I decluttered my make-up box and this is how I got on

I hate clearing out my make-up.

It takes ages, it's messy, and who wants to put that job upon themselves anyway? It's no fun. But, my make-up box (yes, my products were in an actual box) was getting extremely cluttered to a point where there was just piles and piles of products - some that I don't even use. And so, on a rainy Sunday afternoon I decided that I should clear out my make-up and toiletries. I bought a new fancy perspex make-up organiser (see end) in TK Maxx for a fiver, and then set on my merry way to cosmetic management. Before I got started, I looked up a few websites to find out tricks of the trade, and with these 5 tips I was organised in less than a hour.

1. Throw out samples and old make-up

This was hard because I'm a firm believer that I will use everything at some point in my life. But I had to be strong and get rid of any out of date make-up samples. While I was going through everything, I realised that a lot of my cosmetics were at the end of their days and dirty... so they went into the bin too.

2. Be truthful about what works on you

It's easy to think that you can pull off a blue lip á la Kylie Jenner - but be honest with yourself, when are you actually going to wear a blue lip out in public? And that tan that's five times too dark but you swear you'll use on holidays? You won't. So, throw it out. I found that small bits and bobs that I'll use 'someday' are just taking up space... and ain't nobody got time for that.

3. Clean your good make-up products

If you're like me then your make-up bag gets way too dirty, way too quick. My foundation bottle has a puddle of product lying in the lid and my eyeshadows are smudged across every corner of my room (not really, but still - I'm messy). I used my good 'ol Micellar water (you can use any cleanser) to remove any unwanted dirt from the make-up I still use. It's quick and practically mess free. Score.

4. Clean your make-up brushes

Most of the time, I rather buy a new brush than clean my old one. They either come out much harder and brittle, or just take ages to dry (and I have no patience). However, my editor recently showed me her trick to cleaning out her brushes, and it worked like magic. Quick, handy, and the brushes came out as soft as ever.

5. And you're finished!

Once I finished seperating and cleaning, I made sure to organise my make-up case into different sections so I know where to find everything. My nail and brow products went in one section; my eye, lip and face products went in another and my powder and brushes went at the back. Even though I didn't want to even touch my make-up to begin with, I'm so glad I did and it made it much easier to get organised as my alarm went off at 5.30am this morning. It may not be the most fun task in the world, but it took under an hour and was practically mess free, so I take that as a win.