Four Practical Tips to Better Manage Beauty & Skincare Products
According to franchisehelp.com, the beauty industry generated $56.2 billion in 2015 alone. That's huge! Now in 2018, organic and reduced-ingredient beauty and skincare trends pushing the industry forward by catering to a more targeted consumer. So, I definitely understand how you can feel compelled to try out different beauty and skincare products with there being so many options.
I understand temptation can creep in, tempting you to purchase every product you come across; however, buying more than what you need can be costly and potentially create clutter. The absence of an effective storage system for your beauty and skincare products can make getting ready for the day stressful. Why bring on additional stress when you don't have to? Being an adult and navigating through life can be stressful enough! Now, I'm not saying to stop buying products that work well for you, but be more intentional about how you shop and properly manage your products. I want you to be able to wear your favorite bronzer, understand which moisturizer works best for your skin, and adopt an effective system and approach when it comes to shopping for beauty and skincare products. I’ve compiled a few practical solutions that you may find useful:
Use It Up
There is something undeniably exciting about opening a new product and being anxious to test it out but, I recommend taking the time to use up the current products you own before making a new purchase. Resist the impulse to try the latest trends, wait until you have finished using the product or if it looks like the contents of the product are almost empty to restock. The idea is to use up what you have so you can determine which products work for you and which ones don't provide the best results. It doesn't make sense to continue to add to the collection if there are unopened and unused products waiting to be put to use!
Sort Through Your Products
Before making any new purchases be sure to sort through the products you currently own. I recommend pulling out all of your products and assessing what items should be kept, donated or discarded. If possible, try to consolidate like products into the container with the least amount of product. While sorting through your products, it's likely that you will come across beauty and skincare products that may have expired or dried up and those may be best to discard. For those products with impending expiration dates, I suggest using them up first. Another recommendation is to use the grouping method and group items together that are alike. For instance, if you own multiple moisturizers then group all of them together which will make it easier to find when it's time for them to be used. The object of sorting through your products is to eliminate what is not being used and to establish more order within your products.
A few of my daily beauty and skincare products.
Give Your Products Away
Perhaps you have a collection of unused beauty and skincare products from a hotel stay or free samples, consider giving them away. If they have not been open, I suggest donating these samples and smaller size products to shelters. Be sure to check with your local shelters and see if the items you have would be useful for those individuals who reside there. Yes, soap and toothpaste are essentials and are donated regularly but perfume or a specific skincare product would also be appreciated. Or maybe you have a relative or friend who admires your beauty and skincare collection, so consider giving them the products you don't intend to use or have plenty of. There is nothing wrong with gifting items that you own especially if they are unopened and for hygiene purposes are safe for others to use. There's no need to be wasteful if you don't have to be.
“If you own multiple products that are similar or produce the same results then be sure to group them together. This makes it easier to find them and establishes order.”
How to Organize Your Products
It doesn't require an extensive system to organize your beauty and skincare products but you do need to implement a system. For my everyday skincare items, I use a tray from HomeGoods to store my day/night eye-cream, facial mist, perfume and mask so that they're easily accessible. The tray doesn't take up too much counter-space and I'm able to monitor when the contents of my products are running low which will alert me when I should re-stock. The system is simple but effective and the great part is that I paid no more than $10. The tray is really heavy and sturdy which shows that its a quality product. I added a sachet from Burlington which makes the bathroom smell good and I love the style and design of it as well. I love seeing the message, "hello Gorgeous" when I'm preparing for the day!
I love the smartly sized compartments of acrylic organizers. After I purged a lot of my makeup products I realized a smaller acrylic organizer would suffice. Personally, my makeup style is very simple - not to be confused with basic - and I only need a few of essentials: mascara, eyeliner, bronzer, lipstick from The Lip Bar, which I'm totally loving, and other beauty tools like nail clippers and tweezers. The acrylic organizer allows me to easily glance at my make-up and tools that are neatly contained. For example, I know which color lipsticks I own, so when I'm out shopping I'm already referring back to what is currently stored in the organizer which serves as a reminder if I should purchase another lipstick or hold off.
Let me reiterate that I'm not saying that you should stop buying products that make you feel good but start shifting your mindset to be intentional about your purchases. If you know you already own five moisturizers that are completely full then it doesn't make sense to purchase a sixth. I also suggest purchasing travel-sized products if available which will allow you still test out the product without spending a whole lot of money and it won't take up much space. This will help you to determine if you even like the product and if you do then you can purchase the full-sized in the future. If you don't like the product then you just saved yourself a few bucks. Be sure to group liked products together to make it easier for you to quickly retrieve what's needed as opposed to sifting through every item. Stop being greedy! Remember to use up what you have at home before you make another purchase. Or if you discover that you have unopened and unused products then give them away. Remember to be mindful of the goal which is to manage an orderly space for your beauty and skincare products.
