How do you organize your makeup?


How do you organize your makeup? Share your finds!

I have large dressers that have sixteen drawers each, which house the majority of what I have. Inside each drawer, I use shallow and deep clear drawer organizers from The Container Store. I also have large bookshelves that hold equally large clear plastic containers for to-be-reviewed products. I organize by brand when there’s enough product that it makes sense to do so, but when there’s not, I will group the odd ones out (e.g. I have one container that holds various high-end lipglosses).

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51 Comments

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Erin Franzen Avatar

I have a tall five-drawer organizer for hair, nails, skincare, jewelry, and miscellanea. My actual makeup is in a small train case, usually ashed under my bed.

You should do a makeup collection video!!

GlowyJen Avatar

I have three units of plastic drawers, and I separate with smaller containers (I repurpose containers when I can, buy them when I can’t). I group most things by type of product (lippie, eyeshadow, etc.) and then by color.

I’m starting to depot and use freestyle magnetic palettes too – not just for organizing but because I think I’m going to like “creating” my own palettes on the fly.

andrea Avatar

i have two, four drawered organizers stacked on top of each other to house the majority of my makeup. i then have a file organizer thing to hold my larger palettes. i have a glass organizer that has 3 sections to hold q-tips, hairties/eyelash curlers and my lovely clarisonic 🙂 another big glass jar with a lid that houses my cotton pads for removing makeup, and a wide and short flower vase filled with white decorative sand from Ikea to stick all my brushes in! skincare and accessories are in my bathroom counter drawer, the drawer next to that holds all my hair styling tools.

Dominique Avatar

I have simple boxes ( 1 small, 2 medium, 2 large ), which is not the right thing to do ! My apartment is very small ( 28 m² I don’t know what it is in the US, I live in Bordeaux France ), if you have a solution to my problem feel free to tell me, I would greatly appreciate. Thank you in advance !

Jeanne Avatar

I’ve seen tons of storage/organization tips online, I like to watch Dusty and Koren’s videos on Youtube (dustyohunter and EnKoreMakeup are their channel names). I use Dusty’s tip for organizing eyeliners by putting them in an artist’s pencil carrying case with individual holders for each pencil, it makes them easy to see and access. I’ve also seen quite a few people online place magnets on the back of light compacts and stick them to mirrors/metal plates on walls (I Googled “DIY magnetic makeup storage”) so if you have more space on the wall than you do on the floor, that may be helpful 🙂

Victoria Avatar

I use a one large shallow drawer with a kitchen drawer organizer to organize all my face/eye/blush products, then I use 2 of those little long rectangular baskets to store my lipsticks upright, and I also use a small sterilite 3-drawer to store my pigment sample jars, lip balms, and other miscellaneous stuff. I have a little decorative metal bucket that I store my brushes in. I like this system a lot because I can easily see all my products and everything is stored nice and tightly

Ice Queen Avatar

I have a couple of three drawer thingies that hold the majority of my makeup. A couple of my palettes don’t fit and are just out on top of my Melmers (which hold my polish collection) and I have more makeup in the small middle drawer of my dressing table. All of my brushes are in cleaned out glass candle jars, as are my lipglosses, liners, pencils, mascaras and so forth.

I keep my skincare On my dressing table. Cotton pads and makeup remover wipes are in a drawer in the nightstand that holds my Melmers and drawer components. It isn’t my ideal setup but it works. For now. 🙂

Shivani Avatar

I have a chest of drawers in which I store my makeup. I organize by product category and store them in shoe boxes in that chest. I also have a clear plastic drawer case for lip products.

Lani Avatar

That sounds amazing Christine, I would love to see pictures!

I have a big old writing desk painted tiffany blue. It has lots of compartments built in, plus a drawer and cupboards. I have plastic containers dividingthe products in the drawer (lip balms, misc palettes, Sugarpill Chromalusts, Lime Crime Magic Dusts, blushes, MSFs, Glamour Doll Eyes shadows, misc samples, single eye shadows & depotted lippies etc) and in the cupboard (false lashes, back ups, prettt packaging, extra brushes). In the compartments on display I keep my lipsticks, glosses, eye liners, MAC holiday palettes, Ardell false lashes, mascara etc. Finally I have my top 10 MAC lippies in a clear stand on top of the writing desk, along with glass jars of shadesticks and lip liners, brushes & a bottle of brusg cleanser. I also have a wooden house display in co-ordinating colours on the wall above it which holds paint pots, Guerlain Meteorites, YSL lipsticks & some of my mini polishes. The resr of my nail polish is.. Well. Taking over my room. On the walls, on my dresser, under my dresser, in the wardrobe.. *blush*

Deb Avatar

Painted Tiffany blue?? Gorgeous! 😀 I know what you mean about the nail polish being everywhere though, everything of mine is neatly organized (er, somewhat, haha) and then there’s the nail polish that just needs more storage!

