Parts of my Minimalist Home (Apartment)… The Bathroom

By request (you can ask me anything anonymously & quickly here and then I post most of my answers every Friday at noon under my Ask Sherry! category), I was asked to show a bit more of my apartment. I originally posted my closet here, and my fridge here.

As mentioned, I will be showing what I can of the apartment. It’s a bit of a mess right now with renovations taking a long time *cough* and some of the features of the apartment are unique and too distinctive to post without claiming to keep anonymity.

So, I am showing you what I can, and how we organize the way we live….

All of my posts can be seen here: Sherry’s Home.

THE BATHROOM

This is one of the bathrooms, and the one I share with Baby Bun. My partner takes showers in here but otherwise, he doesn’t have a single item of his here. His bathroom is currently being used as storage and Renovation Central. Pictures on that later.

Starting at the sink. I keep it pretty clean because the more stuff you have on there, the dirtier it gets and the more fiddly it gets to clean it, which I hate.

• Candle holders / Brush holders were Anthropologie (old out, but here, here, here, here and here are similar open air styles)
• Makeup brushes are from MAC and they were pricey but worth it
• Electric toothbrush is the inimitable Oral-B Vitality. I could have purchased fancier $100 versions but this one is just fine.
• Interdental brush (in yellow) is sticking out at the side, and the key to my gum & tooth health
• O.R.G. Mineral Skincare (Body) is my #1 Holy Grail item for exfoliation; gentle & both fascinatingly cool & gross in equal parts when I use it and see my dead skin cells roll off to reveal fresh, healthy skin. It is way gentler than a Clarisonic.
• Paula’s Choice cleanser, you can read about how Paula’s Choice has saved my skin and this is my regimen
• Soap is an unscented plain glycerin soap because we are sensitive to smells and the soap dish is Corelle Winter Frost.

To the left, I bought some candleholders in a pretty copper pattern. I chose them to be holders because they had a lot of intricate open sections for good airflow which is key to things drying out properly and not gathering bacteria.

Have you ever seen those bathroom holders that are completely enclosed? They grow mold and bacteria and look gross..

These ones stay pretty dry, but I do also fully wash my entire electric toothbrush every time I use it and dry it immediately before putting it in the holder. When I don’t do that, it gathers mould and bacteria and I have to toss the whole thing even though it’s still working fine.

I also have my two skincare products out only because they are too big to be kept standing up in the drawers, otherwise they’d be hidden away for easier cleaning, trust me. I don’t have any other storage to the side that I can put them on, so they stay near the sink for now.

The mirror is just above, and to the right my partner put a hook for my headbands (used when washing my face):

UPDATE:

This happened the day after I took these photos, but my partner decided it would be better if everything was off the sink so it wouldn’t get splashed by the water when we wash our hands. It would also help make cleaning the sink easier, and we did it for practical (less aesthetic) reasons:

I think it looks way better.

He took the hook for my headbands down off the side, and put up two racks meant for the shower on the mirror and on the backsplash. You can see the whole range of shower caddy racks here and this one is almost an exactly the same.

Everything is now off the counter, organized, and it looks quite nice. Better than buying a huge piece of furniture to hang on the wall for shelves, and it won’t collect dust as much as a shelf because they’re racks that can easily be taken down and washed periodically.

So this is what my sink looks like now. Much easier to clean….

Going into the two drawers below…

This is what the first one looks like. It holds all of my skincare and makeup.

The left side, holds jewellery, makeup, and watches:

First bowl in the top left is:

• Tweezerman tweezers – Best in the business
• Shu Uemura eyelash curler – I find I rarely do this unless for special occasions or I feel like it; I hear it ruins your eyes
• Makeup sharpeners (I like the one by Nars the best)

Bowl to the middle left holds all my watches:

• Kate Spade Metro Vachetta – It was between that one or this map print one which I still <3 (Worn here, here and here)
• Fossil Vintage Muse Three-Hand – Love this watch! (worn above here, here, and here)
• Rose gold metal mesh watch (worn here and here)
• (worn here)
• (worn here and here)

Just below the bowl stacked up against the side are my floss and toothpaste. I don’t keep it on the sink because Baby Bun likes to pull out the floss and it is annoying to try and shove it back in.

• Floss is Oral-B Satin Floss
• I have braces at the back of my teeth so I need the Super Thread Floss by Oral-B because if I didn’t, I couldn’t be bothered to use regular floss, thread it through that threader and try to do it that way. The super floss already has a hard plastic tip which you can poke through the tooth behind the brace & then floss. MUCH easier.
• Toothpaste is Earth Paste in Peppermint… I also liked their Lemon flavour

Silver bowls & vintage enamelled copper bowl holds my rings and jewellery, most notably my beloved vintage flower brooch which I video’d here on Instagram.

Final silver tray at the bottom holds some of my makeup:

• Jane Iredale Powder-me-Dry SPF powder for when I need to touch up my SPF but not my makeup nor want to wear a sunscreen cream
• Benefit Benetint Blush & Lip Tint – I need to start using this up
• Makeup Forever HD Microfinish powder – To get rid of shine, I like it but won’t wear it if I am taking photos that day (it leaves a white cast)
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed – It looks like a dirty brown but it is the most subtle pink hint
• Hourglass Ambient Powder – Gives me elven skin and I use it as a bronzer / blush sometimes. I took Dim Light, but I would have taken this smaller 3-version pack if it had been available at the time.
• MakeupForever HD Concealer – Not my Holy Grail I think, but still decent medium coverage; have yet to find something better
• BareMinerals Complexion Rescue SPF 30 Foundation – Perfect when I want to wear foundation because it has SPF 30; otherwise I wear a separate sunscreen but no foundation at all because the two together causes my makeup to ball up and be ruined. This stuff is AMAZING. Light coverage but you can let it dry or use a Beauty Blender sponge for SERIOUS coverage (and picture perfect skin).

