Fashion & Beauty By Mirela : My makeup collection-organization, cleanup, storage and product expiration

I love my makeup! I think this statement in itself is completely unnecessary considering just how obvious this actually is. I love buying it, swatching it, wearing it .....and of course collecting it. It makes me happy. However, like many of you out there I'm not too crazy about cleanup .....especially brush cleanup which I tend to do every week or so regardless of my feelings about it :)). We all know cleaning your makeup and getting rid of items that you hardly ever use or that have gone bad is necessary. I think of makeup as an investment apart from a creative expression/career tool. I spend a lot of money on it and I don't like to see it damaged and dirty.

Few days ago I decided to roll up my sleeves and get all in there :).... Literally! I try and clean my personal makeup collection every 6 months or so. If you are a makeup artist and have a makeup kit (besides your own personal makeup) that you use on other people I am sure you know that all the stuff you use should be cleaned every time you use it. I disinfect everything, clean my powders, lipsticks, palettes, blushes, packaging, bottles, storage units, brushes.... You can find makeup cleaning solutions that are safe to use directly on makeup in any makeup artist supply stores, for everything else you can use disinfecting soap and water and wipes .... I also get rid of the stuff I no longer use by donating it to someone who will love it more than I did before it goes bad....there is no sense in keeping something you will not use just sitting there taking up space. If you are over it, or it doesn't work for you for whatever reason pass it on or trade it in and make someone else's day better :). It will make you feel better to know it has gone to someone who will use, love and appreciate it .....

If things have gone bad, smell bad, the texture and application is off .....I simply toss it. Makeup does expire! No matter how much you have paid for something or love something it does go bad eventually. The last thing you want to do is keep using that stuff around your eyes, mouth and on your skin once it has gone bad. Expired makeup can cause really bad skin reactions and infections ....so you don't want to go there. Most makeup items will have "use by" or expiry date somewhere on the bottom of the packaging. If not, you can keep your own little inventory purchase/expiration date chart or create some sort of tracking method of your own to keep things in check. Some things will still be good after that date stamp providing there is no other types of damage .......but proceed with caution and keep a close eye on their smell and texture if you decide to still keep using them. When those two start changing its time to say goodbye :(.

Here is a screen shoot of a general rule of thumb on makeup expiration/duration bellow:

I use Alex Drawers from IKEA to keep and store my makeup collection. The drawers are just shallow and deep enough to keep everything organized and easy to find and reach for. I insert plastic drawer organizers/dividers so that stuff doesn't roll around and mix together. The cleanup is a breeze this way. This makes things so much easier and more manageable. A lot of hard core makeup fanatics/collectors/artists use these drawers because they are very convenient for keeping all your stuff organized and in one place. Needless to say hence their popularity among makeup community on social media during the last few years.

Even though I dread going through my ever growing makeup collection simply because there is so much of it. Once I get started I tend to find the whole process quite calming and somewhat inspiring. The whole process takes me about 2-3 hours to complete but by the end of it all when I see everything super organized and laid out nicely, all clean and ready to go all I can do is smile. Looking at all the beautiful colors like that and going thru it all and finding things you forgot about makes you want to just sit there and create even more looks.....I get inspired every time. And while the process is long you can make it more fun and relaxing by turning on some music ...that gets me in the right mood every time :).