Sunday 27 August 2017

SPOTLIGHT: My Lipstick Collection & Storage...

There's no denying my lipstick collection is quite extensive (!), and being the size that it is, storage is somewhat of a challenge. Of course there's a wide variety of acrylic units available which are effective and look super pretty, but when the volume gets beyond a certain level, they're impractical, both from a space perspective, as well as the cost factor. Just for the record, the main thrust behind amassing such a number of products is because I'm a colour-matching nut. I experimented with blending colours back in the early days when I only had a dozen or so, but with the range of lippies available these days, and so many at ridiculously affordable prices (plus the frequency of free ones available with GWP's and on magazine covers), my kit has grown with not too much outlay over the years to the point where I can now lay my hands on the exact shade to go with any outfit. I've also won quite a few in various competitions, and some of my gorgeous friends have generously gifted me with sets or colours they would never wear. But the sheer volume introduces a new dilemma which is... "how do I find what I'm looking for?"...

This is my entire collection, including the ones I haven't tried yet (part filled container far right)
The original solution I worked out was to store the products in colour families and/or type, and to do that, I needed to be able to see each and every one, and have enough storage space to group them into their particular category. Until recently I kept them in inexpensive plastic trays & cubes of different sizes (see below). This worked fine from a practicality point of view, but it looked messy...


And then just the other day, I spotted the container below in my local bargain store for $9.99. It's solid and sturdy, has removable dividers, handles, and a clip on lid should I need to transport the contents (not the tall ones of course), and I can lift the whole thing off the shelf and take it across the room to the window so I can select the colour and finish I'm after...


I bought two of these, and can fit most of the products into both, needing only a couple of my original containers for the overflow. I might add that I have no intention of expanding my collection any further - my mission is to limit the quantity to these two boxes, so over the next few weeks I'll be doing a serious cull, and in future when I buy a new one, it will be on the condition that I toss an existing one away. Wish me luck lol!...

So here is what my lippie storage looked like before... 


And here it is now...

It's a whole lot neater, and my plan is to eliminate the narrow box in the middle (currently lip glosses) and the one at the back (ones I rarely if ever wear because they're way too pale), and I'm confident my clean-out will achieve that. I have literally dozens of lip products that are darn uncomfortable on my lips, too drying, too streaky/patchy, or the colour is simply not all that flattering - it's just a matter making the time to do it...and letting go ha ha ...

So how do you store your lipsticks?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. Adding this post to Ingrid's weekly Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party - every Monday morning from 6:30am...

22 comments:

  1. I love your idea of storing like shades together. At the moment I store sets of lippies next to each other but it's often hard to find the shade I'm looking for. Your storage solution is much more practical!

    My lippies are also stored in three different locations throughout my bedroom, I really do need to bring them altogether into one location for ease of finding what I want and not forgetting any lippies that are out of sight.

    Ingrid
    http://www.fabulousandfunlife.blogspot.com,au

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    1. The colour classification is the only way I can cope Ingrid! I also turn them upside down so I can read the label easily, but that doesn't work so well for ones like Rimmel which have a slanted lid - first world problems lol. Bringing them all together helps a lot ♥

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  2. Talk about eye candy! Nice collection, Kats! Those containers that you found are just perfect for your lippie storage! I have a 3 drawer acrylic holder for my lippies and it holds 30 lip products. Before blogging I only had a few lippies, so 30 is a lot for me. I'd kinda like to be able to have less, get the container off my desk and put my favourites in my drawer but I think it's highly unlikely that it's ever going to happen! ;) xoxo

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    1. Knowing your love of beauty products, I don't think it's going to happen either Amy. Oh what the hell, why not have lots to choose from - you always find the BEST bargains anyway! xxx

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  3. Wow Kats, that's sure is a MASSIVE collection of lippies! No wonder you needed more effective storage - I like the way you've got it organised now & the fact that you have them all grouped by colour helps big time.