Moving to the middle…

I have my gorgeous vintage jewellery copper box which I video’d here, and it holds my rings inside. Watch the video for which ones!

Then it goes to the other side.

Moving to the right side…

Most of my lip, eye and skincare happens on this side. Loosely…

The top left..

• Makeup remover wipes; I am trying to use up the stock my mother bought me, but I wear makeup so rarely these days now that I am not working that it has been a long, slow slog.
• Naked (Original) by Urban Decay set of eyeshadows. Bought them years ago. Still have them. Use them on occasion, trying to hit the pan on my favourites and then never buy palettes again because I am not patient enough for eyeshadow magic.
• Revlon lipsticks – I have to use these but I do like them a lot.
• Nars Lip Pencils – My favourite is Rikugien for a natural look (in my purse now), but I love Cruella for the perfect red.. I have yet to wear this more often because it takes work and I forget I have it on, and since I kiss Baby Bun a lot and I end up having to scrub his face
• Mac Zoom Lash Mascara – This was a sample, I rarely wear mascara these days, I should probably toss it and open another sample I got.
• Lavender Essential Oil – My favourite scent; I don’t know why I keep experimenting but.. hey. 🙂
• Atelier Cologne set of citrus perfumes – Great for summer but I am sticking to just 3 scents once they’re gone
• Samples of my favourite scents (have yet to use them up and then buy the full bottles). I like Clean Warm Cotton (layered over my Lavender essential oil), Replica’s Beachwalk for the summer and Replica’s By the Fire for winter.
• Annabelle eyeshadow pot in gold. I think I bought this in high school. I still use it. I think light gold, and a dark brown from now on will be my only eyeshadow colours.
• Urban decay eyeliners in Midnight Cowboy (was a limited edition but it is PERFECT for brightening the corners of your eyes instead of white which is harsh), Rockstar (a deep gorgeous purple) and Corrupt (a dark brown). You can buy all three in a set called After Dark.
• Also have a Dior lipliner for when I wear red lipstick (to stop it from bleeding) and it works really well
• My last eyeliner is a liquid felt tip one in brown from Dolly Wink, bought from Sasa in Hong Kong. I rather like it. It is better and cheaper than what you can find in Sephora, e.g. with Stila.
• Paula’s Choice skincare products are my saving grace! You can read about how Paula’s Choice has saved my skin and this is my regimen. I have the antioxidant serum, BHA 9 (for acne flareups), Benzoyl peroxide for acne, C15 booster, Niacinamide booster, Hyaluronic acid and the exfoliating toner.
• My favourite and most effective deodorant is the Secret Clinical Unscented.
• The best body cream I have found (smells medicinal) is the GlaxalBase which I also use on Baby Bun to keep his eczema (and mine) at bay. It isn’t “natural” but it doesn’t leave a chalky residue, moisturizes like a dream and works so well.
• I have some Vitamin D drops – I don’t get much sun in the winter, and BioSil for my skin, hair and nails, and some Fermented Cod Liver pills for my acne which is now non-existent.

Phew!

Now let’s move on to drawer #2 which will go quicker, I promise. It is all my jewellery and my under things..

I keep most of my jewellery in vintage silk kimono pouches.

All the rest of the long dangly, easily tangled ones, hang in my closet (more on that later).

Going from the left:

I know by the pattern of each pouch, what is inside. The red, navy blue and white flowered cotton one for instance on the far right, is filled with rockstar-like necklaces and studded items.

I have pearls in the magenta pouch in front, etc.

This middle section holds my prettiest pouches.

The bright chrysanthemum (?) orange flower kimono one is filled with my cityscape necklaces.

In the top right section they are stretchy or bendy bracelets/cuffs in the tray.

Just below it, are two gold collars (too big for the pouches, too large for hanging on a necklace hook).

I keep my underthings to the right of it.. yes, I don’t have much, but I replace it when it wears out or gets too stretched.

Just below, all of my cuffs are on display so that I can just open up, and pick out exactly what I want to wear.

I obviously love really bold statement cuffs and bracelets, nothing really delicate or feminine unless it is a statement piece. Obviously.

In the top left section of the tray, is my DIY Galaxies bracelet which I went into detail here in a video I posted.

Beside the sink…

Now moving to the left of this sink and two drawers, are my towels hanging on the wall on hooks.

One face towel, body towel and hand towels from Lacoste — their quality is unrivaled! I also have a dry body brush which I use on my dry skin before my showers (once a month or so) to exfoliate.

Baby Bun and I share a bath towel. He’s so tiny right now, that he doesn’t use up most of the towel so I use the rest of it.

In the shower…

The shower has only one little caddy in the corner with my Gillette men’s razor (they’re the best), John Masters shampoo (I have tried them all and they’re all great, but my favourite is the vanilla-y Zinc & Sage one), and John Masters Avocado conditioner.

We all share the shower. That’s all we use.

It’s pretty much all mine, except for the foot file which is my partner’s.

I use the electric Amopé Pedi foot file because ain’t nobody got time to be using elbow grease in the shower to get rid of dry skin and calluses.

Behind the door..

I have a few more hooks behind the door.

My clothes are usually hanging on the hook (that black lace bra is the Cosabella Sweetie which has a terrible name but great support!).

I also lay out my outfit for what I want to wear on the hooks.

Bottoms on the bottom hook (my favourite Farrah AG jeans), tops on the top hook (current: ).

On the bottom left section is my Commando slip in beige and a Commando slip in black and tights from Wolford.

And that does it for my bathroom!

All of my posts can be seen here: Sherry’s Home.