Hi, I'm new. Need E/S advice

[egerandi]

BTW, the Z-palettes are very sturdy and a convenient size. It is also nice having the glass window, so you can see which shadows you have.

Agreed! Aside from the regular palettes that MAC uses, I have two 9-pan Z palettes that are perfect size for travelling.

[selki]

In case you don't press, a tip I read somewhere that I found helpful is to use a cotton pad or piece of a cotton ball (whatever fits best & works more easily for you) on top of the sifter before you put the lid on. Doing this covers up the sifter holes & keeps too much extra powder from coming out & accumulating on top of the sifter when the jars are moving around. This is also very helpful if you like to store jars on their sides or upside down to more easily view the colors.

I don't like opening a jar that has a ton of powder sitting at the top, as I find that messy & I'm more likely to lose product that way. This really helps to prevent that scenario.

Also, there are whole discussions over on Chanty's forum about pressing mineral makeup. It might be helpful for you to have a peek at those. I'll list a couple of threads that would be good places to start. Just a heads up, I think you do have to sign up as a member to see anything on that forum.

http://www.87px.net/mmf/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=48 (specifically about pressing)

http://www.87px.net/mmf/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1207 (this has info on all sorts of DIY makeup projects)