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Ikea

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Storage Ideas From The Beauty Look Book

March 19, 2011

Finding the best storage solutions to fit one’s room is always a challenge for makeup. Many have asked for advice on how I store everything. This is something I am always working on as my stash grows. If you click on the storage tag below you will see a few previous posts with ideas. For an update, click to see more.
To recap:
  • I mainly store my items in the tall Ikea Alex Units. I have two of these side by side. These have shorter drawers and a few taller drawers ideal for storing things for easy viewing. I love these and can’t rave enough (even if it is a pain to put together). I’ve found a number of photos on Flickr featuring the Alex Units in put together rooms. Check out these links for ideas on how others use this unit: Ikea Alex Gallery 1, Gallery 2, Gallery 3, Gallery 4, Gallery 5, Google Images: Ikea Alex
  • For brushes and pencils, I use Stila Paint Cans (which can be hard to find), MUJI Acrylic Cylinders and Crate & Barrel Containers
  • To store lipglosses, MUJI has great acrylic solutions, high quality drawers with excellent craftsmanship. These are super sturdy and aesthetically pleasing (for acrylic). The price shown above reflects the price from 2009, I don’t know if the price is still current.

Today, I still utilize both Ikea Alex units and I have not added any more units, although ideally one more would be nice. You can see below the shallow shorter drawers are nice for storing things in short stacks for easy viewing. They are great for storing MAC Blushes, Bronzers and Mineralized Skinfinishes for easy access. Over the past year I’ve started using gift boxes as storage separators. I’m the type who will hold onto a pretty gift box for a while before tossing it. Jo Malone, Chanel and Dior make beautiful branded gift boxes. I’ve found some are the perfect height for lipsticks, multiples, glosses and such.

White box is from Dior, black box is the cap from a Chanel box – perfect size for lipsticks:

In the back is a MUJI cylinder, on the left a cute Paul & Joe tin, cream colored boxes on the right are the bottoms of Jo Malone candle boxes:

Another Jo Malone box (the base) to hold NARS Multiples and other skinny cream-liquid products:

Stacked MAC MSFs and Beauty Powders:


I’m still working on Nail Polish storage, but so far this is how they are stored in this post. The nail racks I’ve found are cheap and ugly, but they do the trick of storing them in an organized easy-to-see fashion. I don’t like storing them in boxes or drawers because those methods make it difficult to sort through the colors since all you see are the caps. If anyone has ideas on nail polish storage that you love, please share.

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Makeup Organization & Storage Part 2

June 19, 2009

For my storage options, I opted for the Ikea Alex Unit with 9 Drawers. The nice thing about the Alex Unit is that it has 2 different heights for drawers, smaller ones at the top, and taller ones at the bottom. This makes it so you can store other non-makeup items such as laundry accessories, small towels, small papers or cards etc.

Close up of a few drawers (the shorter ones):

Stila Cans to store long brushes & Hello Kitty Brush Cup:

Crate & Barrel Storage Containers to store the shorter items (but works for long pencils too):

MUJI Acrylic Round Pots without lids to store long pencils and other brushes:

Coming next – more storage options from girls in the beauty industry!

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Makeup Organization & Storage Options Part 1

June 18, 2009
One downside to accumulating and collecting makeup is the challenge of finding ways to store your products, trying to squeeze in all your blushes, eyeshadows, lipsticks and brushes keeping them organized in a way that that allows you to access your items easily.

There are number of beautiful different vanities and drawer options available, but when it comes to storing makeup, the options don’t always fit what I’m looking for. The ideal storage unit for me is something with lots of drawers that aren’t too tall, deep or wide and compact enough to put in a corner of a room or store somewhere discrete. And of course – not too expensive!

I find that Pottery Barn and Ikea are great for their room ideas online. For those who don’t have a large built-in vanity or bathroom counter to store things, here are some nice storage options for small spaces:

1. Pottery Barn Bathroom Bureau $599 – a classic looking hardwood framed unit with moisture-resistant finish, also includes their Smart Technology strip for a plug in point for hair irons or curlers, and an adjustable mirror. It has a beautiful finish and look!

2. Ikea Alex Unit with 9 Drawers $119 – a cheaper alternative to the Pottery Barn Bureau, slightly smaller and narrower in dimension, made of particle board instead of hardwood, but with more drawers. Ikea has four different units in the Alex series, giving you options for different widths and heights.

3. Ikea Helmer Drawer Unit on Casters $39.99 – a cute steel 6 drawer unit on wheels that comes in three different colors, red, silver and white. Small enough to slide under your desk. Check out the Ikea Workspace Rooms for ideas!

Also check out Ikea Bathrooms for other storage options.

To store longer items such as brushes, mascara tubes, eye liner and lipliner pencils, I’ve found that Stila Paint Cans work extremely well. The downside is that most are not for sale and I’ve been lucky enough to get some through friends. Some alternative storage units I’ve found include:

4. MUJI Acrylic Round Pen Pot – I originally found these in London when I went several years ago. They have an entire Acrylic Storage series with some great storage options. I love these for their high quality and sturdiness. Unfortunately, they are based in the UK with locations around the world outside of the US. At this time, it appears they are available in the US only in New York. Click here for locations. I do believe some of their sites ship to the US. I’ve been lucky enough to get these through friends who travel overseas and also through a few custom purchases!

5. MUJI Acrylic Case with 5 Rows $23.95 – MUJI does have a US online store, but the selection is limited and doesn’t have all the same products as what they do have overseas. This is a cute 5-drawer acrylic storage unit – there are more variations and options with 2-drawers, small, large, and a unit with a flip-top lid as well. However most of the other options are on the UK website.

5. Crate & Barrel Storage Containers with Lids $4.95 and $5.95 – These are the closest items I could find in the US to those Muji Acrylic Pots. I found these are great for shorter brushes and pencils. The smaller ones are 3.5″ in diameter by 3.75″ high, while the larger ones run 4″ in diameter by 5″ high. Just remove the lids and they turn into the perfect storage container for your shorter items!

Coming next . . . actual storage photos!

* Promotional photos from Pottery Barn Online, Ikea.com, Crate & Barrel Online, MUJI Global, MUJI USA