How and where to store beauty products? My tips

Cosmetics aren’t good at enduring humidity and high temperatures, and to make the matter even worse, we always lack space to store them! So how and where should you keep your beauty and colour cosmetics? Which can be stored in a bathroom and which can be put in a refrigerator? Here are my ways for storing beauty products.

Is it a good idea to store cosmetics in a bathroom?

I know, by my own experience, that bathroom is the worst place to keep beauty products in because in this place our beauty supplies lose their properties really fast. Why is that? It’s caused by the humidity and fluctuating temperatures that encourage bacteria multiplication. Still, all my friends keep storing their cosmetics in bathroom. Since I used to do exactly the same, I know the reason for that. Simply, it’s sheer laziness. Undoubtedly, it’s more convenient to apply a cream in a bathroom, right after leaving the bath rather than run to a dressing table (especially that the sudden bathroom leaving is a kind of thermal shock, at least for me). Sadly, due to our laziness, beauty products suffer most. The conditions that are in a bathroom encourage cosmetics to dry out faster as they gather bacteria and impurities. Additionally, beauty products kept in a bathroom are fast to get dirty, for example after taking a hot bath, they all get covered with steam. Lipsticks kept in a bathroom become softer and start melting. This in turn significantly shortens the lifespan of the lipstick when applied to mouth. When it comes to face care products, they may change their consistency and lose their properties, too. Active substances such as acids, retinol and vitamin C shouldn’t be stored in a room when temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius.

So are there any beauty products that can be stored in a bathroom? Yes, there are. This can be a body balm and face cleansing products that require being mixed with water before being applied to skin.

Is it a good idea to store cosmetics in a fridge?

Basically, you can keep some beauty products in a fridge, and these are:

• Nail polishes

I keep them on the lowest shelf, next to fruit and vegetables. It’s worth realising that temperature exceeding 25 degrees Celsius might activate the substances used in nail polishes that are responsible for maintaining the product’s liquid consistency. The longer it remains open, the faster the substance evaporates which makes the nail polish thicker. After taking the nail polish from a fridge, I warm it up in my hands and shake it to create an even layer on the nail plate afterwards.

• Lipsticks and lip glosses

Lip care cosmetics are the products that are in contact with air and bacteria the most often. In order to prolong their lifespan, I keep them on my fridge door. Owing to hiding lipsticks and lipglosses in a cool and dark place, their colours get more vivid. Another essential issue is a lip brush – I use it every time I can so as to prevent the colour cosmetic from being in contact with salvia.

• Waterproof mascaras, eyeliners and other cosmetics that are fast to dry out

These products should be safe when stored on fridge door, too.

• Cosmetics used seasonally

Products such as self-tanning creams and sunscreens, which I use only during summer, should also be held in a fridge. This type of cosmetics (especially products with SPF) should be used up within a year since being opened because in most cases it takes them 12 months to lose their properties. Therefore, to help them fulfil their task described by the producer, I close them tightly, put into the original packaging and put in my fridge.

• Organic cosmetics

Paraben-free products that don’t contain chemical substances like cool temperatures, which in fact work as a natural preservative. I’m talking here about light creams, facial masks, fluids and body balms, to name just a few.

• Perfumes

Both perfumes and body mists preserve their fragrance longer if held in a cool and dark place, e.g. in a fridge. They won’t only last longer on skin but also their original aroma won’t change.

What’s important, you shouldn’t put cosmetics containing oils and silicones in a fridge because they will get harder and thicker due to cool temperature.

Where should you store colour cosmetics?

Colour cosmetics shouldn’t be stored in the bathroom – we’ve already agreed to this. So where should we keep our makeup products then? Simply, this may be a dressing table in our bedroom, a bedside table or just one shelf of a rack that stands somewhere in our room. I bought a special makeup compartment box so as to have easy access to every makeup product, and I keep it on my dressing table. When it comes to brushes, sponges and other applicators that are in direct contact with skin, they should be stores in vertical position, each in a separate compartment. In short, their bristle shouldn’t be in contact with anything.

Where should you store beauty products?

I keep my beauty products in a cool place, where the temperature isn’t higher than 10 degrees Celsius and isn’t lower than 2 degrees. Since most of beauty products is photosensitive, I keep them away from light. I also make sure that the air in the room where I hold my cosmetics in isn’t too humid.

Another important issue is the position in which the beauty products are stored. In short, it should be ‘natural’ – I’m sure that everybody knows what a natural position for either a mascara or antiperspirant is. However, just to be sure, it’s better to get acquainted with the instructions that packaging features so as to learn the product’s expiration date.

What cosmetics to choose?

When I’m in a drugstore, I always ask a shop assistant to bring me a cosmetic form their storage room, or just reach for a product that is placed somewhere at the back of a shelf. I avoid products that were lying on the display because they were exposed to light and it’s highly possible that their will expire soon. Moreover, cosmetics lying somewhere around testers are frequently mistaken for testers and simply opened by the customers. For that reason, before buying a cosmetic I always make sure that the item is brand new and originally closed.

What about you? How do you store your beauty products? Do you know any clever tricks?