DIY Lipstick Palettes

Hello my lovelies and welcome back, ok so this post is a bit of a weird one for me, I could almost call it a DIY post but it’s not really, it has been requested, it hasn’t just popped out of thin air and I figure why not give your readers what they want if they were nice enough to ask for it plus I really think I would like to write more posts like that as they’re really fun to write and photograph.

Ever since I got back from the USA and you guys saw my MAC lipstick palettes I have been asked about how I did it and how it works so that is exactly what I’m going to talk you through.

As a makeup artist I own a lot of lipstick both personal and in my professional kit. As you have seen from previous posts I do keep my personal lipsticks in the bullet form but that’s just personal preference because I like being able to just chuck them in my bag when I’m going out, but in my professional kit carrying around multiple single bullets is just a pain, takes up unnecessary space and adds to the weight of my already insanely heavy kit.

As a makeup artist I have realised that decanting lipsticks into palettes is a hygienic, convenient, space saving way to store all your lipsticks in the one place. I have also heard a lot of people choosing to do this with the lipsticks that they do not use on a regular basis to save space within their makeup storage.

You Will Need

·         Lipstick

·         Scissors or Knife

·         Large metal spoon

·         Spatula

·         Lighter or matches

·         Candle

·         Empty Palette

Step 1

Choose the lipsticks that you want to go in your palette, at this stage if you’re as OCD as I am you may want to colour co-ordinate them as well but again this is personal preference, none of my professional palettes are colour co-ordinated and it actually doesn’t bother me.

Step 2

Using a sharp knife or scissors cut the lipstick to the amount you think you will ned to fill your pan (don’t worry you can add to it if you don’t cut enough, it’s always better to have too little than melt too much and waste the melted lipstick that doesn’t fit in the pan) I am using my MAC lipstick palette and with the 12 insert it can actually fill the whole lipstick in so I cut all the way down to the plastic and then scoop the rest out with the tip of the knife. If you choose the 24 insert for your MAC palette rather than the 12 this only fits less than half the lipstick but admittedly I do think it looks a lot prettier, but I’m all about the practicality rather than the looks.

 Step 3

Place all the lipstick into a large metal spoon, large serving spoons or soup spoons are the best I have found.

Step 4

Light your candle and hold the spoon over the flame but make sure it isn’t to close as you don’t want the lipstick to boil.

Step 5

When it looks like the lipstick is fully melted take your spatula and mix the liquid to make sure there are no lumps.

Step 6

Carefully poor the liquid into the palette (please be careful as the spoon and lipstick are both insanely hot and I’ve learned this the hard way) if the lipstick doesn’t dispense evenly over the pan just pick it up and tilt it in whichever direction is necessary, make sure you do this quite quickly as the liquid solidifies very quickly once it’s away from the heat.

Step 7

Ensure you wipe the spoon clean with a tea towel or thick cloth before melting a new lipstick (CAUTION REALLY HOT) I have found your better to wait 5 to 10 minutes between each one to give the spoon time to cool down.

That’s it your done, you now have a beautiful new lipstick palette and more space in your kit/storage.

I really hope this post was helpful, if you liked me to do more posts like this please let me know in the comments below and if you choose to make a palette with your palettes please send me the photos, I would love to see them.

NYX Butter Gloss's, My New Obsession

Some of you may already know that lip products are my favourite beauty items, you will especially know this if you have read my beauty storage and collection post (here) as I have a whole drawer dedicated to my lip products and the top of my ‘Her Clutter Box’ is covered in lipstick stands,  so it should come as no surprise that when I discovered the famous NYX Butter Glosses I became a little obsessed. On my recent trip to Orlando for my birthday I picked up 5 of these little babies, unfortunately one has gone missing with my MAC ‘Bronze Shimmer’ lipstick which makes me really sad but I am sure I will find them hiding in a handbag somewhere so. Today I wanted to show you my little collection.

There really isn't much to say about these that someone hasn’t already said, I know you have probably read 101 reviews on them, but what’s wrong with one more, I suppose my opinion could be different to that of others.

