September 7, 2011

4 ways to bring order to your makeup collection

One of the more pleasant side effects of this blogging gig is that my makeup collection tends to swell on a daily basis.

Trust me, I’m not complaining. Lippies, concealors, mascaras and eyeliners. They are all my friends.

But like any gathering of lots and lots friends in the one place, things can a little … shall we say … unruly.

It is pretty common practice for me to sit in our bathroom and go through my makeup collection and do a serious cull.

When I’m doing this cull, I keep in mind maintaining a good supply for variety. (I’m actually just laughing at myself over that last sentence. Who am I kidding? In the rush to get out the door each day, I tend to slap the same stuff on … quickly!)

I also think about how long I’ve actually had the product. Makeup does have a shelf life. I’m particularly conscious of that in regards to mascara, liquid and cream formulations.

Here’s a quick guide to how long you should keep makeup

Mascara: up to three months

Liquid foundation: water-based up to 12 months; oil-based up to 18 months

Powder foundation: up to two years

Concealors: up to 12 months

Nail colours: up to 12 months

Lip pencils: up to 12 months

Lipsticks: up to 18 months

Powder blush: up to 2 years

Cream blush: up to 12 months

Eye shadows (powder): up to 2 years

Eye shadows (cream): up to 6 months

Eyeliner (pencil): up to 2 years

Eyeliner (liquid): up to 3 months

It’s also essential for me to have easy access to what’s left after the cull. I’ve got a thing about being able to see everything at a glance. Even my travel makeup bags are clear.

Our bathroom is tiny and shared among five. When we moved in, I quickly decided that the slimline wall-mounted cabinet above the skink just would not do. You can hardly swing a bottle of Chanel no. 5 in it, let alone accommodate my *tools*.

So I found a great free-standing cabinet at Ikea (which I won’t tease you with as it’s no longer available) that opens to a number of pull-out trays, perfect for makeup and the like. This is home to all my regulars – old and new. Anything I’m testing on any given month used to sit ~~disgustingly messily~~ quite haphazardly in a basket on top of this cabinet.

Until …

I was introduced to this baby.

The Makeup Box Glamour Box $124

Come to Mama. Five drawers that make it SO easy to not only see what I need to reach for but I now have the ability to organise my trial collection into makeup order of application, from foundations through to lip colours. Genius. And not to mention a little bit anal on my behalf.

But wait, there’s more.

The Makeup Box Shop Brush Holder $19 (or $15 with a Glamour Box order)

I love how I can easily get to my brushes and they’ve got less chance of being damaged. (Umm, it’s also easier to tell when they need a good clean when stored like this)

Now, if you have even less space (and possibly less makeup ), then a trip to Freedom Furniture is in order.

This cosmetic organiser is just right to house your regular, every day collection. The stuff you’ve edited down with which to create that two or seven-minute face.

Freedom Furniture Fab Cosmetic Organiser $49.95

And because I just have to have a good selection of lip balms and essentials within reach at all time, the little sister now proudly sits on my desk.

Freedom Furniture Fab Lipstick storage $12.95

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED

WIN: Tomorrow on the blog I have a giveaway from Freedom but TODAY – and for 24 hours only – Styling You and The Makeup Box Shop are giving away a Makeup Box Shop set of one Glamour Box and one Brush Holder (total value $139). Entering is super easy. Just leave a comment below, telling me about the makeup item that’s over-stayed its welcome in your beauty cabinet … and that you’ve now ditched it! Australian entries only, sorry. The winner will be drawn at random, notified via email and name posted here. Competition closes 7am tomorrow.

—————————————————————————–

* The above products were sent to me in accordance with my disclosure policy. You can read more about it here.

This week is Spring Clean week on Styling You. Every day there will be a post aimed at helping you get ready for the new season. Hope you enjoy.

By Nikki Parkinson

99 comments

http://www.ohgorgeousbaby.blogspot.com Fiona @ Oh Gorgeous Baby

I know this comp is closed (I literally yelled out Noooo when I seen it had!) but I just wanted to say Thanks for these great posts, although I am a bit worried now that I am going to have to throw everything out. I don’t even use most of it but for some reason I feel guilty for chucking it out? I am sure it has something to do with feeling bad for the wasted $ and NOT ever seeing my Mother throw out things like this…I bet she still has stuff from 30 years ago.
Cathy

Computer malfunction, dont know how I got two answers up there, sorry!
Cathy

My first pay cheque 22 years ago went towards a Estee Lauder pump foundation, it finally went to the bin this year when I was doing my face up for a ball x
Cathy

My first ever pay chegue when I worked in Canberra I brought a Estee Lauder pump foundation, it finally went to the bin on the night I was doing my face for a ball I atteded this year.
Simone

I have way too much make up so thanks for the reminder as I certainly need to cull. Acrylic draws my choice as no dust, I am ditching the make-up bag forever having trouble finding the small items down the bottom, and as a budget consciemce girl think I might head down to officeworks for a $16.99 5 drawer Desktop File Clear.
Jill McDougall

