Women spend nearly three years of their lives getting ready to go out, according to a recent survey by Nephria beauty brand.

Before a big night out, women are said to spend 22 minutes showering and shaving their legs, seven minutes moisturizing and applying fake tan, 23 minutes drying and styling their hair, and 14 minutes on makeup and six minutes getting dressed.

That comes to an impressive one hour and and 12 minutes for each night out. Add to that 40 minutes preparing for work in the morning, and aggregate that over a typical lifetime, and you arrive at two years and nine months twirling in front of a mirror and rummaging through a handbag before daring to set foot outside the house.

Men are not let off, either. They spend three months of their lives waiting for wives and girlfriends to get ready for a date, which translates into 17 minutes and 25 seconds waiting for each night out.

Men also spend an average of one hour and two minutes outside changing rooms in stores while the significant other makes more life-changing decisions.

They could, of course, sit down in the lotus posture and use the time to meditate, greeting their lady love with a beatific smile and an indestructible tranquility.

Don’t hold your breath.

A new survey by the College of Optometrists in Britain reveals the 92 percent of women are putting their health and looks at risk by using old makeup.

Most women probably pay no attention to the sell-by date on the products they buy, but they are there. For example :

* Mascara has an expiry date of 3–6 months.
* Liquid and cream foundations, concealer, cleanser, moisturiser, 6–8 months.
* Pressed, loose and compressed powders, eye shadow, blusher, lip gloss, lipstick, toner, 1 year.
* Eye and lip liner, 18 months.

The problem is that these products can be a “hot house” for bacteria which can cause infections when the makeup is applied. The bacteria builds up over time until it becomes dangerous to use. Mascara is a particular problem because the stick used to apply it can scratch the soft tissue surrounding the eye.

The worst offenders, says the study, are middle-aged women who are likely to hang on to their favorite products much longer than younger women.

Dr Susan Blakeney, optometric adviser to the college, 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 makeup for so long and sharing it among their friends.”