Spring clean your makeup collection with these 10 easy steps! These tips will help you audit your makeup bag & organize your beauty collection!
It’s hard to believe Spring is here! The time has come for some annual spring cleaning! I’ve been trying to go through & do as much as I can since getting home from Norway after being gone for 5 months! Safe to say, I have a lot to do & organize! I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy going through things that have accumulated over the past year. Decluttering always makes me feel SO good! If you can relate, you’ll want to check out my post on 100+ ways to declutter next!
On the topic of spring cleaning & decluttering, I wanted to share 10 easy ways to spring clean your makeup collection! I know I’m definitely guilty of holding on to too many products that are either expired, broken, never used, or just need to be tossed!
Following the steps below will help you to Marie Kondo your makeup bag & make room for all of the newness of Spring! Doing a deep clean of your makeup bag is a great thing to do every once in a while not only for practicality reasons but also to maintain good hygiene! Makeup, brushes, & beauty sponges can quickly become a breading ground for bacteria so staying consistent with your cleaning is crucial for good skin because that bacteria can lead to breakouts & irritation!
Alright, let’s get into it! Below you’ll find how to spring clean your makeup collection in 10 easy steps! Happy Spring Cleaning!!
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How to Spring Clean Your Makeup Collection
1. Lay all of your products out in plain site
Laying all of your products out in front of you is the best way to audit your makeup collection. Seeing all of your products can help give you an idea of what you actually do have, what you do & don’t use, & anything you may have forgotten about!
2. Sort everything by the type of product
Once you’ve laid your makeup collection out, you’ll want to go through & sort everything by the type of product. For example, group together all of your eyeshadow palettes, bronzers, lip glosses, eye liners, etc! Once you’ve organized your products accordingly, you’ll have a better idea of what you’ll want to keep or toss!
3. Check expiration dates
Did you know that your makeup products have an expiration date? Most items have a little symbol with an open jar (see the photo below) & a number. Usually the number says 6M or 12M. Meaning, that once the product is opened, it will be good for six months, a year, or however long the number says. I’ve had a few items with 24M expiration dates, so it just depends!
I’m not as strict on expiration dates for pressed powder products because they can last as long as 2 years without any issues. With that said, you’ll want to be sure that you’re cleaning your makeup brushes frequently to avoid spreading bacteria to & from your powders. But for items like foundation, concealer, mascara, eye pencils, eye liners, & any cream products, you’ll want to make sure you’re using them up within the correct time frame.
Doing so will help to prevent bacteria growth that can cause skin irritations or breakouts. Expired makeup also has a tendency to lose performance or pigment, dry out, the overall texture might change, & it might even develop a smell which is a sure sign to toss immediately!
4. Toss anything that’s old & anything you no longer use/like
If you’re no longer using something (I’m talking haven’t used it in a year+) you’ll probably want to toss it. This frees up room in your collection & honestly, it’s pointless to hold onto things you know you’ll never use! Maybe it’s a foundation shade that too dark, a lipstick that you NEVER wear, maybe a broken powder, an old eye liner that still hangin around, JUST TOSS! I know I’ve been guilty of holding onto products that are broken or ones I know I’ll never use. All that does is take up space & adds clutter to your collection!
5. Swap out your current mascara for a new tube
Most mascaras have a shelf life of 3-6 months. So think back to when you opened your last tube & if you’re nearing the 3 month mark (unless the tube says otherwise), think about finding a replacement! I’m currently using a clean mascara by Ilia that I LOVE! It’s their Limitless Lash Mascara & it has a shelf life of 6 months. I also really like Beautycounter’s Volumizing Mascara & recently got Bite’s Upswing Full Volume Mascara but I haven’t tried it yet!
6. If you use a beauty sponge or blender, toss it & upgrade to a new one!
If you use a beauty sponge or blender, you’ll want to get a new one every few months depending on how much you use it! I love using a beauty blender to apply my foundation & blend in my concealer & I find that I need a new sponge about every three months. I wash my beauty blender before each use & I don’t wear makeup daily, which is why I’m able to use the same one for a few months. If your blender is really dirty or run down, it’s time to get a new one, because you can only clean a sponge so much!
7. Wash your brushes!!
Spring cleaning or not, you should be washing your brushes frequently! Makeup brushes hold on to bacteria, oil, makeup, & even dirt, so establishing a routine where you’re washing them at least once a month is crucial! Every time I wash my brushes, I’m SHOCKED with all of the gunk that comes out & it makes me almost cringe that I used it to apply my makeup the day prior haha!
You can use anything from a bar of soap (love this charcoal bar) or a gentle shampoo or soap to wash your brushes. I personally love using my Branch Basics All-Purpose Cleaning Spray to clean mine! No matter how you’re cleaning them, just be sure to actually clean them!!
8. Wipe down the inside your drawer, makeup bag, shelf, or whatever you keep your makeup in!
There’s a lot of dust, debris, dirt, & makeup that can get left behind in a makeup bag, drawer, or whatever storage container you keep your makeup in! Once you take everything out of where ever you store your collection, be sure to give everything a good wipe down before putting everything back! Again, I love using my Branch Basics All-Purpose Spray for stuff like this, in addition to my Norwex Enviro Cloth.
9. Arrange your most used makeup items in the front
A great way to organize your makeup collection is to keep your most used products in the most convenient place. That’s what I do! Not only is it nice to have all of my go-to daily products in the same place but it’s also a great time saver because I don’t have to go looking for the same things every time! I’d suggest gathering all of your daily makeup products & doing the same! Store them in the same makeup bag, top drawer, or towards the front of your collection if you’re using a makeup organizer! You’re also more likely to use items that are in plain site. If you’re trying to use up a product that might be getting close to its expiration date, add that too!
10. Make safer swaps!
If you’re noticing that you’re running out of a few conventional makeup products, I’d suggest looking into replacing it with a safer swap! The makeup industry is severely under regulated which means that the ingredients found in conventional makeup products are not vetted for safety & are full of harmful or questionable ingredients! My go-to for clean makeup is Beautycounter, Lawless Beauty, & Ilia!
If you’re wanting to spring clean your makeup collection, I hope following these 10 easy steps helps! I know I always look forward to spring cleaning…makeup bag included!
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