Ah, Beautytok. The place for draining your bank account and canceling brands. Everyone’s waiting for the rise of one product and the fall of another. No one is safe, not even influencers.

And yes, you could be paying attention to the more public drama like Jeffree Star vs. Mikayla or the Tarte Dubai trip, but there is one scandal that has been brewing underneath the surface. Much like Laundress, the luxury laundry brand that can cause rashes and is now being fully recalled, there is now mold in women’s Kosas concealer.

That’s right, Hailey Bieber’s tried-and-true is hitting the For You Page for a different reason. Users are reporting that they are seeing mold, a concerning consistency, and a rotten smell after having their concealer for a while. Kosas, the clean beauty brand who focuses on combining skincare and makeup, previously took the beauty community by storm with their innovative products.

@janethechemist Have you guys heard about this?! 😳 #cosmeticchemist #kosas #mold ♬ original sound - Jane

Clean beauty rose to popularity when brands like Kosas, Saie, and Ilia boasted products that wouldn’t cause your skin to flare up. They sell high quality makeup items that take ingredients into account. This past summer, we obsessed over new clean beauty brands like Milk and Tower28.

Yet, here we are, reading an eight-month old Reddit thread in which users complain about finding mold in their Kosas Radiant Creamy Concealer. The user, @veryangryorchards, wrote:

“They said they will look into it but to keep what I ordered for free, which is nice but if this concealer grows mold that fast don’t people have a right to know about it?”

Kosas’ concealer has a shelf life of six months, which is on-par to most clean beauty brands, but why is it the only one with a mold issue?

While this news is concerning to say the least, I’m also not convinced that you should throw out your Kosas and never buy from the brand again. Since they aren’t using makeup preservatives like harmful sulfates or parabens, their shelf life isn’t guaranteed to be long – it also serves as a reminder that we shouldn’t be keeping our makeup around for years.

@talliyhaa Dont ask me if my kosas concealer has mould i dont want to talk about it
♬ Ac r7sheed - rhy 🎸🍃 🕸️

All makeup has a shelf life – regardless of the fact that I still have blushes from high school. If you’re questioning how often you should be switching out your products, check the bottom for a makeup container symbol that has a number next to it. Keeping makeup past their expiration date could lead to clogged pores and skin flare ups. The horror.

If your makeup is by a clean beauty brand, the ingredients will often expire quicker than you were anticipating. If you’re like me and now realizing you have to replenish your makeup kit a bit earlier this year, have no fear. Here are my clean beauty recommendations to benefit your skin while still looking flawless:

1. Milk Makeup Matte Cream Bronzer Stick
2. Merit Flush Balm Cream Blush
3. Kosas Cloud Set Baled Setting + Smoothing Powder
4. caliray SO Blown Blurring Collagen Peptide Primer
5. Lawless Conceal The Deal Long-Wear Full Coverage Foundation
6. Ilia True Skin Serum Concealer With Vitamin C
7. Milk HydroGrip Refreshing + Setting Spray