Last Updated on April 22, 2023
As we kiss goodbye to the bone-chilling winter and prepare for the summer warmth, springtime is the season to give your makeup bag a thorough check-up. After all, spring cleaning isn’t just for a cluttered bedroom closet or a messy garage.
Want some tips to spring clean your beauty bag the right way? Below are some of the best practices to get you started.
Wash the Washable
This is painful for makeup enthusiasts, but if you don’t clean your makeup brushes, your skin will hate you. And you don’t want to be like that teen who used to blame cheese or high-school romance for her frustrating pimple. While in the real sense, it’s dirty brushes coated in months’ worth of skin oils, face makeup, and acne-causing bacteria.
We recommend washing your beauty brushes once weekly using water and a makeup brush cleaner. The cleaning can be a Sunday night task to start every week with clean beauty tools. Remember to wash your makeup sponges as well. Allow the sponges and the makeup brushes to dry completely before storing them in the bag.
Separate Wheat from Chaff
When spring cleaning, you need to empty your makeup bag. Then, separate beauty products that are still safe for use from those that have expired or are smelling strange. Check the expiration date of each product. And if you can’t see it, find out when you ordered the product.
On that note, the shelf life of eye-area makeup is extremely short because of repeated microbial exposure when being used and the risk of eye infections. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, eye cosmetics like mascara should be replaced three months after purchase. If it dries out, it’s no longer worthy of a place in your makeup collection.
On the other hand, cream-based face products like blush and foundation should be thrown into the bin after a year. The same applies to anything that goes to your lips.
Sometimes, a product gets spoiled even before the expiration date has passed—possibly because of improper storage or exposure to dirt. So if you get a sense of anything strange—foul smell, change in texture, or weird appearance—throw it out ASAP.
If you want to avoid damaged or expired products ending up in landfills, consider recycling them. Google “recycling center near me” to see how you can participate in the program to make planet Earth a better place.
Get Rid of Makeup You Don’t Need
You’ve thrown away unsafe makeup. Now you must deal with nice-to-have beauty products that you never use but are living rent-free in your makeup bag. They are taking up space unnecessarily, which clutters your pouch.
You see that lipstick you’ve kept around for almost a year and no longer use or the 15-shade beauty palette you bought on Amazon but have never opened? It’s time to say goodbye. Don’t let the mindset of “What if I need it in the future…” lie to you. There’s no point in walking around with a makeup-filled bag primarily of stuff you don’t use.
And when we say “get rid,” we don’t necessarily mean to throw the extra makeup in the trash. After all, you didn’t pick them up somewhere in the streets—you bought them with your hard-earned money. Instead, consider donating to nonprofit programs or selling them to secondhand buyers. Just ensure the makeup has not expired—it can be unused or slightly used.
Clean the Bag Itself
It’s zero work to clean up your makeup tools only to store them in a dirty place. With the makeup bag empty, take advantage of cleaning the home of your beauty products and tools. Wipe spilled makeup in the bag and disinfect it to improve your hygiene standards this spring. If the bag is washable, you can hand wash or throw it into the washing machine for a deep clean.
Neatly Organize Your Makeup Products and Tools
For makeup enthusiasts, it’s difficult to beat the feeling of a well-arranged collection. A tidy beauty bag makes life easier when you need to touch up your makeup in public. In short, the tidiness makes finding what you’re looking for easier—you say goodbye to the clutter.
To organize the bag correctly, group the same products together. For instance, separate makeup for lips, eyes, and face. Then, organize products in each category according to shape and size to keep things organized. Another organizational trick is to separate your makeup products from tools (brushes and sponges) to keep everything tidy and easily retrievable.
Alternatively, you can categorize your tools and products based on those you frequently use vs. the ones used occasionally. Again, the goal is to avoid clutter.
That said, how well-organized your makeup is depends on the bag you use. If you don’t want your beauty products everywhere, makeup bags with multiple compartments and dividers make it easy to organize. Some are roomy enough to fit everything you need, including sunscreens and moisturizers when taking a several-day trip.
The Bottom Line
It’s springtime, so take advantage of the new season and clean your makeup bag. This could mean rolling in a new mascara collection to replace the dried-out ones. It could also mean decluttering your pouch. Because, let’s be honest, a disorganized makeup bag packed to the brim with beauty products makes it difficult to find an eyeliner or your favorite lip balm on demand.
On the other hand, a well-organized beauty pouch makes it easy to grab a product on the go and save on space by getting rid of items you no longer use. In addition, you easily track what you already own to avoid buying more than you need.
You must clean your beauty tools and organize your makeup products correctly for maximum tidiness. Such organization and cleanliness aren’t just nice things to have. In addition to causing acne, dirty makeup brushes can cause inflammation, skin irritation, and even infections in extreme cases. And needless to say, you aren’t signed up for these ugly consequences.