Makeup Storage and Organization: Tips and Ideas

If you're looking for makeup storage and organization ideas, you have come to the right place! I've always had an obsession with makeup. I just love beauty products, love collecting it, love using it, just can’t help it. I can’t resist the shimmer of a good highlighter or the call of a great foundation or bronzer. Having an abundance of makeup is how I came about my list of favorites! Both my holy grail makeup items and my favorite non makeup beauty staples.  With so much product comes the issue of storage and organization. I’ve posted on my Instagram before my little vanity area and I always get questions to show it more in depth. So makeup storage and organization tips are comin' atcha!

THE VANITY

Let’s start with the vanity itself.  I have a simple MALM vanity from IKEA that love.  It has a glass top which helps me keep the table top clean (for the most part) and there’s also a wide but short drawer where I can place all the items I use on a day to day basis.  The mirror shown behind the vanity was a $11 purchase from Walmart that I spray painted white to go with the rest of the decor.

The drawer does not open up all the way but just enough where I can grab what I need to get to easily for my everyday makeup routine. Inside the vanity, I have several drawer inserts to help me keep things organized.  I keep my most used blushes, concealers, mascaras, setting powders, bronzers and highlighters in this drawer. On the far right is where I keep little things like hair ties or bobby pins.

On top of the vanity I place my makeup brushes as well as several eyeliners and lip liners. I purchased the organizer I use for my eye and lip liners from Amazon. I also place some random liner brushes, tweezers and sharpeners in here.  These are things I use regularly enough to keep in view for easy access.

I keep all of my makeup brushes in re-purposed candles from Bath & Body Works.  I simply removed the wax using a sharp nail file and then removed the label and cleaned it thoroughly.  Add in some little aquarium type rocks, beads or anything circular like that and you got yourself some perfect brush holders!

CLICK HERE FOR MY FAVORITE MAKEUP BRUSHES!

Also on top of the vanity is my lighted mirror.  I bought mine from Costco but here is a similar one from Amazon.  I use the larger mirror on the wall when I'm doing my hair but the small lighted one is what I use to do my makeup.  And to see my skin imperfections magnified times 100.  It's great fun as I'm sure most of you with a similar mirror can attest to.

Makeup Drawers

To the right of my vanity, I have a the Alex drawer set from IKEA which is perfect when it comes to makeup storage and organization.  IKEA has several different types available for the Alex set and for the purposes of what I needed, I chose the taller, more narrow version.  Before we get to each drawer, let me show you what I keep on top.

I purchased a small perfume tray from Hobby Lobby (here is a similar one from Amazon), and this is where I put my facial setting sprays and frequently used hair products/sprays.  With products I know I use daily, it’s much easier when I don’t have to grab them from a drawer.  Behind that, I keep a box of tissue because you always need tissues! I mean makeup can get pretty messy right? No? Just me?

Ok on to the drawers! I organize my drawer unit by the type of product. The first drawer is kind of my miscellaneous drawer since when I am sitting, it is harder to get to.  So I keep things like face wipes, cotton swabs and other random knickknacks.  I don’t use this drawer very often and for the purposes of this post, I didn't think it was worth a picture. Moving on.

Drawer Two

The second drawer holds all of my base products. Foundations, powders and other things of that nature. I keep the liquid foundations in one section and the powder in another.  As I type this, I’m starting to feel a little psycho about this but we will move past that and keep going. The little containers pictured here were purchased from Walmart. I found a lot of drawer organizers and random containers from the kitchen section at Walmart.

Drawer Three

This drawer holds my blushes and highlighters.  Sometimes I feel like branching out from the more frequently used blushes in my vanity drawer and that’s when I reach in here. A girl needs options!  Most of my blushes and highlighters are from MAC.  I love MAC's formulation for blushes and their Mineralized Skinfinishes (especially Whisper of Gilt!) so that's a lot of what I have here.  The drawer inserts here are from the dollar section at Target.

Drawer Four

The next drawer holds different types of eye products.  Random shadows, cream shadows, pigments, glitters, eye primers.  I’m almost 36 years old and I can’t even tell you the last time I used a sparkly glitter on my eyes (maybe Halloween??) but nevertheless, it’s in there.  I mean, you never know when a situation is gonna call for a little sparkle am I right??

Drawer Five

This drawer is full of lip products. My glosses and other non lipstick products are in the back since I use them less often. In the front are all my lipsticks. My babies! I place them upside down in these little lipstick organizers so I don’t have to open the lipstick to see the color and they're all in their place.  I put my more fun dark or bright colors on the left side and my daily neutrals on the right.

Drawer Six

The 6^th drawer is full of palettes. I have several store bought palettes and then there are others that I have created using an empty MAC palette or using a Z palette.  I LOVE my Z palettes and what’s so great about them is you can buy them in several sizes so I have ones that fit here perfectly and smaller ones I can create and bring for travel.

Drawer Seven

These next few drawers aren't super exciting so I will go through them quick. This drawer contains all my nail products.  It’s not very exciting as I don’t have much in that department so it’s your basic nail files and clippers as well as some polishes I’ve acquired over the years.

Drawer Eight

This is where I keep my other hair products.  Brushes, teasing combs, serums and the like.  Things that I don’t use often but want to keep on hand for when I do.

Drawer Nine

The last and final drawer is my hoarder drawer. Any product that was maybe limited edition that I loved, or anything that I use so often I need quick backups of goes in this drawer. I already said I was a little nuts. You were warned.

I clear out my makeup every so often. I go through it to give away things I know I won’t use or toss things that need to be thrown out.  I've tried out several different organizational methods when it comes to my makeup and vanity area and this is definitely my favorite so far! Things feel neat, organized and clean. I hope this post on makeup storage and organization was helpful and you found a few things that could work for you!

Am I missing anything amazing in the world of makeup organization?! If so, let me know below!!

 

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