Ever experienced rummaging through all your cabinets, drawers, and purses just to find one beauty product you've been dying to wear? Yeah—we've all been there before.
There is honestly nothing more stressful than a cluttered room or vanity. By de-cluttering and organising your makeup, you'll never have to stress again. In fact, the more organised you are, the happier and more stress-free you will be.
De-cluttering your vanity will not only improve your well-being, but you also get to streamline your beauty routine. Getting ready in the morning becomes much easier and faster. You no longer have to scramble all over the place to look for your favorite items. The best part is that once you've organised your makeup, you'll never go back to your messy ways again.
How to Organise Your Makeup Step-by-Step
Don't know how to start organising your makeup? We'll explain the step-by-step process and share some storage ideas. Then at the end, you'll find a list of all the best makeup organisers you can buy. Let's dive in!
Step 1: Get rid of expired makeup
If you're a makeup hoarder like us, that means you probably have too much makeup that's been left unused for years. We know how much you want to hold onto them, but it's probably time you throw them away. Getting rid of expired makeup will not only free up more space but will also protect your skin and eyes from any bacteria that might've cumulated in your makeup over time.
Not sure how to tell if your makeup is expired? Here's a guide for each beauty product's shelf life:
- Liquid foundation, concealer, and highlight: 6 months to 1 year
- Powdered foundation, blush, and bronzers: 2 years
- Cream blush and multi-purpose cream sticks: 12 to 18 months
- Lipstick, lip liner, and lip gloss: 1 year
- Brow pencils and pencil eyeliner: 1 year
- Mascara: 3 months
- Liquid eyeliner:3 to 4 months
- Gel eyeliner: 2 months
- Eyeshadow singles and palettes: 3 to 6 months
If you really don't want to let go of your makeup, there is a way for you to salvage some of your older products. You can actually disinfect them—we'll explain how shortly.
Step 2: Sanitize your makeup and tools!
Before you start organising your makeup, you should sanitize and disinfect your products first. That includes your makeup brushes and other tools as well. If you have any old makeup you feel like you can save, start by disinfecting them.
But keep in mind that old makeup products will never be 100% clean—this is why it's always best to replace rather than reuse these products if they're past their prime.
Sanitizing makeup
Powdered cosmetics such as eyeshadows, compact blushes, bronzers, and foundations are the easiest to restore. All you have to do is gently wipe away the top layer of the powders with some tissue or a cotton swab, then spray them with rubbing alcohol. Once they're dry you can start using them again.
You can clean lipstick the same way. Just wipe the outer layer of the lipstick and dip the exposed areas in rubbing alcohol. Keep it there for 30 seconds, then allow it to dry. Pencil cosmetics such as pencil eyeliner and eyebrow pencils should be sharpened before disinfecting. Once they're sharpened you dip them into rubbing alcohol for another 30 seconds and let them dry.
Liquid makeup such as foundation, concealers, highlight, lip gloss, and so on are much more challenging to clean. It's not recommended to use liquid cosmetics past their shelf life. Not only do they contain bacteria, but you'll notice the oils starting to separate, and, trust us, it's not the healthiest thing for your skin.
Liquid eye products such as eyeliner and mascara are big no-nos. You should never reuse these products past their shelf life, or you might risk developing an eye infection—just toss them already!
Sanitizing makeup brushes and tools
You should make it a habit to sanitize your makeup brushes twice a month. All you need is some dish soap or shampoo, olive oil, a paper towel, and a plate. When you clean your brushes avoid rinsing them with hot water. This can loosen the glue in your brushes and the hairs will fall out.
Start by pouring the liquid soap onto one half of the plate and the olive oil onto the other half. Get a makeup brush and swirl the tip in the middle where the liquid soap and the olive oil meet. Once you feel like you've got enough soap and olive oil onto your brush, swirl the brush on your palm until you see all the gunk and makeup residue coming off.
Once it's time to rinse, point the brush downwards with the brush facing the bottom of the sink. Avoid damaging the bristles as you rinse them. Make sure to use lukewarm water only and be gentle with your brushes. Squeeze the bristles to get rid of excess water and lay it on top of the paper towel to dry.
To sanitize your tools, such as eye curlers and tweezers, simply wipe them down with some tissue and rubbing alcohol.
Step 3: Sort your makeup and tools
Once all your makeup, brushes, and tools have been sanitized it's time to sort them! Start separating your cosmetics and your tools into different categories.
You can separate your cosmetics into liquids, powders, pencils and liners, pomades and gels, and creams. Or categorize them into what part of the face they're for, such as face makeup, eye makeup, lips, and so on. When organising brushes and tools, we separate them either by size or function.
Step 4: Find the perfect makeup storage and organiser
The last step is to find the perfect makeup storage for you. Depending on how much space you have in your room and your personal style, your makeup organiser preferences might be different from others. But don't worry, because we've listed down all the different makeup storage ideas you can use.
Now that you know how to organise and clean your makeup case or bag, we're ready to explain the different types of organisers and storage options you have.
The Different Kinds of Makeup Organisers & Storage
There are tons of makeup storage options that can help you save space at home, in your dorms, or while you're traveling. No matter how little or how big your space is, there's always an option for you. Here are the different kinds of containers you can use for makeup organisation:
Acrylic Makeup Organiser
Acrylic makeup organisers are one of the most trendy storage ideas these days. Professional makeup artists, social media influencers, beauty gurus, and makeup enthusiasts alike use these organisers.
