As many of you know, I am currently a college student. I've spent multiple semesters living in on-campus housing -- including in a dorm room with a roommate. The summer before I started university, I watched so many YouTube videos and literally spent weeks trying to figure out how best to store my makeup collection in my college dorm room, but there honestly aren't a whole lot of resources out there created by actual college students. Especially as a huge makeup hobbyist, I wanted to provide this guide drawing from my personal experiences. In high school, I kept my makeup collection in small storage containers from Ikea. However, for my dorm, I wanted to get something that looked nicer, would better house my expanding makeup collection, and would be easier to pull products from. I've used two different makeup storage systems in the various dorm rooms that I've lived in. I'll be going through both of them and the pros and cons of each. Option 1: Acrylic Drawers/OrganizersMy current makeup organization system in my senior year housing (another view here) -- my palettes are currently stored book-style on the bottom shelf of this table Very basic but very practical are clear acrylic drawer units. The clear acrylic looks neat in an already-small space like a dorm room, and I can very easily and quickly find everything because it is clear. The material of the organizer I have is decently thick and sturdy, and a drawer-style makeup organizer takes advantage of the vertical space on top of a school-provided desk (again, good for a small space). This is the organization system that I used during freshman and junior year, during summer break when I'm not living on campus, and now for my senior year housing. My organizer has four large drawers and two half-width drawers, each with a velvety insert to keep products from rolling around. Each drawer is tall enough to fit a full-size foundation bottle or Colourpop Super Shock Cheek laying on its side. It also comes with a tray organizer that sits on top with lipstick holders and other compartments. In the top tray organizer, I store the tin of my makeup brushes and most of my lip products. In the two small drawers, I have my smaller complexion tubes (concealer, mini primer, mini foundation, tinted moisturizer with flat tube packaging) in one side, and I have my larger complexion bottles in the other (larger foundations, primers, beauty sponge). In large drawer #1, I store powder cheek products. I can stack two or three layers of compacts. Large drawer #2 houses all of my cream cheek products. Large drawer #3 has my miscellaneous small eye makeup stuff: eyeliners, eyeshadow quads, single cream eyeshadow pots, false eyelashes, extra mascara, etc. Large drawer #4 is the overflow drawer -- lipsticks that don't fit in the top tray and larger/bulkier face powders. Consider the size of your makeup collection and whether you have bulkier or thinner products; some have modular designs that allow for flexibility for your changing environment or makeup collection. In addition, consider how much and how specifically you want to divide up your collection; more drawers means more micro-organization, but it's a less efficient use of space. For larger eyeshadow palettes, I considered getting a wire organizer, but I just leaned them against the side of the acrylic drawers like books. There is a bit of thought required in ensuring the pile doesn't fall over, but it's a cheap (free) storage solution that lets me see the "spines" of all of my eyeshadow palettes at a glance, and it's generally easy to pull out the palette I want. Sorbus Medium Makeup Organizer Set (4 large/2 small drawers/top tray): $35.69 on SorbusBeauty.com, $30.49 on Target.com Similar items available at Target, the Container Store, etc. -- just search for "makeup organizer," "acrylic drawers" Pros:
Cons:
Option 2: Makeup BagsMy makeup organization sophomore year The COVID-19 pandemic expelling us from our dorms in the middle of the spring 2020 semester made me paranoid that we would have to move out in the middle of the next semester again. Because of that, I was wary to bring the acrylic drawer organizer to college since it is difficult to move in/out. As such, I just used makeup bags for this past school year to store my makeup collection at college. To maximize ease of transportation I didn't bring my entire makeup collection so that I could fit everything I wanted into two cosmetic bags, one big bag and one medium-sized one. Since it's literally just two sacks, there wasn't much organization there. The medium-sized bag had complexion tubes, lip products, and eye tubes (cream shadow sticks, eyeliners, mascara). The larger one has everything else -- mostly compacts (small eyeshadow palettes, blushes, highlighters, etc.). I attempted to keep like products together standing up when possible, but things tended to fall over frequently. There are makeup bags that are fancier (and more expensive) and have internal organization, but I am not that boujee; a higher price point basically negates the accessibility advantage of makeup bags for me. My brush tin just sat to the side, and my eyeshadow palettes were leaning against the makeup bags as I did with the acrylic drawers. Cosmetic bags can be found at drugstores, Target, supermarkets, etc. I also suggest looking at pencil bags. Alternatively, for a beginner-friendly sewing project, you can make your own! There are even no sew variations out there. To be extra ~sustainable~, you can upcycle the fabric of old clothing. Pros:
Cons:
Bonus OPTION 3: Decorative Boxes/ContainersUsing small storage boxes/containers is in practice almost the same thing as using makeup bags to store your makeup. There is not much of any real internal organization, but they're accessible to purchase. The two main points of distinction between small storage containers and bags are the outside aesthetic and ease of transportation. Because containers are more structured than most cosmetic bags, this tends to look neater. However, some decorative containers do not have secure lids and/or can be a little fragile, so they are not meant to be transported on any significant move. Ikea Dragan 4-piece bathroom set, bamboo: $9.99 at Ikea.com/us/ This is the box set I have and use at home for various beauty things, but you can find similar products in many places at a variety of sizes and price points: Target, TJ Maxx, The Container Store, Goodwill, etc. Out of these two dorm room makeup organization systems, my personal favorite is the acrylic drawers. I appreciate the ease of use and the aesthetics, and it's what I use when I have the choice. However, what I recommend you should use is dependent on your personal makeup collection and personal college situation. You should use acrylic drawers if . . .
You should use makeup bags if . . .
If you're a freshman going to college for the first time, I would recommend looking up dorm room tours on YouTube, going through the website of your college's residence life, or contacting residence life about the specific residence hall that you're moving into. This really helped me figure out what exactly my room was going to look like and how I would be able to utilize the provided furniture. Ultimately, remember that you are not stuck with whatever you have when you move in; you have the entire school year to figure it out! IG: @glowymino
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about @glowyminoI have dry skin and very dry and textured lips. I also have a medium-light skintone (somewhere in the realm of NC25-30) with strong warm yellow/olive undertones. I have a tendency to prefer a glowy, lightweight base and color cosmetics in shades of a warm undertone. Read more about me in the about page! Archives
May 2024
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