When the Beauty Spotlight Team decided to post about storage solutions for cosmetics, I must say I felt I was a little out of my element. Frankly, I have been overwhelmed by the size of my cosmetics collection. For most of my life, I could fit my entire makeup collection in a small makeup bag. Well, things have changed! My once relatively spacious bathroom and now my office are both filled with cosmetics of all kinds. I give away a lot of makeup, but I definitely could stand to do a purge again.
I’ve been figuring out storage solutions as I go along. I did not have a master plan. For a long time, I kept my products in bags and shoeboxes in the linen closet in my bathroom. I’ve definitely outgrown that idea, and I’ve come up with specific storage fixes.
If possible, I like to use attractive storage solutions especially if the storage is something I keep out in my bedroom, bathroom or office. For instance, some time ago, I did a post about storing the makeup brushes I use most often. I bought an apothecary jar that I keep on the vanity in my bathroom.
To the left of the brushes is a blue glass container that I bought at Crabtree & Evelyn years ago to keep my cotton pads in. To the right is a handmade jar that I brought back from Siena Italy that’s perfect for my travel size eyeliner pencils. And I keep Q-tips in this pretty Wedgwood jasper ware container that I bought in London years ago. I can see from the photo that’s it’s splattered with soap and toothpaste – that shows you that it’s right on my bathroom vanity where I can grab it easily (I’ll wash it soon!!)
And I recently picked up this cute aqua metal, cut-out cup for $1 in that great treasure trove area in Target where everything costs either $1 or $3. It’s so handy for storing my eye cream/gel tubes.
I liked the apothecary jar for my brushes so much that I bought a three tier apothecary jar at West Elm to store most of my nail polish collection as well as my Milani eyeshadow singles (originally reviewed here).
I have waaaaaay too many eyeshadow palette. I found a storage box at Homegoods that’s in the accent colors of my bedroom. I manage to store over 30 eyeshadow palettes of all sizes in this box!
Recently, I purchased two small storage units that I keep on either side of my desk/cabinet in my office. My office is Tiffany blue, so when I saw this affordable (around $25) 3 drawer unit with soft, lightweight removable drawers at Target, I knew I needed to buy it. I try to remember to store the products I receive for review in the big lower drawer so I don’t forget where I put them. You can see, however, that I still am not the neatest person. Those are items from subscription boxes on top that I plan to giveaway.
I still didn’t have enough storage so that my makeup would be easy to get on a daily basis. To that end, I recently purchased a 10-drawer storage unit on Amazon (about $35). I keep a different type of makeup in each drawer, e.g. lipsticks in the top drawer, eyeliner and lip pencils in another drawer etc. As you can see, I’ve got a small, 3 drawer unit on top that’s still empty at the moment.
So those are my current cosmetics storage solutions. I’m open to more ideas, however. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Wow! And I thought I had a lot of makeup. 😉
LOL, I’ll bet you’re right there with me, Laura! So much for my storage solutions. I can’t find the new bottle of micellar water I bought just before we went on vacation. Where the heck is it??
I don’t have as many as you do, Allison but my stash has definitely grown a lot in three years. I gave away and threw out a lot since end last year and early Spring so it’s much smaller now. Guess what? I too keep my eyeshadow in the same box, well not the same pattern and colour but the box type is the same! LOL!
Shireen L. Platt recently posted…BRAND SPOTLIGHT: CelluBlue
That large box is the perfect size to hold a lot of palettes, isn’t it? I think I paid about $6.99 for it and it was well worth it! Have a fun birthday weekend with your little one!
Very nice storage solutions, Allison! You have a much better handle on your makeup storage than I do! In the last year what was quite organized has descended into pure chaos!
