How to Organize Your Makeup Bag

Better.TV's Rhiannon Ally talks to beauty expert Rebekah George about ways to organize your makeup bag.

How to Organize Your Makeup Bag Rhiannon Ally: On lipstick to eye shadow and everything in between, us ladies can really go overboard when it comes to our makeup. A beauty expert shows us when to pitch it and what we really need to know makeup bag in today’s get organized. One thing you’ll rarely catch me without is my makeup bag. In fact, my friends joked if they need lip gloss or eyeliner, they know who to call, me. But that means I can never find anything. It's too full. But beauty expert Rebecca George is going to show me the things I really don’t need help me cut down the clutter and show us the basic tips for our makeup. First, I'm dumping it all out. Rebecca George: Let's see what you got. Wow, you are like most women. You probably have products that have been in there longer than you remember when you first put them in there. Rhiannon Ally: Yeah, I'm actually surprised by some of the stuffs in there. I haven't seen in years. Rebecca George: You’re not alone, but you know what that means you are up to a good start. Rhiannon Ally: Oh good. Rebecca George: You want to know why? Rhiannon Ally: Why? Rebecca George: Because your makeup bag is machine washable, so that’s really smart because it’s a good idea to toss your makeup bag into the washing machine once a month. Rhiannon Ally: I haven't actually washed it. Rebecca George: Okay, well, at least you have the right one. So, you can throw it in there tonight and if you don’t have one that’s machine washable, you should bought for one like this from Trina Style which has the PVC linings. So, you can wash it with a damp soapy cloth. Once a month, just take a cloth and run it through and get rid of all the grime, clean it out. Rhiannon Ally: Oh, it is very clean I love that. Rebecca George: Okay so, now that we know what kind of makeup we need— Rhiannon Ally: Yes, well what's next? Rebecca George: Speaking on clean, your makeup brushes. Rhiannon Ally: Yes. Rebecca George: You probably don’t wash them as much as you should which is the about every four weeks. Rhiannon Ally: Oh I don’t, I do it every six months. Rebecca George: Okay, not to worry, not worry. The good news is you don’t need a fancy makeup brush cleaner. Just use any kind of soap, fill it in and the cup and just with some soapy water, dunk them in there. Get rid of all the grime and then rinse off that. Rhiannon Ally: Look at that. Rebecca George: And then but you wanted to dry them, this is my trick. Take the brush and rest it on the countertop like that because that prevents mold from setting in and it allows them to really dry thoroughly overnight. So, do that once a month. Rhiannon Ally: Great tip, I love that. Okay, so, what about the other items in my bag like I mentioned some of these I haven't seen a long time like realize there were still there. Rebecca George: What you got? Mascara. Rhiannon Ally: Yes. Rebecca George: I see a mascara. Rhiannon Ally: How long should I keep this? Rebecca George: Okay, well mascara, it's really important three to six months tops. A lot of bacteria can harvest in mascara tubes from opening it and pulling it in and out and of course you're using it on your eyes, so you don’t want to get an infection. Rhiannon Ally: That’s very true. What about eye shadow and blush? This blush, I've had for a little while, not too long maybe six months. Rebecca George: Okay, well not so bad because you can keep your eye shadow and blush about 12 to18 months. Rhiannon Ally: Oh great. Rebecca George: Lots of time. Rhiannon Ally: I can keep that. Rebecca George: Yeah. Rhiannon Ally: Eyeliner, another one that we use on our eyes. Rebecca George: Eyeliner, 18 to 24 months. Rhiannon Ally: I like that, okay so that’s good. Rebecca George: So not so bad. And then of course all of these rules, if anything starts to get a foul odor or the color is changing, it's better to toss it and start fresh. Rhiannon Ally: Yeah. Rebecca George: If there's a foul odor, pitch it. Get rid of it. Rhiannon Ally: That’s disgusting. Okay, what kind of lip liner should we be using? Rebecca George: Okay well lip liner and eyeliner and extra tip is to look for the kinds of pencils that needs sharpening like this one from Estee Lauder. And the reason is because when you sharpen it, it keeps it fresh. So, it gets rid of any bacteria that could be sitting on it as opposed to the kind that you just twist up. Bacteria can really grow in this. Rhiannon Ally: Yeah. Rebecca George: So, it’s better to look for the kinds that need sharpener. Rhiannon Ally: That makes sense. Rebecca George: Not bad right? Rhiannon Ally: What about all of these products? I realized that I probably don’t actually need all of these things. Rebecca George: Well, when you’re putting products in your makeup bag, it’s a good idea to look for products that pulled double and triple duty like this over here from Stila and Benefit, Napoleon Perdis because it cuts down on the cutter. Rhiannon Ally: So these two actually right here, just of these two things are, my eyeliner, my blush, my mascara and concealer. Rebecca George: How cool is that? Rhiannon Ally: That means all I need is lip gloss. Rebecca George: Lots of space in your makeup bag for other thing. Rhiannon Ally: I guess what, that means you get all these. I'm taking this. Thanks Rebecca. Rebecca George: Fair deal. Rhiannon Ally: Isn’t she adorable? For more beauty tips including Rebecca’s summer beauty must haves, go to our website for a link.