My makeup is typically pretty organized, but every area of my home needs a touch up once in awhile. Yesterday, I cleaned out our main bathroom and decided that my makeup needed some attention. The first thing I did was bring every piece of makeup that I have to the dining room table. This also included anything I had in my purse. I also brought out my plastic bin of sample sized products. I watched some of my favorite YouTubers while I sorted.
The next step was to sort everything into categories so that I could assess what I have of each type.
Once everything was sorted, I went through each piece and decided if it was worth keeping. Some things were old and gross and others just didn't suite my taste anymore and were never being used. They either went into the garbage or into a bag that I can give to someone who will use them. A good tip to help you avoid using expired makeup is to use a sharpie and write the date you opened a product on it's packaging somewhere. Honestly, I have not done this in the past, but I may try it going forward. Many products tell you how long they are good for right on the packaging. It's a little symbol of a container showing how many months (6M, 12M, etc) to keep the product for. Whenever I am going through my makeup, I use this symbol to determine if I have had the product that long. You can see how it would be helpful if I had the date of opening written on them.
I have a small plastic container where I throw sample sizes whenever I come across them. I kept it on a shelf in my linen closet and barely ever looked in it. I came to find that many of the products were expired. I kept only what I really wanted to try and decided to keep those in a drawer in the bathroom where I am more likely to actually use them.
Once I was done sorting, it was time to put everything away. I keep the majority of my makeup on an etagere over the toilet. Space is limited in our small bathroom. I know etageres are not everyone's cup of tea, but I need the extra storage space that it provides. In my previous bathroom post, some readers were concerned about having my makeup (specifically the brushes) over the toilet where they might be contaminated. I really haven't found any issues with this, as all of the products have lids to protect them. I have moved my face brushes into a small acrylic drawer, but my eye shadow brushes still live out in the open. I have never experienced any bouts of bad skin or sickness from having my brushes on a shelf over the toilet, but I understand it's better overall to have them in a drawer. My ideal situation would be to have a big, beautiful bathroom with my own vanity space or a dressing room of some sort. I will keep dreaming for now. :)
If you have seen my previous bathroom post, you will notices that I have new acrylic organizers. I purchased these 3 pieces (the drawers are two sets stacked on top of each other) from TJ Maxx and I love them. I enjoy this look with the drawers much better and find it easier to keep things organized in them.
The small organizer on the left contains all of my lipsticks and glosses, my most used blushes, bronzer, primer, foundations and eye shadow palette. It's also where I keep all of my eye brushes, eyeliners and eyebrow pencils and gels.
Now for a tour of the drawers starting at the top. Two small eye shadows and a pot of eyeliner in the small left drawer and two yet-to-be-opened concealers in the right drawer.
Next, just a larger lipstick palette.
Mascaras next.
Primers, foundations and concealers.
A larger face palette and highlighters.
Face brushes.
Here is my little helper admiring our good work. Surprisingly, neither her nor any of my older children have never gotten into my makeup. I am not going to hold my breath, but so far so good!
The remainder of my makeup and some skin care can be found in a small drawer of our vanity. In here I keep my larger eye shadow palettes, some small skin care items, magnifying mirrors, a few nail files and nail clippers and our Emoji Micro-Pedi callus remover and refills. I suppose I could keep the mani and pedi items with my nail polishes in the linen closet, but our family uses these products much more often than I paint my nails. So this central location is best.
Last but not least, my makeup bag was overflowing with too many lipsticks and glosses, so I just pared it down to one lip gloss, a powder, some blotting papers, a small nail file, dental floss and some hair ties. I can guarantee that more lip products will make their way in sooner or later.
That completes my organized makeup tour. Hopefully you found some ideas that you can utilize in your own space!