As old as it may be, surely I can keep it for the lovely Gold mirror lined Chanel case its in. Promise I won’t use the powder bit. Cost a bomb when purchased, that must be another reason not to chuck it surely.
Pingback: The 10-step wardrobe edit: PLUS $500 Freedom Furniture gift card giveaway | Styling You
http://www.midthirtieslife.com Mid30sLife

Right! When I move back to Aus the first thing I am doing is entering one of your competitions. It’s only fair that I should then win something as payment for the torture that is seeing prizes that can never be mine! xx
angela

blush…7 years old it was…its now no more!!
jasmine eastwood

Like many of you i’ve had my fair share of beauty products that i know have gone past that “bin after 12 or 24 months of opening” but the main products that i just couldn’t get rid of before was mascara. They are little lifesavers however i was a bit delusional and insisted it was ok to keep them for ages past the use by date, after all they still kind of gave the same effects. It got to the point when i was at my best friends wedding and offered her my mascara from my handbag, she had lost hers and was in desperate need to finish her D.I.Y makeup for the day, well…everything ran smoothly UNTIL about 3 hours after we all had dinner, her eyes began to go red, puffy and itchy and she ended up getting a bad rash that completely ruined her make-up, pictures and not to mention anything her and her new husband could have enjoyed afterwards! And it was all because of my old mascara, needless to say i imediently (but still kind of hesitantly) threw it out and i haven’t looked back since!
Sharon

Nail polish! I have colours that I just love and can’t bare to throw out even if there is hardly any polish left. Eventually I try for one last application only to find I can’t even unscrew the lid. A sad farewell ensues.
http://StylingYou Lucy Fomiatti

I recently had my annuel spring clean & threw away my wonderful first ever make up kit I got from toy world as a kid bought for me by my Dad. It was a sentimental memory but was useless & in the end it had to go, along with my diary, Something I just don’t want read!
Di Temperley

I’m ashamed to mention the 17, yes 17 different powder foundations that were languishing in my make up collection. All totally wrong for my skin, not to mention hopelessly out of date, and some even a bit smelly- all gone!!
http://www.noelasdesktop.com.au Noela

Thanks Nikki. Seriously ready for an overhaul. Foundation that went all smelly, straight to the bin. The clear boxes would be great and if I won I would put little removable type labels in there, noting down when I have bought a particular cosmetic, so that the products would not overstay they welcome (and of course, use your handy guide above). Noela
Erin

Last week I threw out a revlon nail polish I have had for 7 years – no longer resembled it’s original colour!!
http://www.segoviadreams.blogspot.com Suz

A lipstick that had broken at the tip…..off it goes, into the bin! What a great giveaway!
http://thebestbeautyblog.com Ling

I threw out lash glue which is over a year old….it gave me an eye infection…*cries*
http://mypigeonpair.com Larissa

Oh dear, this is an embarrassing one! I did a massive cull earlier this year but my eight year old “bronzing cream blush” survived the cull! I was keeping it to remind me of a time before children when I had use for such a product. Thankyou for helping me bid it farewell!
Jen Davis

YSL Touche Eclat…. Gone! Had been on its last legs for ages.
Bec Taylor

I was cleaning out my make-up bag and I discovered some lipstick, not just any lipstick, bright orange lipstick. I think it was one of those awful 1980′s fads. My kids thought it was funny, now I make sure I go through my make-up bag every few months or so.
Samantha

I have been using mineral makeup for a couple of years now but ran out (just when I needed it too). I dug out my trusty compact foundation that’s been sitting there for probably a bit too long. Well, actually, yeah I literally needed to DIG it out! I would have had to use a chisel to crack that baby open! Needless to say it got thrown in the bin and I had to go all naked face that day… bleh!
http://www.skinnyflatwhite.com.au Paula

I have makeup that I bought in Paris… in 2004. But I can’t throw it out, because I bought it in Paris!
There’s also have a gross Bobby Brown concealer that I bought in NYC… that I can’t throw out because its from NYC. I could go on but will stop there
I like to buy products I use daily when I’m holidays so I have a daily reminder of my holiday…

(Please exclude me from the comp as I’ve already won a prize here, just wanted to share my shame)
http://mummyissuespart2.blogspot.com/ Lee

3 and a half year old foundation! Ewww! Gone!
Tanyia

I found a lipstick lurking at the back of my draw that dates back to high school & I’m 35 eeeek!
http://www.sharnanigans.com sharni

I have mascara in my draw that I think I bought at uni. Umm. THat might have been about 10 years ago. I don’t use it, but i noticed it the other day. I think it has had baby mascaras!oh ditched now.
sapna

black mascara.
It was with me for almost 2 years,the best part is that it was still liquid. Last week when i was checking the expiry dates of make up products ,then i threw it in the dustbin.
Kerri

