All in One Place

I've come a long way since the dark days of all my makeup being buried in one drawer. It started off slowly, with a modest lipstick organiser, but gradually progressed to compartmentalising the drawer itself and buying a couple of stackable rectangular containers from Daiso in which I placed my newer and most reached for makeup. I also managed to find a nifty box with internal dividers that ended up housing most of my lipsticks. But everything changed for the better when I discovered this absolute gem from Officeworks. It's the Keji 4 drawer storage organiser. While not exactly the same as the storage from Muji (not available in Australia) or The Makeup Box Shop, it's the closest thing, for the bargain price of $17.99.

The unit contains four drawers. The first three are the same size but the last compartment is considerably deeper. You can't pull an individual drawer out so it detaches from the rest of the unit, it's made so that you can only pull it out to a certain limit. This means that it can get a bit tricky to reach for the items at the very back. It does look a bit bulky, in that there's essentially a bit of double up with the relatively thick panels of the exterior and the plastic drawers themselves, but the fact it's all clear streamlines it somewhat and makes it easy to see what's inside. For something that was designed to hold paper, I'm really pleased at just how well it functions as a makeup organiser.

Cheek products (blush, highlight)

Eye makeup (mainly powder eyeshadows and Revlon cream eyeshadow palettes)

More eye makeup (current favourites, plus eyeliner, mascara, eyelash curler)

Bottom drawer containing larger eyeshadow palettes, a few miscellaneous items

I did not expect this thing to hold as much as it does. The majority of my makeup collection is now housed in it, which makes me think that it has phenomenal capacity, or I don't have as much as I originally thought. Granted, the process of filling it up did propel me to ruthlessly chuck out a good deal of old and unloved makeup. My lip products are still scattered about in various places and my relatively small foundation stash is in one of those Daiso boxes I mentioned earlier (with the exception of my Missha and Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, which I just keep standing upright separately). As for nail polish, that's now all in the drawer that used to hold everything, though I wish I had the DIY knack to whip up this drool-worthy nail polish rack.

Chock-a-Block

My makeup organisation is minimal to nonexistent. The bulk of stuff that I have is buried in different makeup bags in a single, large drawer which I use to store everything, including all my eyeshadows, lipsticks and nail polish. There used to be some semblance of order before my collection exploded sometime around the middle of last year. It’s pure chaos now, with layers of items stacked on top of each other and scattered randomly. It’s like rummaging through a bargain bin to find the specific eyeliner or mascara I want. I don’t know what I have because it’s all hidden beneath whatever’s at the top.

I usually place the newest or my most loved products outside of the drawer, either on the shelves above them or the edge of my nearby desk. I’m occasionally inspired when I see a photograph of a revamped vanity or an elegant but organised way that someone's found to store their makeup. What I really need is a thorough examination of what I have and some degree of ruthlessness in disposing of unnecessary items. Hopefully, a measured edit of my collection will remind me that I have more than enough, and inspire me to use my existing products with greater frequency and enthusiasm.

I found this lipstick storage stack at Target recently. I had my eye on a larger storage unit, but the bulkiness and thick plastic edges put me off. This stack is probably better suited for a normal person with a moderate collection of lipsticks, and not a beauty zealot with 8 variations of the same blue-based pink lipstick that would otherwise be indistinguishable to the rest of the population. Still, it made me consider what were my top 9 lipsticks that I could elevate to their special place in the individual slots. A small but encouraging first step to conquering my makeup disarray.

(And in case anyone's interested, the lipsticks I chose were Revlon Primose, Face of Australia Lychee Crush, Revlon Soft Nude, Face of Australia Iced Almond, Sportsgirl Fruit Tingle, Australis Honky Tonk, Barry M Peachy Pink, Revlon Petal and Sportsgirl Beauty Queen.)