Makeup Storage on a (Low) Budget

When I moved in with my boyfriend last summer there wasn't a lot of room to do my hair or makeup so for the first few months I sat on my knees on the floor in front of this mirror with all of my cosmetics and hair products strewn about to get ready. Yeah, it wasn't comfortable at all and my knees were very unforgiving. So we moved some furniture around (D. was kind enough to move his whole office down to his man cave so I could have the little nook in our bedroom to do what I wanted with it) and my crafty Dad made this wooden table for me. D. then sanded, painted and stained it and placed my full-length mirror behind the table and bam! a makeshift low-budget vanity! ha ha. It works for me for now ; ). Eventually I want to upgrade! Since I am on a budget I wanted to find ways to store my makeup without breaking the bank. Here's how I did it for under $40.00:

I bought this Yngaren Bowl from Ikea for $9.99. It's perfect for storing my eye shadows.

I got these cups/bowls from Ikea as well, in the kitchen section. They were $1.99 each.

 This is a cutlery holder I bought from The Dollar Store for (you guessed it) a DOLLAR. 

This basket is also from The Dollar Store.

 Here we have a pretty-yet-tacky-but-I-like-it shot glass from Mexico that I stole from my boyfriend.
I store my primers in it.

This is another one of my Ikea purchases. Don't you just love Ikea?? I think these were $10.00 for 2
. As you can see it's stuffed with my hair products, lotions and perfumes that I currently use.

(Those bamboo baskets I have my brushes and cotton balls in were $6.99 for a set of 3. Ikea!)

When I'm doing my makeup I don't like to dig for items, I like to have all of my products where I can see them - right in front of me instead of in drawers. Also, the less clutter the better so as I was organizing I threw out old makeup I hadn't used in months. I mean, who needs three concealers and five mascaras?? Umm....me?? And 3/4 of the girls that are reading this post! ; ) This isn't my whole makeup collection though - I have a whole bunch of stuff in a box that I haven't even used yet! Damn you, Sephora! But my collection is quite tame compared to other beauty bloggers'. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to stop buying so much makeup and use up what I have before I purchase more. I think I'm doing a pretty good job so far. Except for that Lancome eye liner I bought so I could get the gift with purchase. And the Clinique Bonus that was on at The Bay a couple of weeks ago...oops.

So that's how I organized my makeup for under $40.00!  How do you store yours? Let me know in the comment section below. I would love to hear!

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