Lola’s Secret Beauty Blog recently posted…Never Say Die Beauty Shares Cosmetics Storage Solutions with The Beauty Spotlight Team and You
Hardly, Helen, lol. Last night I went searching for the bottle of Micellar Water I bought a week or so before our vacation and it’s nowhere to be found. What happened to my great new system? Also, a client emailed yesterday about the skincare products they sent about a month ago, and I have no idea where they are either. I’m still pathetic!
LOL! Do I ever understand that! I have several things that have gone missing (that I use regularly). I have press samples in my dining room, bedroom, office, both bathrooms and a couple of closets awaiting review. What’s worse is that I am actually a very organized and minimalist person by nature, but I swear to you my beauty stash breeds at night while I am sleeping. I am desperately trying to get a handle on it before I have to post my Organization post for the BST! I think that you have a much better handle on it than I do! #beautybloggerproblems
Lola’s Secret Beauty Blog recently posted…Borghese Skin Perfection Gift Set for Mother’s Day
I hear ya, Helen! It does seem like it breeds at night! This morning in the light of day, I found the micellar water and the two skincare products I was searching for, and my system actually worked! So why do I still have products on the rug in my office?
I love the 3-tiered apothecary jar. Very cool idea.
I find the 3-tier to be so handy, Rachel, because it holds a lot and I can see what I’ve got
I love how you have stored everything, looks awesome 😀 x
Makeup, Beauty & Fashion
Thank you, Christine! Do you have any storage secrets I should know about?
Of course I would love to have your problem, would be glad to take any thing off your hands. 🙂
How long does it take you to do your makeup? To me the problem would be that’s its spread out and not labeled. Do you remember where ever thing is or do you open drawers till you find it?
Would love to see some pictures of the room and how you have it set up.
LOL, Gloria! It takes me 15 minutes or less to do my makeup, usually around 10 min. I pretty much remember where things are. And I do have a system: the aqua 3 drawer set from Target holds product that I haven’t used yet, and the big bottom drawer contains products sent for review that are waiting to be reviewed. The colored drawers from Amazon contain the makeup I use from time to time, each drawer with a different category. Lipstick is in the top drawer because I go for that most often. The eyeshadow palette box is in my bedroom so it’s handy to reach from my master bathroom. Truth be told, the makeup I use most often is in a makeup bag and a small train case in my bathroom. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. My office has the two sets of drawers, each on either side of my big office armoire. The box and the 3-tier apothecary jar are in my bedroom, and the small jars and apothecary jar with the makeup brushes are on my bathroom vanity. Not the most organized of systems, but it mostly works for me!
I agree .. before I started watching youtube and reading blogs, my makeup fit into one drawer .. now it fits into an Ikea drawer system and I’m not going any larger than that!
I love your three tier apothecary jar .. so pretty and a great way to store makeup.
Monica.
I’ve been curious about the Ikea Alex system – is that what you have? Unfortunately, Ikea is quite far from where I live but I think that will be my next step up.
Yes, I have the Ikea Alex white 5 drawer and it works well. You know, it’s Ikea so not super well made. One of my drawers has a terrible squeak, but in general, it works for makeup storage. I know lot’s of beauty guru’s go with rows of the 9 drawers, but ugh .. I do not want that much makeup in my life .. lol.
M.
Yes, I think 5 drawers would do it too! I don’t want makeup completely taking over my house, lol!
You have pretty organizing solutions for your stuff, Allison!
Mine are still in boxes, mostly skincare products stored in boxes in my desk shelves. I have much less makeup than you do, so they fit nicely on my vanity and in my vanity drawers 🙂
I think I will buy another vanity unit and place it next to mine in my bedroom, I prefer not to put any in my bathroom and I prefer to put everything in one place. I might get crazy if I lose anything and had to look for it,so one big storage would be the best idea for me!
Dima Al Mahsiri recently posted…My New Favorites from Know Your Ingredients Whipped Shea Butter (Review)
You’re smart to keep everything in one place, Dima, because I do “lose” things from time to time. I have so much stuff it’s ridiculous even though I give away a lot.