The crystal-clear look makes them perfect for any personality. They can blend with any decor, and they're multi-purpose too. You can even stack multiple acrylic organisers on top of each other if you find yourself needing more storage space.
Hardshell Train Case
If you need something a little more versatile, a hardshell train cosmetics case is a great choice for a makeup organiser. You can keep it on your vanity, but when it's time for you to leave, you can just pack it up and go! It's essential if you always need to travel and can't leave without your favorite beauty products.
Pouches
Are you an essentials-only type of person? Don't own enough makeup to need an organiser, but still need somewhere to store them? What you need is a makeup pouch instead. Organising a makeup bag is so simple.
This allows you to have a safe and designated space to store your makeup instead of just dumping it into your drawers or purses with the rest of your items. We even have a guide on the best makeup bags if you're looking for a recommendation.
Trolleys
Is a cosmetics case too small to carry all of your beauty products? Do you still need something you can use as a storage and travel bag? A makeup trolley is exactly what you need. It might not be your typical makeup organiser at home, but if you're always traveling, it does the job perfectly.
The Best Makeup Organisers & Storage
Still haven't made up your mind on which type of makeup storage you're going to use? No worries, here's a guide to help you find the best makeup organiser depending on the space that you have:
The Best Makeup Organisers for Desks
Turn your desk into a vanity with these Luvo tabletop organisers. The trick to freeing up more space on your desk is to use an organiser that is either wide and flat which allows you to stack more things on top of it, or more narrow but tall. Multi-purpose organisers are also great cause it allows you to store other items you might keep on your desk aside from makeup.
Amani Add-On Table Unit - Slim
The Amani Slim is every minimalist's dream. This clear acrylic table unit features two drawers with removable and adjustable dividers and signature luxe crystal handles. Its slim design creates a sleek finishing touch to any desk. It can sit right below your other desk items so you can have a station to work and do your makeup on as well!
Rotating Multi-Holder
Easy access and versatility are what the Rotating Multi-Holder is all about. You can place your favorite beauty products here, together with skincare, brushes, hair equipment—anything—just personalize it to your liking! Its open-top and rotating feature allows you to access your favorite products easily.
Essential Makeup Station
Streamlining your beauty routine will be a piece of cake with the Essential Makeup Station. You can store everything in this tray - from foundation, to brushes, to lipstick, and even eyeshadow palettes. All your beauty essentials displayed in one gorgeous clear acrylic makeup organiser!
Luxe Beauty Box
Is the Essential Makeup Station still not enough to fit all your favorite products? Upgrade to the LUXE Beauty Box. It's our largest makeup organiser and features 4 spacious drawers, 24 lipstick holders, and 6 brush holder compartments. This will surely fit even the most extreme makeup hoarders' collection. And if not—you can always get more clear acrylic organisers!
The Best Makeup Organisers for Drawers
Need more space? Utilize your drawers and organise your makeup with these makeup Luvo drawer organisers:
ALEX 5 Drawer - 6 Display Tray
Our 6 Display Tray is perfect for those items that you just don't know where to put. We usually have this habit of just dumping whatever into our drawers, but with this, you can keep your cosmetics neat and tidy inside your drawers. No need to claw through every item in your drawer anymore.
ALEX 5 Drawer - Palette Divider
Are you as palette obsessed as we are? Don't just dump your beautiful palettes into your drawers. Organise them and display them the way they're meant to be displayed with our Drawer Palette Divider. Each acrylic divider piece is removable allowing you to customize the layout of your palettes. Now every time you open your drawer it's like you found a pot of gold.
ALEX 5 Drawer - Foundation Divider
Keep your foundations organised in your drawers with our Drawer Foundation Dividers. Not only does this help keep your foundations orderly it also keeps them from falling over and breaking or spilling if you're constantly opening and closing your drawers.
ALEX 5 Drawer - Lipstick Divider
Lipstick is probably one of those items that are so hard to keep track of. There are just too many colors to choose from. And since a lot of them look the same from the outside, it's hard to rummage through all of them to find the exact shade you want. With our Drawer Lipstick Dividers, you can easily arrange your lipsticks by color or by brand to streamline your beauty routine even more.
Where can you buy the best makeup organisers and storage?
Whether it's makeup organisers or cases you need, there's only one place you should get them from—Luvo Store. It's every makeup artist and enthusiast's go-to shop for all the makeup organisers and beauty accessories they need.
Luvo Store - The #1 Beauty Accessory Store!
Everything you require to de-clutter your makeup and build your dream vanity, you can find it here at Luvo. We have all kinds of clear acrylic makeup organisers, hardshell train cases, makeup pouches, and makeup trolleys to suit your personality.
They come in a variety of styles, sizes, and functions. Even if you're just starting your makeup collection or you've been makeup-obsessed for years, there is no doubt you'll find everything you need (or want) to organise and display your favorite beauty essentials in our store.
And if you want to build your very own vanity, we sell vanity mirrors, chairs and stools, ring lights, and so much more! Our collection of beauty accessories is like no other. We provide all premium quality products for a fair price—it's no wonder our customers keep coming back for more, and you will too once you try our products yourself.