Michelle Avatar

I have a vanity with a few drawers and also have a stack of acrylic drawers on my vanity. Just ordered a chest of drawers though for some more room

Nic Avatar

I have one 3-drawer container that holds most of my makeup. Top drawer is eye stuff: pigments, glitters, quads, and some single eyeshadows that I haven’t depotted. Middle drawer is all my lip stuff. Bottom drawer is face stuff. Sitting on top of that container I have a case that holds all my eyeshadow palettes. Then I have two boxes: one for cream shadows and color bases and gel liners and such, and the other for eyeliner pencils and mascaras and brow stuff.

Dinitchka Avatar

I have 2 single carts and 2 double carts that hold all my non used products. Each drawer has plastic containers that hold each type of beauty product (lips, eyes, face etc). I sub-group from there (ie lip: gloss, liner, lipstick, balm, treatment etc). I then try to group by brand (all MAC lipsticks together, all Revlon gloss together etc). I have a large Caboodle that holds all my daily/most used make-up and a small Caboodle that holds already open products (waiting to be used again) and sample products (which I try to use up first). I have an old Sephora box that holds my monthly purchases. When I get down time or at least once a month I will then sort those products. I’d like a better system but have yet to find the perfect one.

livnzoe Avatar

i have two white organizers from ikea.. they got seven drawers.. in each drawer i got a separater to keep my stuff organized.
it’s enough space to store all my make up!!

please christine show your make up collection in a video or with pictures.. i wonder how it has been growing since i last saw it…??

Lina Avatar

I have a Helmer for IKEA, another smaller drawer that stands on top of that that holds all my makeup. For the rest of my beauty-related things (perfumes, lotions, shower gels etc.) I have a shelf next to the Helmer. I live in such a small place to have it any other way, but it works out pretty well!

Kathy S. Avatar

I have a corner of my bedroom dedicated to makeup, with an antique dressing table next to a small bookcase. I will use literally anything to help me create a work area where I just have to reach my hand out to get what I need. I have an organizer from Lowes, a two-drawer plastic container, some Hull pottery planters, vases to hold brushes filled with decorative beans from a craft store and a cd holder to arrange palletes. Sounds weird, looks nice, works really well!

rawan Avatar

i have 2 ikea alex 6 drawer units. one of them is filled with makeup.
i group them into categories : single eyeshadows\pigments, small palettes of shadows, cheeks\blush\bronzer\highlighter, foundation\concealer\powder, lipsticks\lipgloss, nails
i like this idea because it makes me see my entire stash and not only using the newest products.
also, i think it saves me money to be able to see everything and knowing what i have.
the lipsticks drawer i’m trying to find a way of making them stand in order for me to see the labels clearly
and i also use empty lip palettes and put about a third of all my lipsticks into it. (japonesque lip \ foundation palette)
i keep larger palettes like mac, z palette and japonesque with my lipsticks on my vanity
i’m planning however to get a card organizer or a book holder to keep those in order

the other unit i use it in the same way but for skincare and body care each drawer has its own category

Kristin Avatar

For my daily use cosmetics, I have a 5 drawer acrylic container. It’s great because I can see everything that’s in each drawer and I’m not left digging around for products. For my less used or even bulkier products, I have a bathroom drawer dedicated to them that I separate by type.

The acrylic organizer is a life saver!

Joan Avatar

I use a 4-foot, 5-drawer lingerie chest as a makeup center. There is one drawer for eye products, two for face products, one for lip products and the 5th for wipes, skin care products and my Clarisonic. Each drawer has drawer organizers and all products are labeled, even my lipsticks. My brushes are in a square basket on top of the chest. The basket is filled w/decorative pebbles, and has four sections, the largest of which holds my face brushes. The three remaining sections house my eye brushes, Fix + and a bottle of brush cleaner. My 8 custom pro eyeshadow palettes are on top and easily accessible from the CD rack that holds them, and finally my makeup mirror is also atop the chest. Inside the drawers, the products are sorted by type and alphabetized. My lipsticks, lip pencils and lip glosses are sorted by color, each color family having its own inner drawer compartment. This might seem excessive to some but it affords me the ability to have easy access to and maximum use of my makeup.

