I'm Obsessed with This Affordable Lipstick & Lipgloss Storage Hack

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Hot Deal: Muji 5 Drawer Acrylic Cases for $10 Each (Reg $35)

Exploring Amazon's Handmade Department

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Review: ArtBin Sew-lutions Slim Line Case (DIY Magnetic Makeup Palette)

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Well I finally did it! If you caught my original post about these affordable little DIY makeup palettes, then you know that I was really excited to FINALLY, after all these years, try my hand at depotting. At under $5, I couldn't resist picking up one of these ArtBin cases at my local Joann store a few weeks back.

So how did it work for me? What did I depot? Am I happy with the entire experience? Will I continue to depot in the future?

Keep reading for the answers to these questions (and more)...

A $4.99 Magnetic Palette You Can Find at Your Local Craft Store

If you are on #TeamDepot (aka: you de-pot your shadows, blushes, etc. and put them in empty magnetic palettes for ease of use), or if you've been thinking about joining #TeamDepot but you don't want to commit to higher-priced palettes, this post is for you!

How does a $4.99 palette with a strong magnetic base and a see-through (pink!) lid sound to you? If you're saying, "Heck yeah!" then keep reading for the scoop, and some pics of this palette in action...

Get 2 Melmers for $32.53 SHIPPED This Week Only

The deals are coming in fast and furious today, and I'm trying my best to keep up! If you caught my post earlier about how Melmers are 60% off this week at Michael's (in-store and online now through 4/18), check this out before you make a purchase:

Now through 4/18, you can enter code THANKYOU20 for an additional 20% off your purchase on the Michael's website, and this code includes sale items (online purchases only).

Buy 2 Melmers for $15.99 each (sale price) and with the 20% off code, your total including shipping is $32.53. That's less than the price of ONE Melmer at regular price ($39.99). Of course you can also purchase the Melmers in-store this week on sale ($15.99 x 2 = $31.98) but if you don't live near a Michael's or don't want to deal with transport, this is a great option!

If you have no idea what a Melmer is, click HERE.

Thanks so much to readers @sljw1991 and @candys_nails on Instagram for the tip about this code!

60% Off Melmers Now Through 4/18 at Michael's (In-Store and Online)

Many thanks to longtime reader Crissypo for the tip about this one:

Now through Saturday, 4/18, the Recollections 3 Drawer Cubes (aka: Melmers) are on sale for $15.99 (regularly $39.99) both in-store and online at Michael's (no coupons allowed in-store). This is the lowest these ever go (same price as Black Friday), so if you're in the mood for some spring beauty organization, now's the time to do it!

NOTE: If you're going to take advantage of this deal online, READ THIS FIRST!

If you have no idea why I've called this a "Melmer" or what in the heck this has to do with beauty, just click HERE and all will be explained.

Thanks so much, Crissypo, for the heads-up about this one!

The next Time You're Debating Whether or Not You Really "Need" That Talenti...

Purchased by Me 

Yes. Yes, you do. 

I broke my cute Q-Tip holder the other day and noticed that Mr. G had saved our Talenti Roman Raspberry jar (probably to reuse for storing homemade salsa, trail mix, etc.). I grabbed it out of the sink, gave it a good washing and voilà!

Spotted at TJMaxx: Acrylic Cosmetic Organizers

Acrylic organizers, which tend to be quite popular in the beauty community for organizing/storing cosmetics, are also quite expensive if you're buying them from brands like Muji, Icebox, etc. Well guess what? Reader Christina just spotted a nice assortment of Muji-like dupes at her local TJMaxx, for between $10.99 and $19.99. Take a look!

image credit: Christina for Nouveau Cheap

Clearly Chic Acrylic Organizers 

($10.99 - $19.99 at TJMaxx)

Keep reading for more pics and info...

Michaels Semi-Annual Storage Event (now through Saturday, 8/9)

If you've been thinking about doing some beauty reorganizing this fall, here's a sale that might help!

Now through 8/4, all storage products are 40% off at Michaels (in-store and online). For you polish fanatics, Melmers are $19.99 this week (regularly $39.99). If you don't know what a Melmer is, CLICK HERE for my explanation. 

Also, Michaels now offers their products online, with free everyday shipping on orders $50+ (flat-rate shipping of $6.95 for orders under $50). Click here to view all items that are part of the SAS storage event. As of the time of this post, Melmers are listed in their online store, but currently out of stock. Be sure to call ahead to your local Michaels to make sure they have some Melmers in stock before you head over...just to be safe!

PS: I still adore my handy Staples desktop organizer for brushes and other things I use on a daily basis, but I've had my eye on this giant carousel for a long time now. I love that it has drawers and other neat features. Do any of you use this for makeup/brush storage? I'd love to hear from you!

Attention nail polish fanatics!

I've got two HOT tips to share with my fellow polish fanatics today, and one of them is only good through Thursday, so let's get to it! First up:

This week only (now through Saturday, 4/12) Melmers are 60% off in-store only at Michael's. This is the same price as last year's Black Friday deal! If you have no idea what a Melmer is, CLICK HERE for an explanation and be sure to read the comments for very helpful reader tips. If Melmers retail for $39.99 in your area (prices vary) that brings them down to $16 each! Thanks to reader Amanda (@amandaprono on Instagram) for this tip!

HOT DEAL ALERT: 60% off Melmers at Michael's for Black Friday

Huge thanks to reader A Mani Maniac for leaving a comment here on the blog today about this one! "Melmers" are going to be 60% off this Thursday and Friday at Michael's:

Michael's Black Friday 2013 Doorbuster (11/28 - 11/29 only)

60% off all Recollections Craft Room Storage (excludes jewelry storage)

If you have no idea what a Melmer is, and why I'm so excited about this sale, keep reading! Otherwise, you can stop right now and just do a little happy dance with me about this one...

