Woman Shops At TJ Maxx-Not Ready For What She Realizes: ‘Be Really Careful'
A shopper has been left stunned after finding a beauty product that expired more than a decade ago at TJ Maxx.
In a Reddit post, user coolboysclub shared photos of a $3.99 Stila Clear Color moisturizing lip tint they had found that appeared to show an expiration date of July 2009.
“That’s definitely a July 2009 exp. date, right? I’m not seeing things?” the original poster (OP) wrote. “The pricetag looked extremely old and is what set me off that this might… also be extremely old.
They noted, “Almost no information online except for eBay listings that don’t have a manufacturing date. Did they just find this in the back of the stockroom and put it on the shelf?”
While it is not uncommon for discount retailers to sell older inventory, the idea of a product sitting for more than 15 years quickly attracted attention online.
Other Reddit users shared similar experiences, with one recalling, “I once found a Bite Beauty lip balm from 2011 at Winners, which is the equivalent here in Canada. It's crazy the old stock products you can find sometimes.”
“I once bought a Nars eyeshadow at TK Maxx, and the batch code suggested it was over 10 years old (!), but I’m surprised something with an actual printed expiry date from over 15 years ago made it to the shop floor,” another wrote.
“I’ve not seen SPF 8 in products since about 2005, though.”
Buying From Discount Retailers
Discount retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshalls often carry overstock or discontinued items from major brands. That can lead to lower prices but also raises questions about product age.
According to Women.com, cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson said, “Many high-end products are sold [at discount retailers] because the brand could be looking to sell excess inventory.”
That means not all discounted beauty items are expired, but shoppers may need to pay closer attention as the risks of using expired makeup are tied to both performance and safety.
In the same Women.com report, dermatologist Dr. Brendan Camp explained the concept of shelf life, quoting the FDA definition: “A product’s ‘shelf life’ generally means the length of time you can expect a product to look and act as expected and to stay safe for use.”
Camp added that expired products can lose effectiveness: “Over time, the chemical makeup of a skincare product may change and could cause skin reactions.”
Industry guidance suggests that expiration dates are not always clearly printed on cosmetics.
According to CheckCosmetic.net, products with a shelf life under 30 months are typically marked with a "best before" date, while others may rely on batch codes that are harder for consumers to interpret.
The site notes that expired cosmetics “can change smell, color, texture or simply become useless.”
In the case of the Stila lip tint, the visible “EXP JUL 09” marking appeared to leave little ambiguity, though it is unclear how the product ended up on shelves.
For some netizens, the post served as a reminder to inspect products before buying. While bargains can be appealing, the condition and age of beauty items remain key factors in determining whether they are worth the purchase.
Newsweek has reached out to coolboysclub for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 8:30 AM.