by Cassandra Rae Ferguson

Created on: March 04, 2011

A makeup artist’s best friend is their makeup kit. It goes everywhere the artist goes and contains everything the artist needs. Therefore, a makeup artist guards his or her kit with their life! Every good makeup artist keeps their kit clean, tidy and well-organized. This is of utmost importance for a busy makeup guru.

Well, you might not be the next Napoleon Perdis or Kevyn Aucoin, but the effort it takes to get your makeup organized will save you space, time and money. Oh, not to mention your sanity whilst applying your makeup each morning! Following are some tips on getting organized…

If In Doubt, Throw It Out!

The first step toward an organized makeup kit is to dispose of any items which may be out of date. Most makeup has a PAO (Period After Opening) of 12 months, or under. This is the recommended shelf life of the product after opening the jar. Many makeup lines do not display a PAO, however. If an item in your kit has any changes in scent, texture or color, it may have expired and it is best to throw it out.

Delve or Ditch?

Deciding which items to keep and which ones to throw out is the next step to tidying your makeup. Through a process of elimination, determine which items you wish to keep. Items that you no longer use may not need to be thrown out, however. You may be able to mix shades to create new ones that you will actually wear i.e. mix two shades of lipstick or eyeshadow together or mix foundations to get the right shade. Then, be sure to dispose of what you will not use.

Name & Shame It

At this point, it may be useful to label products. Often, makeup comes in covered packaging and the label is on the back or bottom of the jar. So, if you have multiple items in identical packaging, you need to look on the back to find the shade you want. Placing a label clearly on the front or top of the jar gives you instant shade identification! Alternatively, you can transfer products into see-through jars to see the color.

In addition, it may be helpful to add the opening/use by date on your label, so you can identify which items have expired.  A small sticker or simply writing on the packaging will suffice.

More to Store

Now that you have all of your makeup clearly labelled in containers, the products are ready to be stored in a kit. For tidy and functional storage, a professional kit is desirable, but not necessary. A sewing box, toolkit or similar fold-out style case is ideal. This makes your storage portable, compact and easy to

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