My New Beauty Storage and Organization Tips
Happy Caturday! So recently I reorganized, purged, and updated my makeup collection. I wanted to share my new beauty storage and organization tips with you.
My New Beauty Storage and Organization Tips
PR + purchased by me.
I was faced with the reality of needing to buy yet ANOTHER Ikea Alex, so rather than buy a 3rd tall Alex, instead I went through all the drawers of my current storage items and created a giveaway to friends box. I did this in every single storage device that I have. By the time I was done, I’d created a massive mound of makeup. I had over 3 boxes worth of stuff to give away to friends. Please keep in mind, I have a massive collection because I’ve been blogging for almost 8 years. It is not normal to have this much makeup. Part of why I am constantly giving things away to friends is because I know I will NEVER use it all up and I’d rather it go to someone who will use it. So please don’t think that having this much makeup is normal or something that everyone needs to do!
I have an Alex Desk and purple chair. This is the desk I work at during the day.
I reorganized my makeup brushes. I created a pile and put my least used brushes into it. Then I reorganized my brushes by type.
I found these Sourpuss Candy Dishes on Amazon and decided that they would be really cute to use as unique face brush holders. My face brushes are Real Techniques, ecoTools, Makeup Geek, Urban Decay, Cover FX, It Cosmetics and Wayne Goss. I have the most from Real Techniques and Makeup Geek. I really love these! I have them organized by the brushes I use the most on the right and the brushes I use less frequently on the left.
I bought these Sonia Kashuk brush holders at Target and I love them because of the stars. Sure, I wish they were purple stars but they’re cute as is too. They each have two compartments. My brush holder on the left has bdellium tools, It Cosmetics, Cover FX and Tarte in the left side. The right side has Real Techniques and ecoTools. The holder on the right has Makeup Geek, Sigma and Sugarpill in the left side. The right side has Goss, Urban Decay, Illamasqua and Kat Von D. I use the double ended UD brushes a ton. I went through my eye brushes and figured out which I was using the most and purged the ones that I rarely touched. I really should do that again to ditch the ones I rarely use because I’ve bought a ton that are good for hooded eyes and I use those all the time now.
I keep cotton pads in here for makeup removal.
I bought these Zahra spinning lipstick towers from Amazon. They each hold 81 full size lipsticks, though as you can see I can fit 2 to 3 of the slimline lipsticks into one container. I really like this better than what I used to use because it gets me to look at and wear more of my collection (except when I’m stuck on a HOT PINK EVERYDAY kick). I think 1 of these towers would be enough for your average makeup lover.
My Darling Girl drawer inside my desk.
My Silk Naturals drawer inside my desk. All of the drawers in my desk are filled with indies. I also have Fyrinnae, Hello Waffle, Geek Chic, Aromaleigh. These clear plastic organizers fit inside these drawers perfectly making it easy to store eyeshadows.
I LOVE my wall mounted nail polish rack! This is another Amazon find (can you tell I shop on Amazon all the time?). I was trying to find something sort of dark and creepy and this was the closest I could find. I love it and this is where I keep my favorite bottles of polish. For your average makeup lover, this polish rack would be overkill. For your polish addict, it’s probably not big enough. For me, it’s perfect because I can put all the polishes I want to be able to easily find on it.
So here we have, from left to right, an Ikea Helmer, 2 Ikea Alex talls, and a 10 drawer organizer. I used to have 3 of the 10 drawer organizers. The Helmer is currently empty. The Alex talls are half full, and the 10 drawer organizer has 8 out of 10 drawers full. I purged through these drawers very heavily, pulling out things I hadn’t used in a long time and putting them into my give away box. It really felt good to give away things to friends.
This is a blush drawer inside one of the tall Ikea Alex.
The purple blush organizers are great as they make it easier to store blushes or other compacts.
This is a foundation drawer inside one of the tall Ikea Alex. When I have friends who ask me to do their makeup (even though I am NOT a makeup artist) this is where I look for foundation.
This drawer has Prestige eyeshadows, Virus Insanity, Morgana Cryptoria, and a bottle of Zoya Remove.
This is my makeup bag drawer with my favorite bags. I love this Too Faced bag. I’m also quite fond of my Maleficent and Ariel bags.
I repurposed my acrylic lipstick organizer trays into perfume vial trays. These are also inside the Ikea Alex tall. I think this is a great way to store indie perfumes.
On top of my Ikea Alex talls I have a mix of cute gothic stuff. My Voltaire pony, Nightmare before Christmas, Bat Hello Kitty, Maleficent Dragon, my teal light up skull and my black tray organizers. 
