Organize Your Cosmetics Creatively

My favorite thing to do when I'm bored is to reorganize my cosmetics and display them differently. Granted, I'm the only one who sees them, for the most part, but sometimes a friend will come over and I get to show off my creativity. But even if I'm the only one who sees it, it still gives me a good feeling to have my makeup counter look like a piece of art. Here are some of my favorite themes: Funky Flea Market Whenever I'm at a Goodwill store, antique mart or my grandmother's house, I scrounge around for cool glassware, dishes and containers. You can put your cosmetic brushes in a clear bud vase, your eyeshadows in a weird old ashtray, and lipsticks in a wide-mouthed cobalt wine glass. Once I found a wonderfully tacky painted ceramic toilet brush holder in the shape of a cat wearing a dress, and I used it to store some of my body spray bottles (don't worry, I cleaned it first). As long as it's relatively easy to view the contents of the various containers, the sky's the limit. Seashells My grandmother's bathroom is ocean-themed, and over the years she's amassed a huge collection of large seashells, as well as cosmetics. Her lipsticks are laid out in a huge clam shell, her foundations and powders in a large oyster shell, and she has a huge piece of coral her sister sent her years ago from Florida that's my favorite: she uses it as a necklace and bracelet rack, draping pieces of jewelry over the coral points, and even sticks some makeup brushes through the holes in the coral. You can get a basic glass flower vase, fill it partly up with sand, layer small shells inside, and hold mascaras, eyeliners, lipliners, and any other long, thin cosmetics in it. Bar/Club Turn your makeup counter into your favorite watering hole. Large martini glasses are great for lipsticks, wine glasses make great makeup brush holders, and my favorite piece I ever had was given to me by a friend who owned a restaurant: the hinged plastic container that holds olives and wedges of limes and lemons. I had all my eyeshadows and blushers separated and at my fingertips! Add a couple wine bottles filled with dried flowers or imported beer bottles with tapered candles in them, and your cosmetics collection will inspire you to paint the town red! Convenience Store This is my all-time favorite theme. A friend of mine came up with it and her vanity looked awesome. Just hit up your local 7-Eleven or corner store for containers they're just going to throw out anyway. My favorite piece is those slotted cardboard boxes that flavored cigars (White Owl and Phillies, mainly) are displayed in. These are great for most of your makeup arsenal: mascaras, eyeliners, lipliners, makeup brushes, tweezers, nail files - pretty much anything long and slender. Keep your sponge-tip eyeshadow applicators, false eyelashes, blotting papers and loose powders and shadows in Altoids tins. Pick up various cardboard candy boxes for your various eyeshadow colors: Snickers for darks, Sweet Tarts for bright colors. PushPop display boxes are the perfect size for tubes of lipstick, and larger stuff, like nail polish, perfumes and sprays, and hair accessories fit great in larger display boxes (I prefer the various flavors of Moon Pies). I hope this helped, and I'd be thrilled to hear from anyone out there who has their own creative ideas for cosmetic organization. Let me know!