Attractive Makeup Storage on the Cheap

My makeup bag, for quite some time, looked like this:

Yes I know. Super embarrassing, messy, and disorganized. Every time I wanted to apply makeup my brushes would fall in the bathroom sink. I would always have to dig around to find something I needed and it was never conveniently at my fingertips. I forgot about items that sunk to the bottom of the bag only to rediscover it much later. It was kind of a disaster and obviously something needed to be done! I also had a lot of makeup in drawers, in my linen closet, and scattered around my bathroom. I had been thinking for a while about makeup storage options. I love some of the cool ideas I saw around the internet but I wanted an option that would allow me to look at every cosmetic item I had at once. That is just how my brain works.

I found these naked wooden crates at the dollar store for two dollars each and got three (plus a smaller one for nail polish). I thought they were so cute and the perfect way to store my makeup.

I chose a light green for the outside and white for the inside and this is the result:

On a side note, one of the commitments I made for this year is to cut out using all beauty products tested on animals. You will still notice some Covergirl and Maybelline etc. in my makeup boxes now from past purchases but going forward I am trying to take a stand against giving my money to companies that needlessly torture animals. I have discovered that Benefit is a company that does not test on animals and makes some really good makeup. MAC also does not test on animals and makes quality, natural looking makeup. I have a lot to learn and I am still learning about ways to avoid using products tested on animals in a way that won’t break the bank. I welcome any good recommendations if you have found any great, ethical companies! Hopefully this post will get folks thinking about this issue.

I love the boxes for this purpose. They are stackable which makes it easy for me to store them, and moving them to a well lit area when I need to apply makeup is convenient. They also look pretty so displaying them on a vanity table would also be an option, but I don’t have a vanity table. Maybe a future DIY project?

Have a wonderful Friday!