My makeup collection started getting out of control about a year ago, and I had to move it out of the random drawers, boxes and traincases and into a real storage/application center.
I looked at some vanity tables at Ikea, but none of them offered the kind of storage I needed within the space I had. Then I walked over to the workspace area and realized I could actually use a combination of pieces to make what I needed.
This is basically a Vika desk top and two legs, with an Alex drawer unit on one side and the Helmer unit on the other. (I would have prefered two Alex units, but space was an issue and the Helmer slides in a little to the side, and it's less deep.)
I keep all my brushes in old candle or tea boxes, Sephora-style with the rice bottom. All the eye pencils, lip pencils and mascaras are in assorted coffee mugs and rice bowls.
The Helmer unit contains my nail polish collection in the bottom two drawers, as well as some odds and ends.
Then I have my palettes in the two shelves above that. One has MAC, Cargo (the Plantlove and new Cargo collection, depotted), Smashbox, Tarte, NYX and Tropez. The other has Nixie, Ben Nye, Coastalscents, Inglot.
The drawer above that has all my NYX single and trio shadows and blushes, stored in old boxes from chocolate or cosmetics sets. I hate the way the sku stickers look, but at least they have the names of the colors and it's the most space-efficient way of storing them.
The last drawer at the top has some chunkier eyeliners, gel liners, cream shadows and paintpots, and my un-opened mascaras. The storage for this consists mainly of box lids, either from boxed chocolates or little dollar store gift boxes.
Moving to the other side - the top drawer contains the rest of eyeshadow singles and duos. Here I started using dollar-store bins, the kind meant to organize desk drawers and cutlery. The UD shadows are stored in an ice cube tray from the dollar store. Neat, but a bit of a space-gobbler. I also used the clear bins from Ferrero Rocher boxes.
Next drawer contains MSFs, blushes and bronzers, again with store-bought organizers, for the most part.
This is the lippie drawer. For these I cut down MAC lip product boxes in half, taped them together and placed them in candle boxes.
Other face stuff - foundations, concealers, luminizers, etc. These are organized by type as much as possible, and stored in old boxes from candles or cosmetics sets.
The last drawer contains about half of my pretty palette collection, while the other half is stored on top of the vanity,in a pretty box I got at Winners.
Another box hold the minerals and pigments, and my mirror rests on that box for exactly the right height.
Overall I'm pretty happy with this system. It's accessible and neat, and the only thing I need to get is a good lamp. In the morning it's perfect, because I have so much light coming in from south-facing windows. At night I have to move my bedside lamp.
Gorgeous. The set up is awesome and you are very organized. This made my day.
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