Makeup Organization Part 6: Design Your Dream Space

DIY Makeup Space | All the elements to consider when designing your dream space, even on a budget.

A jacket pocket, the console of a car (sorry about that heat lipstick), lost and forgotten in a bathroom drawer. What do all of these things have in common? They’re all the lost & found bin for beauty products across the world.

Much like the ever elusive bobby pin, have you ever felt like you have bought 500 lipsticks but you can’t find one?

As a professional makeup artist you get used to makeup brushes or a great lip gloss “walking away” after an event or shoot. Packing up and traveling with your makeup is one thing- but in your own home you can feel like your losing your mind as well as wasting money.

Solution: makeup station! This can be a closet, a dresser or a table. There are a lot of different ways you can organize your makeup and tools and the best way is to survey what you have and what kind of space you have. What are your options? Be creative! I used an heirloom dresser for several years, organized by product and how much I used it. Things I needed less in bottom drawers, go-to items in the middle drawers for easier access. Now my girls use that dresser and we are in the process of building a home so my space has changed. I utilize under the bed storage for things less commonly needed and I created a beautiful vanity space for my day to day needs.

Regardless of the space you have there are a few elements to keep in mind when planning. The first is WHAT do you have? How much storage do you need?

If you have followed our Makeup Organization series thus far, you will have laid all of your makeup items out. You have thrown away the expired, fixed the broken and gotten everything cleaned! With everything laid out look at what you actually use and what might be a “sometimes” item. I don’t wear my swaroski crystal studded Shu Umra lashes everyday. I also don’t need my summer foundation in the winter and vice versa. I put these things away. Like I mentioned earlier, right now they are in an under the bed storage box. What you have left is going to be your makeup “capsule” and it is ready to go! Let’s start our plan!

Landing Zone

---

The key here is storage and work space. As every makeup guru knows, the key to a good face is a quality base! The same applies to your makeup table.

If you have creams or serums with anti-aging properties you will want to look for a desk or space with storage to keep those products out of the light, because they can breakdown in sunlight.

Think DRAWERS! But don’t just shove everything in there. That is how we forget about that gorgeous $65 holiday palette, and it goes unused. Nooooooo, say it ain’t so!

Desktop or drawer organizers are easy to find and cheap, and will make your life much easier.

Ikea has several great options that are perfect for storing brushes, lipsticks, and other essentials. You can check out how Deynece used them here, to create her entire organized space.

Vanishing Act Utilize drawer space with container inserts. Now you see ’em, now you don’t. Get lost in The Container Store, an organizer’s happy place.

Or you can order these great drawer dividers from Target- a great way to spend those gift cards from Christmas. 🙂

 

Now, what kind of “artist” are you? It really runs the gamut. There are some who use an item or two and put it back, I others make their space look like a bomb went off (and we are totally okay with that)!

Depending on your style, it will influence the work space you need. I like to get everything I think I am going to use laid out and easily accessible so I like a large work station. I also like to have space for my iPad for looking at new inspiration or even just catching up on Netflix while I get ready. (Ya, i’m ADHD if you can’t tell.)

Transparent Organization

---

Acrylic storage containers keep things neat, but allow you to see all of your beauty products. I love how they look and they are easy to clean, durable and inexpensive! I snagged mine on Amazon. Thank you Prime 2-day shipping. So considering the amount and type of product in your “capsule” you can determine how many acrylic containers you will need and thus the amount of work space. For instance, I counted all of the lipsticks I would want out and bought accordingly.

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

---

Consider where you will place your mirror. Do you stand or sit when you do your makeup? I stand, so I hung my mirror(s) higher. If you’re sitting anything less than one foot away from your makeup mirror, you’re way too close. No one gets that close your face. Most people stand at least 4 to 12 feet away (a.k.a. “social distance”), according to famed anthropologist Edward T. Hall, who devoted much of his career to studying personal space. Plus, anyone within “intimate distance” (6 to 18 inches) doesn’t care if there are some stray brow hairs. This will also keep you from picking at your face! Which leads us to the next subject:

Leave the Magnifying to Your Esthetician

Step AWAY from the magnifying mirror. Because magnifying your pores is never a good idea. On more than one occasion as an esthetician, I (Melissa) have seen women come in with open sores that they have picked at, leaving them unable to receive many professional treatments, or scarring from past self-performed “surgeries” that they are now seeking treatment to reduce or remove. It’s a really bad idea. So unless it is a small one for grooming your brows, stay away!

A Final Plea For Mirror Placement

When you sit too close to your makeup mirror, three things are likely to happen: 1) you see every imperfection like it’s billboard size (and assume everyone else can too); 2) you obsess about those imperfections; and 3) you spackle on more makeup than necessary to cover up or try to be “insta worthy”, or worse — you spend the day self-conscious and self-loathing. So make sure to stand/sit at least a foot away and trust the true size of your reflection instead of zooming in.

Lighting

---

Natural light is always the best! The more light the better! Try and find the brightest spot possible to put your stuff. If you can get a lamp, open window blinds, or get a brighter light- do it! If you can see in my photo of my space, I have a collapsible light that I use for photo shoots or bookings. I even just turn it on when I am doing my own makeup for special occasions. 🙂 You can find them on Amazon. They are great because they are fully adjustable.

DIY Makeup Space

---

Before you go shopping, figure out the space you will be putting it. I measured my space- wall length, depth from wall I didn’t want to extended past, etc. That makes it easier than getting the item and then trying to find a space.

If you don’t have the perfect table or the means to, this is where the DIY makeup space comes in. There are so many possibilities! Scour flea markets, thrift stores, consignment, antique shops, etc. Damaged or worn tables will cost drastically less than their pristine counterparts. I found my new table at the antique store. An old beat up sewing table! I love giving new life to things so I was so happy to take this guy home and make him over!

 

Based on the amount of work space I like, I also bought a nice stain grade board at Home Depot to top it. I used my measurements from the space I wanted and had them cut it to fit the exact dimensions I was hoping for! Dream space here we come! (I was originally going to open up the leaves of the table and just fill the cut out space where the sewing machine would have gone, but I decided to leave it, in case I want to use it for mine someday.)

I also bought my first electric sander and I am so mad I did not by one sooner. I had one years ago and through a series of unfortunate events I didn’t have it anymore. I forgot how bombdiggity they are! Seriously, if you do any DIY or crafts-get one! The one I got is especially AWESOME if you don’t want to go outside and sand- because it has a dust container! Whaaaat?!

STEPS

---

1.Tape over anything you won’t be painting.
2.Sand the heck out of anything you are going to paint. 3.Prime and paint it (I used paint that has primer in it already).
4.Paint topper and seal it.
5.Afix topper if it is not sturdy.

It’s pretty straightforward but once you have it placed in the space, you can hang your mirror ( I hung two because I like the side view. I hung a printable I created with the quote from Cinderella “Have Courage & Be Kind” because I love that motto. Brushes and my acrylic holder on top, serums in the drawer. I also have a silicon pad to put my curling wands and hot tools on.

At the end of the day this space was less than $50 to create. Plus it can be used in different ways if needed and can be adjusted to different dimensions easily. I have some exciting ideas for my makeup space in our home and am meeting with the builder next Monday to discuss. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

*We do not accept payment in exchange for our opinions or our product mentions. We try to link to products mentioned as a service to our readers. Some of those links may be affiliate links. This means there is a chance we may receive a small compensation for purchases made through those links. - For more information on this please contact us by email at [email protected]