Setting Up Your Meez!

Five internet points if you get that reference.

For those of you who don't, it's a food service phrase. What I'm talking about is your mise en place. It's a term for your work area, the particular arrangement of food/herbs/prep items that is arranged just the way you like it. It's a sacred space and you risk bodily harm by messing up someone else's mise.

Why am I talking about food service on a beauty blog?

Because mise en place isn't just for the kitchen (or in my case, the coffee shop).

One of the best things to do with your makeup and skincare regimen is set it up in some way that it will be used. Because if it's not organized, or something gets shoved to the back of drawer, or you have to search for that cool sample a friend gave you, you're never going to like getting into makeup. It's going to feel like a chore, and that's just awful.

Trust me on this one. For most of college, I didn't wear makeup because it meant dragging my makeup bag out from the counter, digging out what I needed, putting it on, cleaning up the (shared) bathroom, and then throwing everything back in the bag for the next time. And I just wasn't feeling it. I was lazy and busy and anything that took more than a few minutes didn't make it into my schedule.

That didn't really change once I graduated college and got my own place. I have tons of sample shampoos and conditioners that I haven't tried because they're somewhere in the depths of my sink.

So, I said all of that to say this: Set. Up. Your. Station. I don't care if you live in a tiny flat in New York or a sprawling house on the West Coast. Find a corner, claim it, set up a flag, and then start building your makeup stash from the ground up.

Here, for starters, I'll show you mine.

This is one of my reused Birchboxes, which I use to hold all of my main ingredients. Everything is easy to reach, although it looks a little cluttered. 

This is the top of the above Birchbox, which I use to hold my eye shadow. I have more eye shadow palettes than anything else, so I like them to have their own container.

This is the top drawer as a whole. It looks crowded, but everything has its own place so that my routine is cut from infinite minutes to about ten. Which is useful when I'm rushing off to work or run errands.

This is the top of my sewing/makeup table. Everything that I use really often is up here, including my box of BPAL perfumes and lotions (I have such dry skin, guys). I also have a mirror, a good desk lamp, makeup removal towlettes, and a spritzer of water.

I know, I know, my collection isn't much. But it's growing. And if you're just starting out and you're looking to make a habit out of this whole prettifying thing, you're going to need your goodies set up for success.

Wow, I sounded like a high school counselor for a second there. Sorry about that.

Having your own little corner (complete with an outlet) is also great if you don't have your own bathroom or, like me, you share that bathroom with a man who wouldn't know foundation if he was bathing in it.

That's it for today. In case you can't tell, I'm starting with basics and going from there. Also, there is a cat on my lap demanding attention. Who am I to deny him?

Tomorrow, a review of a Zoya nail polish (not a new one, but it comes with a story, so there's that).

Thanks for reading!