Organizing the Stash: brushes

Happy Monday junkies!! I hope you all had a great weekend, and a nice Mother's day.

Today I'm going to do another organization and storage post. This one will focus on brushes. Again, I have a cheap, easy idea for you. It might not win any awards in the looks department, but it works.

I store my brushes in two pencil holders - one for eye brushes and one for face brushes. You can find these at any office supply store, Wal Mart, or Target. They will most likely range from $3-$6 each. I got mine at Office Max, and they're square which I like - I like that you can butt them up against each other nicely. The ones I picked are also divided into four sections so you can further organize the brushes.

This system works great for me - hopefully it gives you another idea on how to keep organized.

I'm working on another haul post - the hubby took me shopping for Mothers Day, and I want to share with you guys what I found at the CCO (cosmetics company outlet). I should have it up sometime tomorrow. See you then!!

Organizing the Stash: pigment samples and loose shadows

Hey junkies!! Today I'm going to show you how I organize all the little jars I have - whether they're pigment samples, mineral shadows, or glitters. It's another simple, easy, and cheap way to keep the stash organized and accessible!

Basically, I use bead boxes. They're just clear, plastic, divided containers and they're available at any craft store (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc) or even most Walmarts. They're $2-$3 each and they don't take up much room. You can stack them (I have two now, but need a third), and label them easily. Depending on the size of the jar, you can put 2-3 in each section, holding a total of 36-54 jars.

Hope that helps you guys - let me know what you think of this idea! Until next time!

Organizing the Stash: lip products

Hey there junkies!! Today I'm going to show you how I organize all of my lip products (aka lippies). I have way too many - which is funny considering that when I started buying makeup, I wasn't into them. Needless to say, I am now.

All of my MAC lipglasses, lusterglasses, and plushglasses are in a wicker basket that I got from Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I know they're not as organized as some peoples, but I kinda like digging through the basket to find one that works.

Everything else is organized into two Sterlite containers that I got at Hobby Lobby, but I'm sure you can find something similar at Target or Walmart. They each have three drawers, and I stack them on top of each other.

#1. What my "lippie tower" looks like. (I set my basket on top of it)
#2. What they would look like if you set them next to each other.
#3. The first drawer - this holds all my lip pencils, lip exfoliators, MAC Tender tones, MAC lip conditioners, and my MAC lip gelee.
#4. Second drawer - all my non MAC lip sticks - Mostly Urban Decay and Benefit.
#5. Third drawer - all my non MAC lip glosses - lots of Stila and Nars.
#6. Fourth drawer - all my misc MAC lippies - Dazzleglasses, Cremesheens, and Slim Shines.
#7. Fifth drawer - all my MAC lipsticks from the regular line and any Viva Glam ones.
#8. Sixth drawer - all my limited edition MAC lipsticks.

With this system, I feel like I finally have all my lippies organized in a way that I like - and I always know where everything is. Plus, the whole set up cost me less than $20 - you can't beat that. Hopefully this helps some of you who are stuck on how to organize your stash. Later junkies!!

Organizing the stash

Every makeup junkie I know is constantly looking for ideas on how to organize their ever growing stash. When I first started, everything was organized in containers under my sink. Then I found that I needed a traincase. Then said traincase didn't hold everything. And it was a pain to drag out. And I could never reach the items on the bottom, so I wasn't using my stash to the best of it's ability. Finally my hubby took me to Ikea, the organizing and storage super store. I found this wonderful wooden cabinet that matched our bathroom perfectly. It has 4 smaller drawers on top, followed by two larger drawers. At the bottom is the biggest drawer, which actually rolls out on casters. It has been wonderful - there is plenty of room for growth, and everything is accessible. I finally have my stash organized in a way that works for me, and I want to share it with my fellow junkies. I've had it for a few months now, and I still get butterflies when I look at it. :)

First pic: The very bottom drawer. It holds my pigment samples (organized in bead boxes), my brushes (organized in pen and pencil holders), my mirror, my large palettes, my brush cleaner, and anything else that doesn't fit somewhere else.
Second pic: This is the first of my medium sized drawers. On the left is a basket that holds all of my eyeliners and mascaras. Next to that is another basket that holds my paintpots, shadesticks, NYX jumbo pencils, etc - basically any bases. Behind that are my MAC palettes that hold my depotted Urban Decay shadows.
Third pic: This is my "face drawer". It holds any foundations, concealers, powders, blushes, hi lighters, etc. It's all a jumble in there, but that's how I like it. This drawer makes me happy.
Fourth pic: Here is the first of the four smaller drawers. It holds my MAC premade quads and palettes, MAC pigments, and MAC mineralized shadows.
Fifth pic: This is where my palettes from all other brands go.
Sixth pic: This is my miscellaneous drawer. It holds my lashes, perfume, some nail polish, my hair stuff, my old BE foundations, and my eyelash curlers. And I can't seem to part with the box from my Kitty Kouture dazzleglass so it's in there too.
Seventh pic: This is where all my single shadows are. My MAC single shadows are depotted in palettes, but that's another post.
Eighth pic: Here is a picture of the whole schabang. Isn't it beautiful??
If you guys have any questions, or want to see something close-up, let me know! Later Junkies!!