Thanks to Marie Kondo, a lot of people went nuts organizing all their stuff last year. Not sure if it was a good guilt trip or a gentle nudge for us to clean house, so to speak. It got us thinking though that it was a timely reminder to take stock of our stash of beauty goods.
What products should you keep?
- Those you love of course!
- Those you actually use – I know, we all do this, keep stuff we never touch. I can’t address the reason our brains work that way, but I’m just as guilty. Sometimes, it’s not even related to price. It could be something inexpensive that still has a weird hold over me to keep it.
- High quality tools such as brushes and devices. With proper care they should last a very long time.
When should you start chucking stuff?
- When something has a strong odor that you know is just not right.
- When your product does any of these things: clumps up, dries up, breaks down and the texture has changed from when you first purchased it. Essentially when its intended purpose is compromised.
- When you never, ever use it. That’s a tough one which I kind of addressed above, but if you don’t use it then don’t keep it. It’s just taking up space wherever you keep your stock.
- When colors fade or when powders don’t really come off on your brush/applicator in an easy fashion. If you’re pressing super hard to get the product onto your tool it’s probably seen better days.
- When times have changed, and you realize some of your stuff was from another era and you just don’t dig it anymore. I know, I know, you’re thinking, “what happens when the trend returns?” I’ll tell you what happens! You buy it new! There’s nothing healthy or sanitary about keeping decades old products around for possible future use!
- Specific products life span – most will tell you by their PAO symbol found on all packaging, but here’s some general feedback. Mascara, I know you’ve all heard, 2-3 months, but this one is important, maybe more than any other product to be careful with. You’re risking the health of your eyes by keeping it for longer. Follow this advice! For powders, honestly use your best judgement and refer to some of my tips above, but they can often last a long time. Skincare – be careful here too, if it smells weird or its consistency has changed, even if it was pricey, don’t risk it. Lip products – let’s face it, we all go through this stuff pretty quickly don’t we?
How/where to be neat and tidy?
- Obviously, that’s kind of up to you and what your space looks like! If you’ve got a drawer close to where you apply your makeup, that would probably work best.
- There are tons of organizational type gadgets you can find to keep everything in its place.
- More power to you if you label your stuff, but I don’t quite go that far!
- I have a drawer unit that’s built into our upstairs hallway (My house is well over 100 years old when they used to do that kind of stuff). Don’t ask me why but when our kids were little my husband named it “Beatrice”. So, if someone’s looking for something we’d yell out “check Beatrice”. My son, who is now an adult told me it wasn’t that long ago that he thought Beatrice was an official name for a dresser. Lol!
- Now that I’m an adult I just stand over my sink and apply my makeup each day. But when I was a little girl, I had an actual vanity with a skirt and mirror that my dad made for me. Kind of weird that I had something so fancy when I was around nine years old, and now that “I’ve made it,” I’m leaning over my sink🤷♀️
In conclusion – don’t forget to take care of your tools. This is easy to forget about, but they can hold a ton of bacteria which you DO NOT want transferred onto your face! If I use my SMOOTH blender everyday then I wash it every day. It takes only a few seconds and it makes me feel better to do it my way. I just take some bar soap or a gentle cleanser and hand squeeze the excess water and soap out and I leave it to air dry. I hand wash my brushes once a week unless something gets on them in my carry-on bag. I use the same process, gentle cleanser, squeeze excess soap/water and air dry.
Happy organizing!