I’ve been on a decluttering binge this month. It seems to happen to many of us. We get bit with the Kon Mari bug to purge and organize everything in the house. I’ve worked my way through her categories before, but that need to purge usually comes back with the start of a new year. And even with the best of sytems in place, your makeup and beauty products need some periodic maintenance. Today I’m sharing what you need to know about purging makeup and the best beauty product organizer.
I orignally published this post three years ago, but purging makeup is important for our health (and our wallets) so I thought it was a good time to bring this topic back to the front of our attention. And the best beauty product organizer deserves sharing over and over again.
Perhaps you struggle in this area too? Too many products and can never find the one you want? Not enough time in the mornings to do your makeup because you spend too much time looking for the things you need? That was me every morning before I purged and organized my makeup. I could never find the eye shadow brush or the concealer was lost, and so on.
It was no wonder. Look at the mess my makeup drawer was in.
I had a decent system in place with the baskets, but some much needed purging was in order. Did you know that these products have an expiration date? How many of you hang on to that $54 Urban Decay palette that you only really use about 4 of the colors from way past the expiration date because you spent $54 hard earned dollars on it? Maybe you got lucky and got it half off and luckily eyeshadow has a two year life span. Most cosmetics start their life span when you open the product.
The easiest way to start a purge of beauty products is to check all those expiration dates.
Some of them have the life on the product in a symbol like this:
Please heed the dates. We all have bacteria on our skin and over time makeup products become contaminated. Throw out earlier if you have any kind of eye infection or contact dermatitis on your face or eyelids. I know it stinks, but replacing your makeup is cheaper than trips to the doctor.
Next get rid of any beauty products that you didn’t like and know you are not going to use.
If you realize early enough that you don’t like the product, many places will accept returns. I’ve returned product to Ulta and Walgreens– no questions asked. For the longest time I didn’t know you could return opened makeup.
So don’t even hang on to the losers. Return them and don’t let them clutter your drawer.
While you are purging, take note of the things that went unused. Was it the wrong shade? Do you not like liquid lipsticks as much as you thought you would? Make notes, as least mentally, so you don’t repeat the mistakes with new purchases.
Be sure to take everything out of its current storage and give everything a good cleaning. Those baskets and drawers have probably become quite disgusting, so give them all a thorough washing.
Now take what’s left and organize by like items.
Eye shadows in one basket or container, blush in another, lipsticks, etc. All of my daily use items that I only have one or two of went into the center basket- eye lash primer, mascara, concealer, etc. Those lipstick organizers are lifesavers. You can easily see what color you have.
Much better. Still not picture perfect, but much better. Brushes went into separate storage as well.
There are lots of options for organizing makeup and you may be wondering “What is a good makeup organizer?”
The total life changer for me was the purchase of this organizer for the rest of my beauty products. It’s not only a good organizer, it’s the best! (I had things like lotion, night time moisturizer, deodorant, etc in a metal basket on the counter and countless other samples in baskets in the closet here and there. Digging in the basket was like digging in that unorganized drawer. I could never get my hands on what I wanted. And those other products that were out of sight? yep, out of mind.
I know I’ve talked about this rotating organizer before, but let me show you a glimpse of it in action.
It now holds my makeup brushes and I never have to hunt for them. It holds my moisturizers, hair products and perfume. Everything I need for morning and night it right at my fingertips. Items I use occasionally or samples to try are out in view so I don’t forget about them.
This rotating organizer is also great for saving counter space and organizing beauty products in a small space.
If there is any area I would stress minimizing, it’s beauty products. So many of them are so toxic. I really can’t use more than one or two palettes or items before the expiration dates anyway, so why have six blushes open at one time or five eyeliners open at once? I’ve found my go to make up products and stick to them. What’s pictured above is still too many, but I’ve been working on using them up before purchasing or opening anything new.
What’s your thoughts on beauty products? How do you organize them?
