makeup

My First EPIC Depotting Project: From 46 Palettes to Just 7

What a joy it was to depot over 40 different palettes and compacts into just 7! I really mean that; I found the practice almost meditative.

After trying many different methods, this is what works best:

  1. Soak the edges of the pan with high percentage rubbing alcohol (don’t worry about ruining the makeup; the texture of the product won’t be different once it’s dry again)

  2. Wait 20-30 seconds for the glue to soften

  3. Use a slender, sharp tool to dig between the metal makeup pan and the plastic compact; make sure that you have really wiggled your tool UNDER the pan rather than just piercing its side

  4. If the makeup cracks or shatters, soak the pan with the alcohol, press the makeup down firmly with a paper towel to repress it, and keep working on its removal. you can do this as many times as necessary

  5. Lift the pan out of the compact and clean excess glue off the bottom with the alcohol. i find it helps to flip the pan over, spray a little alcohol on, wait 30 seconds, and rub off as much as possible with a paper towel. i repeat as many times as necessary and will scrape off stubborn glue with my fingernail

  6. If the pan had to be repressed, leave it out to air dry overnight

  7. If the makeup is dry, test to see if the pan sticks to your empty magnetic palette. if it does, great! if not, put a magnetic sticker on the back of the pan, place in your palette and voila!

The Supplies I Highly Recommend (and I tried a few different duds that are not mentioned here):

  1. Empty Magnetic Palettes from Shop Miss A: These are the cheapest palettes I could find that are still both attractive and effective. I like organizing my makeup by using one print per product type; so, for example, all my blushes from now on will go in multiples of the black palm print palette, while all bronzers will go in the faux wood print palettes

  2. Rubbing Alcohol: I like 91% because the goal is to find a balance between having as little water as possible (water is what ruins makeup textures, not alcohol) and not having it dry up too fast. Rubbing alcohol typically comes in 70%, 91% and 99%+ concentrations, and I prefer 91%. Also, don’t underestimate the amount of alcohol needed for the job! To do this project I used about 5 oz.

  3. Spray Bottle: I find smaller (8-12 oz), lightweight plastic bottles the easiest to handle, but to each their own, The most important thing is that it shoots more of a stream, not a fine mist

  4. Paper Towels or Napkins: Toilet paper, facial cotton or similar are too soft and will leave filaments in repressed product

  5. Depotting utensil: It’s not necessary to buy specialized tools if you have something that works (like my jacked up dollar store scissor!) but they’re undeniably better at the job. Similarly, one spatula will do and once you’ve practiced, you will get better and better at not damaging pans. But if you want every pan to come out as perfectly as possible, different shapes of spatula can’t hurt.

  6. Magnetic stickers: Buy more than you think you need, and make sure to get two sizes: the standard 1 inch rounds but also the half inch rectangles. Too big stickers on tiny pans are a waste of space in your space-saving palette!

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Tinted Sunscreen Review: Kiehl's Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream SPF 50 PA+++ in Fair

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Claims: Visibly correct the appearance of skin tone irregularities.

Ingredients (Good): Glycerine, Adenosine and Tribehenin (exclusive fatty acid and ascorbic glucoside, a highly stable water-soluble vitamin C derivative).

Ingrediens (Bad): Alcohol Denat,  Phenoxyethanol, and Salt Sodium Chloride (as viscosity agent-can cause drying and irritation on skin).

Ratings: Broad Spectrum SPF 50 PA+++

Cost/Value: $26-28 (1 fl oz) in UK and $38 (1.35 fl oz) in US / Reasonably priced BB cream

It is a Combination Sunscreen which is heavy in chemical filters. Its active ingredients are 10% Homosalate, 5% Octisalate, 5% Octocrylene and 1.63% Titanium Dioxide (which is very low).

It DOES sting my eyes. It migrated into my eyes within an hour of application. There was no tearing and swelling, but there was redness and it was annoying. It was still bothering me about 4 hours later, after which the irritation faded.

It DOES smell. This has a strong chemical smell, that has been poorly masked by sweet floral fragrance.

It DOES gather in my wrinkles. But it is easy to smooth it out with the pad of my finger without disturbing the sunscreen film. 

I have the lightest shade of BB cream, the shade fair. I would describe it as a strong light peach. You can see that it is a really a good match for quite pale skin tones. It's actually the best matched BB cream to my complexion that I've found to date.

It did NOT dry down in 20 minutes or less. This has more of a make-up consistency, so it doesn't dry down. It sets a bit in 10 minutes or so but the finish remains sticky and transfers off easily. When worn in a sufficient amount to form an even sunscreen film, it looks streaky and patchy. Within a couple hours, it separates, creases and cracks. When worn like a make-up product applied with a brush or sponge, it still has a thick consistency with streakiness that needs to be actively mitigated, and a very shiny finish. 

