DIY Makeup Organizer With Materials From Home

If you find yourself rummaging through your makeup drawer feeling frustrated because you can’t find your favorite Liquid Lipstick, or that mascara you loved seems to have disappeared, it might be time to get a little more organized. And since you’re likely stuck at home with a little extra time on your hands, why not use this time to make a DIY makeup organizer for all your makeup and skincare products? 

You can use items you already have on hand at home, everything from Tupperware, mason jars, an old eyeglass case, and even items from the recycling bin! First though, sort through your makeup collection. You should keep all the essentials, but everything else should be given careful scrutiny to decide if it’s worth keeping or not. If it’s old and expired, toss it. If you never use it, toss it as well. Keep only the things that you actually use. See our list below for ideas on what’s essential. It’s just a guideline, but will get you started on the road to purging and organizing. Below are some of our top storage ideas for makeup collection and beauty products.

Makeup Essentials for Your “Keep” Collection

• Face primer

• Face powder

• Tinted moisturizer with SPF

• Concealer 

• Natural mascara

• Liquid eyeliner

• Crayon eyeliner

• Powder blush

• Lip Gloss

• Lip liner

• Liquid lipstick

• Eyeshadow palette

• Beauty brushes

• Eyebrow pencil

• Eyelash curler

• Tweezers

• Anything else you love and use frequently!

How Do You Make a Homemade Makeup Organizer?

There isn’t a wrong or right way to do it, you just have to see what you have on hand that can be repurposed and used efficiently. Whether you have an old mason jar or an ice cube tray, anything can be used to organize your cosmetics and beauty products. The first step is to make a space for your makeup DIY organizer. Maybe it’s a cleared space on your bathroom counter, or maybe you have a small shelf you can use to hold your stuff. It might be a drawer, or it could even be a wall that you hang something on! Whatever it is, choose and clear the area, so it’s ready to be put to use. 

Small Glass Jars

If you’ve ever wondered how you can make a lipstick organizer at home, prepare to be excited. One of the best lipstick and lip gloss hacks is to store them in jars right on your countertop! You could even use a small glass candle jar or a traditional mason jar for this one, whatever you happen to have on hand. If you have at least two or three jars, you can sort your lipsticks by color, brand, or even tube vs sticks. Arrange them how you like and you’ll never search frantically for your favorite lipstick again. 

Scrap Wood

If you have any scrap wood and a good drill with some different sized drill bits, you could easily make a cute makeup holder that will house lipsticks, eye and lip pencils, brushes, and even tools like tweezers. Bonus points if you have some extra paint on hand to make it pretty. Just be careful not to get splinters! 

Paper Towel Rolls

If you have a collection of empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, along with some craft paper, you can make a great little makeup caddy. Cut the rolls into different sizes to hold different makeup items and decorate them with craft paper. Then mount them on a round cutout from an old cereal box that you have either painted or covered with craft paper, using a hot glue gun or mod podge. Arrange your essentials in groups within each holder and viola! Easy access to everything you need, no hunting required.

Shoe Organizer

Unused shoe organizers that hang on the door or on the wall make a great makeup holder! You can use it to store everything, from lipsticks, to brushes, eyeshadow palettes, and liners. You can also store other beauty products, like your tinted sunscreen and moisturizer, your hair brush, and even your deodorant.

Ice Cube Tube Tray

If you have an unused ice cube tray, you can turn that into a makeup holder. The ice cube trays in tube form can hold makeup brushes, lipsticks, mascaras, and liners and you can use craft paper and washi tape to wrap around and decorate the outside of the organizer. Print a couple cute labels you can attach to a pencil and organize your items into groups. 

How Do You Make a Drawer Organizer?

Recycle Cereal Boxes

If you prefer things to be out of sight with a DIY makeup organizer that fits in a drawer, why not try repurposing a few old cereal boxes? You can cut them into the sizes you need and then decorate them in wrapping paper or even painting them if you have some extra paint handy. Organize them in your drawer the way you want, and distribute your makeup in groups within each little box. Who says you need to spend a ton of money on a fancy drawer divider? 

Repurposed Eyeglass Cases

If you wear glasses, you might have more than one of these lying around. They make great (and super cute) holders for your makeup brush collection, your lip and eye pencil collection, or even your lipstick or mascara collection. The best part is that you can tuck them neatly into a drawer and easily find exactly what you’re looking for when you’re ready to use it. Heck, why not look for a sale online and pick up a few so you can have a neatly organized and matching little set?

Shoe Box Tops

If you have some old shoeboxes that aren’t being used, you can use the tops to cut different-sized sections to create little drawer dividers. You could even arrange them inside the shoeboxes themselves if you need higher walls and your drawers are large enough. Paint them with spray paint or cover them with wrapping paper, and then organize to your heart’s content. As if you needed another excuse to buy more shoes! 

How to Make a Clean Makeup Brush Holder

Old Vases and Washi Tape

Have an old vase you don’t know what to do with? Why not decorate it with vibrant washi tape, fill it with colorful pebbles, and use it as a makeup brush holder? You can get as creative and wild as you like, washi tape comes in a variety of colors, styles, and designs. You could even label it using puff paint letter stickers or a puff paint pen.

Sushi Mat Holder

You might have one or two of these lying around. If so, all you need is a glue gun and a decent-sized strip of elastic. You weave the elastic through the sushi mat to make little pockets, and then glue each end to the mat itself. You can make each of the little pockets different sizes to hold different sized brushes. You could even use this idea for your makeup pencils. Make one for each. You can keep it rolled and closed with a bit of ribbon, or string and tie the ribbon and a bead to make a little button. These can be stored in a drawer, in a shoe organizer, or even in your purse for when you’re on the go! 

Painted Mason Jars

Have some paint and a few extra mason jars? These are great for organizing your makeup brushes (and other things). You can also use craft paper or washi tape to decorate these as well, or combine all three! Mason jars can also be used to hold items like your eyelash curler and tweezers, your combs and brushes, and even other essentials like toothbrushes and toothpaste. 

Tips for Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes

Thinking it’s time to clean your makeup brushes while going through your stash? No worries, you can do it easily with a bit of gentle shampoo. 

1. Use a glass or small bowl and fill it with warm water. 

2. Drop a bit of shampoo into the water and use the dirty brush to swirl the shampoo and water mixture around. 

3. Inspect the brush and massage gently to get rid of any gunk that might be caked on. 

4. Once the brush looks clean, you can rinse it out and then gently squeeze to ring it out. 

5. Do this with each of your brushes that need a good bath, and lay them flat for drying. 

6. Once they are completely dry, you can store them in your fancy new makeup brush organizer you made. 

There are so many different ways you can make a DIY makeup organizer with items you probably already have stashed somewhere in your home. All it takes is a little time and creative vision. Happy crafting!