How to Organize Your Beauty Products

Clean out your stash. Before you start organizing all of your lotions and potions, do a thorough purge of your makeup bag, medicine cabinet, and any other place you store your beauty loot. Toss anything that smells or looks kind of funky. If you haven't used a product in six months, throw it out.

For more great tips check out: How to Clean Out Your Makeup Bag.

Put a sticker on it. A great way to keep track of how long you've had a product (especially ones that you don't use regularly like face masks), is to write the month and year that you first opened it on a small round sticker and put it on the bottom of the bottle, jar, or tube. This will make it easier to get rid of old makeup and the like during future clean sweeps.

Separate your cosmetics. Keep your daily essentials together and put them in an easy-to-access place (such as a small tray or basket). Instead of rifling through piles of stuff every day, you'll have all of your most-used loot within reach. Divide the rest of your makeup by category (lipstick, shadows, powders, etc.), and store them in containers that fit on a shelf or in a drawer. In terms of storage you have lots of options. You can buy a clear chest with removable drawers (which double as trays when you're applying your makeup) or a few stackable drawer organizers. Another strategy is to pick up a bunch of flat mesh makeup bags and stash them under a sink or in a cabinet.

Keep makeup brushes upright. Your tools accumulate powder and gunk, so it's best to store them with the bristles up in a pretty cup or tumbler instead of a makeup bag. However, if you keep your brushes bathroom, it's more hygienic to stow them in a flat mesh makeup bag (it won't bend the bristles) and put them away in a drawer when you're not using them.

Section off your medicine cabinet. Group all of your skincare and personal care products by the time of day that you use them. Designate one shelf in your medicine cabinet for your morning regimen and another for your night one. Create a separate area for zit cream, sunscreen, and other miscellaneous items or put them away in a closet.

Stick to clear containers. Prints and colors may be prettier, but clear storage containers are the most practical since they allow you to see what's inside at a quick glance. When it comes to your hair styling products, stash them in clear shoe boxes (ditch the lid and stand everything upright to prevent leak). These can be stored under the sink for quick access. Divide your hair accessories into groups (elastics, bobby pins, clips) and put them in small clear containers.

Experts: Alain Pinon, Co-Owner and Partner of Salon AKS, Sadah Saltzman, Salon AKS Makeup Designer Dara Klein, New York City makeup artist, Melanie Rud, assistant editor at Good Housekeeping