What would your dream space be like for storing and/or applying your makeup?

I really enjoy what I have now, as it’s pretty vast and spacious, but in a dream world, I’d have more customized storage, probably more built ins with strategically placed areas for decor. I’d love a larger mirror with built-in lighting with a vanity that was slightly deeper with fully extending drawers. I shared photos of my space here.

— Christine

19 Comments

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Phoebe Avatar

So right now I have literally no space, my bedrooms tiny with hardly any storage and I live in a shared house. I would ideally like a whole room! But in reality I’d like to have a bedroom big enough that I can have a corner for my makeup storage and a vanity. I’d love to not do my makeup on the floor or in bed for once! I want my most commonly used products on my vanity in those mini Perspex storage draws/components, with brushes in another holder. I’d like shelves to display all my favourite/higher end lipsticks, eyeshadows and products and drawers for palettes and makeup I buy on a whim that I may or may not use, but with everything easy to access and see because at the moment there’s so many things I can’t actually get to without a lot of effort moving everything around.

Seraphine Avatar

Two or three IKEA Alex drawer units side-by-side. Inside the drawers would be different types of dividers depending on what was in the drawer. A vanity with a giant remote-controlled lighted mirror (goes up so I can use it and down if I want it out of the way). The vanity would be in front of a window with a curtain, so I can get natural light if I want it, but close the curtains if I don’t. On the vanity is a simplehuman Sensor Mirror Trio (1x, 5x, 10x). One side of the vanity would have a drawer containing tissues, Q-tips, etc., The other side would have a pull-out drawer for trash. Against another wall would be a sink with a rack for brushes to dry pointed down. And while I’m fantasizing my perfect space, my husband would empty the makeup trash drawer every couple of days. 😉

In real life, my vanity is a computer desk that has no drawers, but it does sit in front of a curtained window. My makeup storage consists of multiple lucite storage units. I use a Zadro lighted mirror (1x, 10x) that I do like a lot, but I dream that someday I can get that $300 simplehuman Trio. Brushes get cleaned in my bathroom and hang on the shower door to dry. It works, but I’d love to have a dedicated makeup sink right near my vanity. And I empty my own makeup trash, which usually happens only after it reaches the overflowing stage.

Kira Avatar

A bigger bathroom with an extended counter with sink, so that I could be seated next to a sink while applying. I’d also like hidden storage behind the counter space for my makeup products and tools, which I could leave open while applying makeup and still view my mirror continuously (instead of having to open my mirror to get brushes and tools). A dream world though – my set up works just fine now!

SaffyTaffy Avatar

I’ve come to associate “storage” with mess and depression, so happiness for me means having all my makeup visible and easily accessible. Right now I use an old kitchen table as a vanity, and that size is working well for me. The only improvement I’d like to make is to add a few more clear plastic lipstick holders.
I do have a big Urban Decay vault, the XX 20th Anniversary one, and I use the products often enough that I’d like to find a way to keep everything in the vault but make everything inside a little more accessible. No idea yet how to do that.

Elissa Murray Avatar

I love love love your makeup organizing post. I am newer to this blog so I missed that before. Thank you for that! Currently I live in a smaller house with a tiny bathroom off my master bedroom and boy do I miss the bathroom at my old house! My old bathroom had two sinks and whoo! What counter space! Alas, now I have a tiny one person sink with a single person shower and just a small 3 tier recessed shelf so I am constantly having to shuffle my palettes, foundations, powders depending on what I have decided to use for the day! I did recently purchase a small acrylic makeup organizer that has 5 drawers and storage on top so at least most of my lip products are now easily accessible sitting atop my dresser. In a perfect world I’d have nice shelving to display my favorite palettes and makeup in unique packaging, a lighted mirror, drawers for foundations, powders, highlighters and more and a nice surface to display a few favorites with enough room to sit and do my makeup!

Deborah S. Avatar

I am pretty happy with my current set up. I have an antique armoire that has four pieces. It is about 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide. I have my makeup divided by categories and then into colour families. In addition to that I have a ten drawer antique music cabinet that I store more of my daily use things. I have a walnut vanity that has a single drawer that runs the length of the vanity and I keep my everyday essentials in that. On top are a couple of clear acrylic drawers and mercury glass candle holders that I use for my brushes and anything pen or pencil shaped such as lip liners, brow products and eye liners. I have four mirrored and filigreed containers that I purchased at Home Goods quite a while ago and those house my high end lipsticks and the remainder of my lipstick are in the 10 drawer music cabinet. As I have said before, I keep packaging and cut it in half vertically and store the products inside their packaging which I then attach to the next box so that I don’t have items falling over in the drawers. The only thing I don’t love is I wish that lipsticks and certain other products all had a colour chip or something so that I would know what shade I am looking for. I always start out with them organized but that doesn’t last long and then I have to go back and reorganize.
On my vanity I have two mirrors. One is a lighted, relatively cheap mirror and then the other is a magnified mirror. I tend to not use either of them and actually use a 10x hand held mirror. The only time I use one of the vanity mirrors is when I need both hands for something like applying eye liner or lip liner since I have to smooth the crepe out before proceeding!
Everything is housed in my bedroom but with the exception of the brushes and lipstick, you really can’t see anything makeup related. I also have a decorative box sitting on my vanity to holds my skin care with the exception of cleansers which are in the bathroom.

