A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If I had a penny for every attempt I’ve ever made at making my beauty collection look both pretty and organised, I’d have at least eight pence.  I’ve given up trying because the two aspects of beauty storage appear to be mutually exclusive and I prefer knowing where everything is as opposed to getting stabby every morning while I look for an eyeliner.

Having said that, I know that many of you adore the pretty things in life and in all honesty, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything more pretty than this…

OK, so it’s a cake stand (a very lovely cake stand) but can’t you just see it filled with bathroom beauties/nail polishes and the like?  It measures 43cm tall and contains three generously proportioned-yet-space saving baskets.  If I’m honest, the styling totally doesn’t fit with my decor even though I’m hugely tempted to get it as a fruit bowl.

And the best bit?  It’s currently only £8.95 (reduced from £23.95!) in the sale at DotComGiftShop.

Oh… go on then!

Most of my makeup is split between five old-style Ikea FIRA chests and a couple of Ikea HELMERS.  When Ikea discontinued the FIRA, makeup-loving hearts were broken across the globe, they’ve since replaced the storage solution with a hugely inferior version called the MOPPE which is about 2x the original price and half the original depth of the FIRA. No bueno.

I’ve been loving my HELMERS more and more since I threw some cheap drawer dividers in there, it wasn’t pretty but it helped to organise each drawer a little more effectively.

I went to Ikea a couple of days ago and came across some plastic basket inserts called ANTONIUS.  They come in one size, with one compartment configuration.  They cost a mere £1.80 a-piece and THEY FIT THE HELMER!  It’s actually a little bit of a squeeze to get them in there but fit they do!

Wanna see?

How sexy is that picture?  I just need a Dymo printer to make those little labels and I’ll be happy left alone in my room for the next seven years.  That’s a bit of a miscellaneous drawer by the way: powder highlighters, cream and liquid highlighters and lip products that don’t fit in my lipstick drawer!

On the right is mostly MAC MSFs, which should give you an idea of how big the compartments are.

A different drawer.  These are blushers.  It’s so much easier to be able to store them on their side with minimal rattling about or ‘foraging’ to find the right shade.

So how much would a full makeup storage solution set you back?  Well… let’s do the maths.

1 Ikea HELMER @ £24.99

6 Ikea ANTONIUS @ £10.80

Total = £35.79

Not bad eh?

I couldn’t be without my HELMERS.  Sure, I love the look of the ALEX but… these serve their purpose really well and after nearly three years of daily use, they look as good as the day I bought them.  I have one which fits snugly under my desk for nail polish and one that sits ontop of my desk (I have a huge corner desk) with the rolling casters removed.

How are you storing your makeup?  Got any tips to share?

Yeah, so you lot are sharper than a brand new 24/7 eyeliner pencil.  Of course, the crafty thingie that Mr. L was constructing for me was my new Lipstick Organiser.  So good, it needs capitalization.  Well done for guessing correctly!

Wanna see it? (tough, I’m showing you anyway)

I know it’s a little bit rustic-looking but damn, it works like a dream.  I can see each lipstick at a glance and organise them into shade ranges.  My OCD tendencies are acting like they just scored a touchdown!

It was a total pain in the arse to make (says Mr. L) and I have massive gratitude to Koren for the inspiration.  Mr. L didn’t use the same measurements as him though… we wanted to use thicker cardboard, it needed to fit my Helmer drawer neatly, so accounted for that and we had to enlarge some measurements to make room for my largest lipsticks (Urban Decay and Burberry incase you were wondering!).

If you want to watch Koren’s video on how to make one of these little marvels, it’s embedded below!

What do you think?  Do you have one of these?  Want one?!

This, THIS is why I love being married.  Well, not just *this* but, mostly… this.  Can you guess what my lovely husband is making me?

Ooooooooh!!  It’s coming together!!

It looks a bit fiddly doesn’t it?  Glad I’m not the one making it.

Come back tomorrow to see it in all its glory!

Irregular shaped bottles of varying sizes, shades and styles – nail polish.

You can’t stack ’em, slot ’em together and there’s only one way up for them!   No wonder they give me a headache.

I have around 208 bottles that were literally overflowing their allotted space in the stackable drawers I’d bought from Asda.  It was time for them to move house…

Into a brand new Ikea Helmer!

Oh, Ikea Helmer… you are the stuff of makeup-lover’s dreams.  Perfectly sized, you’re small enough to be considered compact yet spacious enough to hold our treasures within your functional (but not too officey) exterior!

The Helmers comes in white, red or silver and are priced at just over £20 each.  I own two white Helmers and they hold SO much crap it’s astounding.

If I’m completely honest though, I lust after an Alex:

But at over £80 a-piece, the price difference is hard to justify.

Here’s a quick phone snap of my polishes all snug and comfy in their new home.  Look how perfect they are, all divided by colour and standing to attention!

But my favouritest thing about their new home?  It means I now have plenty of space for more!

How do you store your nail polish – do you own a Helmer?

I have comitted a cardinal nail polish sin, for which I’m being punished.

Don’t store your nail polish on it’s side kids.

For the love of everything brightly coloured and infused with solvents, listen to Oprah:

http://www.oprah.com/style/How-to-Store-Nail-Polish

But even more importantly, listen to Oprah’s commenter… Jeff1967 (at the very bottom of the page).

Any tips?  I can’t shake ’em… that induces bubbles!  Do I just keep rolling endlessly?

So, I’m a big fan of Mineral Makeup and nothing excites me more than getting a jiffy bag full of teeny baggies containing varying shades of sparkly gorgeousness (yes, I am still a sparkle whore).

I’m forever meaning to share these little hauls with you, as I know the swatches can be useful, but swatching is such a time consuming thing – and time is a commodity that has bottomed out since the birth of Leila.

The next best thing I can do at the moment is share my storage solution for my little piggies…

These are great, I believe they’re meant for nail things – but this is how I use them.  I buy these from a seller on eBay who ships from Hong Kong and I pay £4.50 inc. shipping for 24 pots – not bad I reckon!

Any of you collect pigment samples?  How do you store them?