How to Marie Kondo your makeup bag

Gone are the days when a swift swipe with a J-Cloth or resurrecting some lint-covered lipsticks from the depths of your handbag will do. We blame Marie Kondo, the organisational guru and author behind the best-selling The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying, who’s turned decluttering into an art form. So what are the merits of bringing some order to our beauty hauls? Katrina Hassan, certified KonMari consultant at Spark Joy London, recommends completing a check of your makeup bag every year or so: ‘There are three main benefits to applying the KonMari method to organising your things,’ she says:

1. Knowing what you already own: ‘At times, especially when we own a lot, we can mindlessly buy items we don’t need because we’re unable to find something due to the overwhelming volume. Not only is this a waste of money, but the more things you own, the worse the accumulation problem becomes.’
2. Feeling more in control: ‘Taking stock of what you have and realigning your sense of what sparks joy means you’ll feel more in control, and it may result in you becoming a more mindful consumer in the future.’
3. Knowing the condition of your items: ‘Tidying through KonMari provides a good quality check. By taking each into your hands, one at a time, you’re able to make an informed decision about whether or not the item is still in good condition.’

With this in mind, we enlisted celebrity makeup artist, best-selling author and influencer Lisa Potter-Dixon to share her tips on streamlining your makeup.

‘The first thing to do is to empty your makeup bag and either put it in the wash (checking the care label first) or buy a new one,’ says Lisa. ‘This is because, psychologically, when you have something that’s brand new or really clean, you don’t want to fill it with old or dirty makeup again.’

‘Place all your makeup items on the floor or a large surface and group them into separate categories to work out what you’ve got duplicates of,’ continues Lisa. ‘You’ll be surprised by how many of the same kinds of nude lipstick, glosses or blusher you have – and you only need one of each for your makeup bag.’

Don’t feel you have to throw everything away, advises Lisa. ‘You can always keep them in a separate box in your bedroom, but make sure you don’t have doubles of anything in the makeup bag you carry around or use every day,’ she adds. ‘From here, you can swap new things in as you buy them, but they must spark joy. Anything that doesn’t should go.’

And how do you know if something sparks joy? ‘Hold the product in your hand and ask yourself, “Does this item bring me happiness?” and, “Do I actually use this item?”,’ adds Katrina.

‘Clean your products, because when was the last time you actually wiped over your blusher compact or the outside of your mascara?’ asks Lisa.

‘It’s also important to take stock of how long you’ve actually had an item,’ she continues. ‘Mascaras of any brand, for example, should be changed after six months, otherwise they can cause infection. It’s why I use a Sharpie or a sticker to write the date on each mascara I buy, so I know when to change it; and anything liquid shouldn’t be kept for more than a year. If you look closely, you’ll see that every product has a number on the packaging – 6, 12, 18, 24 – which indicates how many months you can keep it after it’s been opened.’

‘Once you’ve done all that, put the products that have passed the “joy check” back in your new (or newly cleaned) makeup bag and you’ll feel joyous!’ says Lisa. 

Katrina adds that making a little ritual out of letting go of products can be a good idea, too: ‘With makeup items you no longer want to keep but you feel have served their purpose, express your gratitude by saying “thank you”, then let them go.’