How does it look under make up: This is really not good by itself, unless you are not applying enough of it to achieve the SPF rating on the tube. In order to wear enough product to get the promised sunscreen protection, I tried it both under make up in a way that I would typically use my sunscreen, and also tried it as make-up over another SPF 50 sunscreen as a base. 

Under make up, this did not work well for me. It made my face very warm, very sensitive and very reactive. It dried my make-up out over the course of the day and gave me a very scaly look. Even when powdered, it transferred easily off my skin . 

It actually looks best as make-up over another sunscreen. Because this is a chemical sunscreen rather than physical sunscreen, it doesn't make sense to wear it over a primer. It needs to sink in to the skin to do its job. So if you are using it as makeup, it needs to be applied over another chemical sunscreen underneath. However, it will look shiny and sweaty, like you have been working out for an hour. It will look better once you powder it, but it still it doesn't truly substitute for foundation unless you already have pretty clear skin. The most coverage you can achieve with this product is light to medium coverage. 

In this video, I am wearing concealer under my eyes that I didn't apply in other places because I wanted you to see how much coverage this BB cream provides. I think you can see pretty clearly along my chin, I have a very visible blemish and on my cheeks my freckles are clearly showing through. I will call them, 60-70% visible.

Cosmetically, it is very well suited to fair-skin. It's hands-down the best colour match I've gotten far best from a BB cream with a high sun protection factor. Unfortunately, this is really not good for sensitive skin. It's drying, stinging, smells like poison and I can't recommend this for sensitive skin. 

I would not recommend this BB cream and I would not repurchase it. First, because even apart from stinging my eyes it creates texture issues. It's difficult to work with and it is not very flattering. Secondly, because if I want a beautiful BB cream to wear over a sunscreen, I'll buy one. There is no point in buying a BB or CC cream solely for its high SPF. 

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My Favorite High Sun Protection Face Powder, Point Magic Pro SPF 50+ PA++++ Pressed Powder

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On skin, it has a very natural finish and the advertised blurring effect on wrinkles and pores is real, especially up close. Closer than 5 feet I wouldn't say it looks superior to many other excellent powders I've used. But perhaps ten feet away, it really does have a blurring smoothing effect! It is so strange, and I love it so much. I think it is just as beautiful on the skin as other high SPF powders I've tried that cost 3, 4, 5 times as much. 

It comes in 3 shades, 01, 02 and 03. I got the palest shade which is O1. It is still a little too warm and a little bit too dark for me.

It comes in a little cute compact, with a nice inset mirror and high quality velour puff.

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $7-15 / cheap/reasonable price

Claims: Moisturizing & pore blurring powder 

Active sunscreen filter: Zinc Oxide and Octinoxate.

Ingredients (Good): Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolysed Collagen, Alendula extract, Japanese Rose extract, Chamomile extract, Artemisia extract, Arnica extract, Argan Oil and Vitamin C.

Ingredients (Bad): Talc- some people prefer to avoid talc in their cosmetics, though I personally do not believe it to be problematic.

This pressed powder does not achieve a matte look. It has 2 ingredients, Synthetic Fluorophlogopite and Mica, which are specifically intended to give this powder a little bit of shine and little bit of life and a natural skin like texture. If you are going for that super matte, super powdered look, you can't get it from this powder.

If you are bothered by even minimal scent maybe this is not the product for you. It has a mild baby powder type scent.

How I use it: In the morning, I set my face with whatever beautiful powder I feel will be flattering for me that day. If I know I am going to be outside all day, I like to use a high SPF setting powder like this, or if my makeup starts sliding off my face during the day when I am getting oily, I love to use a high SPF powder or powder foundation for touching up. After all, if my make-up is starting to come off, the sunscreen underneath must be coming off as well.

While SPF powder and  SPF make-up in general cannot substitute for sunscreen, when you are setting your make-up or touching up in the middle of the day; that extra sun-protection factor cant hurt.

The weaknesses of this product:

1. This powder can't be buffed into skin like many powder or mineral foundations. It looks best tapped onto skin. 

2. This powder will cake up if you overapply. It is good for multiple touch-ups over the course of the day, but if you apply too much initially, or overaggressively blend it over the skincare and makeup products already on your face, it will start to look cakey.

3. It is not great for sucking up oil. It is OK as touch up powder, but not near the best I have ever used. If you use this to touch up, it's best if you first blot your face and then apply this powder. Don't expect the powder to do all the work.

On balance, I think the super high sun protection ratings, very low price and beautiful blurring effect more than make up for the small shade range and inability to mattify skin. I very highly recommend this powder!

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