Karine Avatar

I’m really happy with my set up.
My vanity is an IKEA table top on an Alex drawer housing all my makeup, hair and nail stuff. I have an IKEA table top mirror. That setup works wonder for me. I recently sorted out the drawer a little better, bould better acrylic divider and condensed my collection in one big Adept Palette.

Nancy T Avatar

No more ugly Sterlite container that sits too low on the floor! Bending over to access the lower 2 drawers is a pain. Literally.
Therefore I would love to have something at least as high as my dresser. Also, nice clear acrylic divider containers. Heavy tumblers for pencils, brushes, lip glosses and liquid lipsticks.
A real vanity would be FABULOUS! Something where my legs have someplace to go, LOL. I’m all legs and arms, with a chubby short torso…like a spidey!

Becky Avatar

I store my make up that I use the most in my bathroom which is extremely tiny. I have most of it in boxes/tupperware in my linen closet and medicine cabinet above my sink. I would like to be able to find what I need and not feel cramped a vanity with more room to hold my stuff.

ShariP Avatar

I love my area that I have now. It is in our spare bedroom . I have a vanity with a full width lap drawer. Then several shelves with drawer units and two small tower units similar to the Alex drawers. I would like to replace mine for Alex’s in the future. But….If I were really dreaming…and could have anything regardless of cost…I’d take Tati’s glam room minus all of the filming equipment. That is a beautiful room.

brendacr1 Avatar

I would have my make up area part of my walk in closet. Which of course would be off of my master bathroom and bedroom. Natural light would have to be near the vanity with the simple human mirror on it. All built in shelving to store eye palettes, eyeliners, blushes, highlighter, lippies etc. It would all close up so there would be no disorganization or mess displayed. Preferably in white or light pinks.

Pearl Avatar

I am pretty happy with my dresser displays, drawers, vanity tray in my bathroom and my organizers in my tall, swivel mirror thing – I’d just like to add a seated vanity next to the swivel storage mirror as it is my main storage.

I’ve gone back and forth with using one of the the bedrooms as just a beauty room for me – a station for my nails, a wide seated vanity, mounted tv and a chaise for when I actually get to lie down with a mask on my face. Colors would be white primarily with greige and/or brushed silver accents. Still feels a bit indulgent or at least a lot to take on right now. If or when I do this, it wouldn’t be until January.

Olive Unicorn Avatar

I live in like the smallest house/apartment , so my storage is limited . In an ideal world I would have at least a vanity and a drawer to store my pallettes and lipsticks in . I feel like I would probably buy more pallettes if I had the space lol So maybe its better the way it is now since it gives me incentive to use the makeup I have .

Karen Avatar

I would have a space that was custom built to my specs. First, it would be a medium to dark wood composite. If items dropped, they wouldn’t break, if they spilled, they wouldn’t stain. The deeper drawers would have slanted racks for items in taller packaging, such as primers, foundations and facial sprays. All drawers would come with interlocking slats that would be moveable depending on what size I needed. There would be cabinets on either side of the high-tech mirror- that could truly simulate any type of light. The cabinets would have slide-out shelves, large enough to hold my brush collection but keep it out of sight when not using. There would be power connections within the cabinets and places to store hair and beauty appliances. This unit would be near north facing windows and when “buttoned up” would look clean and sleek. I was thinking about adding a bar sink for water but I can’t visualize that.
It isn’t like I’ve given this any thought, lol.
Actually I’m pretty happy with my current set up except there are too many items that don’t fit in my drawers so I have to leave them out. This just always looks messy to me.

BlackOrchid Avatar

Let’s say I have a beauty counter as my desk is made into one, so for now my biggest wish is to have a mini fridge next to it, so I could storage there all kinds of face creams and eye creams, rollers and even mascaras and so on…

DVa Avatar

This is SO relevant.
We just bought a new home and are gutting the entire upstairs; including a massive master closet and master bath. My husband decided I needed a makeup vanity (bless him) and we’ve allocated a 5ft stretch to me just for that.
I’m dealing with figuring out cabinetry. We have oustanding pull out drawers in our current bath (renovated 3 years ago) and extensive medicine cabinets.
I want that again as I realize “seeing” what I have is 90% of it.
Some items (like foundation, brushes, and face creams) I need to see at eye level and face front. Other things like palettes, I can look down on and pick, as long as they are stacked vertically.
Then, I need shallower drawers to see blushes and mascaras and highlighters, which I already use byalegory organizers–they are awesome and I will get more when we move.

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