These glosses are insanely creamy, lightweight and really comfortable to wear. They’re are non-stick which is always a plus because you don’t have the ‘hair getting stuck in the lip-gloss because of the wind problem’ and I know I am not the only one who suffers from this problem and the extra bonus is that they smell deliciously sweet (the scent kind of reminds of vanilla and the smell of the MAC lipsticks and who doesn’t love the smell of them).

All of the Butter Glosses I've tried so far have semi-opaque colour coverage, some more sheer than others and the wear depends entirely on what I'm doing, but I usually get a few hours out of these.

Now onto the shades: I currently own 5 (one is missing), I might sound crazy saying this but I really do want to try pick up the whole collection, if you've tried them you might understand my obsession because you know how great they are.

Ok so onto the colours, first up is Vanilla Cream Pie, which is a great everyday pink if you're looking for something that's a step up from a nude, but still pretty neutral. Merengue is a very cool-toned lilac pink. I really love this shade right now and I like that it can be built up or sheered out I also find myself wearing a lot over my MAC ‘Up The Amp’ or my Lime Crime ‘D’Lilac’ lipsticks to give them a nice glossy finish rather than a matt.

Now for something more adventurous, I have Maple Blondie and Peaches and Cream. If I'm in the mood for hot pink lips, I need to look no further than Peaches and Cream, really bright summery bink great for adding pop of colour to an otherwise neutral makeup. Maple Blondie is a beautiful hot coral pink, which is a colour I always have a weakness for it looks a bit more pink in the tube but when you wear it you realise it’s a beautiful bright coral colour again perfect for the Summer time and adding a pop to an otherwise rather boring makeup.

(L-R Vanilla Cream Pie, Merengue, Maple Blondie, Peaches and Cream)

The NYX Butter Glosses come in a variety of permanent shades and I know really wish I had picked up more as they are obviously not so easy to find in the UK and Ireland but I’m sure I will hunt them down and start building on my collection soon.

Have you tried the NYX butter gloss’s what are your thoughts, what shades do you have?

MAC Alluring Aquatics Collection, Golden Bronzing Powder

Unlike many beauty addicts that I know I’m not really one to have a large collection of bronzers, I pretty much always stick with one product that works and use it until it’s gone (can’t say the same about lip products) I have gone from using my Urban Decay Baked Bronzer to my beloved Laguna Bronzer from Nars. I’ve had my ‘Old Faithful’ Nars Laguna bronzer since my 21^st birthday which was back in March and I haven’t even nearly hit pan yet.

When I decided I was in the market for a new bronzer I decided to go a shade lighter  because I felt like ‘Laguna’ was a perfect contouring product,  but I really wanted a bronzer to use all over the face for a gorgeous Summer glow, especially in the warmer months. Please welcome ‘Golden’ from the MAC Alluring Aquatics collection, this bronzer is actually a part of the permanent collection but I had to pick it up as part of the Alluring Aquatics collection because the packaging is so damn gorgeous. I picked up one of the lipsticks from this range to because I really just couldn’t resist I picked up the shade ‘Pet Me, Please’ but it will be a part of my updated MAC lipstick collection post.

A lightly frosted tinted powder that gives skin sheer, natural colour effects and highlights. Ideal for enhancing a skin tone or to accent or strengthen a tan. Skin – conditioning and formulated to provide a smooth, even application on all skin types.

The texture is very fine, soft and smooth. It is very easy to apply and blend, you can build it up as you like for contouring purposes or use it all over the face as I have been doing, it doesn’t come up easily on my brush in 1 swipe I have to repeat the process at least 3-4 times to do any proper contouring which I’m really not used to because ‘Laguna’ is perfect in just one swipe.

(Apologies for the quality of this picture, you wouldn't believe how insanely hard it is to get a good swatch photo of a bronzer)

Again as all MAC products, staying power is quite good. In fact, it doesn’t budge anywhere for at least 4-5 hours.

I am in love with this as I knew I would be. I had tried it a few times in the store before deciding to pick it up in the airport on the way home, its staying power, colour, coverage, packaging, everything, what can I say MAC really can’t do anything wrong in my eyes.

I dread the day that I find a MAC product that I don’t love.

I love it and thoroughly recommend it to everyone; obviously you’re unable to pick it up now from the alluring aquatics range but I’m almost positive that it’s part of the permanent range of products so check it out for yourself.

Did you pick anything up from the Alluring Aquatics range?