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By Kiana Murden and Iman Balagam Acrylic Display Stand
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The best makeup organizer will do wonders for even the most extensive cosmetic collections. As much as I try to live like Marie Kondo, I always find my bathroom shelves and cabinets looking more like a mini Sephora after an earthquake rather than the clutter-free, pristine powder room I aspire to have. I’ve debated getting rid of everything, but for some reason, I feel the need to have every shade of highlighter, lipstick, and blush known to man. So to keep my arsenal of cosmetics neat and tiny, I rely on a few beauty organizers.
As my skin and makeup collections grow, I've found that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to cosmetics storage. From acrylic tubes designed to help makeup brushes stand upright on display to narrow carts that keep my daily essentials handy in my quaint New York City bathroom. For travel, I’ve even discovered beautiful leather pouches and toiletry bags that safeguard my goods organized on the go. Honorable mention also goes to the classic hard-case Caboodles kit—a vintage solution that still rings useful today. In searching for the best makeup organizers, you’ll find there’s really something for everyone. All these and more ideas to spruce up and declutter your bathroom cabinets, drawers, and vanities below.
Why We Love It: For those who prefer to catch flights, not feelings, a travel case is the easiest way to keep everything organized and intact when on the go. From our favorite conscious luggage and case-maker, this see-through pouch is quite chic and can be monogrammed when ordered directly from Paravel.
Why We Love It: We prefer a travel case that is spacious enough to fit everything you need for a night out, with a handle for easy transportation and various internal compartments to keep everything secured in one place. Some cosmetic cases can become awfully bulky, making it hard to pack, especially if you’re trying to fit in a work tote that’s already spilling over, but not this one from Béis. It has a top handle that lays flat to prevent damage and can easily fit into your bag, much like a game of Tetris.
Why We Love It: Traveling with just a carry-on does not mean you have to pare down your beauty routine completely—especially when you get your hands on Cuyana’s beauty case. Crafted from Italian pebbled leather (in three colors), this slim case features a removable pouch, two elastic pockets, and four brush holders to house all your necessities with ease. Plus, the interior lining is easily cleaned with soap and water—meaning, no stress for cosmetics spills.
Why We Love It: For many of us, a vanity case does the trick to organize our makeup collection—particularly for those frequently on the go. Featuring two compartments with a removable divider insert, this case has room for all your essentials, and nothing wiggles around. After all, there’s nothing worse than not being able to find your lipsticks or realizing that your foundation bottle has cracked, leaking over your new cashmere sweater.
Why We Love It: Vanity cases are great, but they can often be bulky or too big for a quick overnight getaway or for storage in your tote or gym bag. This handwoven cosmetic bag is not only beautiful; it’s water-resistant, machine-washable, and has a nylon lining that makes it super easy to clean—stains are inevitable when it comes to toting makeup around.
Why We Love It: If you like pouches but hate that everything gets thrown together, this one from Dagne Dover has interior elastic loops and mesh pockets to keep everything in place. Plus, did we mention that it’s water-resistant?
Why We Love It: Pouches are lightweight, convenient, and with so many cute options available from our favorite bag designers like Longchamp, it’s easy to find one that feels uniquely you. We love Longchamp for its classic designs, and this makeup case is no different—lightly textured leather in black or navy that you’re proud to bring around with you.
Why We Love It: When applying makeup, it helps to have everything organized so that you can easily experiment with new looks or always have your favorite lipstick shade and blush within reach. If you find it easier to swivel towards your products, consider this organizer over its acrylic drawer counterparts.
Why We Love It: It’s easy for products to pile up in chaotic disarray without a vanity counter to organize and separate them. Consider this a structural tower suitable for any bathroom counter or drawer (depending on how deep it is, of course)—designed with a removable cup and wooden handle to move it around as needed.
Why We Love It: If you prefer everything neatly stacked and compartmentalized, this cosmetic organizer is for you. It features a removable mirror, which will be a gamechanger for someone liable to get ready anywhere and everywhere around the home.
Why We Love It: For a modern take on the swivel organizer, look no further than Umbra’s Cascada design. Through two stackable compartments and nine removable dividers, this allows one to easily find—and store—what they are looking for.
Why We Love It: Pottery Barn’s Stella organizer gives any cosmetics enthusiast the best of both worlds: ample open space to keep your products on display and a spacious drawer to tuck precious items away.
Why We Love It: The Umbra Moona Storage Box combines the convenience of its three individually rotating drawers with a modern, minimalist design for an all-around great cosmetics storage solution.
Why We Love It: Ah, brushes, the unsung heroes of most makeup routines. They deserve to be organized too, especially considering the amount of grime and dust they’d collect lying flat on your vanity. Wave goodbye to that messy bundle of makeup brushes when you swap in this organizer and drying stand that keeps finding your next tool simple.
Why We Love It: If you don’t want something as obvious (read: acrylic), we’re also partial to a beautiful cup holder. This hand-painted porcelain brush holder also serves as a showpiece on your vanity—consider it a two-in-one where fashion meets function.
Why We Love It: Organize all of your brushes in a tidy line with this acrylic organizer—larger holes in the front, smaller holes in the back, like students lining up for a picture on picture day. And it’s not limited to brushes; you can also fit in your tweezers, lip glosses, nail files, and more.
Why We Love It: To truly upgrade your travel organization, consider getting a makeup brush holder. It keeps everything organized, preventing your foundation brushes and eyeshadows from getting jumbled together in the bottomless pit that is your suitcase.
Why We Love It: There comes a time in everyone’s life when you realize that you’ve acquired too many beauty items. That person who owns piles upon piles of cosmetic goodies will love a standing beauty tower to keep skin, makeup, and body products organized.
Why We Love It: The best thing about this standing organizer meets vanity is that it has both a mirror and wheels, allowing you to roll it over to whichever area in your house has the best lighting for getting ready.
Why We Love It: If you simply need the extra room or want to keep all of your skin and hair items in one convenient place, this storage unit is beyond helpful. While this classic design piece isn’t technically meant for beauty products, it’ll do the job wonderfully.
Why We Love It: For beauty-lovers with a lot of products to store, a rolling cart with four tiers is a great option—plus, we love the mobility. The poles are also adjustable so that you can store taller items.
Why We Love It: If you prefer to keep your beauty items in a drawer, trays are an easy way to keep things organized and out of sight. This option offers four modular pieces to outfit your drawers to your beauty and skin-care needs.
Why We Love It: The size you choose really depends on what you’re looking to store, but thankfully, many come with an assortment of sizes, so you're free to play around with it. Undecided about how much storage you’ll really need? Each set of Ravinte's drawer organizers comes with 13 storage bins in five different sizes.
Why We Love It: If you like to keep things at eye level (it’s really easy to forget what you own), this neon acrylic tray looks great on your vanity and comes in two sizes.
Why We Love It: This bamboo organizer will beautifully display your beauty staples on any dresser, desk, or surface.
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By Janelle Okwodu and Kiana Murden
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