Organising Makeup

I used to go to the gym in the morning, get ready in the gym’s shower room and head straight to work. To do this I would take my toiletries and cosmetics with me in a spacious toiletry bag which I didn’t unpack between gym days. Even though I now go to the gym in the evenings, my morning gym routine still influences my makeup organisation. I use my toiletry bag as storage year round, which makes packing for travel very easy and maintains my limit on how many products I own.

The products that live in my toiletry bag are foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer, finishing powder, mascara, my eyebrow brush and gel as well as tweezers, nail clippers and small travel versions of perfume, hair serum and face wash. I know exactly which pocket houses each step and it’s second nature to reach in and pull out what I need next.

My toiletry bag sits nicely to the side of my sink on a wheelie draw unit which I have divided into Hair (products and accessories), Lotions and sprays (my deodorant currently lives in here as it’s a big spray bottle but usually it’s in my toiletry bag as well), Medicines and first aid, and Storage.
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On the other side of my sink I have three shelves. The top shelf houses my makeup brushes in handy cups that they came in, the middle is where my skin care routine lives and is organised by use – face wash and makeup remover, toner, exfoliant, and moisturiser. The bottom shelf is where my infrequent makeup things hang out because they look pretty and I like to be reminded to use them – my perfume, my eyeshadow palette and my lipgloss and lipsticks. The organiser I use on this shelf to clearly display my items is similar to this one from Kmart. To the side of these shelves is another cosmetic organiser from Kmart and it stores my hair bands, dental floss sticks, ear buds and cotton wool rounds.

Although my makeup organisation is quite particular to my lifestyle and my bathroom setup, I think that there are a few aspects of it that can be applied to any bathroom.

One, I truly believe that having as few products as possible is a great start; declutter and clear out your space!

Two, sort by order of use – when you get ready in the mornings, what is your routine? Do you reach for body stuff or face stuff or hair stuff first? Get these products in order and give them a dedicated place that is within easy reaching distance.

Three, separate products by type to keep them organised. Like my toiletry bag, use containers to further divide a space up.
Plastic takeaway containers are great for so many things besides storing food. Lay as many as you need or can fit into a draw (round ones too can be used to make use of those smaller spaces) and dedicate one to hold each item that you have – brushes, eyeliner pencils, mascaras, foundations, and powders. If you have a lot of lipsticks, store them with the bottom labels facing upwards, this will make it easier for you to distinguish what colour is within each tube. And if you happen to be working with deep shelves, spice racks can make a space more flexible as they add more surface space to work with.

Organising makeup and your bathroom, more generally, means adapting the space available to suit you and your lifestyle which can only make getting ready an easier and more pleasant experience. And who doesn’t want that in the mornings?

Organising heart, head and home

flor&order