Stuff Magazine Article

Cosmetics Clean-Out: How to Control the Chaos in Your Makeup Bag
by Heather Bouzan December 14, 2009

We’re not always optimistic about New Year’s resolutions, but when the clock strikes 2010, we’d like to think we’ll have control over something in our lives. And that something, we’ve decided, might realistically be our makeup bags.

For some, it’s a simple task: toss this million-times-crimped tube of eye cream or that shadow shade that hasn’t been worn since 1992. But for us, owners of enough travel-sized shampoos to equip a boutique hotel, it’s quite a different story. In search of answers, we headed to an expert: Sarah Buckwalter, owner of Organizing Boston, begins by asking clients to consolidate. “Sometimes [makeup is] in our car. There’s some in our gym bag. There’s some in our purse.... Sort it all out on a table and see what you have,” says Buckwalter.

Once your inventory is accurate, begin the necessary eliminations. The casualties? Eye makeup more than six months old (toss mascara after two or three), impulse buys that were never realistically your color, powder compacts coated with any sort of weird sheen, and anything cream-based that’s beginning to smell funky have all got to go.

For the purge-phobic, Buckwalter suggests donating unopened product to charitable organizations that collect beauty supplies for women in need. If that’s not an option, just start with the obvious discards, working your way toward the more difficult decisions. “Start with something like, okay, this is all the old makeup; this is my 1980s makeup,” Buckwalter counsels with a chuckle. “And, believe me, I find that in people’s houses.”

Rachel Lockhart, makeup artist and owner of Rachel’s Makeup Studio (176 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.424.0153), concurs. Lockhart, who offers makeup lessons with a makeup bag overhaul included, explains, “Women keep their eye makeup for years. I had a client who was in the other day who told me she had the same mascara for like seven years.”

The dirty work done, it’s on to ensuring that your makeup bag is stocked with all the necessities. In search of a little insight, we visited Emma Katrina Katzburg, Whole Body team leader at Whole Foods Market (181 Cambridge Street, Boston, 617.723.0004) — i.e., the go-to girl in the upscale-crunchy grocer’s beauty department (where we’ve found some of the most unexpectedly obsession-worthy product we’ve seen in a long time). Her tip? Make sure you’re equipped with the right tools. “Brushes are going to be the most important thing to any makeup regime; if you’re using the wrong brush, even the best makeup is going to look awful,” says Katzburg. She emphasizes that every woman needs a kabuki brush for foundation and blush, as well as dedicated eyeshadow and concealer brushes.

From there, Katzburg’s essentials include a multipurpose concealer for hiding blemishes, providing a base for longer-lasting lipstick and bolder eyeshadow, and, in dude world, masking ingrown hairs. “Really,” says Katzburg, “if there was one product, stranded on a desert island, that you couldn’t live without, it’s that.” A pressed-base mineral compact eliminates the need for any other foundations, while a great bronzer takes a daytime look into night and adds a little glow to bare legs and arms. In addition to her affinity for multipurpose products, Katzburg is a fan of mineral makeup — its lack of perishable ingredients means it can, in theory, last indefinitely. To round out one’s repertoire, other must-haves include a hydrating mist (her fave is by Ann Webb), cotton swabs (“That way, if you mess up something on the road, you’re not trying to wipe it off with your fingers,” Katzburg says), and a nude lip gloss to add polish to even an otherwise bare face.

When it comes down to it, maintaining a well-edited beauty bag is often about just being practical with both disposals and acquisitions. “The fact is,” Lockhart muses, “if you have something that’s sitting in your makeup bag, just like anything that’s sitting in your closet, if you’re not going to ever wear it or you’re not going to ever use it, what’s the point? It’s just taking up space.” Space that’s just waiting to be filled with our latest makeup-counter have-to-have-it splurges — all in the name of research, of course.

Give the Gift of an Organized Life!

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Holiday Organizing Tip of the Day

If you have to go to the mall, go on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning when stores are the least crowded. It's worth taking the morning off of work for your sanity.

Holiday Organizing Tip of the Day

Save time and money by doing Secret Santa or a Yankee Swap with your friends or family.

Holiday Organizing Tip of the Day

Schedule realistically. You don't have to say "yes" to every invitation. Leave time for yourself and stick to the routines that keep you stress-free, like going to the gym and getting a good nights' sleep.

Fun Paper Organizing Stories!

Wondering if you should bother organizing your paperwork? Here are a few true stories…and some tips to keep this from happening to you.
Getting organized could save your house
I was sorting through a (huge) pile of unopened mail on a client’s kitchen counter and found a notice of a lien on their property due to unpaid real estate taxes. The real estate tax bills were also in the unopened pile of mail. Tip: Open your mail.
Found money
I found a check for $13,600 in a box of unopened mail that had been shoved in my client’s basement. I showed it to him and he told me he had been waiting for that check for over a year, had accused the sender of never sending it, and was in the process of taking legal action over it. Tip: Deal with paperwork as it comes in. It can save you time, money, and embarrassment.
1951 was a good year…
So good, that in 2007, I came across a client’s tax returns from that year, and every year in between. You wouldn’t believe how simple the form was back then…and all done in pencil. Tip: You only need to keep personal tax records for seven years.
The desk drawer
In 1994 my uncle took over my grandfather’s company. On his first day there he sat down at my grandfather’s desk and opened the top, right drawer to find invoices dated 1955. Tip: Purge regularly (definitely more often than once every 50 years).

How to Catch up on Paperwork

We all slack off a little in the summer. I am guilty of it myself. It’s nice outside; we go on vacation and ignore the mail. Yet, it still keeps coming! The most common call I get this time of year is for help in the home office. The papers have piled up all summer and now it’s time to tackle them!
Start with a quick sort
Grab a pile of papers and quickly sort it into four piles: To Do, To Pay, To Read, To File. I know that some organizers urge you to “only handle it once”, but I find this approach to be more effective.
Deal with the paper
First, pay your bills.
Second, do your To Dos. Go through each piece of paper and take action on it. Is there a call to be made? Make it. Is there an address to be entered? Enter it. This is the most time consuming part of the process, so if you are limited on time, you may want to do a quick sort through and pick the most immediate items to do first. However, don’t let the rest of the pile remain for long. Put time in your calendar to tackle it all.
Third, file. This won’t take long if you have a simple and effective filing system (see below).
Finally, prepare your reading. Create a folder for your To Read pile and put it in your bag or car. This way, you can pull them out and read through them whenever you have a few moments to spare.