Today in the blogparty we’re talking about vanities! Or.. lack of vanities. Turns out, we don’t all actually have those pretty vanities that we see in movies or on television! Laven does though, and I am currently pawing at the screen trying to find a way to make it mine. Soooo preeeetyyy *pawpaw*.
What I have is storage.
I love stationery and I love organisation, which is why it should come as a surprise to no-one that I have an extensive organisation system for my skincare products. This system didn’t just happen, I used to have everything scattered around the place, which made it really difficult to know what I had and to see what I was using. Slowly I started to build up a system that works best for me, and although it isn’t perfect (I’d love just the one big desk for everything), I think it works pretty well! At a glance I can see my entire collection which is pretty neat š
My skincare is contained within two separate systems, the wicker baskets and the storage drawers.
The Wicker Baskets
Basket 1: TheĀ Regulars
With the exception of my cleansers which sit nicely in my bathroom, all my regularĀ use items fit into this box. Ā I try to keep only the things that I use daily, or at least once a week in the box, and I review it often to see if anything can be removed. If I find I don’t use it, then it goes into my giveaway box to find a new home!
Basket 2: TheĀ Masks
I used to keep my masks hidden away, but I found that because they were tucked away I didn’t use them as often. Now my masks are in full view, I can easily see what I haveĀ which makes it really easy to not buy any masks. Rather than impulse buy masks, I look over from my desk and see that I have a lot, so I don’t buy any more. That’s a hot tip right there, you’re welcome!
Basket 3 & 4: The Samples
I still think sample hoarding is still hoarding, Ā but I cannot deny that samples are really important, especially if you are unsure about a product. I separate my deluxe samples and foil sachets just to make it easier for me to see what’s available. Space is a good thing.Ā
The Storage Drawers
Drawer 1: Opened & Travel
All opened products that are not daily use go here.Ā This drawer usually houses products that are my staple while I test out new products, or products that are no longer useful for me in the current season or climate. I try not to keep opened products around for too long. If a product has been sitting here for longer than a month I consider it no longer essential and put it in my giveaway bag. I’d show you this giveaway bag right now, but I gaveĀ everything in it away last week.. so it currently doesn’t exist, sorry team.Ā
The cute pink bag right at the back contains all my skincare faves in travel size bottles (all Muji because, obviously) ready to go for any overnight stays. That way I don’t have to um and ah over what to put in the bag and no matter how badly I pack at least my skin will be clean!
Drawer 2: Unopened
Here lay all theĀ shinies that I have yet to open.Ā Some are backups of products that are almost finished and others are products that I have yet to test. While my spreadsheet (thank you based Cat) is useful to remember when I received something and when I opened it, sometimes it’s nice to visually have a look and see what’s next in rotation.
Drawer 3: Cotton puffs, boxes & empties
You may wonder why I have a dedicated space for cotton puffs? Well my friend, Muji cotton puffs are no joke. TheyĀ are the gold standard for cotton puffs, try them once and realiseĀ that you now have very strong feelings about cotton squares.Ā
Cotton puffs take up a lot of space, and they are the only thing I allow myself to buy in bulk and the main reason I have so many is to remind myself not to be too precious with them!Ā I like to keep my products in their original packaging, so I tend to keep them in their boxes in the regular wicker basket, but not always. If I have some packaging that I need to save for pictures I keep them here, along with any empties that I can use for decanting later. Especially with Hada Labo toners, I won’t ever need to buy a bottle again, I can just stick to refills.
And that’s it! All my skincare! Oof, it’s a lot to take in right? I have a similar setup for my makeup, but that’s much smaller and fits neatly intoĀ two selves in a storage box. Maybe I’ll show you that another time? How do you store your beauty products? I’m super curious to see how others organise things.
If you liked reading about mine, then you’ll be happy to know the party train doesn’t stop here! The other Blog Party membersĀ have written up how they organise their modesties vanitiesĀ beauty storage. I think Amy’s is the most similar to mine as we both use a basket andĀ Jude from fiftyshadesofsnail also uses storage bins, see mom, it’s not weird at all!
- Sophie from MapleTreeBlog
- Michele from Beautyfindsforme
- Julie fromĀ PDXBeautiful
- Amy from PeepingPomeranian
- LavenĀ fromĀ Berries in the Snow
adoredee 
Fabulous organization. I am inspired as I really need to organize.
I love those storage drawers! Where did you get them?
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Thank you, happy to be of help! I bought these storage drawers in a UK store called ASDA, it’s owned by the same parent company as Wallmart! But I think you can probably find them in any craft, or kids storage isle.
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The pastel drawers are so pretty! I need some of these for my unopened stash….I feel so bad about my vanity post because it was dark already when I had to take the images…. and you’really totally right about the “not using when they are not visible” part…I totally forget some products over the time….
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I love your storage bins!! I need to do something like that ~ I am SO unorganized!
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Thank youuu! Haha, organisation is an actual passion of mine that I inherited from my father!
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Who do you give away your stuff to? I need more friends into asian beauty methinks!
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I have a group of friends who are into Asian Beauty that I met on Reddit! We had a meetup and now talk on an app called LINE about our lives etc. There are lots of meetups in London, next one should be soonish now the weather is being friendly š
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Sexy cotton pad stash! I’m segregating my pads into their own area, too. Definitely need more room! –Angela
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*body rolls* Hmmm, sexy sexy cotton pads! I actually had the drawer as just packaging only, and the cotton puffs were piling on top of the drawers because I felt a little silly that they would have their own drawer. But really, they’re just as important as any other skincare tool, so they should be put away nicely!
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This is so soothing and relaxing to me, I sort of want to dive into it face-first!
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Jump on in! Having everything in it’s designated area calms me tf down too!
I didn’t go into it in the post, but in the regular basket the products are also further sectioned off. So even in my sleepy state I know this corner houses some sort of serum, this area has acids and this area has moisturiser. Soooothing~
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Having a lot of products has always been my lame excuse whenever it gets messy, but after seeing your collection, I absolutely can’t give this excuse anymore, since you have much more products than I do and you still were able to organize them. kudos to you
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It was because I had a lot that I really had to get a grip on organising. I have a spreadsheet that is more or less up to date, but I found segmenting the items and categorising them physically helped me a lot more. I destash a lot more easily now because I can see what I have, what I use and what I don’t!
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I have clear bins with lids in various sizes that “nest” sort of so I don’t have bins loose all over. I’m also constantly shifting and reorganizing. It’s never “done.” I flirted with these collapsible crates I found at Daiso but ultimately they are best for transporting items because they are the wrong dimensions to be easily tucked anywhere in my very small room so I uh… Ended up keeping them in the tub on a few occasions during my major reshuffling projects. It makes me happy to see someone else take please in the details. Your presentation is far more esthetically pleasing!
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For a long time I too was shuffling and changing. I guess you will too till you find the permanent solution that you really like! Seriously, was such a stroke of luck that I saw the wicker baskets and it wasn’t till months later that I really thought of how to utilise them š! Keeping sheetmasks on display and having the everyday basket has really helped me organise and destash a lot easier.
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