Streamlining My Makeup Hoard: Depotting and Re-Homing Lipsticks

I have been trying to simplify my life. What better way to start than to trim down my ever-expanding collection of makeup? My collection had gotten to a point that it was just wholly unmanageable. I often didn't want to wear makeup because I just couldn't be bothered to sift through for something I wanted. But there were some things I still enjoyed, but I knew I just couldn't/wouldn't use ...so I decided to split it. Why not spread the love?

Streamlining My Makeup Collection

So this is what my end-game is here. I want to save a wee little pan of lipstick for myself, and then pass on the rest to someone who will love and adore it. She gets the bullet, and I keep the pan. But a flat-tipped lipstick is not the most forgiving thing, especially for someone relatively new to lipstick. I decided to pick up some supplies and turn my mangled chunk of lipstick back into a properly formed bullet.

(also I want to make my rather large liptar collection into lipsticks at some point...so this was the perfect excuse to buy the stuff I'd need.)


Streamlining My Makeup Collection

Supplies:
wee silicone mold
microwave/stovetop 
70% isopropyl alcohol
Q-tips
lipstick


(before you start, spray everything down with alcohol to sanitize. Saturate a Q-tip and clean out each cavity on your mold, and make sure that everything is clean. Go have a snack and wait for the alcohol to dry)

For this particular adventure, I took my lipstick, MAC Hot Tahiti in this case, and cut about 1/3 of the tip right off. Which, in retrospect was a tiny bit too much for my pan...but whatever. I laid a slip of foil onto a cast iron skillet and dropped the lipstick chunk and the pan on there, over medium heat. Then I waited. Once it is melted, you can either just leave it out to set, or pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes. BE CAREFUL. MOLTEN LIPSTICK IS HOT. AND PAINFUL. 


Next dig out the rest of your lipstick from the bullet. In this MAC shade, a good half of what was left was below the edge of the twisty thing. Drop it in your bowl and microwave it in 20 second intervals. (I heated mine on the stovetop because my microwave is currently stored. It is a pain in the ass to do it this way, and I totally had to re-cure my pan afterwards. 0/10 would do this way again) While you are liquefying your lipstick, pour a few drops of dimethicone (or vegetable oil) onto your Q-tip and swap it around the inside of the cavity you'll be using. It will help it pop out easier later. Take your liquid lipstick and pour it into the mold...and then don't panic. The instructions will say to overfill the cavity to make things easier...and they are right*. Pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so then get ready to reassemble! 

I  (mostly) followed the directions from EnKore Makeup, and everything went pretty well.

*I ended up having to stab my bullet with a toothpick to get it out of the cavity. It cracked a bit, but if you are careful, you can assemble it pretty easily.


I think it turned out pretty well. Not perfect, obviously...I think I need to give the mold a few taps to remove bubbles. The white spots are solidified dimethicone in the bubble holes. They don't affect the color or application yet though, so I'm not too worried. It came out with a decently sharp tip, and the clean-up of the mold was pretty minimal. I swatched this tube to check the color, and the bullet felt nice and stable. There is nothing I hate more than a wobbly lipstick.


My personal pan turned out pretty sweet too. I am trying to still keep a large lipstick collection...but in a smaller space. So I am depotting a lot of my less-nice/less-sentimental lipsticks into pans and keeping them in a Z-Palette. There is something glorious about a fresh product. 

MAC Hot Tahiti • depotted into a 26mm pan

Now for the true test. The swatching. I was mildly concerned that this would be my downfall.

MAC Hot Tahiti • swatched

Now, obviously I won't be swatching both on my lips. It would sort-of defeat the purpose of giving my pal a fairly pristine lipstick. The color seems to have survived better in the reformed bullet than in the pan...though I wonder if that is just because it is a bit harder to apply as much from a pan with the same effort? The pan version does seem to be a bit cooler and a bit more sheer, which I am actually not completely unhappy with. I love this shade, but it was always slightly warm for me...But the consistency and smell remained the same, and I am pretty thrilled with the outcome overall. I would give this project an 8/10 overall.


And my wee palette just looks so pretty. sigh. I want to depot all the things. 


So what is the verdict? I can't wait to try more...and maybe even mix my own colors! But first...the lip tars. I plan on turning them into lipsticks, and destashing the remains. I love this stuff!




Comments

  1. This is a pretty cool idea. How long those the process take?

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    Replies
    1. probably less than 45 minutes, including waiting for the new bullet to set up.

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  2. I love this idea. I have way too many lipsticks, so maybe I should do something like this.

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  3. that's really cool! definitely something i'll do!

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  4. I like your idea a lot but I'm not as likely to use a lip brush as I am to use a bullet. With MAC though it's a great way to get something for Back2MAC.

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  5. I've never depoted lipsticks before, hours came out great!

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