How to Organize Your Beauty Products
As a former beauty editor and reformed hoarder of beauty products (this includes makeup and skincare products), I have a thing or two to say about how to keep them organized. First, hoarding beauty products is a useless exercise. Second, you never need or use as many products as you own. Your face can only take so many essences and serums and creams in one day! All of this is to say that before you even begin organizing your beauty products, you must shift your thinking on the scarcity principle.
There are trillions of beauty products in the world and they will continue to be produced so long as there are humans on this planet that require an SK II essence and La Mer night cream. So no need to stash them away for an apocalypse. If you haven’t opened a La Prairie serum in two years and it’s just sitting idly in your linen closet, best to use it immediately or pass it off to a friend. Trust that when you give something away, the universe will return it in a different form exactly when you need it in the future. Once you come to this realization, you will feel lighter, freer and more at peace with having products come in and out of your life (same goes for clothes!). To this end, it helps to create a bin full of skincare and beauty products to give to friends and family. The expired stuff can be tossed.
Now for the fun part…how to organize the products you actually use and need! And yes, it’s okay to have skincare and makeup backups, provided they are properly organized, have been vetted (i.e., tested and approved), and aren’t overflowing. I recommend keeping your everyday skincare regimen completely separate from your backups to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Place your everyday serum, moisturizer, sunscreen, etc. at eye level in your medicine cabinet for easy access. No medicine cabinet, or no room in your medicine cabinet? Place only the items you need on a chic looking tray, but do not overpack this tray! In an ideal world, you really want your bathroom to look like your favorite hotel or spa. No need to have ten serums spilling out of the bottle and strewn about your sink. Not chic. Not relaxing. Not zen.
The approach is the same for your beauty products. I recommend keeping your most-frequently used items in your medicine cabinet in a clear organizer with different compartments. Clear so you don’t lose track of what’s inside your container, and compartments to keep your different product types separate. Easy peasy. If you prefer to store your makeup in a little pouch, keep your everyday products in a chic toiletry bag. The rest of your makeup can be stored underneath your sink in a clear, labeled drawer or bin. Voila.
As for extra sunscreen, bath and beauty products, razors, medicine, it’s best to categorize each item and place them in additional clear, stackable drawers underneath your sink. Don’t overthink this process! Whenever you’re running low on any of the above items, just reach for a bin and retrieve what you need. You can of course keep a few extras of things on hand, but if you have ten moisturizers sitting idly in a drawer, they might expire by the time you actually need them. If that teal eyeliner doesn’t suit you now, it’s not going to suit you in a year. Better to give it to a pal than stash it in your makeup backups. In the end, you know your face, body and preferences better than others, so trust your instincts as you sort through your items. And if you’re low on your favorite body wash, there’s always a Sephora or CVS eagerly waiting to replenish your supply.