Spring-cleaning Your Makeup Drawer

If your vanity or makeup drawer looks anything like mine, then it’s overflowing with products — many that you use, but some that you don’t, and some that you can’t bear to part with, even though you know you should (like that year-old fuchsia lip gloss!). Spring-cleaning your makeup drawer is a great way to start the season with a fresh face. Follow these simple tips:

• Check the expiration dates. If any of your cosmetics have expired, toss them. They may be contaminated with bacteria that could end up giving you a skin infection.

• Think about the last time you used the product. If it was so long ago that you can’t remember (or you know but you’re too embarrassed to admit it), go ahead and say good-bye. How many lipstick nubs do you need, anyway?

• Open the makeup containers. If you see mold (ick!), if it smells bad, or if you notice that the product has changed in color or consistency, get rid of it.

• If anything’s dried out, ditch it. This goes for mascara, liquid eyeliner, lip gloss, cream blush, foundation, concealer, and any other liquid-based products.

• Clean the products you’re keeping. Wipe off any leaky bottles of foundation, goopy mascara, or sticky tubes of lip gloss. If your brushes and tools are caked with makeup, it’s time to wash them.

• Make over your makeup area. Get a cosmetics organizer and some cute containers to put your products in. Keep a vase of fresh flowers, an aromatherapy candle, and a pitcher of drinking water with lemon slices, along with a special glass, on your vanity. Make your beauty prep area pretty, so you’ll look forward to doing your makeup in the mornings.

If you need to replenish anything, just be strategic about what you buy so that next year your spring-cleaning ritual will be a breeze.

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