Monday, December 9, 2013

Mommy Makeup Monday: Organization for Quick Makeup Application

On Mondays, I share a tip, product or tutorial that will help you look polished and put-together quickly and with minimal effort.  You definitely don't have to be a rushed mom to benefit from these posts...anyone who needs to be out-the-door fast (and who doesn't?!) can appreciate Mommy Makeup Mondays!

This week on the blog, I plan to focus on organizing your makeup stash, paying particular attention to tips to help you keep things in a way that lets you access what you need to get to quickly.  I have found that keeping my everyday must-use products right at my fingertips takes the guesswork out of my morning skincare and makeup routine, and also prevents me from having to search and dig through my stuff to find what exactly I am looking for.

For years I kept my makeup collection in cosmetic bags...1 for all my eye products (shadow, liner, mascara, etc.) and one for all my face products (moisturizer, foundations, blushes, brushes....).  I used to spend just as much time searching through those 2 bags each morning just to find the brush I wanted, the shade I wanted...whatever...as I did actually applying the products.

As my collection grew and my leisure time shrank, I found myself organizing and reorganizing trying to find the best way to keep my makeup.  At this point, I finally have a system that works.  

I will be posting the details of how I organize and keep my entire collection later this week (look for that on Wednesday or Thursday!), but for now I just want to share the basic things that allow me to get going quickly each day.



First, I keep a lot of product out.  My face moisturizers, foundations, brushes, and lip balms are all out and at the ready.  I keep these items on my vanity so that when I sit down, they're staring me in the face.  

I also keep 1 drawer of my plastic organizers filled with all my day-to-day products: mascara, lash curler, eye primers, brow pencil, etc.  That way, everything I know I need to use is in the same place.  If I touch it every day, it goes in that drawer.


I also keep my most-used makeup at my fingertips, organized on or in my vanity, with the products I only reach for occasionally (false lashes, loose pigments, off-season blushes and foundations, etc.) in a storage drawer.  My most-used shadows, in-season blushes and bronzers, favorite face primers, concealers, makeup wipes, and so forth are kept right where I sit each morning.

Finally, another nice way to organize is to keep all your eyeshadows (if you have a lot) in palettes.  I depotted the majority of mine and keep them in Mac palettes.  (I have the old-style ones, and I removed the separators to allow me more freedom with size and space.)  The palettes take up MUCH less room than individual shadows do.  You can buy empty palettes from Mac now without separators (but you'll need to attach a magnet to the back of each depotted shadow) for $8, or go for a Z-palette for $20 (pricier, but magnetized).  To learn how to depot your shadows, head to Youtube...there are tons of tutorials!  I like Makeup Geek's flatiron method.

Now I realize not everyone has the space to keep their products out, and not everyone has as many products that need organizing.  They key is to try to find a way to keep the things you do have out in the open as fashionably as possible.  For example, grab a nice apothecary jar to place on your bathroom countertop and fill that with your most basic makeup items (foundation, blush, mascara, a liner, and a shadow).  One of my favorite mom bloggers, Jessica Garvin over at Little Baby Garvin, keeps hers this way, as seen in her post here.  That way you can work right from the jar.  

For a smaller collection, my old travel makeup bag trick actually works really well...keep 1 for eyes, 1 for face, 1 for your brushes.  As long as you aren't digging for 10 minutes every morning, it works just fine!  Alternatively, dedicate one of your dresser or bathroom drawers, or even a shelf in your linen closet to those products you use constantly. 

I think you'll find that keeping your essentials right where you need them and all organized in 1 place will truly help you get yourself put together much quicker in the morning!  Take an hour (ha!  who actually has an hour??) and organize your stash...you'll be glad you tried it out!!

Let me know how it goes :)

As always, everything in this post is my honest personal opinion.  No affiliate links were used.  I have not accepted any consideration for sharing these items with you.  Unless indicated otherwise, all products were purchased by me with my own money.

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