With new makeup styles and products appearing all the time, it’s rare to actually use something up before buying a replacement or complimentary product. All those little bottles and jars can easily become a muddled mess, so figuring out ways to keep everything organised not only makes your collection easier to find, it saves time and creates a pretty display too.

Choosing Containers

Potential containers for makeup products are all around us, they’re just not always where we expect them to be. Office supply outlets are, for instance, quite a good source:

  • Use letter racks for eyeshadow palettes.
  • Magazine racks make good hair product holders.
  • Pencil cups happily double as brush containers.

Look in kitchen or household departments too:

  • Pretty spice racks make decorative holders for nail polishes.
  • Cake stands are brilliant for displaying decorative perfume bottles.
  • Decorative baskets are an ideal way of controlling hair styling products such as dryers or straighteners/curling tongs.
  • Glass vases make attractive brush holders.
  • Cutlery holders or dividers keep eyeliners or pencils organised.

Make sure containers are the right shape for the things they’ll hold. Brush bristles, for instance, can easily become bent or distorted if they press against something. Always stand them upright with the bristles at the top. Using a coffee caffetiere is a good way to protect them from dust. Use the coffee press to lift them up when you need them. Alternatively, fill a vase with beads or glass marbles to hold brushes upright, much like a florist might do with flower stems.

Finding Space in the Bathroom

If your bathroom is very small and short on storage space, only keep the items you use every day in there. Store those in plastic tubs you can seal against moisture, and either tuck them out of sight in the medicine cabinet or stack them neatly on the windowsill (or any handy level surface).

Installing a narrow shelf close to the mirror can help to keep things neat while also at hand. Alternatively, hang a couple of baskets from strategically placed hooks for items you grab regularly, such as moisturisers, foundations or bath products.

Because direct light can shorten the shelf life of makeup products, some may benefit from being stored in the fridge, which would certainly leave space for other things in the bathroom. You can keep products stored in the fridge separate from food by using egg trays to hold them. Keep perfumes out of direct sunlight. A shady corner of the room is ideal.

Taking Care of Larger Collections

When you find you’re no longer using a product, but still want to hang onto it, longer term storage is the answer. Some products don’t last forever, but others have a very long shelf life when they’re carefully packed away. Make sure the contents of bottles and jars are good, then fasten the lids tightly to prevent leakage and pack them into stackable boxes with lids.

You could store them at home, or consider self storage as a convenient option if you have a really extensive collection. Since many facilities offer lockers as well as rooms for storage, there’s bound to be an ideal space. Some items, such as those with active ingredients, keep better in the dark so self storage rooms or lockers can be perfect.

When you open up the boxes again, make sure everything is still fresh. If it smells good and looks the way it should, everything is fine. Some products such as sunscreens lose effectiveness over time, so check expiry dates before you rely on them to work effectively.

Beauty products aren’t cheap, so storing them properly and creating attractive displays with them makes sure you’re getting the absolute best out of them.

Katie
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