    My lippy collection is tiny compared to yours (I have about 10 or so & that's enough for little ol' me!), so I have them in with the rest of my makeup in an IKEA makeup holder. Because all of mine are from Bite Beauty & the bullets are all the same (well, the Amuse Bouche & old Luminous Creme range are all the same - the High Pigment Pencils at least have the shade colour on the packaging), I've turned them upside down so I can see the shade name (and so I don't get confused).

    Shell // The Novice Life

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    1. It's going to shrink considerably Shell - I reckon I might get rid of around 50 or so. Some of them are very old, and some just suck the juice out of my lips. The upside down caper is essential I reckon - wish all mine were the same shape and size. I MUST investigate Bite Beauty (once I've had a clean out lol) ♥

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  4. Wow huge collection Kats! I love that you've found the perfect storage containers to suit your needs. Ugh you know I'm disorganised right? My collection is all over the place currently and I'm in desperate need of a cull and declutter. I bought 2 x 24 holding plastic units which I filled immediately (lol), and I really have no idea how many more lipsticks I have until I do the massive clean up. Loved reading this post, hopefully it inspires me! xxx

    Di from Max The Unicorn

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    1. Spring is just around the corner Di, and it's the perfect time to sort things out - let's do it together! xxx

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  5. Love the new storage for your impressive lipstick collection, Kat. I am planning a lipstick cull, also. I hope I can be ruthless, I just want products that I love xx

    Indie// In Search of the Holy Grail

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    1. Oh goody Indie, so glad you're planning a cull too - I'd be much happier knowing I wasn't alone in my dilemma ha ha. Yes - ONLY the ones that are fab, I love your criteria sweetie x♥x

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  6. Wow that is an extensive lipstick collection Kats! Those containers are great with the separate sections ♡

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    1. It helps a lot to have the dividers Angela, and something I can lift off the shelf into the daylight, that's for sure ♥x♥

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  7. And your next blog will be swatches of ALL of them????? Sorry, Sweetie, couldn't resist that and my silly sense of humour got away on me! Hope all is well. Incredibly efficient!
    Love,
    Trish.

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    1. Hi beautiful! LOVE your sense of humour - just thinking about how many weeks it would take me to swatch them all makes me laugh,not to mention how my lips would swell to 10 times their size ha ha. All good here my love, SO happy to see your name ♥♥♥

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  8. OMG! I know you love lipstick but seriously seeing it all together I''m actually shocked! Also, I thought your before is quite tidied and organised. But I do like the after as well. I'll have to have a look out for some of those boxes. My lippies are very disorganised.

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    1. Yeah I guess you could say I have a serious addiction Rachel - I just counted them and there's over 500. I think I need therapy! xxx

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  9. Wholy Lippie Colelction Kats! Get use of space with those divider containers. Love the idea of colour coding them. I would have done the same! Can not wait to watch you go through all those and do a cull :) Great post Kats.

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    1. It's pretty frightening isn't it Tal - still I'm kinda proud of it in those moments when I'm not embarrassed ha ha. I've just bought 7 more, but I'm being true to my rule and not adding them to the box or even opening them until I've trashed the same number xxx

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  10. Wow that's an impressive collection! My current lipstick/lipgloss collection fills up an Officeworks A4-sized 5-drawer desktop organiser about 30cm x 30cm x 30cm. I'm planning to use up some before buying more!

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    1. Sounds like your collection is impressive too stackcats, delighted to hear you have it all sorted storage-wise, and future planning-wise lol ♥♥♥

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  11. Far out! You have an awesome collection of lippies! Where did you buy the plastic storage containers with the dividers? I've searched all over the internet and I've only found a few containers that look similar to yours.

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    1. Hi Petal sweetheart! I found the boxes at one of those bargain bin places, you know, Hot Dollar or something like that. Mind you it was a while back, and I haven't seen them since. If I do spot them, I'll pop on over to the bh forum and let you know - it makes such a HUGE difference to be organised! ♥♥♥

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