I have quite a growing collection of mineral shadows, and while they are beautiful, I don't reach for them a lot because they're loose shadows, which take more time (for me, anyway) to use because they can get messy, and because they're in jars, I can't quickly and easily see the differences in colors.
So what's a girl to do? Well, if you're me... you get crafty. I did some research and learned how to press eyeshadows.
I'm following these basic instructions from Coastal Scents, but I thought I'd break it down here and offer a pictorial.
What you need:
Here's what you do (specifically to fill 26mm pans):
Be warned: this gets messy. I would layer a paper towel or something on your desk because your shadow will get ALL over the place.
Mix 1 teaspoon of your mineral makeup with 12-16 drops of pressing medium in your mixing cup/jar/etc. You don't want to oversaturate, so start with fewer drops. You DO want to take your time and mix thoroughly. It should reach a consistency where if you smooshed it together, it would stick in a clump, but it should come apart if you broke it apart.
Label and sanitize a 26mm pan with the alcohol - ideally, you would use a misting spray, but I don't have one, so I just swirled a couple drops around in it. Spread a layer of shadow to cover the bottom, and press using your plastic-wrapped quarter. Really take the time to spread out the layer of shadow first before you start pressing, too. It should be an even layer if possible. Press firmly! It needs to pack together. Keep adding and pressing layers.
When you get to the very last layer (the top of the pan), wrap your quarter in the textured ribbon and press. You should get something that looks like this when you're done:
Then pop it in your palette, and let it sit out overnight to dry before using it:
This is Sweet Libertine's College Coed set. I decided to do all my blues and greens together because the shadows will leave residue on your spatulas and cups, and unless you want to do a super super scrub in between each color (which is a pain if you plan to press 25 shadows, like I do), then you'll want to press similar colors at the same time, and just wipe your tools really well with tissues/paper towels in between each one. (I would not reuse the plastic and ribbon though.)
The last step with the ribbon is purely for aesthetic purposes. I'm pressing shadows for personal use, not to sell, so I don't care how it looks, and once you've used an eyeshadow a few times, the texturing goes away. I stopped bothering after the first one, and saved some time and energy.
So what's a girl to do? Well, if you're me... you get crafty. I did some research and learned how to press eyeshadows.
I'm following these basic instructions from Coastal Scents, but I thought I'd break it down here and offer a pictorial.
What you need:
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| Pressing medium - I got this one from Coastal Scents |
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| Something to mix in - a little plastic bowl or measuring cup |
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| Small spatulas for stirring |
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| Eyeshadow pans - these are 26mm pans from starsmakeuphaven.com |
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91% Isopropryl alcohol to sanitize the pans (Can be found at your local drugstore) |
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A quarter for pressing the shadow (fits perfectly into the 26mm pans) |
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"Heavy" plastic to wrap around the quarters - I cut up Ziploc bags (you wouldn't put a dirty quarter directly onto your eyeshadow!) I would not recommend saran wrap - too thin, might stretch and tear through. |
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A textured ribbon to press onto the top layer - it creates that cool "professional" look. (Totally not mandatory.) |
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Labels for labeling your pans with the shadow names (3/4" works) I also just found these at the drugstore. |
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A magnetized palette - this one is from starsmakeuphaven.com. It has 28 slots. You can also use MAC Pro Pans or Z Palettes. |
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And of course, mineral makeup :) These are from Sweet Libertine |
Here's what you do (specifically to fill 26mm pans):
Be warned: this gets messy. I would layer a paper towel or something on your desk because your shadow will get ALL over the place.
Label and sanitize a 26mm pan with the alcohol - ideally, you would use a misting spray, but I don't have one, so I just swirled a couple drops around in it. Spread a layer of shadow to cover the bottom, and press using your plastic-wrapped quarter. Really take the time to spread out the layer of shadow first before you start pressing, too. It should be an even layer if possible. Press firmly! It needs to pack together. Keep adding and pressing layers.
When you get to the very last layer (the top of the pan), wrap your quarter in the textured ribbon and press. You should get something that looks like this when you're done:
Then pop it in your palette, and let it sit out overnight to dry before using it:
 |
| This color is Pacific Blue, which I've swatched before on this blog. |
This is Sweet Libertine's College Coed set. I decided to do all my blues and greens together because the shadows will leave residue on your spatulas and cups, and unless you want to do a super super scrub in between each color (which is a pain if you plan to press 25 shadows, like I do), then you'll want to press similar colors at the same time, and just wipe your tools really well with tissues/paper towels in between each one. (I would not reuse the plastic and ribbon though.)
The last step with the ribbon is purely for aesthetic purposes. I'm pressing shadows for personal use, not to sell, so I don't care how it looks, and once you've used an eyeshadow a few times, the texturing goes away. I stopped bothering after the first one, and saved some time and energy.