Most of us don't give much thought to where we store our beauty products. I typically put my prettier compacts on my vanity for aesthetic reasons alone, lock up my face cleansers in my bathroom (ditto for hair products), and usually leave my nail polishes and lipsticks wherever I last used them (which is probably why I end up losing them roughly 43% of the time). But, it turns out, not storing beauty items properly could cause them to expire faster or, depending on the formula, affect the way they work.But don't panic just yet. While there are some ingredients that need special attention, cosmetic chemist Ni'Kita Wilson advises, as a general rule, placing products in cool, dark places — and most importantly, out of the sun."Products aren't really meant to go into direct sunlight, because the same thing that happens to our skin can happen to products — UV penetration," Wilson says. "Free radicals can cause your product to turn colors, separate, [and become] unstable."Ahead, we break down exactly where you should be storing your beauty products. Spring reorganizing is just as important as spring cleaning, y'all.