Why Organizing Your Makeup Can Make You Happier (Really!)
Photo: David Slijper/Trunk Archive
That beautifully-packaged hand cream that smelled horrid on your skin? That mega pigmented eyeliner that looked next-level on the runway, but didn’t quite translate to the realities of your work-dominated life? They’re the beauty products that are taking up space in our makeup bags, cabinet and drawers. And we’ve all got ‘em. Research by Catalina Marketing shows that 56 percent of women surveyed have made a beauty purchase because they wanted to try something new and another 33 percent have admitted to shopping for beauty products when “bored and had nothing else to do”—and that can leave us with a lot of duds in the arsenal.
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Aside from dollars wasted, here’s the rub: These things aren’t just taking up space in your makeup bag and bathroom cabinet, they’re occupying space in your psyche—and possibly stunting your style, according to Julie Morgenstern, a professional organizer who has been called “the queen of putting people’s lives in order” and author of Shred Your Stuff, Change Your Life.
“Anything you hold on to but don’t use can hold you down, distract you and even mildly depressed you,” Morgenstern says. “We have time, space, money, energy and talent as resources to work with in our lives. And all this extra stuff takes time, space and money that can’t be used for something relevant instead. It’s a drain on our resources.”
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Aside from tossing mascara after its expiration date, how do we pare down after falling victim to amassing more products than we actually use? Morgenstern suggests this trick: pull all your products from the depths of cabinets, the bottoms of purses, and tucked-away travel bags and place them on a large tabletop.
Next, remove your staple products that you use and love every day. Morgenstern says that for most, this will be about 10 percent of the total haul. Take note of the product types that are heavily represented—like an overwhelming number of nude lipsticks or brightening face masks—and keep that gravitational pull in mind when you’re drawn to a similar product when in a store. Now comes the painful part: Whip out your calculator app and add up the retail cost of the remaining items. “That number and visual picture will transform you inside, and you won’t forget that,” when out shopping in the future, Morgenstern says.
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Finally, pull the trigger on downsizing. “Look at the remaining items collected and donate, give them away, or toss them,” Morgenstern instructs. This might sound like a wasteful practice, but as Morgenstern points out, “having items stowed away in your closet for years, hiding from that fact, and then buying more is throwing that money away anyway,” if not more. Furthermore, the effects of purging can be freeing.
In addition to clearing more space in your cabinets and bag—and pilfering less time when searching for that perfect lip balm that you continually want to use—minimizing (or obliterating) your beauty stash creates more space for self care, gratitude and love.
“When you keep only items you use and love, they enrich your life, support you and make your life easier,” Morgenstern says. “Beauty and personal care products offer some of the most intimate and personal way of taking care of yourself. By being selective and using products you truly love, you give yourself the opportunity to start a meditative practice when completing your personal care rituals. Smell the soap, feel the scrub, taste the toothpaste and connect to it,” she offers. A sense of gratitude will spring from being more conscious and present in the items you use and rituals you practice, Morgenstern maintains. And isn’t that the confident feeling we’re searching for in the first place?
