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Happy New Year babes! I hope Santa brought you everything you wanted for Christmas, and you enjoyed some relaxing, quality time with all your loved ones!
The start of the new year always brings about some kind of quest for refresh.. some of us look to change our stale habits, some opt for something a bit more drastic. I’ve made a ton of changes both personally & professionally steadily throughout 2021, so my goals for the short term are to make my life easier on a day to day. You may have read my posts about my closet renovation where I organized/maximized my clothing space & eliminated clutter to make my mornings easier. This DIY makeup vanity is somewhat of an extension of that.. to make mornings easier (because I hate them) and to lower my frustration levels by having all my makeup, hair tools, & perfume in one spot.
I spent many mornings hovering over a mirror with makeup scattered around me as
I got ready; this was a daily mess I would have to clean up, a daily re-organization routine I would need to spend time on (because I would throw everything in random spots when in a rush), and the lighting was never ideal (mostly because my eyesight is terrible). I began researching vanities, & literally drooled over the Impressions Slaystation Vanity, before crying over the price tag. My husband (the cute boy that he is) BUILT me a vanity mirror complete with light bulbs because apparently he’s a wizard and can cut holes into glass, wtf) but we had a mishap & part of the glass broke. Part of this post was going to show you how he made that mirror, but that’s on hold right now until he remakes it for me. I however was able to find alternates for all the other vanity parts, and spent considerably less than the $1,700.00 makeup vanity mirrors I was obsessed with.
So, this is kind of a DIY makeup vanity because we had to assemble some of the parts.. but it’s more or less how to piece together your own makeup vanity/dressing table/getting ready area without spending a fortune.
(Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a
mall commission if you decide to purchase any of the products I recommend.
I will ONLY recommend products I personally use. For more information about affiliate links, please click here.)
^^the pretty, final package
“>STORAGE DRAWERS: During my Pinterest travels I found many makeup bloggers referencing Ikea as their source of storage drawers (the ALEX drawers, to be specific) when they undertook the DIY makeup vanity. With their 5 drawer option not being crazily expensive ($89.00 per unit), I realized that shipping would make them astronomically priced… and the closest Ikea to me is over an hour away. I took to Amazon to see if I could find any alternative with good reviews, and succeeded.
Behold, the “>Winsome Halifax Storage unit.
*At the time that I purchased this unit with 7 drawers, they were $78.00 apiece. When I looked back at my order history and went back to the original listing, to my horror, they are now listed at $170.00 per unit. However, “>this link will take you to their 5 drawer option at $78.00, and truthfully, that would’ve worked out just as well. I’m not quite sure why two drawers extra resulted in double the price (and I know I didn’t pay that, because it would’ve defeated the purpose). Despite the odd price change, the units are good quality & easy to put together.
COUNTERTOP: I’m kind of in a love/hate relationship with marble, because I’m obsessed with it and how it looks.. buuuuuut it’s not always the affordable option when it comes to countertops. Project DIY makeup vanity came to a standstill because I didn’t know how to get over this hurdle. My husband told me about an alternative option that Home Depot carries, so I went with him to check it out.
^^a close-up view of the laminate alternative
I did not think I was going to like it, especially because the thought of “imitation” marble made me slightly nauseous. However, upon seeing the Formica Laminate Sheet in White Ice Granite (4x8ft) I was intrigued, & after seeing how much it would cost ($65.60), I was more than satisfied. This counter/tabletop
is durable af; it’s scratch, stain and impact resistant, & you can throw an epoxy coating over it to amplify the shiny factor if you want to take it a step further. It’s easy to clean, it fit like a glove on top of the storage cabinets, and it’s the perfect color. If this particular color isn’t your thing, they offer a few different options.
THE MIRROR: The center of the DIY makeup vanity. Until hubs can redo the original vanity mirror he built for me (which was absolutely gorgeous) I needed an an effective substitute because lighting was one of my major issues (in addition to my failing eyeballs but that’s
a different story). I took to Amazon again to see what they had to offer, and found this one..
^^ “>Fenchilin Vanity Mirror, $139.99
The photos in the reviews were convincing enough, so I bought it & anxiously awaited
it’s arrival on my front porch. When it came in and I set it up, I was absolutely amazed by
how lit up the entire room became just by turning the mirror on. The “>mirror’s dimensions are 18.11″L x 22.83″W, so it’s the perfect size, & I no longer have to lean in close to see what I’m doing. It came with supplies to mount it if you wanted to put it on the wall, but I left it as a standalone. It also has a USB port on the side of it so you can charge your phone or hook up a speaker for music if you wanted to (I alternate between both). The light settings allow you to change it to warm/cool tones, and you can dim the lights down if it’s too bright. “>Totally worth it.
FLUFFY VANITY STOOL: While the “fluffy” aspect may not have been a requirement, I still wanted a stool type of seating that had a more girly vibe to it, that didn’t cost a shit ton. I looked around & initially found one I liked at Burlington, but when I went back to get it, it was gone. Amazon came through once again, as I found this one after searching for awhile..
^^fluffy vanity stool with STORAGE! $59.99
I waited anxiously for this item’s arrival as well, because truthfully I didn’t have a lot of faith in the overall sturdiness of it. The fact that it had a storage compartment in it made me think the top would be flimsy, but… I am happy to admit that I was wrong. This stool may look floofy (is that a word?) but don’t let that fool you.. it is DIESEL. It doesn’t move around whatsoever when you’re sitting on it, it’s heavy, and the storage top is just as sturdy as the rest of it. I was amped for another place to put things, too!
THE ACCENT RUG: Totally optional accessory, however it was a must for me, because no matter how careful I try to be… I spill & drop shit constantly. It’s a toxic trait of mine that I’m trying to correct. I didn’t want to ruin the floors so I bought this cute chevron type fluffer rug to pull it all together.
^^this rug is both cute and soft af
Another one of my toxic traits is that I don’t like spending a ton of money on rugs because
with two dogs (and me, to be honest.. since I spill everything) I know it’ll most likely need to be replaced within a year or two. I bought the 4×6 and spent $62.00, which is less than
you’d typically pay for a rug that size. While the picture made the rug look like a puffy
cloud I didn’t get my hopes too high.. & I again was pleasantly surprised at how soft and fluffy it actually was when I opened the box.
DIY MAKEUP VANITY PROJECT: SUCCESS!
My makeup vanity has made my life ten million times easier because I know where
everything is, I can easily access everything and quickly clean it all up, and I can finally
SEE WHAT I’M DOING which has resulted in a much happier, calmer version of me in the
mornings.. which makes waking up a slightly more tolerable thing to do.
FINAL COST: $452.96
