Updated Vanity Drawer Organization!

The organization project continues!

Perfume Atomizers...

I love when you open a magazine, to find something sitting in the pages that you were already hunting down or contemplating getting. It just kind of gives you that feeling of being on point, and honestly... it's also just nice because it gives you another store reference of where to find the item!

This happened to me most recently when I was flipping through (back to front, of course) my Lucky (shopping & style) magazine this weekend. I have no idea why I back to front - but for some reason it helps me take in the information better.

As I was flipping through, I found on page 113 of the April 2011 edition, something I had been on the hunt for over a month now - a perfume atomizer!

Available on www.smallflower.com (Currently sold out)

I love these things... they remind me of my childhood, when I would sneak into my grandmother's bedroom and stare at her vanity, knowing I wasn't supposed to touch anything on it. She had a small dainty ring box that played music when you opened it and was a shimmery golden color. From what I remember, the top had a mother of pearl inset that had a picture of a peacock... or a piano... or something majestic. Or maybe it was shaped like a piano... in any case, I just wanted to open it, and close it. And open it...

It was one of those traditional vanity areas, that had a mirrored tray that everything set on, a beautiful comb and brush that always sat on there, and I'm sure there were other bits that were on there as well. It's interesting how the mind always remembers the things that made the most impression on us.

I was most intrigued by a beautiful perfume atomizer, that had the long string that hung off of it, with a tassel on the ball at the end. (I obviously don't know the technical names for all of these pieces.) I wanted to be an adult, right there, right then. I wanted to brush my hair with the brush, put on makeup while looking in the mirror, and spritz on a dash of perfume with this regal atomizer before walking out the door to go somewhere important.

As best as I can recall, I don't think I ever did spray that atomizer - but it did make a lasting impression on me. It's been on my mind for the past month or so after seeing an atomizer during at trip to Hobby Lobby in February... and I've contemplated getting one for my dresser ever since. I know I want to get one, but I would love to find one that resembles the one that I have in my mind from my grandmother's vanity, a beautiful rose gold colored glass with a cream atomizer.

For now though, I may have to be content with the various reproductions that are available at retail outlets like hobby - for at very least an atomizer that I want to be able to use. I do remember while visiting antique stores in Missouri one time four or five years ago, then the one downside to vintage perfume atomizers is usually that had residual perfume leftover in them, and have an "old perfume" smell to them. So great for home decor, but not as great if you want to actually be able to use it to put your own perfume in them.

So maybe atomizers have been something I've always wanted to get as an adult, since I remember intently looking at them on that trip in Missouri, but always putting them back for some reason. I think it's time I finally gave in, and added a pretty perfume atomizer to the perfume area on my dresser...

Vanity Restyle

I'm in that age range where you transition from your young adult years, when it is still moderately acceptable to a bit whimsical in your daily life - to a full fledged adult - when you are expected to be all responsible, organized, and put together. (And stuff.) I actually really enjoy organization (I'm sure my husband would declare otherwise), but I just get so caught up in the routine of day-to-day living, that sometimes I have to step back and look at things from a different perspective in order to see the disarray.

Case in point, was my vanity area. I bought this vanity because the house we lived in just prior to our current one didn't have a built-in vanity (which I had been used to having from the house previous), and just had a small open room with bare walls to use for a vanity and dressing area. So I found this vanity to solve the problem of having a place to do my makeup.

When we moved to our new house that we live in currently, it didn't have a separate dressing OR vanity area either - so I had to take up a corner of our bedroom with my vanity. (I sacrificed having a separate vanity area when we narrowed it down to this house from the other ones we were looking at, to give my husband a space to have his "man cave" area - just want that on record. Ha ha!) With a new baby and just getting settled into the new house, it was too easy to walk past my vanity on a daily basis and just ignore it. I used my makeup out of separate makeup cases and could never find anything!

The before:

Not really a pretty sight to look at, was it?

So one day, I was inspired and realized that I needed to do some re-organization... desperately.

I purchased two clear drawer acrylic containers from Space Savers (which I've also since purchased one to organize my daughter's changing table), two glass vases, and some vase filler from Michael's. I started sorting through things and found things I had forgotten I even had! I sorted the items I used the most into categories like face, eyes, and lips. And for brands like Nars, I had enough to have one drawer dedicated to holding it.

This was the result:

Everything was out in the open and easy to spot! I was amazed that this actually help cut down on the time it took me to get ready too!

In the vanity drawer, I organized all of my Bare Escentuals shadows, Benefit powders, and extra brushes:

And inside the acrylic drawers ended up looking like this:

Overall, it was a relatively inexpensive project that made a big impact! I happily can now find all of the makeup items I own quickly, and also have been using different products in my makeup routine, since I can find more than just my go-to items!