Indie Friday: My Storage System for Indie Eyeshadow Jars & Samples | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

17 October, 2014

Indie Friday: My Storage System for Indie Eyeshadow Jars & Samples

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Who out there has a growing indie makeup collection but isn't really sure how to store it? This post is for you! Today I thought I'd share my methods for storing indie eyeshadow jars and samples in a non-confusing way. Is my way the best way? Not sure about that, but it's worked for me so far. Hopefully this will give you some ideas for your own collection!


Like many makeup addicts, I have a ton of indie samples (both in bags and mini jars) that I've accumulated over the past couple of years. I know some people like to press their indie shadows into palettes, but I've read a few horror stores about DIY pressed shadows eventually growing mold, so I prefer to keep them in powder state in the hopes that that will increase their longevity. I bought some bead containers (made by Darice, pictured below) a while back thinking that I would decant each of my baggie samples into one of the individual compartments/jars:

Darice 2025-251 Clear Bead Container with 24 Storage Jars - image via Amazon

Turns out the jars in this storage system are a bit on the wide side, and the fact that they're extremely large as compared to the volume of most baggie samples (and even mini jar samples) bugged my ultra-picky self, so I ended up removing the jars and just using the outer box. Which is not such a bad thing, because this box holds more than 24 standard indie mini jars.


See how nicely they fit? This has actually worked out well for me, because having a few of these boxes makes it easy to sort by brand/collection (or however you like). You can also shove or stack a bunch of them in a normal dresser drawer and still be able to see the contents. Much cheaper than buying Muji drawers or the like! If you're particular like me and don't want the individual jars, you can buy plain old plastic boxes (like this one, also made by Darice). Just make sure to pay attention to the height measurement to ensure that your existing shadow jars will fit.

As for the baggie samples, I ended up coming up with a very simple (and cheap) solution ....


Envelopes. Yeah, boring-ass plain envelopes. I have several different envelopes, each dedicated to a unique brand or collection and labelled with my terrible handwriting. (One could also organize by color if that feels more logical to you.) I label them and stick them in a little accordion folder (the type most people use to sort coupons or index cards—like this:

BAZIC 5-Pockets Coupon and Personal Check Size Expanding File - image via Amazon

I don't put the baggies directly into the plastic organizer because sometimes they break or get shadow residue on the outside, resulting in extreme messiness over time. Easier (and cheaper) to just replace one envelope if that happens.


That's it for my eyeshadow storage system—not exactly super-sophisticated, but it was extremely cheap to put together, and I have a much easier time finding and getting to things when they're sorted like this!

What do you think of my shadow storage system? Do you have any special indie makeup storage methods? Feel free to link up any relevant posts in the comments!
(And by the way, what do you think I should do with all those leftover Darice jars?!)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.

16 comments:

  1. I don't have a collection to sort and store, but I do think it was a good idea to use a box without compartments! As for the little jars, I remember reading (on a beauty/ box blog) that the blogger would make a little cut in her sheet mask packaging and decant the 'extra' essence to use later. Maybe these jars would be good for that kind of storage?

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  2. Interesting!! I've pressed some samples without problem but your envelopes idea works as well. I sort my Asian Beauty samples in a folder with album picture plastic envelopes, if that makes sense?

    Wing me a dream

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  3. This is genius, and I totally need something like it. I just keep my little jars and baggies in a little basket, so they're all jumbled together.

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  4. That's a good idea! Or in a similar vein, maybe squeeze out multiples of the same packet sample into a jar?

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  5. Like the kind of thing you would use to store baseball or business cards? If so, that's a great idea!

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  6. That's how mine were for a while, but I realized it was probably time to organize a bit when I bought a duplicate of a shadow I already owned!

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  7. I love that storage box. Def alot better than keeping a bunch of baggies.

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  8. Yes it is super-handy! Even if you only have jars, it's great for keeping them all together.

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  9. I like your system! I have so many samples kicking around the bathroom and getting lost right now.

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  10. Even a little basket works wonders in the bathroom, lol! I don't keep my makeup in there but my piles and piles of lotions are corralled into little baskets.

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  11. Bead containers - brilliant! And no shame in the plain white envelopes - those things are handy for much more than mail!

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  12. Great tips! I need to organize my make up more!

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  13. Or you could do custom mixes of the samples that were not exciting on their own...

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  14. I love your storage system. Great idea with the envelopes! I would be afraid of making a mess trying to put the baggie samples into a jar, so that was probably a good call.

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  15. Thanks Amanda! And envelopes are always handy. Much of my filing system is based around manilla envelopes ...

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  16. Yeah it can be messy! If you ever do decide to de-baggie a sample, the least messy way (I think) is to cut a tiny hole on the bottom corner of the bag and squeeze the product out. It sort of works but of course it doesn't get 100% of powder products out of the bag because they cling to the plastic somewhat ... one could probably get an application or two just out of the residue!

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