My Makeup Collection & Storage 2013

 Y'all might want to stick the kettle on and make yourself a cup of tea before we get stuck into this. It's gonna be a long'un. So many people have asked me what I use to store all my products, or what products I have, stuff like that, and I've been putting off doing this post because a) I didn't have things how I want them in my halls, due to the limited space and crappy furniture, and b) I knew it was going to be a super long post! I'm still not 100% happy with my storage, I still need to buy proper drawer dividers for inside my Helmer drawers but I figured, hell, you guys don't mind if it's not perfect, right?

So standard disclaimer here, this is not me bragging about my collection, I am just responding to what you guys have asked for. Also I DID NOT BUY ALL THESE PRODUCTS. I am lucky enough to be sent a lot of products for this here blog, my family and friends generally buy me makeup for Christmas/Birthdays, and when I do buy stuff, I tend to buy it on offer, where that's a good old boots 3 for 2, or a Debenhams 10% off day, or on Fragrance Direct or Escentual. Also, when I was working for YSL this summer, I bought a fair few bits with my wages, because I had a lot of disposable income that I wasn't used to having (yes I know I should have saved it, then I wouldn't be teetering on the edge of overdraft now, but that's life). Also, I feel like I need to point out that unlike most other students, I don't drink, other than the occasional cocktail when I'm out for dinner, or a glass of bubbly on a special occasion, I never spend money on club entry, drinks and taxis. I don't buy clothes often either, so really, if I choose to buy myself a £20 lipstick, I think that's just fine.

So, I keep the makeup that I reach for most, and some of my favourite bits and pieces in acrylic storage on top of my chest of drawers, but the majority of the stuff resides in my trust Ikea Helmer Drawer set. I love the Alex drawers that every blogger and their mum has, but I just don't have the space in my flat as it is now! I'm not going to talk about every product I have, or we'll be here til 2016, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see a review on, please let me know in the comments below!

 

Starting on the left is my chair, I have no idea where that's from since it came in the flat (great start there Jaye). Under the chair I have two boxes, one which contains all my velcro rollers for my hair (I have nowhere else to keep these at the moment!) and the other which contains makeup I need to get rid of or give away, normally to my sister, because I don't use it. My hairdryer is under here too, and my straighteners are hooked over the edge of the chair (I obviously don't do this when they're hot, this is just a handy place to keep them). On top of my Helmer unit I have my mirror and makeup brushes, so I can see what I'm doing and reach my brushes easily from my chair next to it (and yes, that is a giant Cheshire Cat on the chair). I keep my makeup brushes in this white plant pot which is from Ikea, and so is the mirror. I'm pretty ruthless with makeup brushes, I only keep what I use all the time, I just don't see the point in having too many. The majority of my brushes are Real Techniques, MAC and there's four or five Dior ones in there too. I spot clean my brushes using the MAC Brush Cleanser, but I deep clean them too on Sunday nights using Dr Bronners Magic soap. You can see my full post on brush cleaning here. On here I also keep my heat protectant spray, and my sunglasses, because otherwise I forget them when it's sunny (genius).

So like I said, the stuff in the acrylic storage is the stuff I reach for most. All of the drawers are from Muji, then the unit on top of the drawers on the right is from Homebase. It's supposed to be a desk tidy but whatever. I do love the look of these units, and it's so easy to find stuff, but it does get wildly dusty, and even when you clean it, the dust never fully goes. 

So ontop of the mini drawers I keep spray bottles. The Caudalie Beauty Elixir I use throughout the day to refresh my skin, and also before bed, since I find it helps with spots! MAC Fix+ I use on cotton buds to clean up makeup errors, or I spray it on eyeshadow brushes to pick up more colour and make it more intense. I also keep my Urban Decay All Nighter and MAC Brush Cleanser here. 

See, I told you it always looks dusty. This is the unit from Homebase, I actually got it reduced because there was supposed to be a drawer in there somewhere, but I like it just fine without. At the back I keep any open mascaras, which are all drugstore at the moment, I'm particularly loving Max Factor's False Lash Effect mascara. Next to that are two of my Soap and Glory hand creams, which I always try to apply in the mornings after I've finished getting ready. In front of that is my Yankee Candle Vanilla Lime room spray, which is strong but nice. I keep my morning moisturiser and eye cream here too, since I tend to forget it if I keep it in the bathroom. I'm currently using the Origins Ginzing ones which I love. On the right I then have a few minis, a Dior mascara, some Benefit Tints and the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer which is incredible. Last up, I keep two Korres lip butters, and some mini Nars pencils in the bottom there too, since these are the products I tend to grab if I'm in a rush heading out the door, since they're so damn easy to apply. 

In the smaller Muji drawers, I keep my beloved Chanel Les Beiges and Creme blusher, since I reach for these on a near daily basis at the moment. I also have a couple of Nyx blushes in there too. The bottom drawer contains assorted high end lip products that I use a lot, Smashbox, YSL, Urban Decay, Bobbi Brown and Benefit. My Chanel ones are normally in here too, except they are all in the bottom of my handbag right now, except my bright pink matte one, which is in another drawer, since I don't use it often.

I have four of the wider, slimmer drawers from Muji on the right. The top one contains the base products I use most regularly. MAC Studio Sculpt I mix into other foundations to add extra coverage, Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser, my day off base, and Dior's BB Creme which is my favourite base ever. Next to that I have my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder, and the concealers I am using most at the moment.

