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In This Article
Take Inventory
Invest in a Vanity
Sort Items By Type
Use Drawer Organizers
Buy Clear Organizers
Use a Mirror With Shelf Space
Use an Extended Shower Caddy
Store Your Brushes in a Holder
Hang Your Backup Products
Put Most-Used Items on a Lazy Susan
Store Makeup Sponges on a Sponge Stand
Store Nail Polishes on Picture Ledges
Label Your Drawers
Store Most-Used Products From Left to Right
Organize Eyeshadow Palettes by Tone
Bubble Wrap Fragile Products While Traveling
Put Individual Eyeshadows in Ice Cube Trays
Remember, makeup organization isnt just about tidying up. Its a proactive process that will not only save time but alleviate stress. Just imagine stepping into your bathroom or vanity space and seeing an array of neatly stored beauty tools ready for use. It may sound like a dream, but with just a few makeup organizing steps, it can become your reality.
Ready to bid farewell to the makeup mayhem and start enjoying your morning routine again? Keep scrolling to uncover 17 professional makeup organizing tips that will totally transform your beauty space. And dont worry, you can thank us later.
Meet the Expert
Darla DeMorrow is a certified professional organizer, owner of HeartWork Organizing, and author of Sort and Succeed.
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Take Inventory
Before diving into your makeup organization project, be sure to take note of the products in your collection. Start by gathering all your cosmetics, brushes, and skincare products in one place, then discard any expired items or products you no longer use. This step will instantly help you declutter while also ensuring that theyre safe and effective.
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Invest in a Vanity
Not only will doing your hair and makeup on your vanity make you feel like complete royalty, but it’s also a great way to organize your products. "Having a dedicated space for makeup means that you can lay out all of your goodies and see at a glance what you have while you are getting ready," says DeMorrow. Many of them come with tons of drawers, which allow you to compartmentalize your products.
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Sort Items By Type
Sorting lip products, eye makeup, face makeup, and brushes into separate groups can instantly help streamline your beauty space. Youll be able to easily access your products and prevent clutter by giving each product group its designated place.
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Use Drawer Organizers
Drawer makeup organizers help with grouping certain product types together. They can also help keep your items from rolling around in your drawer. Jordan touts drawer organizers because they allow you to stack your products vertically, which saves space. Plus, on many models you can buy extra pieces, so your storage can grow as your beauty collection grows. Winning.
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Buy Clear Organizers
Were fans of clear organizers that allow you to see your products—after all if youre able to see it, youre more likely to use it, and if you can’t see it, you likely wont touch it. "When you are rushed for time or stressed with important decisions, you just want to grab and go, not hunt and peck, and clear organizers can help with this," says DeMorrow. "Mason jars in different sizes are great for organizing all the little vanity and bathroom items."
Jordan advises to always store cosmetics in a temperature and humidity-controlled space. Avoid placing products in poorly ventilated bathrooms or in direct sunlight, as this can disturb the product’s quality, effectiveness, and reduce the shelf life.1
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Use a Mirror With Shelf Space
Your favorite stuff won’t get lost in the shuffle of everything else you own so easily if you set it on top of your mirror. Make your mirror work for you by making it the prime spot to place your go-to hairspray or whatever products you’re loving at the moment. A mirror like this is also perfect for last looks when youre heading out the door, and allows you to do a quick touch-up if necessary.
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Use an Extended Shower Caddy
It’s worth getting an adjustable shower caddy with more space to keep all of your hero soaps, body washes, scrubs, cleansers, and hair products in one place. It’s even more game-changing when you categorize each product batch by shelf. DeMorrow says you can also permanently mount stone or acrylic corner shelves with epoxy adhesive.
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Store Your Brushes in a Holder
Storing your makeup brushes is an ongoing qualm—they can pile up, they dirty up quickly, and then theres the perpetual question of how to make sure your kabuki brushes dont get lost in the shuffle. Go for a makeup brush holder that has different compartments—this way you can keep your eye, lip, and face brushes separate.
To avoid contamination, Jordan recommends covering your makeup brushes when not in use, especially if they are left in areas such as the bathroom or dusty rooms.
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Hang Your Backup Products
We know you like to be prepared by having a stash of backups of your favorites (you know, in case they suddenly go out of stock). And while this reassurance is necessary for many, it can quickly become an issue when it comes to storing them. Try hanging such products on an over-the-door storage rack—this will remind you that you do, in fact, have a backup (versus being tucked away, which may cause you to buy duplicates due to forgetting you already own backups).
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Put Most-Used Items on a Lazy Susan
Tight on space? Look no further than a lazy Susan. "If you have a 12-inch cabinet and a lazy Susan that fits inside, the things that would normally be lost in the back can be revealed with just a flick of the wrist," notes DeMorrow. "Lazy Susans are also brilliant for difficult corners, where space is often completely wasted."
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Store Makeup Sponges on a Sponge Stand
Makeup sponges can become a breeding ground for germs and bacteria, especially if they are not cleaned and stored properly. Jordan recommends storing them in a sponge holding stand. "Stands help sponges dry efficiently and not get contaminated by touching other surfaces," she notes.
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Store Nail Polishes on Picture Ledges
We all know that one person who likes to have as many nail polish colors as their local salon (no judgment if thats you). But storing your rainbow of polishes can become a burden when theres a lot of them. Instead of throwing them all into a tub, use a picture ledge to display them as if they were art. DeMorrow also says to consider which area of your home you do your nail care in. "If you would buff and polish them someplace other than where you store your supplies, make sure you have a caddy with handles so you can easily tote your nail polish and tools, and then put them away again," she says.
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Label Your Drawers
As any beauty lover will know, drawers start to all look the same when you have a ton of product to sort through. Thats where labeling comes in—make simple labels for face products, eye products, and lip products. Or, if you like to sort your products by brand, you can create a new label for each brands drawer.
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Store Most-Used Products From Left to Right
Have a simple makeup routine? Line your products up in your drawer from left to right and in order of what you use sequentially for quicker morning makeup routines, and DeMorrow says this will let you save your brain cells for more important decisions later in the day. After all, who needs decision fatigue before breakfast?
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Organize Eyeshadow Palettes by Tone
On days that call for a specific look, it can be difficult to sift through your dozens of eyeshadow palettes. Youll appreciate having your eyeshadow palettes grouped by warm tones, cool tones, and neutral tones when you know exactly what type of eyeshadow style youre trying to achieve.
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Bubble Wrap Fragile Products While Traveling
Traveling with your makeup can be a daunting task, from narrowing down which products to take to figuring out how to strategically pack them so they take up less space and stay safe. Jordans tip for ensuring your beloved powders and glass products remain crack-free? Wrap them up. "I recommend bubble-wrapping or wrapping a thick, protective fabric around fragile products such as eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, and glass bottles. Then place the wrapped products in a waterproof bag," she says.
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Put Individual Eyeshadows in Ice Cube Trays
If your single eyeshadows often get lost in the shuffle, its time to dedicate an entire space just for them to keep them organized. Enter ice cube trays: Theyre great for all shapes and types of eyeshadow, from powders, creams, pots, and jars to oddly-shaped square and diamond-shaped ones. Whats more, these silicone trays get bonus points for being easy to clean.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Shelf life and expiration dating of cosmetics. Updated February 25, 2022.