On top of the 10 drawer organizer I keep my velvet lined tray with my Bunny Paige hearts. Both of my Simple Human Mirrors are on my short bookshelf to the right of it, though I normally keep the large one on my desk (need to clean it!) and the small one stays where it is. You can see my cute funko pops on the window sill.
I have a short bookshelf in my office. I keep my makeup books on the bottom shelf, though I’m clearly out of space. The top shelf of the bookshelf has a muji organizer on it with my Colour Pop eyeshadow collection. It has my Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush cleaner (economy size and travel size), a big bottle of Zoya Remove, a head to practice hair braiding, and some extra makeup brushes. (Check out my makeup book collection!)
On top of the bookshelf I have several clear 3 drawer organizers. In the 3 drawer organizers I have a Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipsticks drawer, a Nyx Liquid Suede Cream drawer, a Colour Pop drawer, 2 indie lipstick drawers, an Ofra drawer, and 2 Aromaleigh drawers. To the right of those I have a Melody Susie organizer. All of my NARS eyeshadows, Ardency Inn, Kat Von D Metal Crush, and brow products are inside there. The Melody Susie organizer is great for those of you with limited counter space as it really holds a ton of products of different shapes and sizes. An average makeup collection could easily fit into one.
Next to my bookshelf and desk I have a short Alex. I keep my eyeshadow palettes, my most reached for blushes, foundations, setting powders, highlighters etc in it. 2 of the drawers in it are empty.
My most used eyeshadow palettes drawer. I have my Urban Decay, Makeup Geek, Kat Von D, Honest Beauty, Viseart, and Too Faced in here.
My blushes, highlighters, setting powders, foundations, and concealers. The things I use the most are on the left side. It’s mostly the UD Blushes, UD highlighters, Too Faced Sparkling Bellini, and NARS Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder. I keep them where I can easily reach them.
On top of my short Alex I have a Sherrieblossom Organizer and an eDiva Princess. If you are an average person with a MASSIVE makeup collection, one of these would be a great choice for you. On top of mine are all of my Monster High Vinyls and tokidoki unicornos. The one on the left has my Makeup Geek pigments, OCC Pigments, Urban Decay collection and Sugarpill collection. The one on the right has a ton of lip products including Dose of Colors, OCC RTWs, OCC Lip Tars, Too Faced Melted Lipsticks, UD glosses, etc. I also have my Femme Fatale and Meow Cosmetics eyeshadows in one of those drawers. To the left of those I have an e.l.f. Cosmetics 3 slot brush organizer. I have my lip pencils and eyeliner pencils in it, along with some liquid lipsticks in the back. I love these and have 2 more in storage that I’m not currently using.
How to Cut Down
How I cut down my makeup collection was to put things I never use, was never going to use again, or no longer suited me into a box. Then I went through and looked at the things I used rarely, to determine if they were worth holding onto or if they should go as well. Things that I thought might go bad before I had a chance to use them also went. Things that I didn’t think I would need (even for comparison swatching), also had to go. I went through each drawer systematically, trying to determine why I was holding onto something. If I thought it would be beneficial to me to keep it for future posts, I did. If not, and I wasn’t going to wear it, it had to go. And really, I need to go through everything again. (Edit: After writing this, I purged another 2 boxes worth of makeup.)
Save Money with a Dupe
Now, I love the Ikea Alex, but I hate that they were only available in white when I bought them. I didn’t take the time to paint them or customize them. I keep thinking at some point I’ll have the time to paint them (either black holographic or black glitter or something), but so far it hasn’t happened yet. I do want to point out that they’re pricey. So for a more budget friendly option you should check out the Ikea Alex Dupe from Michael’s. My friend Laura from My Newest Addiction has great tips about it. For both the Ikea Alex and the Michael’s knock off, the Container Store acrylic lipstick organizers and drawer organizers are the best way to make the most of the space inside the drawers.
Make the Most of Your Space
For someone with limited counter or storage space, your best bet is the Melody Suzie organizer. It’s also the cheapest of all the ‘larger’ acrylic organizers, making it my most budget friendly option.
Depot eyeshadows and blushes into a Z-Palette
If you have a ton of eyeshadow singles and you want to save space, why not depot the eyeshadows into a Z-palette? This is how I store all of my Makeup Geek eyeshadows. I really need to depot all of my NARS into one too.
