Cheap Makeup Storage

Hey everybody! Okay so I have been in desperate need of a storage update for quite a while. For a long time I was trying to stuff all my makeup into a couple small drawers, and my vanity was overflowing with stuff. I had no space at all, and it was getting frustrating. I thought about getting a unit from Ikea, but I am a poor college student. If I am going to spend money on something, I want it to be makeup, not makeup storage. I started considering my options, and I think I came up with the best solution for me and my collection. This post is in no way meant to brag about the amount of makeup I have or anything like that. I am writing about my makeup storage to show you how to organize your makeup without breaking the bank.

Here is my makeup setup:

I have my vanity on the left and my drawers to the right. My vanity is from Target, and I absolutely love it (I'm pretty it's called the Shabby Chic Vanity, but I cannot find the actual vanity on the website, only the stool). I don't use the drawer on it currently, because I find it inconvenient to open and close every time I'm doing my makeup. I may use it in the future, but for now it's empty. On the right I have three Sterilite drawer units stacked on top of each other. They are called the "Wide Three Drawer Unit." They stack really nicely on top of each other. I could not find any Sterilite sets that had more than four shallow drawers in my area. I looked at WalMart and Target, and had no luck. I found a lot of sets with two shallow drawers and two deep drawers, but it makes more sense to store makeup in multiple shallow drawers. So, I improvised and ended up buying three, and I'm happy with how it came out. The good thing about Sterilite drawers is 1) the price (I got these for around $16-$17 each), 2) the convenience (you can find them anywhere), and 3) you can always add on to what you have. I spent about $50 bucks on the whole shebang, which is way better than spending $200 on a six drawer unit from Ikea.

Here are my drawers:

When stacked, the probably stand around 3 feet high. The height matches up really well with my vanity, which is awesome.

This is what I keep on top of my drawer set up. I have perfume, tissues, brush cleaner, my tweezers and eyelash applicator, q-tips, etc. I have a lipstick organizer coming in the mail. When it arrives, it will likely sit on top of here too.

This is my first drawer. I keep foundations, primers, and setting powders in here. I have a few little purple baskets in my drawers to separate products by category. I bought the baskets at Big Lots for really cheap. They work great, I need to pick up some more.

In the second drawer I have my blushes, bronzers, and highlighters. The ones that are too big for a purple basket go on the right side.

Third drawer houses my palettes. Palettes of any shape, size, or price sit in here.

Fourth drawer is for eyes. I've got single shadows and cream bases in the basket, and liners, primers, and mascaras on the right. This drawer is not totally how I want it- I need more baskets to separate my liners and mascaras.

Fifth drawer is dedicated to lip products. Once my lipstick organizer comes, I will need to buy more baskets to place in this drawer to separate liners and glosses.

The next three drawers are empty. Lots of room to grow, yay!

The last drawer holds extra stuff. I've got a palette I need to depot, some extra odds and ends, and anything else I don't use everyday but I still want to keep.


And that's all! I am really pleased with my new set up. I think it will work for me for a long time, and I have lots of room to grow as my collection gets bigger. The great thing about using Sterilite drawers is that once I need more space, I can go out and easily find more. I would not recommend stacking these drawers more than three high, though.

I hope this was helpful!

Much love,

Gianna