Why I Love Makeup Organization (And You Should, Too!)

It’s no secret that I love to organize things.​ I’m the person who does that for fun. However, you don’t need to be an organization-nut to reap the benefits of organization. A big benefit of having your makeup organized is that it’ll help keep makeup from expiring because you’ll actually be able to find and use your makeup products.

​If you have EVERYTHING shoved into a box under your bathroom sink there’s a good chance you’ll forget about it. And before you know it, BAM! it’s overflowing with products you swear you’ve never seen. You may find yourself feeling stressed out about having to sift through all the stuff you have when you’re getting ready in the morning. Or just bored with using the same stuff everyday even though you own makeup you’ve never tried or used.

If you can relate, it’s time for you to do a little spring cleaning and get started on organizing your makeup.

First things first. Before you go running to buy new cute makeup organizers, you need to throw things out. When you have too many makeup products most of it becomes forgotten, and really just takes up precious space.

When you have less stuff you are more likely to give your “new” makeup items a try.

I know that some of you are going into panic mode at this point (“Did she just say the words throw away makeup?!” Yes. Yes, I did. But I promise it’s all going to be ok).
Close your eyes (well, read the rest of this sentence first), take a deep breath, and say, “I don’t need all this stuff. I can throw things out, everything will be better because of it. I can do this.”

First and foremost, throw out what is old and what you don’t use. More importantly, throw out what you won’t ever use. (Yes, that red lipstick you bought two years ago that is a little too much on the orange side needs to go.)

The next thing you really need to do is be honest about what’s realistic for you and your needs. If you’re a makeup artist, then yes, maybe 15 colors of blush is necessary and that’s a good number for you. But if you’re just a regular gal then maybe that’s a bit much.

So take a look at what you’ve got. What do you use the most of? It’s ok to keep a couple (aka two) of those extras on-hand but you don’t need a five year supply. Be honest about what might be a little excessive for your needs and give those things away (Bonus: the people you give them to will love you for that).

Alternatively, if you don’t know anyone who’d want your makeup, you can donate unused makeup to charity organizations and some brands even have recycle programs.

Ok, ok. You’ve done your best to down-size but you still have a lot of products that you use and love.
As a professional makeup artist, I understand the struggle of products vs. space. Which is why I was turned on to makeup palettes early on. Professional makeup artists condense their kits, and even though your products may just be for your personal use, you can also benefit from the space saved.

Move makeup products to space-friendly professional pro palettes/containers.

Clearly, you are able to keep a lot more of something if you can find a way to condense it. Don’t be discouraged if you already have items that aren’t space savvy, because there may be a creative way to change out the bulky packaging. You can also transform makeup pots you’ve already purchased into makeup pallets.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”, right? It totally applies to makeup products.

Without looking, list every product in your “extra” makeup box (You know, the one tucked under your sink or shoved in the closet for your surplus. We all have one of those, right?). Be super specific about each product. I want to know the quantity and color of things. How about you get to keep what you can identify!

How well did you do?

Obviously, I’m personally not able to see your list or force you to throw things out, but I hope that exercise makes you realize the things you couldn’t name are the items you threw in there who knows how long ago. You haven’t used them, and that “right moment” you’ve been waiting for has probably come and gone (time to say goodbye glittery eyeshadow).

So keep your makeup where you’ll see it. It’s better to keep your makeup somewhere you’ll continuously be reminded about it. That way you won’t forget about what you have. Try a stylish counter display or a clear makeup organizer in your cupboard if counter space is at a premium.

That’s a pretty simple tip, right? But surprisingly a lot of ladies don’t use it when it comes to their makeup. Think about how much time you’d waste when cooking if your kitchen spoons could potentially be found in your sock drawer. If you had to hunt for a spoon every time you poured a bowl of cereal, you’d probably stop eating cereal (or using spoons)!

Same goes for your makeup items. If you don’t know exactly where that charcoal eye pencil is, you probably won’t ever use it. But if you have all your eye pencils in the same place it’s easier to decide between the navy, black, or brown.

​Now is the time to buy those cute makeup organizers I mentioned earlier. Remember to have fun with what you’re putting your makeup products in, so that way you enjoy putting things away in the future.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve organized something for a friend and within just a short period of time everything pretty much returned to the same state of chaos it was before! And it’s because they didn’t create a system to keep the new habit in place.

In my opinion, it’s pretty pointless to take time organizing something if you’re just going to totally disregard all the hard work and time you put in. So it’s up to you to continue putting things in their proper place, and keeping to the limits you (perhaps unknowingly) set with tip #1.

When you decided earlier that five blushes were enough, that is the limit you’ve set for blushes.  In other-words, “product limits” are what you keep and ever have at one time.

Since everything has a place now, you can see how things will fit in the space. It should be easier to decide what’s realistic for you to actually keep. For example, maybe you can cycle through three lipsticks during the week, so you will only ever keep three. That means if you buy a new one, then an old one gets thrown out.

Cycle out old items when new ones come in.

What are some ways that you keep your makeup organized? I’d love to hear from you!