“I have way too much makeup!” said no woman, EVER.
If your figurative makeup storage cup currently runneth over, take a look at what you have around your apartment/house/condo/igloo/yacht. There’s a good chance you have at least one of the three items below, which you can repurpose for more makeup storage.
1. Shopping bag gets a haircut
Trim the top section from a shopping bag (I like using MAC bags for this), and then you can stash makeup in the bottom part.
One other nice thing about this hack is that you can trim the bags down to whatever height you need. 🙂
Got lots of products? Then trim lots of bags — some for compacts, pencils, lipsticks, blushes, etc.
2. Resurrect old gift boxes
If you have any boxes with lids that are about the same height as the boxes themselves, you can repurpose both the lid and the box.
This one here is from an Oribe gift set, and I’m using it to store makeup compacts in neat, little rows…
If the lids and boxes are of a similar height (and sometimes even if they’re not), you can save space by stacking them on top of each other.
3. Cut that carton!
Got a cute carton? You can give it a new job by cutting it down the middle and taping the ends in place, and then use it to store blushes, eyeshadows, or whatever you’d like.
Got any other makeup storage hacks? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
What a smart way to organize your stuff :-O Thanks for sharing!
GREAT post! I keep a lot of my old boxes from packaging so that I can easily store make up in them! Eventually I hope to buy a nice drawer system with acrylic containers but for now…it’s repurposing all the way!
This is genius! I use all the gift boxes to store small things that otherwise just look like a random mess, but I’ve never tried that bag trick! I’m really digging the acrylic box NARS Digital World came with. You could either use it as a box or two shallow trays for bits and bobs 🙂
I use my old Birchbox boxes for everything! They make great drawer dividers and are easy to stack.
So useful! I must confess that in my case I have used old boxes, cheap cuttlery dividers and even the plastic box that the Ferrero Rochers come in!
Awesome! I’ve turned shopping bags into gift bags, but didn’t think of storage .. hmm, can’t wait to get home and cut into some bags!!
Monica
It is SO much fun and oddly incredibly satisfying. My favorite part is putting the compacts in!
The shopping bag hack is genius!
Thanks! 🙂 I’m glad to finally put mine to use, LOL!
Ingenious!
And it looks like your Hourglasses are not about to run out!
I use a good-sized round gift box from a set of Nina chandelier earrings for my MAC eye shadows. Lip liners & glosses go into the glass jar that was a Linnea’s Lights candle (freeze the thing and ask Hubby to remove the rest of the wax).
Then there are the specialty items — an antique Bavarian creamer for eye liner pencils; a Denby sugar bowl for NARS lipsticks. The Audacious ladies are stored in a metal (tin) Crayola box from Target (to please the Woman and the Little Girl). MAC Ultimate gals have cozied up next to them.
I do not have drawers in my “Victorian” bathroom which is a remodeled laundry room. There is a pedestal sink — so I’ve had to come up with country chic shelves and decorative function.
The hacked off bags though can be used for a lot of things! Sewing supplies. . .
To organize though is to do little else — ya have to plan your impulses and your organizing!
Woven baskets and other yard-sale finds work well too.
Hi Debra,
Good idea to use the hacked off bags for the sewing supplies. I bet they would work for spools of thread, buttons, zippers, etc. Or maybe for crafts? That would be handy too!
ooooh I love organizing! The Mac bag looks cool cause it’s red on the inside!
Hi Rachel!
Yeah, I’ve had that one for a while. Some of them have bright green inside! And some are just plain black. I like the colorful ones, of course.
Hope that you’re having a nice day. I just got back from a quick trip to the mall.
Yaaay! This is such a helpful post. I’m definitely going to try them out 😀 thanks.
Themakeupmind.blogspot.co
This is brilliant! I was needing something to organize the products in my vanity drawers, but have been putting it off- I have so many makeup bags I can now cut up and use. Seriously- thank you. It’s the small things that make me so happy, what a great discovery!
You’re very welcome, Jenny. When you’re done take a pic of your vanity drawers in all of their organized greatness and send it to me! Would love to see. 🙂
I’m impressed, both by the hacks and the amount of things you’ve put in everything. What a collection!
Hi Stephanie,
I’ve been hoarding makeup for a long time, LOL! I hope that these tips come in handy. 🙂
Happy holidays!
Great ideas! Another fun trick for me is taking tall candy jars & filling them with lipstick or lip balms. It’s not the greatest way to see the names of the shades but one can get multiple candy jars & fill with lipsticks by color family (nudes, reds, berries, purples- you get the idea). Plus they’re so super cute & dainty 🙂
Right now I have a couple of shoe boxes on my counter that have all my current products in them. Keeps my counter from looking like the catch all space that it normally is.
i repurpose my Birchbox containers to keep things organized.
Clever! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Karen, YES! This post made me so happy! I ❤ organization! The bag hack is brillz. If you ever pick up one of the Diptyque sets of 3 mini candles, the box top is a perfect fit for both MAC MSF and Beauty Powder compacts as well as Chanel Les Beige compacts. 🙂 Like a glove, yo!
I love this!! Such a great idea! I’m going to do this tonight lol
Nice!! I tend to use boxes that products come in, especially if they’re pretty. I have a cylindrical container that a perfume came in – the tall part, I put brushes in; the short “cap” part, I put eyeliners or shorter brushes in. Love it!
I keep my brushes sticking upright in a couple of upside down containers that you used to get spools of blank dvd’s in with some plastic beads from michaels. and (not specifically for make-up org) I love those clear plastic covers with zippers that you get when you buy new sheets…just throw all of my _____ in one, zip it up & you can still see through to see what’s in it, but also throw them in a drawer & not worry about loose items escaping.
That last one is exactly what I use to store my mono eyeshadows. But, recently, the plastic inserts of storebought cookie packages have caught my interest …
xoxo
Sandra
I was in complete despair because everything in my drawers keeps falling around, so I never find what I am looking for first grab.
Now the solution is there: I have to go out and buy more MAC products, because up until now I have been a good girl, always throwing my bags away to save space.
Thank you, Karen!
Great ideas to store makeup.. I have many makeup bags that are ready to get a hair cut now! 🙂 Have a lovely day Karen!
Awesome ideas! I am your one woman in existence who always feels like I have too much makeup and I can guarantee it wouldn’t even fill a shoe box. I just sat and blinked rapidly, looking at your NARS compacts. Can. not. process. HAHA!
Awesome ideas! I’ll be sharing this.
I never thought to use bags that way. Great tip!
I do keep nice boxes and store my loose pigments overflow and some of my lesser-used products. I’ll kept sturdy clear plastic boxes and inserts, too.
Love it!
Neat idea about the bags—will have to give that one a try. I save the boxes that gift sets come in, like those from Bath & Body Works, and use them to store makeup in. Not only are they nice and compact, but they look pretty too.
organize my makeup stuff… that’s sth i need to finish before Christmas. I really like the idea of cutting shopping bags and use the bottom to put compacts. I have been doing researches to find drawers, organizers or holders online, so far I think the organizer from lori greiner suits my need best. (no an ad here…) Not like you, I don’t have collections of makeups with same shape, (and i don’t plan to get more at this moment, i should not…). The spinning organizer i found should do the job.
These are such great hacks! I always knew you were a rogue at heart, Karen!! 😉 I definitely use old gift boxes, bit it never occurred to me to cut the bottom off a bag like that… O_o
I actually did say “I have too much makeup” 😀 !
These are great tips. You’re very clever!