Seasonal Beauty Refresh: Why & How to Organize Your Makeup (5 Easy Steps)

When was the last time you organized your makeup and refreshed your beauty routine? If you haven’t reviewed your makeup in the last year, it’s time! Read on to find out why and learn how to organize your makeup in 5 easy steps.

It’s beneficial to organize and refresh your makeup at least once a year – better yet, each season!
Doing so let’s you check the freshness of your products to ensure you’re caring properly for your delicate skin, pores, under eyes, eye lashes, etc. Just think about it – you don’t want to put expired products on your face each morning, right? Each type of beauty product has a different expiry date that ranges from 2 months to 3+ years. Keep reading to learn when it’s safe to keep your products and when it’s time to let them go.

You can simplify your beauty routine by picking your signature colour palette.
If you’re interested in saving time and decisions each morning, like which colour eyeshadow or blush you should be wearing, you can instead pick your colour palette each season. You can do this by picking neutral colours that go with your skin tone and your seasonal wardrobe. This will help you avoid additional decisions each morning and let you get ready with confidence.

Decluttering your makeup will help you keep your products fresh and tidy so it’s easier to find what you’re looking for.
Decluttering your makeup at least once a year lets you toss out the products you don’t want to wear, and making room for the ones you do. Makeup is disposable, it’s meant to be used and not saved, so don’t feel bad about letting go of expired products. If you love them, wear them because they make you feel amazing! If you find you don’t wear them, they probably don’t make you feel great, so it’s okay to let them go.

Here are the 5 steps to decluttering/editing, organizing, and refreshing your makeup routine:

Step 1: Take Everything Out
Collect your makeup from your primary makeup bag, your other makeup bags, from drawers and cupboards in your bathroom, from your handbags, etc. Bring together all your makeup and tools to help you get clear on what makeup you have.

Step 2: Separate By Categories
Divide up your makeup by categories, i.e. primers, concealers, foundations, powders, brushes, sharpeners, sponges, eyeliners, eyeshadows, mascara, brow products, lip products, etc.

Step 3: Pick Your Favourites
Joy-check each category keeping your favourites. By having all your items gathered in each category, it helps you get a sense of how many of each item you have and help you pick your favourites from the bunch. To help you pick your favourite, ask yourself if wearing the product is fun and easy and how it makes you feel. If it makes you feel great, keep it with confidence! Let go of the items you don’t use because they are taking up space from the ones you like. If you have special makeup reserved for special occasions, consider storing it separate from your daily makeup (more on that in Step 5).

Step 4: Check for Freshness
When you review your favourites, you’ll want to be sure your products are fresh which can help you minimize the spread of bacteria (especially around your eyes) and help reduce clogged pores. You can check how long your products should last by reviewing the symbol on each of your containers, which looks like a pot with an open lid. You’ll see a description such as 1M, 3M, 6M, 9M, 12M, 18M, 24M, 36M, which tells you that once your product is opened it has that many months before expiring, i.e. 1M = 1 month, 3M = 3months, etc. Here is a general guideline for makeup expiry dates, but I recommend you simply check your own containers and make a decision you feel comfortable with:

·       Mascara and liquid eyeliner: 3M

·       Lip gloss: 6M-12M

·       Lipstick: 12M-24M

·       Lip liner: 36M

·       Foundation (water-based): 12M

·       Foundation (oil-based): 18M

·       Concealer: 12M

·       Powder: 24M

·       Pencil eyeliners: 12M to 36M

·       Eyeshadows: 36M

·       Blushes: 6M-12M

As part of checking for freshness, now is a good time to wash your makeup brushes and let them air dry. If you don’t have makeup brush specific wash, add it to your shopping list. A fresh brush is so much nicer to use than one caked on with ages-old makeup. Brushes and sponges should typically be cleaned every 1-2 weeks.

Step 5: Makeup Storage and Organization
Steps 1 through 4 will help you feel more in control of your makeup situation and will also probably help you be more discerning the next time you buy your makeup, opting for your favourites or the items you’ve been wearing. Give your makeup bag a wash, or a good wipe so it’s fresh for your refreshed makeup collection.

You can choose to organize your makeup in anyway that makes sense to you – some people like to display their items in a stand on the bathroom counter, and others like to keep them in a zipped makeup bag or drawer. You can choose to store your brushes separately or keep all the tools you need in a daily makeup bag or a special occasion makeup bag. Choose which colour pallet you’d like to try for this season and enjoy your fresh makeup collection!

With joy and gratitude,

Stefanie