A very brown, very cakey mascara……yucky!
Bianca

I had this sparkly purple eye shadow that i had from when i was in high.. i am just doing a big clean out now that its spring so that (among plenty of other out-dated stuff) is gone!
http://foodfashionbeautywonderland.blogspot.com Alice Kun

I’ve got a green Shu Uemura eye shadow 4 years ago when I have my eyebrow done the first time. I never get to use it because I don’t really like the colour, now that I realise it already passed it expiry date, I’d better throw it away and get some new ones!
http://btsoi.blogspot.com Bernice

This is horrible. I don’t use makeup very often but I have a tendency to hoard it anyway. I have a tube of foundation from my grade 8 graduation… that I didn’t end up using. I think I might just go chuck it in the garbage now…
http://www.allconsuming.com.au kim at allconsuming

OK dude, I think you know my transgressions here. My MAC foundation? bought at least three years ago. Eye-shadows? In excess of 10, T.E.N. years ago. My eyeliner? About 5 years ago. The mascara – blessedly about 6 months ago.

The eyeshadows are gawn baby, gawn.
http://fitmumsblog.blogspot.com/ Vicki

OMG! Your makeup looks so fresh and beautiful! Not really like mine that lives at the bottom of my makeup case. I looked into it as a result of reading your post .. it was scary and I thought I had been good. I know that I don’t need the Revlon lipsticks from when I was 19 ( 20 yrs ago! ) but I haven’t had the heart to throw them out .. they have gone. As for the foundation that separates even after it is shaken, it’s gone too. And the brushes I don’t use any more .. well, they should probably go too! It appears I’m a bit of a makeup tragic .. but it’s all so pretty! As for the lip glosses and balms, I only have 4 on my desk ..
Mary Cole

I didn’t know that Mascara had an early use by date, I just normally use it until it runs out! Gross. Now I will buy one every 3 months!
Charmaine

Mascara – usually have those freebies that are given when buying skincare or makeup. Also, eye shadows from 4 years ago. Gone!
http://beckyandjames.com Becky from BeckyandJames.com

Okay, this is completely horrid, but I have had the same eye liner since having my first daughter – in 2007. I just love it and have never found another like it…
http://www.giftsofserendipity.com Felicity

Last weekend I went to answer the phone and forgot that the tap was running in the bathroom sink so when I returned…..well you can imagine.
I guess you could say that this was a great opportunity to clean out my makeup baskets and other assorted paraphernalia and I was ruthless. The ‘just in case’ basket filled with samplers and makeup from aeons was the first to hit the bin and I’ve now pared down to the essentials.
So. what could have been a true disaster turned into a refreshed beauty cabinet although it would be fabulous to be able to transfer all the newly cleaned items in my baskets into the Glamour Box – that would make my day!
http://www.amykeeptrying.blogspot.com A Keeper

Lip gloss. I have 4 lip glosses which I think I was using in summer of 2009. That’s too long right?? Okay, okay, in the bin. At least I have an excuse to buy some new ones And I love those makeup storage ideas – fantastic!
http://www.thedeludedprincess.com Jadey

I had mascara that was over 18 months old – I loved it! It gives great length body and shape but I threw it out and replaced it with something new just to enter this comp.
natasha andrews

Oh god that list is so scary…just went into the bathroom and threw out 3 marcaras. One I know was over 2 years old!!!

Time to buy some new mascara!
Anna

I had a bottle of Kylie Minogue perfume in the shape of her bum that I threw out recently. It had a little left, but not much smell left. Had been hanging on that bum for probably 4 years.
kk

foundation – it was so old that when i last put it on it look like i had a triple layer of fake tan.
Mariannabean

I did a clean-out the other day…I am ashamed to say it, but do you remember the little sample lipsticks the Avon Lady used to give you? I can’t imagine how old they are but colours I wouldn’t wear in a pink fit…oh…hang on a minute….pink fit…maybe that was the name of one of the colours!
http://goodbadunnecessary.com Kellie

My grandmother used to work for Estee Lauder and she had all sorts of tools that she passed down to me. Brushes, tweezers, anything and everything you could imagine. Doing my spring clean recently I found a big bag of stuff, and right at the bottom was an Estee Lauder lippy that would have easily been 20 years old. It was unopened but I threw it out!
Christine Bramham

I have just ditched a lippy that I have had sitting in my makeup case for over 10 years.. I know shame on me, should’ve done it ages ago!
Joanne Purnell

I have the lipstick I wore at my wedding in 1990, I think I should throw it away before it gets up and walks away by itself.

http://theclampetts.blogspot.com/ Ellie

Snap not from my wedding but does anyone remember the Poppy brand lipstick, was it from the 90′s? I found a half used one in an old make up bag a few months ago now that brought back some memories.
Elizabeth

Yep, I still have the lippy from my wedding in 1997

Leonie McCallum

I recently threw out Estee Lauder eyeshadows that I bought for my wedding 11 years ago and never ended up using. I had to admit defeat to myself that they are out of date and must go!