If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I love trying new beauty products. And after years of putting makeup and skincare items to the test, my collection has grown quite a bit!
I’d love to say that my makeup drawer is in tip-top shape… but if I’m being honest, it looks more like a cluttered pile than a neatly-kept collection.
And if I plan on adding more beauty items to my routine in the new year… getting my current makeup and skincare products in order is a must!
I did some digging and found some helpful tips to get my beauty items organized. Check them out below and let me know what you think… I hope you’ll join me!
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When Should You Toss Your Beauty Products?
Before you start organizing your beauty items, it’s a good idea to get rid of some of those old makeup and skincare products.
Start by tossing or donating the products you don’t use anymore, and take inventory on which items you didn’t know you had in the first place. If you completely forgot you owned them, you likely don’t need them anymore!
Related: The Best Beauty Products I’ve Tried Under $20
You should also throw out any products that are past their expiration date.
You heard that right—just like food, beauty items also have a shelf life!
Take a look at the bottom of your product (sometimes the side) and look for the little symbol in the photo below.
While it’s tough to toss a barely-used bottle, the product won’t work as well if it’s expired.
Below, you can find common makeup items and when you should take them to the trash can:
- Foundation: 1 year
- Concealer: 1 year
- Lip balm: 1-5 years
- Lip gloss: 1 year
- Lipstick: 1-2 years
- Eyeshadow: 1-2 years
- Pencil eyeliner: 1-2 years
- Mascara: 3 months
- Powder blush: 1-2 years
- Cream blush: 1 year
If you’re unsure about getting rid of a product, look for telltale signs of expiration. Separation, texture changes, and odd smells are all things to look out for.
Tips For Organizing Your Beauty Items
Now that you’ve sorted through the good and bad items, it’s time to find a place for every one of them.
Sound intimidating? Don’t fret! I found some neat organizing tips and products you can use to make sure your makeup and skincare items stay in order.
Over the last year, I did a lot of candle testing and smelling for the Just Jill Shop. That also left me with a bunch of extra candle jars sitting around my home!
But instead of tossing them, I put them to good use by repurposing them as makeup brush holders.
Need to remove the excess wax from the bottom of the jar? Simply boil water on the stove and pour it into the candle jar. The hot water will melt the wax so that it all floats to the top.
Let the water cool for a while so that the wax rehardens on the top, then simply pop it off. Clean and easy!
A magnetic board is a super-efficient way to organize your beauty products. It’s especially helpful for all those products with flat bottoms like eyeshadow palettes or blush.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make one at home according to Handmade In The Heartland:
- Picture frame
- Tin metal sheet
- Hot glue gun
- Loose magnets
- Decorative paper (optional)
Start by removing the glass from the back of the frame and replace it with your metal sheet.
You might have to cut the sheet if it doesn’t fit—just make sure you use tin snips. If you’d like to make it pretty, you can cover it in decorative paper before putting it in the frame.
When you’re done, simply put the back of the frame back in place. Now, all you have to do is attach the magnets to the makeup using hot glue.
Hot glue dries quickly and is fairly mess-free, making it a perfect option for this DIY organization solution.
If makeup organizers had an award show, this one from QVC would be the winner in my book. It has 7 drawers which give me plenty of space for all of my lipsticks and face makeup.
I’ve been using it for over a year and I love that it doesn’t take up too much counter space!
Grab all those extra mason jars you have laying around! This organization hack is ideal for anyone with lots of brushes in their beauty collection.
There are lots of makeup brush storage options on the market but it’s just as easy to make your own at home. Before you start, make sure to gather the supplies below.
- Mason jars
- Rubbing alcohol
- Spray paint
- Mod Podge or glue
- Glitter
- Ribbon
All you really need for this trick is a mason jar—just place your brushes in one and set it on your counter. But if you’d like to spruce them up a bit, you can decorate it like the ones above.
Begin by setting your mason jars on some newspaper to avoid a mess. Then, take some rubbing alcohol on a cloth or cotton ball and wipe down the outside of the jars (ensuring there is no oil is on the surface).
After leaving them to dry for a couple of minutes, spray paint the outside of the jars so that they’re completely covered.
Keep them out for a few hours and once they’re dry, place tape around the jar (so about 1/3 of it is below the tape) and paint the bottom with glue. While wet, shake glitter over the glue so that it sticks.
Now, finish it off with a ribbon where the plain spray paint and the glitter meet! Cute and functional.
While makeup products are typically compact, the same can’t be said for all skincare items. This cart is a great storage option if you have taller bottles or larger containers to keep organized.
It has three deep bins (so nothing falls off the side) and wheels that make it easy to move around.
I keep most of my beauty items in my bathroom drawer so something like this expandable bamboo drawer organizer is exactly what I need.
It’s typically made for your kitchen utensils, but as you can see in the photo, the small sections are great for keeping all your beauty products separated.
One space can hold brushes, one can hold lip products and another can hold tools like tweezers or eyelash curlers!
I keep a lazy Susan in my kitchen because it allows me to access my ingredients quickly and easily. This rotating makeup organizer from Macy’s applies the same concept to your beauty collection!
Available in a couple of colors, it can hold everything from nail polish to lipstick to small tubs of moisturizer.
I found this neat trick on Health.com and thought it was clever. If you have large eyeshadow, blush or face palettes, you can use a mail organizer to keep them visible and upright.
It allows you to see everything you have on hand and gives you quick access to your makeup in a hurry.
This isn’t much of an organization hack, but I still wanted to give it a share! It’s a mini-fridge for your skincare products and it comes in a beautiful rose color.
While today’s products don’t need to be kept in a cool environment, using one may help preserve formulas with a shorter shelf life. It also gives your products a soothing feeling as soon as you put them on your skin.
I hope you can take some of these tricks with you when you organize your own collection of beauty products!
From my home to yours,
Jill