Sarah Avatar

I have a tiny bedroom so storage space is like… next to nothing at all. I use a drawer in my dresser which is pretty big, I have one of those cutlery organiser things in there. Works perfectly (lip products slightly overflow… oops!) because it’s out of sight until I need it, and when I do I can see everything 🙂

Safyre Avatar

I have one of those snap-in drawer systems from Rubbermaid where I store the majority of my makeup. It’s kind of OCD-ish, but I organize my makeup by category (i.e.: lipsticks, eyeshadows), then alphabetically by brand, and if then by ROYGBIV (rainbow :P). I feel like if I’m looking for something specific, that I’ll be able to find it quickly and easily. I also keep any palettes that don’t fit in the drawers nearby and my brushes in a brush roll in the same desk that I keep the drawers on. My skincare and some miscellaniums items that don’t fit in the drawers (i.e.: Fix +) are kept on top of the drawers. Plus I have a little box where I keep my nail polish and nail-care things, that also sits on top of the desk. :3

Lauren Avatar

I also have the stacking plastic drawers from container store. I’ve labeled them and broken out my eye shadows by when I typically wear them–I have a drawer for summer shadows containing nude, pastel, and bright colors, a drawer for winter shadows with deeper earth tones, and a drawer for nighttime shadows–those intense colors I use for dramatic looks. I’m also a lipstick junkie so I finally had to get control of my “collection” by separating them by shade families–nudes, pinks, dark reds, etc.

Love your blog!

Nadia Avatar

I’m proud to say I only have ONE drawer (top one in my dresser) that holds all my makeup. Within that drawer, I just have various smaller boxes. I have my blushes/highlighters/bronzers in one box, cream eyeshadows in another, lipsticks/glosses in another, loose eyeshadows and the few shadow palettes I have in another. And one last box that holds odds and ends.

It’s when my drawer was getting full and I realized that I’d need to find more space that I decided it was time to stop buying makeup. I refuse to have more than one drawer. What I have is more than enough for my needs (I’m not a makeup artist). I’m working on finishing a lot of stuff up and freeing up more room!

Veronica Avatar

I repurposed a desktop office supply three-drawer organizer to hold all of my makeup. I have most of my products divided amongst the three drawers by category (eye products, lipstick/gloss, blush/bronzer). My foundation and concealers fit in the top compartment that has a hinged lid while all of my brushes fit in the two “pencil cups”.

I don’t have a ton of makeup (just high-end “staple” items, really) so it’s worked for me for years!

Lee Avatar

Mine is all over the place. Brushes and pencils are in magnetic cups hanging next to the mirror (it’s an office organizer from Ikea). I’ve got a traincase of most used stuff I pull out each morning as well as a bin that holds random loose things. All my eye shadows are in palettes in in a vanity drawer.
The best is my lipsticks, they’re stored clear plastic in shotgun shell holders. I’ve got a couple that hold 25 a piece and one that holds 50. A MAC lipstick is exactly the size of a shotgun shell and the holders keep them organized and accessible.

WARPAINT and Unicorns Avatar

I have a Japonesques PRO STUDIO CABINET that I try to keep all my stuff in in my bedroom but It’s out of space.

I have three small pencil/brush cups, Anna Sui Brush Stand, MAC Hellow Kitty and Sephore Noir Black brush holder for my super short brushes/pencils.

I have a 5 drawer jewelers cabinet for my pigments on the firts 4 and lashes ont he last to be stored. It this on minus the inserts.
http://www.amazon.com/Drawer-Jewelry-Chest-Black-Leather/dp/B002N4NPAI

I have a small metal case which I store all my FX items. use to hold a cheat nail kit. lol

I have 4 Z-plattes(2 more soon) that I depot all my pan shadows into. I’m over most pre fabed palettes and like others stated I like creating a travel palttes with the exact shades i want in it for pre-planed looks.

Finally I have my Hold Me Cosmetic Bag with the Les Fleurs pattern. I’ve been using this the past year for travel and it’s been the most functional makeup bags I’ve ever owned.
Their Oh Paris! pattern is on sale and part of it’s price goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Needless to say I don’t have a set room for my makeup as I live in a bachelor apartment. lol

Emily Avatar

I have a vanity. One drawer for eyeshadows (both singles and palettes), one drawer for cheek things, one for eyeliner/mascara, one for lippies, one for face makeup (concealer, power, foundation, primer), and the final drawer for things I am planning to swap away.

Laurel Avatar

At home I use a vanity and a dresser from Pier 1(the mirrored one Tiffany D has) with silverware drawer organizers in each drawer and separate by type of item. At school, though, I use three separate three drawered containers in different sizes. I separate by type of item but other than that it’s a free-for-all inside the drawer. I use pen holders for my brushes and a glass tray to hold skincare and hair care on my desk. This doesn’t leave much room for schoolwork, but that’s ok with me 🙂

Kristabelle Avatar

I have a desk for makeup. On top of the desk, I keep my nicer stuff (UD, MAC, Sugarpill, etc) in various sized printed cardboard containers from the $1 section at Target.My palettes go in a dish rack type thing, and brushes are in a really big mug. I also have some of my cheaper go-tos (liner, mascara) in another container on my desk.
Since I can’t stand throwing things out, I keep my drugstore/rarely used stuff in a plastic container, organized in ziplock bags by type of product (pressed shadow, loose shadow, etc).

