How to De-clutter your Makeup Collection

Any beauty lover will know the struggle of owning too much makeup, it can be hard to part ways with your collection when you've spent so much time building it up. No matter what anyone tells you, you definitely do need 15 different shades of nude lipstick, right? But if you're running out of space in your Vanity table, it's probably time for a de-clutter! It can be really therapeutic to clear out old and unused products, and it's a great chance to uncover some hidden gems that you may have forgotten about!

How to Spring Clean your Beauty Collection

1. Get everything into a pile

I know this might seem daunting, but a tried and tested technique from Marie Kondo is to get everything out of your drawers and into a pile. This will be a real eye opener to see just how much makeup you actually own, and how much of it you can do without! It's also a chance to give your storage a well deserved clean. 

2. Pick out your Essentials

When sorting through your pile, start by picking out your essentials - these are the items you can't live without and which get the most use. Make sure you have all of your favourites prioritised, then you can sort through the rest of your products which might not get as much use, like brighter eyeshadows or lipsticks, but are fun for experimenting with for a night out! Try and look out for multi-use products as these take up less space! Keep some baby wipes on hand to clean up your products as you go.

3. Throw out anything that's expired

Unfortunately, all makeup has an expiry date. Makeup items which have expired are usually obvious as they will give off a bad waxy smell, as well as not working as well as they used to. Liquids and creams should be thrown away a year after they're opened, and mascara should be replaced every 3 months (yes, that regularly!) for hygiene reasons. Anything past its best should be thrown away, or even better, taken to a specialist recycling facility, if you're in the UK check out TerraCycle for your nearest centre.

4. Donate anything else

If you have some items left over which you no longer want or need, but still have a lot of life left in them, why not gift them to a friend, family member or colleague? It's a great way to share new products and brands, and it's a lot easier to clear out your collection if you know it's going somewhere it will be appreciated! Local women's shelters are always looking for self-care products. Try calling your local charities and see what items they are accepting, just make sure they are barely used or new, and of course leave out lipglosses and mascaras for hygiene reasons. 

5. Get your makeup storage game on-point

Now for the fun part, you can reorganise your freshly sorted makeup back into it's home! Make sure your collection is stored so you can easy see and find your favourite products, so you don't forget about them again! Keeping your most used items in a makeup bag is a great way to find them easily, and drawer dividers work great to space out any products in your drawers for easy access! Looking for inspiration on organising your vanity table? Read our blog post here.

Wanna up your makeup organisation? Shop our full collection of pretty and practical cosmetics bags and wash bags to organise your beauty collection in style!