One of my beauty resolutions and goals for 2014 was to press my pigments and depot bulky makeup. I’m a sucker for packaging so this is often very hard to do for me, but pigments and loose eyeshadows are often stored in little unattractive pots and baggies, so it hasn’t been particularly painful.
I won’t presume to know how to do this properly, so this isn’t really a tutorial but more of a “look what I did” post. If you want more information on pressing pigments and stuff, these are good resources:
Materials: Basically, I just used empty 26mm pans (the same size as MAC eyeshadows), a presser, and a binder from TKB Trading. Their service is excellent, as are their products, but I just paid way too much for these. Just saying. Also, I used alcohol to mix the eyeshadows into a dough-type consistency, and several toothpicks to mix them all up.
This is my makeshift palette, which is basically a container for pillboxes. I ordered another Wild Peach Palette (review here), though, so I’m excited about that. I pressed my Shiro Cosmetics samples and minis (swatched here, here, and here). Pictured are Remake, Wildflowers, Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees, When the Thrush Knocks, King Under the Mountain, Lingered in the Twilight, Attercop, Attercop, Rebellion, and Starcrossed.
The process was pretty standard. You just mixed in the binder with the eyeshadow, then carefully pour in the alcohol. Then you scoop the stuff into the pan, pat it down with your fingers, then pat again with the coin-thing. Then you let it dry. And it’s done. Of course there’s a lot more to it than that, but please check out the tutorials above as I really do not feel qualified for this, lol.
I got a four-pan cardboard palette from TKB, too. And look! You can make your own custom duos and trios. These just happened because some samples had too little product in them. Here are the singles in this pan: War of Five Armies, and Baker’s Boy. The trios each have a bit of Zora Sapphire. One has Victory Road and Everything Was Bears and the other one has Badger and an eyeshadow from bareMinerals called Rapture that I feel like I’ve ruined. It has lost its luster, it seems!
In terms of usage, the shades are more or less unharmed in this. A lot of them actually are easier to work with, except Lingered in Twilight seems to have lost the depth in it that I love so much. (Luckily, I have a backup of it.) I suppose this is somewhat cautionary… I didn’t really follow instructions and kind of eyeballed the amount of binder I’d need for this.
So this is what happened. In any case, this is a great space-saving/everyday-effort-banishing solution for people who are afraid of loose eyeshadows but want to use them so much.
In another fit of rage inspired trance to declutter, I also decided to decapitate some of my lipsticks:
I used some pillboxes I had onhand. I was itching to get the ones from Muji (again, something I read from Kate’s blog. I swear I am not SWF-ing you), but I figured I should just make do with what I had and not be a waste.
So here are the remains of 9 lipsticks. They were drugstore lipsticks I couldn’t part with but didn’t really get to use a lot, since I kept my drugstore stuff in a separate drawer.
Here, I have: Maybelline Chestnut (old and probably DC’d), Revlon Matte Lipstick in Fabulous Fig (also old), BYS Tango (a gift from Liz!)
Here, I have: Rimmel x Kate Moss in 101, Flormar Lipstick in Supermatte Lipstick in 209, NYX Round Lipstick in Spellbound
Here, I have: NYX Round Lipstick in Peony, Revlon Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Iconic*, Flower Beauty Lipstick in Ginger Lily
I just apply these with a lip brush (which I have a ton of, thanks to OCC Lip Tars) and that’s that. Some are easier to apply like that, which is great. I haven’t tried bringing them along; I’m always scared that they’ll pop open in my bag!
Have you depotted lipsticks or pressed eyeshadows before? Do tell!
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Softly Sometimes 
SWF away! ;D I admit I clicked over immediately I saw this blogpost title on my feed, because promise of violence upon lipsticks? I’M SO IN. I love seeing colours all lined up like that sans clutter of packaging!
/scuttles away D: Ahaha
I think I should have waited til I got my hands on the Muji pillboxes, cos now I have to bring these in threes!
I loved this post so much, Carina! Very helpful! 😘
Yay, I’m glad Tina! 🙂
This is something I feel I should do, too but am enormously scared to even try. I just know depot palang, fail na ako. 😦 Super helpful post though that I have bookmarked already in case I get the itch to declutter some drugstore stuff too (di ko kaya sa mahal na makeup, masakit sa puso!!! hehe).
PS – I love the new layout! !!!!
OO DI KO RIN KAYA. Kate & Belly depot their RBR, Suqqu, etc. eyeshadows and my heart just dies, lol.
P.S. — Salamat! 🙂
You brave soul! I’d never be able to depot lipsticks.
I need to find something that would work to hold depotted eyeshadows though. Preferably something DIY, not purchased. I have a few Kiko singles that I could really use to put in one place. Maybe I’ll try the CD case idea, if nothing better comes along. I think tin pencil cases would work well, but I’m now seeing those around much… Gotta go hunt! 😀
I should note that these were mostly drugstore lipsticks, so it’s not that painful. Kate de-guts Guerlain! :0
AH, I didn’t think of a CD case! A pencil case actually sounds like a better idea. 🙂
It’s so good to know you can do this – I have a ton of Shiro samples and never use them because they’re just so messy… Thanks for the useful post!
No worries, glad to have helped! 🙂 Kate (the one I linked up there) actually just used glycerin, so that’s something to keep in mind if you don’t want to order a mixing medium 🙂
The mixing medium is mostly glycerin anyway. Next time you need it or any other chemical plz contact me 😀 Also, been dying to depot my lipsticks but I just can’t live with them being all clay-like and mooshy! I want them perfectly melted though I saw Liz’s post and it’s not that easy 😐 -BBT
I know, I should have just gotten glycerin. 😦 I figured I’d get the medium also since I was on there to order the pans anyway, which is what I didn’t have access to. I don’t want to melt them talaga. D:
I can’t bring myself to depot anything either
Your set looks great though, I love the lipsticks! It’s a lot better than getting to the plastic holder and throwing the rest away.
SACRILEGE
PLS 4GIV ME.
I. Feel. Traumatized! Not so much because you DECAPITATED *your* lipstick (okay, maybe a little bit) but because I think I may have to, too! Granted, the most expensive lipstick I own is just MAC, but still!!! You don’t do that!!! D: Nightmares.
Well! All of these lipsticks are quite affordable. Drugstore, mostly. Not even midrange. It’s OK, Anna, they’re going to be fine. Hahaha.