by using cosmetics past their sell by date.
The worst offenders were women in their late thirties and early forties, who use eye make - up that is more than five years old.
Dr Susan Blakeney, optometric adviser to the College of Optometrists said:"Mascara can be a breeding ground for bacteria, so it's not surprising we've found nearly half of women suffer from itchy, watery and red eyes when they are holding onto their eye make up for so long and sharing it among their friends."
"The irony is that eye infections are not a pretty sight.
"Most women are either unaware of or simply ignoring manufacturers' recommended use-by-dates.
"The good news is that by taking a little bit more care with your make-up and beauty regime it's easy to reduce the risk of eye infections.”
Patricia Johnson