A Totally Pragmatic Guide to the Best Makeup Organizers

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Jessica Karasik is famous among a certain subset of people, namely those who own a ton of makeup and work with various Kardashians. Her huge acrylic Glamboxes hold the makeup and tools of the likes of Jen Atkin, Mario Dedivanovic, Hrush, the E! News makeup team, Maria Menounos, and Shay Mitchell, to name just a few.

Karasik launched her company, whose makeup and jewelry organizers you can buy at QVC, Shopbop, and on her site, during a stint where she had to have her jaw wired shut for three months while recovering from surgery for a disease called idiopathic condylar resorption. She had worked in the beauty industry in plastic surgeons’ offices, but when she moved to New York City for a job, she found herself with a dearth of storage space. She had a family friend custom-make her some acrylic boxes for her makeup and jewelry. Friends started asking her where she got them, and the rest is history.

She was on Instagram in 2014 when it first started to really take off, and she reached out to people like Jen Atkin via DM, who enthusiastically used her products and supported her business. Word spread about her wares, and soon influencers like Hrush were posting pictures of her boxes.

Karasik’s trademark is, “If you don’t see it, you won’t use it.” If your makeup is in a dark drawer or a big train case where everything isn’t readily visible and available, you may forget about it. She also recommends storing products by category, and to keep at most one back-up product (for example, mascara) at a time to avoid clutter.

With Karasik’s very simple tips in mind, we’ve compiled the best see-through makeup organizers out there at every price point and for a variety of storage requirements. Sure, storing your makeup brushes in an old Diptyque Baies candle is cute, but it’s not necessary to have Pinterest-level creativity and organization skills to keep your stuff neat.

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Best Overall Value for Someone With a Modest Amount of Makeup

Ikee Design Acrylic Jewelry and Cosmetic Storage 2-Piece Set ($13.99): This Amazon bestseller with over 6,000 customer reviews averaging four and a half stars is a perfect entry point organizer. It has four drawers and a removable top piece to store upright products like brushes and lipstick. It’s also great if you have a lot of makeup stored elsewhere but want to quickly grab your everyday items.

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Best for Someone Who Doesn’t Have Enough Room for All Their Skincare

Jerrybox 360 Degree Rotation Adjustable Multi-Function Cosmetic Storage Box ($20.99): This Lazy Susan-style organizer carousel is perfect for skincare junkies who are medicine-cabinet challenged and insist on a multi-step skincare routine. It has seven layers of adjustable trays to fit up to 20 bottles.

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Best for When Space Is Very Tight

Magnapods ($9.99/package of 3): This brilliant concept allows you to stick things like eyeliner and lipsticks onto the inside of your medicine cabinet (or your fridge — no judgment). The set comes with a holder for three pencil-sized products, four taller items like chubby sticks, and five short, squat items like traditional lipstick tubes.

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Most Versatile If You Don’t Care About Compartments

Stori 2-Pack Drawers ($18.99): If you just want everything in one spot where you can grab it quickly, then this set of two deeper, stackable drawers is perfect. You can use them on their own or buy multiples to build your own modular set.

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Best for Specialty Product Collectors (Nail Polish)

Houzz Acrylic Nail Polish Organizer ($20.78): You could go the Ikea spice rack ($3.99) route, but this simple tiered organizer holds up to 40 standard nail polish bottles without having to hang anything on the wall.

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Best for Specialty Product Collectors (Palettes)

InterDesign Vanity Organizer Palette Organizer ($6.99): This looks like a letter organizer, except for all those Urban Decay Naked palettes you can’t stop buying. It has five compartments with different height dividers.

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Best Huge Organizer If You’re on a Budget

Sorbus 3-Piece Cosmetics and Jewelry Storage Case Display Sets ($39.99): This comes with three separate pieces, including two large drawers, three smaller drawers, and a top piece that features 15 compartments and one small drawer.

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Best Organizer If You Want to Live Like the Kardashian Glamsquad

Glambox Glamluxe Makeup Box ($259): This five-drawer organizer, Jessica Karasik’s signature product, comes with a full or partial top lid if you’re dust-phobic. It also comes with a brush holder, a sliding divider, and a crisscross divider. The company also just launched an adjustable tray — the Glamboard ($59.99) — that’s perfect for carrying product to lay down over a sink that doesn’t have much counter space.