Three episodes into watching Cleaning Up With Marie Kondo and we’re all obsessed with getting organised. But it’s hard to know where to begin, especially where our beauty products are concerned.
They’re so bitty and so messy. They’re oddly shaped and impossible to fold.
We called upon Lola Làwal, founder of 10FT, a lifestyle brand offering innovative storage solutions specially for our makeup and beauty products.
Get even messier
“Pile all your makeup and skincare onto your bed or floor (make sure you’re liquids are tightly closed first! )” says Lola.
Laying everything out is the only way to clearly assess how much you have – and how much you need to get rid of. So, don’t be alarmed by the initial choas; it’s got to get messy before it can get clean.
Throw out any old products that have been opened or are past their prime (yes, beauty products have shelf lives! ). For any products that are still good to go, but that you’re not going to use (if you haven’t used them by now, you’re not going to – be disciplined), set them to one side to donate to charities like Beauty Banks or else see if family and friends want anything. After all, one woman’s trash is another woman’s lipstick.
Group similar items together
“Group your products together in categories,” advises Lola.
For makeup, break it down like this:
- The everyday products (that you use every day without fail)
- Skin (foundation, primer, powder, concealer, blush and bronzer)
- Eyes (brows, mascara, eyeshadow, eye liner)
- Lips (lipstick, balm, gloss and liner)
Split skincare, hair care, perfume, nails and body products into separate piles and make another pile for all the ones you use every day (we’ll talk about these products in a second).
Get some kick-ass storage
Storage is a great investment, especially when it comes to beauty products. “Clear, acrylic storage is especially useful as you can see what’s in each compartment without having to rummage around,” Lola says.
Other helpful options are vanity cases with multiple compartments to tuck away neatly in cupboards or under the bed, and decorative trays to contain the products on your dressing table – this will stop them rolling around or falling on the floor.
That’s not to say you have to spend lots of money on new storage – you probably have lots of options already, whether that be shoe boxes, tupperware containers or even finished candle holders or drinking glasses (these are especially great for storing makeup brushes, cotton pads or sponges).
Get filing
Working through the categories one by one, file your products into your storage. Bulky or big products like body, hair and perfume products, are better in boxes or large vanity cases, while fiddly littler products, like makeup, are always better broken down into drawers or smaller compartments like those of an acrylic storage unit.
Finally, place all of the makeup products you use every day into a makeup bag, and arrange your everyday hair, body and perfume products beautifully on your dressing table or shelf. Ta-da!
