A couple years ago I made a DIY magnetic makeup board and it went VIRAL on Pinterest. I decided it was time to share the project with you all since it was really affordable and super easy. You can get everything on Amazon and, with a Prime membership, have it here in two days or less.
To start, find a location you want to hang your board. I put mine inside the door to our bathroom linen closet. I didn’t want my makeup on display so this was the perfect solution for me. If you choose a similar location you don’t need to worry about making the board look pretty, functionality is key. If you choose a location that will be visible at all times you might want to dedicate a bit more time and money to the project. I’ll give you some tips along the way on how to beautify your makeup magnet board.
10 easy steps to a makeup magnet board!
Step One: Measure the space where you’ll place your DIY magnetic makeup board.
Measure the space you have and determine how large you want your makeup board to be. You can find several sizes of precut sheet metal to make it easy. If you want to get very specific you can buy a larger sheet and cut it down to the exact size and shape you want using tin snips.
Step Two: Organize your makeup that will go on the magnetic board.
Organize your make up into a few categories, eye shadows, blushes, face powders, etc. that will stick right on the makeup board (group these into light weight containers and heavy containers to make it easy to determine the strength of magnets you’ll need later), lipsticks, glosses, mascara, and small tools that will go in a short bin, and liners, brushes, and long tools that will go in a tall bin.
Step Three: Determine how many magnets and bins you’ll need.
I went with 2 short bins and 1 tall bin and around 44 magnets. I needed around 26 light magnets and around 18 strong magnets. I also decided to make a hair clip and bobby pin organizer so I got one long roll of magnetic tape for that.
Step Four: Order your supplies.
This is where personal preference comes in. Like I said, mine was not visible so only needed to be functional. You can make yours pretty if needed.
You’ll need:
Sheet metal for the makeup magnet board (decorative options are also available though it must be steel to be magnetic)
Scissors
Optional Items:
Magnetic tape for hair clips and bobby pins
Frame (or wood trim cut to size) to trim out the magnetic make-up board backing
Paint for frame/wood trim
Spray Paint for magnetic make-up board sheet metal backing
Spray paint for plastic bins
Picture hanger of choice
Step Five: Add decorative elements as you like
This step is optional. Move on to Step Six if you’re going the functional route like I did. Paint optional frame, sheet metal, and plastic bins if you’re choosing to jazz up the DIY magnetic makeup board.
Note for painting sheet metal: If galvanized metal is not prepped and painted properly, it will peel. Clean sheet metal surfaces with a water-based cleaner and degreaser (dish soap) to remove any oil or and contaminants. Once the sheet metal has dried, use a clean cloth and white vinegar to wipe down the surface of the sheet metal, this will etch the metal and help the paint adhere. Prime the sheet metal with a spray on oil-based primer or a rust-resistant latex primer. Choose an acrylic latex semi-gloss, a gloss enamel spray paint, or an oil-based semi-gloss paint. Paints designed for use on metal will resist rust and will be more durable than a traditional wall or craft paint.
Step Six: Hang your DIY magnetic makeup board
Now, I just hot glued my board directly to the door I was hanging it on because it was a painted door and I figured worst case scenario I would just have to repaint the few glue spots if I ever removed the board. You could take the sheet metal and attach a picture hanger to the back for a cleaner and easier removal if needed. Hot glue will likely damage sheetrock or plaster walls so keep that in mind if you are attaching to a wall and not a door.
Step Seven: Attach magnets to makeup containers.
If needed, cut the light weight magnets to size. I recommend starting with one to make sure the magnet is large enough to hold the weight of the make-up container. Then, using the hot glue, attach the magnet to a flat side of the lightweight makeup container. Make sure the side that shows the color is face out to make it easy to find the color you’re looking for. On some make-up containers this will be the bottom and on others, it will be the top. Next, take strong magnets and attach these to the larger makeup containers.
Step Eight: Attach bins to your magnetic make-up board.
I used hot glue to attach my bins directly to the board. You can choose to attach magnets to the back of the bins so they are mobile and removable. I didn’t find that to be necessary for my board.
Step Nine: Attach magnetic tape for hair clips and bobby pins
Again, I attached this directly to the door with hot glue. You can also attach this to the sheet metal make-up board if you prefer to have a clean, easy to remove board. The process is the same either way, cut the length of tape you need, add a lot of hot glue to the back of the roll of magnetic tape, attach in the desired location and hold until dry.
Step Ten: Add make-up to the board!
Fill the short bins with the shorter make-up and tools, the tall bins with tall make-up and tools, attach the individual makeup containers in a logical fashion, and add bobby pins and metal hair clips to the magnetic strip.
Voia’la! Your super functional DIY magnetic makeup board is complete!
I’d love to see how yours turned out! Post pictures of your finished product in the comments and share any tips and tricks you learned along the way.
Until next time, happy DIYing!
XO,
Meghan
