According to the research by Vaseline all the way back in 2014, women waste an average of 5,846 beauty products in their lifetimes, amounting to £180,000 in a lifetime.
The same research estimated that women will buy 840 moisturisers, 360 nail varnishes and 300 lipsticks, and despite owning all these lotions and potions, we use less than 10% of them over the course of our lives. Fast forward 7 years and we don’t think much has changed.
In 2018, Fragrance Direct (via Glamour Magazine) found that women spend an average of £482.51 a year on beauty products. That’s a lot of money and products potentially wasted.
We’re probably all a little guilty of buying too many makeup products. Hey, who hasn’t bought another lipstick or eyeliner because they’ve misplaced it somewhere in their home, or left in a rush and couldn’t find the right shade, or discovered three lipsticks of the same hue in the bottom of a bag? Check, check and mate, we think.
Anyway, much of this wasteful behaviour could be mitigated by categorising, cataloguing, and collocating your cosmetics. It’s time to Marie Kondo your makeup; here are some top tips for organising your beauty and makeup bag.
Make A Makeup Pile
Sounds like a little song, right?
Put that song into practice; lay down a bin liner on your bedroom floor and lay out all the makeup that you own. First, check the expiration dates of your products; if they are past their prime, then bin them. All of us have a product or five that are past their expiration date, but we still use anyway. In reality, this might not be doing your skin any favours, so be ruthless.
Foundation, in particular, can split once it’s past its sell by date. Not only does this mean that its preservatives are no longer effective, but this can also lead to germ growth, as celebrity aesthetician Renée Rouleau tells Byrdie.
She says that when the oil splits, “The oil ingredients (the spreading agents) will always rise to the top, so, if you continue to use it, you may be applying a higher concentration of potentially pore-clogging oil to your skin.” And you know what this means – breakouts.
Old mascaras and eyeliners also have the potential to cause infections. Bacteria can thrive in the dark, moist environment of your mascara tube and while most cosmetics contain preservatives that slow this bacteria growth, over time it will become less potent. As such, you’re at risk of bacterial infections like styes or pinkeye and you also risk fungal infections and general irritation.
Read: 5 IDEAL reasons you should always remove your makeup at night
What Products Bring You Joy?
The next step is to decide what items bring you joy. If you don’t love the product, then you likely don’t need it. If you have some items that have never been used before, consider giving them to a friend or family member.
Do remember to dispose of any lotions, potions and makeup responsibly. The Body Shop, for instance, has recycling bins in each store ready to receive your empty pots and tubes. Boots, too, has a recycling scheme in their stores accepting all kinds of products even if they’re not stocked in Boots. The best thing to do is to check online if, where and how a beauty brand recycles their products. Some brands also have recycling programs that offer perks for using them, including Mac, who will give you a free lipstick in exchange for six empties.
Group Your Items
The next step is to group your items together. Have a makeup bag of products that you use every day, you know – your foundation, concealer, bronzer, brow pencil and such. Then, group together different items by the way you put them on your face.
The lips category, for instance, will cover your glosses, liners and lipsticks. The skin incorporates any your primers, blush stick, bronzer and highlighters. Then, your eyes, entailing eyeliners, mascaras and eyeshadows represent a third category. Once you’ve done this, it’s time to find a home for every item, and that’s where storage comes in.
It’s All About Storage
One of the best ways to store your cosmetics is to place your makeup (in those groups we mentioned, of course) in clear plastic trays with sliding drawers. If you don’t have enough drawer or tabletop space, then consider hanging your makeup on the back of a door in a clear pocket organiser. Alternatively, why not invest in an attractive tray to arrange your makeup collection?
Storing your products probably is also key to preserving them. It’s essential to store lashes properly to preserve them, and this is ultimately true for all beauty products.
Another great way to approach storage is to treat yourself to one of those ASOS beauty boxes that everyone has been talking about. These are really handy, because they already have the appropriate sections that you might want to use for your variety of beauty and makeup items. That’s a great storage solution to use, particularly for those who love (or would benefit from) a little more organisation in their cosmetics.
Think About Your Relationship With Makeup
Marie Kondo told Allure magazine recently that “Something I learned from working with so many people’s bathrooms and helping people organise makeup is that really going through our makeup products raises our awareness of what we think about beauty.”
We couldn’t agree more – and doing a big appraisal of your beauty products, cosmetics and makeup can be a useful way to check in with the way you use those products. And, ultimately, if you need them at all.
Rotate Your Products
To ensure you use all your products and avoid waste, consider rotating your makeup items regularly. This means periodically swapping out the products in your daily makeup bag with others from your collection. This not only helps you rediscover forgotten favourites but also ensures that all your products get used before they expire.
Read: 7 ways to highlight and contour your cheekbones
Invest In Multi-Use Products
Another way to streamline your beauty routine and reduce waste is to invest in multi-use products. Items like lip and cheek tints, or eyeshadow palettes that can double as highlighters, can significantly cut down on the number of products you need. This not only saves space but also money in the long run.
Contemporary Trends
New beauty trends come and go every year. Do you still use that contouring kit you bought back in 2018? How about that blue eyeliner trend that was everywhere back in 2016? Keep things streamlined, sophisticated and timeless, and you’ll find you need less room for all the other, superfluous parts.
In 2023 and 2024, some of the most popular trends include skinimalism, which focuses on minimal makeup and letting natural skin texture shine through, and the resurgence of bold, graphic eyeliner looks. Incorporating these trends can help you stay current without overloading your makeup collection. Good luck!