Wall Mounted Racks
Wall Mounted racks for nail polish or perfume lovers also help to save on space. I know a lot of aromatherapy people looooove the wall racks. You can even use a spice rack for large perfume bottles.
DIY Brush Holder
If you can’t find a brush holder you like, you can always go to Michael’s and buy a large rectangular vase. Some people put coffee beans into them but I used decorator sand or decorator stones in the past to hold the brushes in place. This option is often cheaper than buying a brush holder too. You can also take old 3 wick candle jars and use those for brushes or lipsticks depending on the size.
DIY Magnetic Makeup Board
You can make a magnetic makeup board for the wall and save space by attaching magnets to the bottom of your makeup and then putting it on the board. See how here!
DIY Floating Shelves
You can buy floating shelves from Ikea or other places and store your items on those shelves to save space.
DIY Makeup Storage with a Shoe Organizer
If you have really limited space, an over the door shoe organizer that is clear or see through mesh might work really well.
Spinning Storage
A 2 tier spinning lazy susan can make for useful storage for makeup or hair products.
Palette Storage
If you want a nice, clean way to store eyeshadow palettes on your vanity, a letter sorter from the Container Store is a really nice option.
For more organization tips, check out my 10 Organization Hacks for Beauty Lovers!
More To See
You are a mind reader. I have been wondering what your collection looked like and how you magically stored it all. It’s better than a candy shop. I love it. I could just sit there for hours and gaze lol Thank you for sharing.
I love it Courtney! So neat and organized but we can still see your own style integrated! Great post!
DEAR PHYRRA
YOU SOUND LIKE QUITE A LADY AND VERY PRETTY. I’M SURE WITH ALL THESE COSMETICS YOU MUST HAVE NUMEROUS “LOOKS” ALL BEAUTIFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ORGANIZING TIPS. I DON’T HAVE QUITE AS MUCH IN COSMETICS, BUT PRETTY CLOSE, WOULD YOU BELIEVE HA/HA
IN SCANNING THRU I DIDN’T SEE A NAME OF WHERE YOU SHOP OR WHERE I CAN GET THE LARGE WHITE DRAWERS?
I HAVE MASTERED CONTROL (PRETTY MUCH) OF MY COSMETICS, MY PROBLEM IS JUST I CAN’T SEEM TO GET RID OF WHAT I NEED TO AND I LIKED YOUR TIPS THERE. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL ADVICE. I WAS A MODEL IN NEW YORK FOR MANY YEARS & DID WORK AS A PROESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST FOR AWHILE. I AM NOW A S. CITIZEN 82 YRS YOUNG, & STILL TRYING TO LOOK MY BEST . GOD BLESS YOU PHYRRA
You can buy those from Ikea.
I absolutely love how you’ve organized everything! looks so nice
Wow I love all these storage solutions especially for the brushes. I am gonna check out that dupe from Micheals thanks!
Great tips. Love your polish collection. ♥
Great tips. Depotting into Zpalettes has been a lifesaver for me. I could never keep track of all the singles and duo, trios, etc. After my big depotting project last year, I actually use them. And it’s cheaper to buy shadow refills over ones in compacts. I love those sugar skulls!
I wish you could just organize my stuff! You are so thorough and neat haha
Oh wow, you have an amazing collection! I’d love to just spend an afternoon with it all making myself pretty! 😀
Awesome post,… I loved all the storage you used,.. especially the wall mounted nail polish rack.. Its beautiful,…
I love all your storage!! Thank you for sharing!
Yes you do have an over abundance of cosmetics!! BUT, you share with your friends so that makes you a special person. Love your blogs and also your cruelty free stance.
some really great idea’s there thanks
You have everything so well put together. I love your tip for large perfume bottles to use a spice rack-never thought of that suggestion. Thanks!
HOLY CRAP that nail polish rack is SO ME. As for brush storage, I am using canisters (similar to the Sigma ones, but a different brand) because I cannot stand it when dust or the random cat hair settles on my dang brushes! My skin is so sensitive. Canisters keep them oh so cleeeeeean! Plus kitties cannot mess with them. Crazy crazy kitties. All my stuff has to stay in the lucite drawers away from curious whiskers.
I love my Alex tall. Best purchase i made for my beauty organization
This reminds me I need to reorganize my makeup drawers! I’ve been really putting it off…time to get it done! Thanks for the tips 🙂
Love that IKEA Alex desk! That might be the one for me to get when the one I’m using now finally dies. It’s on it’s last legs but I’m holding out until it falls on me while I’m using it, HAHA! Love these organization posts, gives me great ideas!
