Pressing medium

[karen]

I thought we'd start a new thread for the pressing medium. Did you like it, did it work well? Was there anything unexpected?

I need to order in the palettes and stuff like that if it's going to go live, but we need a little more feedback on it. I'm never quite comfortable releasing a new formula until someone tells me why it didn't quite work as expected for them.

Here's the link to the directions again: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-G4qP ... 9DMDQ/view

[4wheel]

Today I'll have a few done and I let you know tomorrow, Karen how it went. I'm in love with pressed again. Loose make such a mess for me. And time is an issue.. so less mess less clean up time.

[4wheel]

I did a DM and a shimmer eye color. I pressed just 1/2 the full 5mg jars. It went well. Its a tad messy but I have pressed before so I knew it would be. But for the pressing medium I like it very much. It was a gel like and grabbed to the minerals well and mixed in quickly. Next time I may use a lager mixing container and it maybe no mess at all. Now a Z pallet maybe in my to get list so I can put them in a SN pallet

Thanks for all the great ideas you come up with, Karen.

[Oxana124]

I can't seem to open up that link to the directions.

[JenW]

Tried attaching.

Here is a c/p.

Pressing SN Loose Eye Shadows with Great Impressions Pressing Medium
Materials: ??One gumball pressing kit
a pair of pliers- regular slip joint pliers are fine, but longer nose Channel Lock pliers are preferable. Vice
grips or a c-clamp will also work. ??a 25 millimeter coin, or pressing disk ?paper towels ?a mixing bowl- a small measuring cup, or 30 gram jar is fine
a permanent marker for labeling the bottom of your eye shadow
1) Protect your work surface- this does get messy. It washes off pretty easily, but
you may want to wear gloves.
2) Place the eye shadow in the mixing bowl and add 5-6 pumps of Great
Impressions. The goal is to add just enough to get all of the powder to stick
together, but not so much that it’s mushy. It’s really similar to making pie crust if
you’re an experienced baker.
Mattes need 5-6 pumps. Shimmers will need slightly more. It’s VERY important
to use as few pumps as possible for matte colors otherwise they shrink too much
while they dry, and will separate from the pan. Most mattes can be pressed with 6
pumps- Fern, and Raven needed 7-8.
Shimmers generally need 8-9 pumps (for Frenchie start with 7).
Start with fewer pumps
than you think you’ll need. You can always add more if it’s too crumbly, but it’s
very difficult to get a good press if it’s too mushy.
3) Stir, and knead the mixture until everything comes together as a lump. Mattes
will look very powdery for a while, but they will come together. Keep stirring.
4) Place the mixture in the pan, and level it as best as you can.
5) Cover it with a paper towel, add the pressing disk on top and apply firm, even
pressure for 10 seconds.
6) Using the pliers repeat this process 2-3 more times using a dry spot on the
paper towel until there is no excess moisture. The firmer the press the more
durable the finished product will be. They break very easily if there is excess
liquid left behind. You can’t over press them.
If you’re getting marks from the pliers on the back of the pan you can use the pod
to protect the bottom. Just place the pan in the pod, and continue pressing.
7) Write the name, and date on the eye shadow with a permanent marker, and set
it aside to dry for 12-24 hours. Do not heat them- you’ll boil the alcohol and
create air bubbles, or melt the magnesium stearate, and turn it into an unusable
lump. Yes, it’s torture waiting for them to dry.
Troubleshooting:
If you’ve added too much pressing medium just gently blot the surface several
times until it’s not mushy, and then press very gently and slowly.
If one breaks you can re-press it by wetting it with a little rubbing alcohol, and
pressing it back in the pan.
Colors with more
silica- i.e. the Eyelights will need 10-12 pumps or more. Shelf life- Pressed eye shadows have an approximate shelf life of 2 years because of the propanediol in the
mixture.
They’ll probably be ok after 2 years, but we don’t know. Please write the date on your pressed shadows for
maximum safety.
The pans will rust if exposed to water for a long time. They are fine in the pressing process, but if they sit in
water for a while they will rust.
You can sanitize the pans with rubbing alcohol prior to pressing, but make sure they’re very dry before
adding the eye shadow.
It’s not really a necessary step because they’ll be in contact with alcohol for several hours, and that should be
sufficient.
Don’t dip a wet brush into your pressed shadows. To use them as a wet liner scrape up a little pile of powder,
then use a damp brush to pick up the powder.
Durability- the pressed shadows survive a standard drop test i.e dropping it onto concrete from 12 inches.
These are more fragile than a traditional pressed product, but should withstand carrying them around in your
purse.
You might want to carry a pod with your colors just in case one breaks.
Some pigments may become less intense. Carmine, and dyes do seep out during the pressing process. SN
doesn’t use dyes in their eye shadows, but other manufacturers might. Of the SN line Breathe was the only
one we felt lost a lot of vibrancy during the process. Red iron oxide also seems to bleed, but doesn’t
generally create a noticible change.
Wear time should be about the same. The colors may change slightly, but by the time you put it on your eye
over a primer you probably won’t notice much of a difference.
We have tested these with ALL of the current SN eye shadows, but we don’t know how shadows from other
manufacturers will work. It should be fine, but we don't know. Press at your own risk.

[astralpantheress]

Would anybody recommend pressing blushes with it (SN blushes to be exact)? I don't know if it's suitable when a blush has FD&C Colors in it. I'm a bit worried that it might react with the mixing medium.

[karen]

The dyes bleed so the colors are a little less intense, and it's really messy. I don't recommend it.

[ralphi]

Has anyone tried pressing things other than eyeshadow (foundation, bronzer, etc)?

I'd be interested to know how it turned out. Would be great to have one palette for everything (I'm a makeup minimalist so that'd be possible).