 

 The next drawer is for my most used eye products, I have my two MAC palettes, my Nars And God Created The Woman Palette, Fairy's Kiss Palette & Isolde Duo. My three MAC Paintpots live here too, since I wear these pretty much everyday, as well as the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze which I'm trying to use more. On the end is my MAC eyeshadow in Gilt By Association which I love but is smashed.

 The third drawer contains cheek products, so I have my Nars Laguna, which I wear basically everyday, the Nars One Night Stand Palette which covers pretty much every blush need, the Sleek Sweet Cheeks Blush Palette, two Benefit boxed blushes and my MAC blush in Ripe For Love, from the Temperature Rising Collection. These are the blushes I tend to reach for day to day, they're all pretty natural looking. 

I keep all my MAC Lipsticks in this drawer, since it's the easiest way to be able to tell which is which. I wear MAC lipsticks the most since I know they'll last and they look good. I keep the only two MAC face powders I own in here too (I never really find MAC powders that exciting, these are the exceptions), the Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me, and the Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade. Also in this drawer is my somewhat tinted bottle of Lipcote.

 To the side of the acrylic storage is a ramshackle collection of items. I have another Ikea plantpot that contains useful things I have no idea how to store, and things I like to chuck in my handbag on my way out. Things like my topcoat and basecoat, a box of TicTacs, my Avene Eau Thermale, a Garnier Eye Roll On, a spare nail file, a compact mirror, a pencil sharpener and my Sally Hansen Cuticle Remover. Next to this is an old candle jar that I have stuffed with my favourite pink Tweezerman tweezers, a comb for when I'm straightening my hair, nail and cuticle oil, a cuticle stick, some hand cream and styling clips for when I do my hair. I absolutely love this little jar, it's so cute, and the candle was gorgeous too. In front of that is a little glass jar from Ikea that I store grips in (grips can also be found in my bed, on the floor in every room in my flat, all around the bathroom sink, and in the bottom of every handbag), and a little ceramic tray from Urban Outfitters that I keep a few rings, a belly bar and some earrings on. 

Onto the Helmer Unit! Top drawer is home to base products and setting powders. Like I said, I haven't invested in dividers and the like for this unit yet, so in here the products are divided by the lid of a glossybox, and the lid of the box my Ted Baker Purse came in. In here is a mix of high end and drugstore products, the front half has foundations I wear a lot in, or ones I'm trying out, plus my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (cause how are you supposed to store that?!) then my setting powders and a few bronzers, and then there's products I don't really use, either because I haven't opened them yet, or some of them are ones I prefer to use in the summer. 

The second drawer is home to eye products. I don't have many single shadows, mostly just palettes which makes it a bit easier to store. I keep my Naked and Naked 2 palettes at the front since I use these a lot and it makes it easy to grab. Then I have the other half of the purse box propping up some other palettes, my Urban Decay Smoked Palette, a YSL Quad, and then the others are just high street, some Sleek, an MUA one and a few other random ones. Also in that box is a random loose Kiko shadow, my YSL and Maybelline gel liners, a Body Shop Shimmer Brick and my Shu Umera lash curlers. I then have a random selection of shadow sticks and the Rimmel Scandaleyes shadow paints, as well as my lovely Bobbi Brown Rich Chocolate palette (I need to find a better home for that). Next to that is a Muji tray that holds all my liners. At the back I keep my Benefit Luv It Up tin from this years Christmas collection, and a little tray from the Martha Stewart line at Staples that holds eyeshadow primers, and another Maybelline Colour Tattoo as well. 

 Onto lips! Lips are actually spread into the next drawer too, but in here I have three more Muji Dividers at the front for Lip Crayons, Lip Lacquers and Lip Tints, and then my Benefit Glosses at the side, since I wear these nearly every day. At the back I have a really cool box from Ikea with lip balms in, and the a YSL gift box with lipglosses in. At the back is a case containing depotted lipsticks. I have a real mix in here, and these are the colours I used to use when I danced, and did loads of peoples makeup at dance shows. I don't use this loads any more, but there are a few lipsticks in here that I love, plus I love mixing a few of these together on the lid to create the perfect lip shade.

I don't like this drawer since it's a total mishmash. In here I keep all my other blush products that weren't in the acrylic storage, but I haven't find a way to store these as of yet, so I just have them laid out so I can see them all easily. There's also a Smashbox tin that contained some liners, that I'm sure I'll find a use for one day, but until then, it's just there. At the front I then have a Muji pen organiser stuffed with my other lip products. In here are the Revlon Lip Butters, a few L'Oreal Gloss Stain things, some discontinued Bourjois lip tints that are fantastic, a tonne of Rimmel lipsticks, some Baby lips, a Dior Lipstick that's broken, the aforementioned matte pink Chanel Lipstick, and a ramshackle collection of other lipsticks.

 Two more drawers! This one is again a bit all over the place, I have primers and highlighters in the front, and then in the back, concealers and brow products. This stuff is in a Glossybox and Glossybox lid, which isn't ideal, but at least separates it somewhat. By the way, that Gosh Primer there, is identical to the Smashbox original formula one. 

The last drawer s home to a random assortment of items. There's Nail Polish Remover, my big round brush for when I blow dry my hair, some makeup bags I tend to use when I go home for the weekend, cotton wool, cotton buds, and unopened spare packs of lashes and lash glue. Isn't the Paul and Joe makeup bag just gorgeous?

So that's it! Honestly if you made it to the end of this post, I am wildly impressed! It probably would have been easier to do this as a YouTube video, but that's a little too scary. I hope you guys enjoyed this, please let me know if there are any products you'd like me to go into more detail about! Or if you want to see a detailed mini collection post, like a mascara collection, or foundation collection or whatever!

How do you guys store your makeup?