Lottie Loves: Finishing School K is for Kit

Lottie's challenge runs thus:

Find a space which can be yours for your beauty routine. Obviously a dressing table is ideal but it can be anywhere else. You can use a bathroom counter, a random table, a chest of drawers, a desk, anywhere where you can find a bit of space just for you. It need only be small, enough room for a basket or two. If you already have this space then tidy it up and make it work better for you. My big thing about beauty areas is that they must have everything in sight and easy to just grab. No digging around in bags, draws, boxes. If you can see everything you can grab it and go.

A-ha! I thought smugly. I have one of those already. I did tidy it up before taking this photo - apologies for the glare, it's a south-facing baywindow so when there's sun there's no way to shade it. My make-up stuff is in my room, while my toiletries are in the shared bathroom downstairs and I haven't photographed that because it would look like I'm on commission for Lush or something!


Then I read the next bit:

• Mirror: yep, got one of those. This flat has more mirrors than you can imagine. There's one fixed to the wall behind my dressing table (alright, chest of drawers...) and one to the other wall of the bay behind me. While I can't see my whole face in natural light at the same time, I can at least have one side lit and try to match them up!
• Make-up brushes: I have one I love, and a few that are adequate but no more. The one I love is great precise application of eyeshadow as a liner, but not so good for covering large areas. It was free with Cosmopolitan magazine years ago. I so rarely use any of the others, though, I've never really had the impulse to buy better ones. Although I might wear blusher more (and I really should if I've put foundation on as I'm so pasty to start with) if I had a brush for it I liked...
• Storage for hair accessories: Check. It's the bottom drawer of the mini chest of drawers you see on the right of this picture, plus the three oversized brooch/hairpin flowers lying on the front.
• Cotton wool & buds: Downstairs in the bathroom with the nail varnish and remover. I use tissues and spit to remove make-up mistakes, or cover them, depending on the nature. Very occasionally I get it wrong I go right back to the beginning and cleanse, tone, moisturise, make a cup of tea and start again.
• Make-up: In the right hand chest of drawers. The top draw has eyeshadows, the middle has bracelets (ok, not make-up!) and the bottom has lipstick and blusher. The foundation chills out on the top all the time. Eyeliners and lip-liners live in the pencil pot along with mascara, nail scissors and file.
• Wipes: I don't use them. Tone + cotton wool does the job, and they live in the bathroom.
• Potions and lotions: Deodorant is up here, body moisturiser is both up here and in the bathroom, hand creams are one pot per room, facial cleanser/toner/moisturiser is in the bathroom. I have about 4 different varieties of perfurm up there, two of which I wear regularly, one I never wear and should ditch and one that's heading that way but it was a gift and I feel bad...

As to where I got the chests of drawers and pencil pot? Rymans Stationers. They're sold as desk organisers, but they're felt lined, good quality and just perfect for this!

The left hand chest of drawers contains my costumer jewellery and my earrings are on the stand on top of it. There's a pair of gold cufflinks (pen nibs, love them!) just in front.

The red and white tape is not crime scene tape. :) It's holding the opposite window shut while I wait for my landlady to give me the number of the handyman who can finish the job of fixing it.