DIY: Vanity

The past few months I have been fantasizing about having a glamorous vanity. You know, one like you see in the movies with bright round bulbs lining the huge mirror and pretty drawers under the table top all done up in a Victorian fashion. I finally decided to investigate the damage one of those would set me back and found out that they are freaking expensive (anywhere from $200-$2,000)! My dreams were instantly crushed. But something had to happen...my current set up was a nightmare. 

As you can see, I was using a book case with the shelf taken out. I have my make up stored in a train case or cluttered on my "vanity". Luckily, I have space in front of my bedroom window for natural lighting. But other than that, I was getting ready white trash style. 

I did a lot of research for building a vanity area on a budget. With the help from my fellow beauty bloggers and Pinterest I was able to come up with this...

...And I am IN LOVE! As I'm sure many of you are in the same boat as I am (not wanting/being able to spend a fortune on a "real" vanity) I wanted to share what I bought and how I put this bad boy together. You're welcome :)

• Desk: I found this black desk at Walmart for $40. It's a writing desk with a drawer. It does require assembly. It took me 3 hours to put together, but bare in mind that I had never put together a single piece of furniture in my life. I managed to screw up the very first step and didn't know it until about half way through. HAH. Story of my life! I bet if I read the directions thoroughly before starting it would've only taken 1.5 hours. You live and you learn, right? It's the perfect width for all my essentials to be displayed on top, and the perfect height for my drawer organizer to fit underneath. SCORE!
• Mirror: I have had this mirror for about 3 years. I think it's from Ross and had to have been under $20. I just propped it up on the window seal against the window and it suits me well.
• Drawers: I had one from before (as you can tell in my "before" photo) and I'm not sure where I picked it up or how much it was. I bought another one as Walmart only because it was on sale for $8 and was cute! I will have photos below of what they look like and what I put in each of them.
• Small Glass Vases: I found them at the Dollar Tree. Yep, you guessed it! They each set me back a dollar. I filled them with gold chunky sand (also from the Dollar Tree) so I could store my make up brushes and liners. The sand (you can use pebbles or rocks or whatever) help keep everything standing up and easy to see. Plus, it looks pretty!
• File Organizer: I am using a desktop small file organizer from Walmart (I can't remember how much it was but it couldn't have more than $5) to store my eyeshadow palettes.
• Vanity Tray: At the Dollar Tree they had super adorable silver trays with a Victorian design imprinted. I am using it to hold all my daily essentials (moisturizer, primers, brow powder, lip balm, etc.).
• Desk Organizer: I had one left over from beauty school so again, I'm not sure where I got it or how much it was. But it has two drawers and a top container with a lift up lid. I am using the drawers for my lip products and the top lid for my hair clips and such. 
• Non-slip Table Runner: Also from the Dollar Tree. I just had to cut it to fit the desk. It just helps keeps my things in place and not falling off my desk (as I tend to knock things over).
• Drawer Organizers: Again, these are from beauty school. I do believe they are meant for organizing utensils in the kitchen? I just use these to organize my cosmetics.
• Cell Phone Mounter: I bought this guy a while ago in hopes of using it in my car. But for some reason it won't stick to my windows in my car. I just happened to stumble upon it while putting the vanity together and thought it would be cool to be able to watch videos while getting ready! And it actually sticks to my mirror! I love it! I don't remember where I got it or how much it was. I think I got it from a cell phone package on Amazon. It probably came with a phone charger, phone case, screen protector, etc.

These are my drawers. 

The one on the left is the one I bought from Walmart for $8. It sits just to the right of my desk and has my hair products (ALL EUFORA) on top. In the top drawer I have all my eyeshadows and extra mascaras. The middle drawer holds my blushes and extra face products. The bottom drawer has items I don't use very often like my curling iron.

The one on the right is one I already had. It sits under my desk to the right. The top drawer has product samples, q-tips and allergy medication. The middle drawer holds my bigger palettes that won't fit on top of my desk. The bottom drawer has make up bags, product boxes (in case I don't like something and need to return it) and currently my nicotine patches (I am not 3.5 weeks cigarette free!).

This here is my super cute vanity tray. Like I said, it holds my daily essentials.

Here's a view of the top of the desk. 

You can see my desktop office organizer on the left.

 Next to the vanity tray you'll find my glass vases. I bought 4 of them. One holds my face brushes, another with my eye brushes, one has my liners and one is for my dirty brushes. 

Next to them is my small file organizer with my eyeshadow palettes. 

I didn't mention the container holding my cotton swabs and liner sharpeners above. I also had that from before. 

And I keep toilet paper in my Urban Decay mug that was gratis from when I worked at Ulta...Can I just say that I am really missing my discount and gratis from Ulta?! I want to work part time at a make up store again just for that! Maybe like one day a week? hmm...

All in all, I only spent about $70 on everything! I am really happy with it. It's encouraged me to start thinking about doing video blog posts. But that's for another day.

I want to hear what your current set up looks like! Comment and let me know.