My $0.39 nail sticker storage solution

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I've been tweeting about how all scrapbooking storage (which is also fantastic for makeup storage) is 40% off this week at Michael's. Such a great deal, and I'll get to what I purchased during this sale in another post (hopefully later today or tomorrow morning).

But since I'm on an organization kick these days, which I haven't been on since this post, I want to share with you my latest (ridiculously inexpensive) storage solution:

...for just 39 cents!

My $10 Nail Polish Storage System!

I don't care if you've got 10 polishes or 10,000. The fact of the matter is: everyone needs a good storage system.  Otherwise, you'll forget what you have, and you'll be more inclined to buy new polishes thinking to yourself, "I don't think I have this color at home. Oh what the heck!" only to discover that yes, you DO have this color at home (or something very similar).  Unless you're a nail junkie, no one really needs 20 shades of candy-apple red nail polish.  So my point is, there are lots of advantages to having a good nail color storage system.

A simple plastic container or shoebox will do if your collection is small, but what if you've got years worth of polishes in your collection and, like me, you've got various boxes and crates scattered around the house causing complete chaos when you're looking for a specific shade?  Well, if you've got some extra cash on  your hands, you can get the much-coveted Helmer at Ikea.  The deep drawers of the Helmer allow you to store your polish upright (trust me, you do NOT want to store your polish bottles in any other position) and, to the casual observer, the Helmer allows your addiction to polish to go virtually unnoticed. Looks like just a regular piece of furniture, right?

I could have purchased the Helmer and been done with it.  But at $49.99, that wouldn't have been very Nouveau Cheap of me, right?  So for the past few weeks, I've been scouring Target, Michael's, and finally, dollar stores, to find just the right, and VERY INEXPENSIVE, way to store my polish.  It's been a challenge, but I finally found success at my local Dollar Tree.

Now, let me just get this out of the way: I'm obsessed with nail polish and I always have been (I'm talking since the late 70s when I was in elementary school).  So in case any of you think that I've only recently built up the following collection of polishes, this is actually the accumulation of many years of collecting (I only wish I had hung on to my original Wet n Wild polishes from the late 80s just for memory's sake but, sadly, they disappeared years ago).  The polishes below were all purchased over the last 15 or so years (anything older than that was lost a long time ago).  Yes, I've been on a little "polish bender" as of late, so I actually was horrified to learn that the amount of polishes I THOUGHT I owned (about 150) is actually much higher (300+).  

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me introduce you to my new storage system:

(click to magnify)

Each individual crate in this "system" was purchased at Dollar Tree for, of course, $1 each. I required 10 crates to store my entire 300+ polish collection (lucky guess since I bought 10 crates right off the bat and didn't need to go back to Dollar Tree mid-project to get more!).  

The most important thing to note about these square-shaped crates is that they're DEEP.  In my journey to find an inexpensive storage system, I've encountered so many containers that just aren't deep enough to enable you to store your polishes upright.  Many will store standard bottles, but I've got a lot of Japanese bottles that have VERY long brush handles (one in particular that's shaped like a guitar is well over 4 inches tall) so that's one reason why these crates ROCK.  Even my Japanese polishes can stand upright with a few inches to spare.

Another reason why I love these crates is because each one holds roughly 40 bottles of nail polish. So you can easily catagorize your polishes by color, and since you can see through all sides of each crate, you can visually scan though the crates and grab just the crate you want (if you've got a hankering to paint your toes purple, no problem. Just grab your purple crate and head to the couch!).

Let me also mention that these crates are STURDY. Even stacked 5-high, they do not wobble one bit. And they align themselves beautifully with no effort at all. Once you stack them up, they're not going anywhere.

And finally, I love how you can reconfigure these crates in any combination you want.  In the above collage, I stacked them in two different ways (4 in front/six in the back, and 2 stacks of 5, side by side), just to give you an idea of how you can totally customize these to suit your needs.  I also want to note that in the photos of "two stacks of five crates each" I deliberately left a small space in between the two stacks of 5 crates, just to show you that they're not connected. These crates stack together, with no spaces in between, quite easily.

So there you have it! My entire nail polish storage system, which can hold 400+ polishes, has a retail price of just $10 at Dollar Tree.  It may not be pretty, but I don't think it's an eyesore and the best part? IT WORKS!

PS: Each crate is less than a foot wide and a column of 5 crates stands roughly to my hip (I'm 5'5").

So tell me...how do you store your polish?

A super inexpensive brush & pencil holder even I can make!

If you've seen my other blog, Nouveau Sweet, then you know I love craft projects. I like using recycled objects and I REALLY love it when the project is easy and doesn't require a lot of skill or tools or money to make.

I found this project on The Long Thread (a great craft blog) and I love the simplicity of it:

All you need to make it is 4 empty cans, pliers, a clothesline (you can find these at the dollar store, Target, etc.), masking tape and a glue gun. Click here for the full instructions.

You can easily adapt this project to things you have lying around the house, such as plastic cups or different colored rope or yarn. I can't wait to get started and make something cute (and useful!) using recycled materials. Yay!

Speaking of crafts, if you have or know a little girl who loves playing with makeup but isn't quite ready for the real thing, here's a brilliant craft project I found recently on one of my very favorite craft blogs, Dollar Store Crafts. You can make Faux Makeup by using your old eyeshadow palettes (talk about a brilliant way to recycle!) and a few bottles of nail polish. LOVE!

Do you have any beauty-related craft projects you'd like to share with us? Leave 'em in the comments!