If your beauty routine has a lot of steps, you likely have a lot of products. From primers to brushes to overnight lip masks, tiny bottle and tubes may be taking over your poor bathroom. For anyone hoping to bring some order into their product collection, we asked three professional organizers to diagnose what leads to bathroom clutter and share their favorite makeup organizers to keep everything in line.
According to Catherine Kelly, founder and lead organizer of Sistamatic Organizing, a big problem keeping makeup areas clean is hanging on to expired makeup and letting your items get, well, crusty. “The most common messes I see are leaky nail polish bottles, broken eyeshadow palettes and dirty makeup brushes,” Kelly said. “You can avoid damaging products by not over-stuffing your makeup storage areas.”
Katrina Green, a professional organizer and founder of Badass Homelife, said that having limited or outdated home storage (hello, tiny midcentury cabinets) can exacerbate disorganization, as you may be overstuffing your drawers and losing in the process. Chinamelum Menakaya, founder of Lavender Organizes, added that buying the wrong shape or sized containers for your bathroom can also create more chaos; you start to fight build-up of both products and bins.
The three organizers all agreed that the first step to organizing your makeup is to purge. Take inventory of what you have, getting rid of any multiples, expired products or things you never use but are still holding on to. Depending on your lifestyle and beauty routine, you may want to organize products by type. You can also group products by what you use the most, the order you use them or any other sequence that makes sense for you.
From there, do some basic measurements of your environment to see which organizers will fit and maximize your flow. Menakaya suggested factoring in space for general overflow, so your daily items can all be readily available. “Everything should have their own space,” she said.
To help you on your product-organizing journey, Kelly, Green and Menakaya shared their favorite makeup organizers.
HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change. The experts we consulted for this story do not necessarily endorse the products ahead unless otherwise noted.
A spinning cosmetic organizer you'll use every single day
When it comes to keeping your makeup sorted and ready, professional organizers
Catherine Kelly,
Katrina Green and
Chinamelum Menakaya all said the same thing: Get a 360-degree, clear-spinning, lazy Susan-style organizer. If your space allows, you can put it in a drawer or cabinet, but you can also keep it on a vanity or by your sink, allowing you to easily access everything you need and to actually see all the products at once.
"Instead of scattering your makeup on your vanity, use a 360-degree rotating makeup organizer with different compartments for your make up," Menakaya said. "It's so functional and takes up less space on your bathroom countertops." She recommended this one from Amazon that comes with adjustable shelves.
A corner organizer to make the most of nooks and crannies
For maximizing smaller spaces, Kelly reccomends this angled three-tiered shelf from The Container Store that can easily fit in a little cranny. "If your sink is on the smaller side, a tiered corner organizer like this one is helpful to corral the products you use every day," she said.
A set of 10 modular organizers to bring order to your drawers
To get drawers in order, Kelly recommended Home Edit’s set 10 mini-containers that lets you put similar items together. "You can mix and match different sizes to best fit your needs," she said.
Or a set of 25 mini drawer organizing trays to give everything a space
If you have more than 10 mini containers' worth of stuff, Green recommends this set of 25 organizers from Amazon that comes with four different-sized containers. She said to measure out your space before you buy to visualize how you'll use them and to make sure you're getting the right set for your space.
A set of clear stacking drawers to hold backups and extras
Let's be honest, you're always going to have a small stockpile of your favorite items or a collection of lipglosses you simply can't part with. For overflow, backup, random items or things you love but don't use daily, Menakaya recommends keeping a set of clear stacking shelves like this highy-rated set from Amazon to keep things out of the way but still visible so you can see what you have.
"Women have a lot of makeup and so often we will buy more..." Menakaya said. "[With] an acrylic tower, you're able to see the inside of it and it's stylish and functional."
A compac, adjustable makeup kit for small spaces or travel
If you really have limited counter space and drawers (or just want to be super compact and organized), Green suggests using this portable makeup carrying case that has adjustable sections. It has top sections for brushes or mascara and detachable and moveable dividers that you can set up yourself. "Because of the compartments, it would be a lot easier to keep up with it being organized versus just a usual pouch with no divisions," she said.
A slim storage cabinet that fits over your toilet
Of course, if you have the space but just don't have the shelves, Kelly suggests looking for an over-the-toilet standing cabinet like this one from Ikea. "[These] are helpful to store bulky or oversized items like perfume, lotion and palettes," she said.
Or a similar style in a warm rattan finish
Bring some warmth and boho style into your bathroom with this natural bamboo over-the-toilet storage unit. It has two sliding doors to cover a two-shelf cabinet as well as an open shelf to display your favorite perfumes or soaps.
