Organising Make Up And Beauty Products
How long to keep & how to store.
I see so much waste when visiting client’s homes and I often get asked how long products should be kept so I have written a guide for you and some suggestions on how to store, how long to keep and what to do with those beauty and make up stashes.
How to Organise Your Products
· Gather everything together, all your make up bags, hair sprays, perfume, everything out of all handbags and drawers.
· Now you have it all together, clear out expired products and ask yourself if you have used the remaining items in the last six months. Are you really a pink eyes hadow person! Be realistic and if unused add to a donate pile.
· Decide on the right place to store most of your products. This could be more than one place if for example, you put your make up on in the bedroom as you have a great mirror, then it needs to be kept close to the mirror but all of your body products might be better stored in the bathroom.
I keep hand cream and lip balm on my bedside table so I don’t forget to apply each night.
· If you have spares, as we often do due to receiving gifts or buying a 2 for 1, a nice vanity case, fancy box or another drawer might be needed. If you are short of storage there are lots of pretty boxes or baskets you could get from places like #TK Max, #B&M Bargains, etc.
If all of your products are spread around the house in different places you will forget to use them, buy more, and let them go out of date.
Top Tips
If you haven’t got shelves, drawers or a cupboard in the bathroom, what about using a fancy plant pot perhaps? I love the use of non-conventional items. Not basketwork if it gets steamy as it will rot!
Take all products out of direct sunlight, it shortens the lifespan. No more bathroom windowsills!
Clean your tweezers and eyelash curlers regularly with an anti-bacterial wipe.
If you use the netting type, hanging sponge in your shower NEVER keep it longer than a couple of months. It is like a petri dish, all that time hanging about in a damp shower creates a prime environment for bacteria to thrive. You can machine wash it but get a new one every couple of months.
When buying make up bags try and go for the washable ones. They soon get grubby. Clear make up bags make it easy to see and find items and colours. The Perspex sectional make up organisers are great for the dressing table.
Makeup and nail varnish should really be kept in the fridge as it is better to keep it cool, how many of us do this? I don’t as it really isn’t convenient for me to have to run downstairs to get my makeup but I do for nail varnish.
Brushes.
Start going through all your make up brushes and ditch any really old ones or a shape/bristle you never liked. We all have our favourites and often keep others that we never use. They need washing regularly as they also contain bacteria. I have used the specialist solutions but don’t think you can beat good old soap and water.
If you use a sponge for applying foundation, I am told that #Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water poured on it, rubbed in and rinsed well works great. Leave to air dry.
For hair brushes and combs I use diluted shampoo and water. Leave to soak and once clean allow to air dry.
To store your make up brushes you could use a nice empty glass candle holder or any little pot filled with coloured sand or scented balls such as #Unstoppables.
Pinterest has many great ideas.
How long should you keep your products?
1-3 Months
6-12 Months
Mascara Liquid eyeliner Loofahs Face Wash
Face Peels /Masks Liquid Foundation
Nail Files Concealer
Eye Cream
Serum
1 year – 18 Months 2 Years
Lip Gloss Lip & Eye Pencils
Cream Eye shadow Lipstick
Face Cream Nail Polish
Sunscreen Powder
Soap Bars Eye shadow
Shower Gel Blusher
Eyebrow Gel Body Lotion
This is a general guide but as with anything there will be exceptions.
Have they gone off?
Once your products have been opened, check them. If you can’t remember when you opened it, smell it and look if it has changed consistency or colour.
Is it dry or congealed?
If it doesn’t smell or look right don’t keep it.
Try and date products with a marker when you open them.
Leave a marker in the storage drawer or box so you don’t forget.
Always use up what you have before buying another.
Most products have a number on the back of them in a little pot symbol or similar with an m after it showing how long the life of that product is. See below.
How To Make Use Of Things You Dont Like.
Keeping expensive products even though they don’t suit our skin type, are the wrong colour or we don’t like the scent is not serving us. It is a sunk cost and decreases the quality of your space and gives you an unnecessary focus.
If you have a moisturiser that doesn’t work for your skin type try using it as a foot or hand cream.
If you have a perfume you are not keen on then a nice thing to do is spray it on your light bulbs (only when they are cold) when they warm up they emit the scent working like the Glade pug ins.
What do you do with all the small product samples you take from hotels? We all have them and keep them for taking on holiday, business trips, the gym etc. They are only going to cover you for 2 or 3 nights away and unless you do this for work regularly or are lucky enough to go on lots of weekends away you rarely use them. They end up stuck in drawers or toilet bags for years.
The women’s refuge or homeless charities welcome them. Add them to the ever growing donate pile.
The same applies to all the free samples from magazines and beauty counters. You didn’t pay for them so donate or toss.
You might like to separate your regular everyday make up from the “going out” glittery coloured eye shadows, false lashes, bright red lippy collections to make searching for things easier on a daily basis. A separate make up bag could be used for the “special occasion” range. This makes it so much quicker to find what you are looking for.
The Gym and those freebies!
If you are a regular gym goer then have a gym toiletry bag and use up those free samples or hotel shower gels. Make sure you have everything you need in it for after your Gym session and that way you won’t be running around in the morning gathering items from your regular places. You only have to put them all back again and are creating yourself unnecessary time consuming steps to your day.
Now you are organised and know what you have and what you need.
So next time you find yourself on QVC or about to press the button for any product, PAUSE,
think
Do I really need it?
Do I need it yet?
Do I still have enough left ?
Thank you for reading,
Marie Bateson
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