For years, I kept my nail polishes strewn throughout my apartment with little regard for how maddening this was for Future Lauren. I had a few neutrals in my medicine cabinet, a crimson red in my purse for when I polished my nails on the go that time, and about a dozen more floating around in my nightstand for when I couldn’t be bothered to put them back after a late-night manicure. This made finding any specific color an absolute nightmare, of course. But even worse is that they were all either dried out, caked-on, or completely separated beyond repair.
Luckily, my beauty editor habits caught up with me, and I found a new way to store my nail polish that keeps them perfectly intact—and easy to find. Instead of throwing them into my drawer or on a lazy Susan that they’ll surely fall off of, I started laying them down. That’s right: I did the exact opposite of what every nail salon or store display would have you think. Laying them on their side not only makes them easier to find from any angle, but you can also easily check names and place them back in the order you found them.
How to Organize Your Nail Polish
If your drawers are deep or you have an impressively large nail polish collection, grab a clear drawer organizer with shelves, like this one from Target, so you can store them by color family.
You can also separate color families into different groupings with porcelain trays, like this sleek, minimalist option. They’re also great for storing your glass nail file, cuticle pushers, and trimmers in an easy-to-access way.
Of course, if you’d rather keep those upright, store them in something as functional as it is stylish, like this Alabaster Jar.
Trust me, if you ever do your nails at home (or like to bring yours to the salon), this little trick will save you time—and quite a bit of frustration. Plus, you’ll have #organizationporn bragging rights on the ‘gram!
xx L