OMG If you are looking to give away I am available……………. You have so many great cosmetics that I would love to try. I think my favorite things are the nailpolish wall holder and the white cabinets with the drawers. I picked up a few things or ideas from you. BUT don’t forget I am always available to take any thing off your hands 🙂
Wow! You have so much storage and it is so nicely organized! You have some great storage solutions for large makeup collections. I am totally going to order one of those spinning lipstick holders! I like keeping my lipsticks out. Great post!!! 🙂 xo
Thank you! I’ve spent a lot of time reorganizing and trying to figure out what sort of storage solutions allow me to make the most of my massive collection. I like the lipstick spinners a ton because it encourages me to use different shades. Same with the nail polish rack.
This is a great post! You’re making me rethink my life. I just want to move because I have so much clutter. 😉
For me, breaking things down into – 1. things I never use 2. things I rarely use 3. things I need to keep for blogging / swatching purposes 4. things I love to wear – really helped me
I may need to send you photos of my bathroom and get some hints from you. I don’t have an office so it all goes there, and its overtaking it!
Happy to help, hit me up over email 🙂
You mentioned you bought a ton of brushes that work well for hooded eyes. Would you consider doing a post about them?
Yes, please! Or even just a list! I was going to ask the same thing.
Yes, Will do 🙂
Thanks!
Yes! I will absolutely be doing a video and post about the brushes. I’ve bought a ton and then experimented to see what worked best for me.
Thank you. I look forward to it.
Looks great!! Acrylic organizers have totally saved my sanity!! I recently went thru my palettes and gave 7 of them to my 16 year old niece. She was thrilled! It felt good to make her happy and get better organized at the same time. 🙂
Thanks! It felt really good to cull my collection and share with friends. So happy for your niece!
This is a great post. Some of these I knew of, some I did not. Also I’ve been looking for that exact nail polish wall thingy for a month so thank you for that!!! I saw it in a pintrest post but the link didn’t work.
I inherited my mom’s condo when she passed :*( & I’m just getting started on purging/organizing/cleaning the whole place so I’ve been looking online for organizers while I’m deciding what exactly I want. This post was very helpful. Thank you!
Also, your friends are extremely lucky! 😉
You’re welcome! I love it. I found it when I was trying to find a gothic nail rack (it was the closest I could find). Glad that you found this helpful 🙂
I have one of the SK brush holders and it is one of my favorite things. The bright, gold sparkly stars just make me happy. I avidly read and watch videos on beauty storage, as I like things organized and put away and I get such good ideas that I shamelessly crib for my own use. I bookmarked that tree polish rack, I think it will be perfect for my holo polish collection. Yep. 😀
Depotting palettes, especially big, bulky ones to Z Palettes is a passion of mine. It has saved me so much room and I’m actually using the products, more. Win.
That’s why I need to depot all my NARS!
I’m with you, the sparkly stars are great.
I am SO OBSESSED with you SK brush holders! I wanted them but was like “no you don’t need those wait for sale” and then of course when they hit sale they were sold out before I could grab them. UGH.
also every aspect of your storage is perfect, I love when everything has a place!
Thank you so much! I didn’t remember to take photos of my bathroom storage, but I have these awesome mirrored door system above my sink and all of my skincare is in there, with the things I use the most frequently at the bottom, and things less frequently higher up.
You might be able to find them on ebay or Amazon! I keep thinking they wouldn’t be too hard to make too. You might hit Michael’s for some holographic stars and buy the black e.l.f. brush holders and then apply the stars, then seal them.
I praise thee, my queen of organization! This is the most amazing organization post, ever! You have inspired me to get a handle on my overflowing drawers of makeup! I need to do a major purge, and my lipsticks are completely out of control. I love those Zahra Lipstick Towers, and need to buy a few of them. Thank you so much for this inspiring post!
I think they would fit face oils. You might like the floating shelf idea better though. For my nail racks I can fit things like the Charlotten Tilbury foundation, Paula’s Choice Hyaluronic Acid Booster, my small MAC Fix+ (which has e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set in it) bottle. Basically if you have an OCC nail polish in the wide, thin bottle, it’s wider than those bottles. The height is just tall enough to fit the CT foundation.
Thank you, Courtney! I love the look of this rack, but also the fact that it has a rail to keep things from falling off of their shelves. I need something secure because my cats will jump up and knock things off of the shelves if they are completely open. I am not sure what to get!
I think a few of the floating shelves have a rail too. So either might be a good option for you 🙂