It’s far too easy to build a large makeup collection. You have your everyday bronzer, your darker bronzer for contouring, and then the tan bronzer in a slightly different shade. Add a few eyeshadow palettes and many lipsticks for whatever strikes your mood and all of a sudden you basically live in Sephora!
While it can be overwhelming to have lots of makeup products, the trick is to keep everything organized. Whether you have hundreds of products or a skeleton selection of your favorites, if they’re not organized it can be a mess.
Read on for some tips on how to organize your makeup like the pros! We’ll talk about how to determine how much space and how much stuff you have, how to get rid of items you don’t use, and how to organize your collection to best suit your space.
Assess Your Stuff
The first step in organization is to determine exactly how much stuff you have. Do you have bathroom drawers overflowing with samples and products, or do you have a couple of makeup bags full of products? Determining how much you have will help determine how to best organize.
Gather your makeup and skincare items and place them all together so you can see exactly how large your collection is. Be sure to grab any items you might have in your bag, or in another room, so you can see the full effect.
Once you have everything together, organize them by category. You need to see exactly how many lip products, face products, and more you have so you can determine how best to organize them moving forward.
Determine what size makeup collection you have:
- Small: If you wear pretty much the same makeup each day, you probably have a small makeup collection. You most likely have one of each of the main items (foundation, blush, mascara, an eyeshadow palette, lipstick, eyeliner, etc.) Your collection can easily be stored in one box or a couple of makeup bags.
- Medium: You like to experiment with different looks, but wouldn’t consider yourself a makeup junkie. You have the basic items, plus a few specialty items. You might have some extras of your favorite products and need a drawer in your bathroom to store it all.
- Large: You’re a makeup junkie. You love trying new looks and have an arsenal of products to use. You keep multiple shades and colors of all products and keep extra versions of your favorites.
Assess Your Space
Now that you have a good sense of how much stuff you have, you need to determine how much space you have to store everything. There is no firm rule on how to organize because everyone has different space constraints.
Take a look at the options below and see which one applies to you:
- Little Space: If you share a room or a bathroom, you probably don’t have a ton of extra space for your products. You might not have anywhere to display them and need everything to fit into a bag or easily moveable container.
- Medium Space: You don’t have a ton of space, but you have some availability to store products. This might be in a closet, a drawer, or limited counter space. Some items need to be moved, but not everything.
- Large Space: Kutie, you’re in luck! You have the whole bathroom to yourself, or are able to carve out a large space in your room to get ready. You have drawers, closet space, and more!
The Great Purge
You’ve determined how much stuff you have and how much space you have, but there’s one final step before it’s time to organize. Don’t hate us, but it’s time to get rid of some stuff!
There are a few reasons why we need to cull your collection. First of all, we need to get rid of anything that is old or expired. Makeup products have various shelf lives ranging from three months to two years. Review makeup expiration dates and get rid of any expired, opened products.
Next, we need to get rid of anything that you’re not using. Just because it’s not expired doesn’t mean it needs to stay in your collection. Did you try a winged eyeliner once and then decide it’s not for you? No need to keep that product.
Share it with a friend or toss it! Too many options will make it overwhelming to pick your makeup products each morning, so be honest with yourself about which products you don’t use.
Finally, review the size of your collection and the size of your space to determine exactly how much you need to toss. If you have a large makeup collection and a small space, Kutie, you’ve got some work to do. Be very practical and restrictive in what you keep.
If you have a large space, don’t feel that you need a large collection. You still want to make sure your collection only features items in good condition that you will actually use.
Give Everything a Good Clean
By now, you should have organized groups of products that you intend to keep. Before we start organizing further, it’s a good time to clean everything off.
Start with your brushes and sponges, as these can get the dirtiest and need to be cleaned most often. Using a gentle dish soap or brush cleaner, clean, rinse, and dry your brushes and sponges. There’s no point in organizing dirty products!
Although your other makeup products can’t be cleaned as easily, you can give the outside a quick wipe with a damp cloth to remove any product. Eyeshadow palettes can get especially dusty and dirty so be sure to clean those off well.
Time To Organize
Your products are now all clean and all products that you commit to regularly using. It’s time to let the fun begin!
Step 1: Categorize
Think about how you want to group your products in a way that makes sense to you. This might be keeping them grouped by product, or rather grouping them by look, or grouping by function.
For example, if you wear the same makeup 90% of the time, it might make sense to organize your makeup into two groups: everyday makeup and special occasion makeup. If you love to explore different looks, perhaps you want to group things by look: classic, dramatic, romantic, etc. It’s your makeup collection and an entirely personal choice so pick what makes the most sense to you!
Step 2: Location, Location, Location
It’s time to decide where you want to store your makeup collection. Will you be keeping it in a bag, a drawer, in the closet, or on a vanity? Obviously, make sure you pick a location that will hold your entire collection and somewhere that is easily accessible to you.
Step 3: Organize Your Collection Visually
Pay attention, Kuties, as this is the most important organization rule: make sure you can see everything you’re storing. If you have products tucked away, you’ll forget about them and won’t use them. You want to make sure you can easily see and access your entire makeup collection.
For a small collection, take a minimalist approach and invest in a makeup organizer kit or divided makeup bag. This will allow you to easily store everything together and can also be used for travel. Picking a kit with clear pockets or a clear bag will give you a good view of your collection.
If your medium collection fits in a drawer or two, use drawer organizers to divide each section. These clear containers will allow you to group eyeshadows together, lipsticks with each other, and more. They will also keep your drawers from being a disaster area!
Larger collections going in a closet or vanity can use clear boxes, or dedicated makeup organizers to display on the counter. A bonus to the second option is that your makeup will literally be at your fingertips each morning as you’re getting ready.
Step 4: Create Space for Extras
Now that your makeup is visually organized in its chosen place, make sure you save a small space for any extras. If you’re obsessed with mascara and don’t want to risk running out, you probably have an extra (or two) on hand. Find an extra makeup bag to store these items in and make a list of what’s inside.
Organized Makeup, Organized Life
How much better does it feel to have a streamlined and organized collection? You might even be inspired to organize other items now like your hair products, skincare collection, or closet. Watch out!
Take a few minutes each day or each week to keep your newly organized products clean and in order.
If your collection grows and you get overwhelmed, just remember how easy it is to organize. Assess your stuff and your space, and then get rid of any expired or unused products. Clean everything off and then decide where it will be stored. Organize everything visually so you can see what you have.
You can use these steps to organize anything in your house. Happy organizing, Kuties!
Sources:
Home Edit Organization Tips | Elle
When Does Makeup Expire? | Healthline