Libby Avatar

I have a 3-tier clear container that i got from like target or walmart that i use to separate different types of products, top tier- eye makeup (liner, mascara), middle tier- complection products (foundation, blush), bottom tier- small palettes (UD naked 1&2, UD rollergirl) and brushes. Any any bigger palettes that i have like the UD BOS Vol. 3 and the UD 15th anniversary liner collection i put on top of the container for easy access.

Xero Avatar

I have a small 3-drawer organizer on top of one of my dresser that holds most of my stuff (divided into eyeshadows, lip products and face products) and a little clear makeup organizer (it was a gift from a long, long time ago, it came with cheapy makeup) where I keep my usual go-to items.

Ale Avatar

I put all my eyeshadows in a caboodle and teh rest of my make up in another caboodle. My moisturizers and skin care are in the fridge. Works for metill my collection grows =)

Maggie Avatar

I have an old secretary bookcase. There’s a desktop that folds down and has a bunch of little compartments and drawers for my everyday stuff. Underneath are a few big drawers to house my collection. Up top is a hutch with glass windows. For now I keep decorations in there, so if I have company over I can just fold up the desk and my makeup is hidden.
I also store my nail polishes on a 3-tiered silver dessert tray that I found at a thrift store. I use a lot of thrifted silver serving-ware to hold makeup and jewelry. It’s the easiest way to dress up my storage.
Here’s a picture of my set-up from a few months ago: http://i41.tinypic.com/2s6sj11.jpg

Em Avatar

Right now I don’t have any type of stationary set up for my makeup so I have two caboodles that fit in my closet: A big caboodle and a small caboodle. My everyday face is in my small caboodle and the rest of my makeup is in my big one. I switch out eyeshadows, eye bases, bronzers, blushes, eyeliners, etc. every week or two to make sure I’m using all my collection. This system sort of works out until I realize I want something out of my big caboodle and I have to dig it out. I can’t wait until I have a vanity to do my makeup!

Andryroxy Avatar

I have one medium train case I fit there everything I need and I try not to get my collection bigger than what I can fit there. Daily stuff I just leave it on top of my drawers and nail polish I put it in a separate plastic box.

Karen K Avatar

Mine is in one of those 9 drawer rolling craft carts. It is jam packed and sways to one side due to the weight. I call it my Makeup Tower of Pisa. I just know if a feather or something lands on it the whole shebang is going to crack and all my lovelies will be strewn all over the place. I need a room for my makeup. LOL!

Ana Avatar

Two little plastic towers with 5 drawers each divided into categories (blushes, eyeshadows, small palettes, powders, etc. I keep my bigger palettes in a plastic file/folders organizer, brushes in pencil holders (one for eyes and one for face brushes)and last but not least a box full of lips stuff (: all is kept inside my closet, but I want to buy a good vanity so I can organize better cauase it’s quite a mess!

Erin M Avatar

I have 2 small Sterlite 3 drawer units. The top 2 drawers are eye (top is shadows, next is mascara and liners and brow), the next is lip, the bottom 3 are face (foundation and powder, bronzer and blush, mineral). I have one mac eyeshadow palette that sits on top, a small mirror and vase with sephora-style brush holder beside. An old facial wipes container holds qtips and cotton rounds (regular and flannel washable). All that is on the bit of counter space above the toilet in my tiny tiny bathroom.

Body stuff is in the shower, skin care in the medicine cabinet, tiny nail polish stash in a ferrero rocher container in the vanity, perfumes (all 2 of them plus samples :)) on my dresser.

My collection is bitty.

Veronica Avatar

I actually used to keep all of my makeup in one lidded container. That was getting a bit cumbersome and unwieldy, so my mother bought me a nice, big makeup carrier for Christmas. I wound up dividing it up so that all of my lip products went into the new case and all of the eye/face makeup went into the old container. My makeup collection isn’t quite that big enough to require sixteen drawers. 😀 (My shoe collection on the other hand…)

Mel Avatar

I have the NYX medium train case that I got as a Christmas gift from my parents this past year. Its huge, I love it. It’s has a bottom portion deep enough for my larger palettes like UD BoS and the Tarte for True Blood palette and then some and lots of folding compartments for lipsticks, glosses, shadows, and face powders, and other items. I store my brushes in the NYX brush belt bag that I keep on my dresser.

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