Monday 5 August 2013

Make-Shift Beauty Storage




I and my boyfriend both work differing shift patterns, and living in quite a small one-bedroom apartment, getting ready in the mornings can become a bit of an ordeal (sometimes even the source of arguments - if you’ve ever been in a similar situation, you’ll know what I’m talking about!) Luckily, after 2 years of living together we’ve now got the timed bathroom schedule sussed and I’ve altered my morning routine so that if he’s still in bed while I’m getting ready, I’m not disrupting his sleep by blasting my hairdryer and knocking over things on my dressing table every two seconds. The solution: get ready in the living room. Ever so slightly annoying as neither of us want half my beauty stash cluttering up the lounge; I’ve learnt to keep things (relatively) tidy by making using of some handy boxes and baskets (which not only can be stored out of sight, but also carried from room to room if need be). 

The first is an old box from a Soap & Glory Christmas giftset that was just too pretty/useful to throw away; this had several other uses before it’s most recent incarnation as my main beauty dumping-ground (I try to keep things tidy but inevitably have to give it clear-out every Sunday to remove the debris of receipts, Body Shop vouchers and stray nail varnishes that have found their way in there); this houses primarily my makeup and skincare as well as a few other bits and pieces that I like to have to hand. My haircare basket came in a set of 3 from TKMaxx (I keep my baking stuff in the largest and my nail polishes in the smallest); as well as the usual stuff (hairdryer, straighteners, styling tools) I keep a selection of products in here that I use daily and switch up regularly, while the rest of my (ridiculously extensive) haircare collection is stashed elsewhere.

In my ‘beauty box’ I have two makeup bags; in one I keep the makeup that I use daily, while in the second odds and ends - mainly blushes, bronzes and lip products - that I only reach for occasionally (I find this saves so much time in the mornings as I’m not scrabbling around trying to find what I want amongst products I haven’t used in months). Though I don’t wear eyeshadow daily, I like to keep the Urban Decay Naked Palette to hand for when I do feel like slicking on a nude taupe or shimmery bronze. Then in my little ‘skincare’ box (and I use that term very loosely as all manner of things end up in here) I keep my eye cream, serum and moisturiser, Mac Fix+, a couple of foundations (which haven’t seen daylight recently - I’m all about tinted moisturiser + concealer in the warmer weather), lipbalm and a little purse I keep my tweezers and nail tools in. Miscellaneous add-ons include headphones, my glasses (only £25 from Specsavers but I love them), Orla Kiely perfume, body mist and deodorant, facewipes, hand cream, a plain silver charm bracelet my mum gave me, my hard-drive and a little notebook I keep all my blog ideas in.

Haircare wise I try to keep things pretty minimal; my GHDs are the pink orchid limited edition of a couple of years ago (a Christmas present from the boyfriend as the result of some pretty heavy handed hinting), and though I love them I could really do with something with a wider plate for my thick unruly mop (and now have my beady eye on either the GHD Eclipse or the Cloud Nine Wide Iron). Again my hairdryer could do with an upgrade; the Mark Hill Little Hottie dryer has served me well (and yes I do have an obsession with leopard-print), but I know something more powerful would speed up the process – sadly the GHD Air may be a bit of a pipe dream what with everything else on my ever-growing wishlist. I’m all about smooth, glossy, low-maintenance hair, so products I always keep on hand in some shape or form are leave-in conditioner, heat protection spray and dry shampoo. I also wouldn’t be without the Macadamia Oil No Tangle Brush which makes detangling after towel-drying a breeze, and the Body Shop Paddle Hairbrush which the perfect companion for blow-drying my hair straight.

How do you store your makeup and haircare items?
Have you ever had to compromise where you get ready for a room mate?!

Chandra

x


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