Refilling An Old Makeup Palette
Look at this weather report, LOOK AT IT! You know what this weather report tells me? That I'm not going to be home a lot this week.
I know I can get a Z Palette for travel and they are genius but a) they're kinda expensive b) they don't hold enough for an indecisive gal like myself. Seriously, I change my makeup more than my clothes. So I took matters into my own hands.
I had an old palette that had long since expired. The makeup in it wasn't that great so it got pushed to the bottom of my makeup drawer. However, the packaging was still in excellent condition so I decided to use this for my project.
Tools:
towel
a metal cuticle pusher with spoon
rubbing alcohol
plastic cups
X-Acto knife
thick paper or cardboard
makeup
cotton swabs
I removed the pans using a metal cuticle pusher and threw them away. If you're planning on keeping any of the makeup from the palette then scoop it out of the pan, set it on some paper for later use, then remove the pan. Pans are pretty thin and typically glued to the plastic packaging so they will not come out easily. So be sure to cover your work area in a towel because the pigments will be a flying!
After I removed all of the pans I washed the packaging with hot, soapy water, spritzed it with alcohol, and let it air dry over night. I then took a thick piece of paper and cut an opening the shape of each different size slot with the X-Acto knife, as shown. This way when I poured any pigments into one slot any spill over would fall onto the paper and not into another slot.
For the powder makeup I used the cuticle pusher to break off a chunk of makeup, enough to cover the bottom of the slot, then chopped it up finely. I added several drops of rubbing alcohol onto the makeup, enough to make a paste, then smoothed it over a bit with a cotton swab.
Soft Cream on the top left, Melted Hard Cream on the top right
For the cream makeup that was soft (primers, lipsticks, gloss, etc) I used the spoon side of my pusher to scoop some of the product out its tin, pushed it down into the slot, then smoothed it out with a cotton swab. It was easy enough.
For the cream makeup that was on the harder side (tube cream blush, creamy shadows, liners, etc) I had to melt it down and pour it into the slot. I used the X-Acto knife to cut the Plastic Cup down to 1". By doing this there is less surface for the makeup to travel down from cut to slot as it will cool down and harden quickly. I cut a piece of the tube blush off, plopped it into the cup, and microwaved it on 10 second intervals until it was completely melted. I poured it quickly into the slot as it really does harden fast. You'll have seconds to work so make sure everything is close by.
Once you have filled up your palette leave it open, gently cover it with a clean towel, and let dry over night.
This was the end result. Isn't it pretty? I've got my daytime shadows, night time shadows, wild colors, and cream shadows on the right side. On the left side, I've got brow cream, shadow primer, two lipsticks, a cream blush, a powder blush, a cream bronzer, and powder bronzer. Everything I need in one simple palette and the best part?
It fits comfortably into my purse pocket. Now I am completely ready for whatever these next two seasons bring me...makeup wise at least. How about a few tips to help you along the way, should you choose to do this?
I found that if you use too much alcohol mixed in with your powder makeup, it makes the makeup watery and that will cause it to have excess fallout once it is dried so only use enough to make a paste.
If your cream makeup does not melt as shown in the picture above, then add a bit of setting spray to it. It will help the melting process and help make the makeup last.
At any point, do not touch your makeup with your fingers, you'll just be adding more bacteria to it.
If you prefer, you can buy empty makeup pans to put in your palette. Just use a hot glue gun to secure them. One small dot should be plenty.
Like any makeup, do not leave this out in the sun or in the extreme cold as it could melt or break.
There you have it ladies, your own custom DIY makeup palette. Let me know how this works out for you. Until next time amigas, adios!