Pressing SN eyeshadows

[karen]

Cool- I'll try it with the mattes, and if it works we'll give it a go! Personally-I'm undecided about pressing. I drop things- a lot- and I've killed palettes before- but I lose the lids from the jars all the time. I don't know where they go- but somewhere in my bathroom there must be a giant pile of them hiding somewhere.

[Xarata]

How about a large palette like those for home storage and a small three or four pan compact case which we could carry and change the colour pans in daily.

e.l.f. sells the small magnetic 4 pan compacts for $1. You'd need a supplier for the pans themselves but the compacts are cheap.

[pinkpomelo]

I'm also a little IFFY with pressing. I wouldn't do it myself because of how time-consuming it is, not to mention trying to get all the materials here in Singapore.

On the non-pressing side, I like that my make up is always fresh. I just tap a little onto my mixing tray and use from that, rather than straight out of the jar. I know it makes me sound obsessive-compulsive, but I feel its a lot more hygienic. Esp when I'm experimenting on my friends' faces, I like that I'm not double-dipping into the whole pot.

However, if there ever came a time when we could select our own colors to be pressed, now THAT would be awesome. Then I'd pick my everyday colors (eye, cheeks, finishing powders, etc) and fit them all into one palette. Just so that when I'm traveling, I have something fuss-free to work with. One palette fits all.

Maybe one day, when I'm not so busy, I'll do that by myself. One day... sigh...

[Xarata]

However, if there ever came a time when we could select our own colors to be pressed, now THAT would be awesome. Then I'd pick my everyday colors (eye, cheeks, finishing powders, etc) and fit them all into one palette. Just so that when I'm traveling, I have something fuss-free to work with. One palette fits all.

I agree. I would definitely prefer to customize an already pressed palette.

However, if the materials (compact, pans, and medium) were available, I probably would buy extra jars of my favorites (i'd still like to have a powder version) and press them into a convenient travel-friendly compact. For me it would probably be 3 shadows and 1 blush in a 4 slot compact (vanilla, quartzite, bittersweet, and sassy). If I liked it, I could see doing them 1small compact at a time as the mood struck (rather than press a bunch of colors at once).

Of the existing "collections", I would definitely by a pressed compact of the elegant brown quad

[pinkpomelo]

Of the existing "collections", I would definitely by a pressed compact of the elegant brown quad

Yes, you did say tt was your favourite in the Fav E/S of all time thread. Would you know how it compares with the Stonewashed Nudes Palette? Would anyone? I can't decide between the two, but I need a neutral eye just to look natural for everyday.

[Xarata]

Yes, you did say tt was your favourite in the Fav E/S of all time thread. Would you know how it compares with the Stonewashed Nudes Palette? Would anyone? I can't decide between the two, but I need a neutral eye just to look natural for everyday.

My default eye is usually vanilla, quartzite, luxe, and bittersweet. which translates very VERY close to the elegant brown quad (which i do own).

The translation from EBQ to SWN to Shnudes would be:
Cream-Bone- Riviera/Venus
Posh-Quartzite-Elemental
Chic-Aztec-Spice
Vogue- Basalt-Basalt

I find Basalt and vogue a little dark for me which is why i opt for bittersweet

[pinkpomelo]

OK, on Sunday, I finally got round to my first attempts at pressing SN eye shadows. I haven't gotten round to blogging about it because I didn't take any photos. I think its just me, but it was a tad messy. I covered my table with white paper and at the end of it, it was like a kid's art project, with smudges all over.

I pressed my entire Elegant Brown Quad and the Stonewashed Nudes Palette. And I can't decide if it was a good thing or not because aesthetics matter. I'm anal that way.

So what happened was: I used a binder from Aromatics and more. I knew I was supposed to achieve a sandy, clayish consistency. Not mud. Except, with each pot, it was a little different. So the end result is not pretty. I messed up 2 -- too muddy -- and I didn't pack the eyeshadows in properly, so after pressing, there's little gaps around the edges. Also, a full jar of SN eyeshadow can deliver 1/2 a pan (I'm using the kind you can buy from Starsmakeuphaven, that says "fits mac palettes").

So I'm totally unhappy with myself and my inability to do crafts work. It didn't help that someone took a look at it and blurted: "Wow, that's ugly, if you can't do crafts, why are you taking up a make up artist course? Don't MUAs need to be good with their hands?" -- I wanted to kick that person 3 ways to China.

On the bright side, the color payout for the Elegant Brown Quad wasn't compromised. Its still the same velvety finish and great color payout. I can't say the same for my Basalt, or Cream. Somehow, they're not as dark as they used to be.

They're all still usable but I think I'm done with my pressing experiment. And yes, I know, I should have just done 1 pot, but then, apart from the aesthetics and loss of color payout from Basalt & Cream, the rest are fine.

[karen]

Oh Faith- don't feel too bad at all. Sure- you didn't get quite what you're looking for, but every pressing medium is different, and I noticed that the one that you used didn't have anything that evaporates in it. That makes it really hard for mattes especially- they never quite have the same "zing" after pressing. The pressing medium that I made didn't work well with mattes either. I have to play around with a few things in the shop sometime soon.

Crafts, chemistry, cooking (which is kind of what pressing is- it's kind of like making pie crust) are all completely separate skills from being a makeup artist. It's like saying "how come you couldn't fix your car- makeup artists are supposed to be good with their hands". I'm kind of a messy person too- but I do think the process is a bit messy too.

[Cupcake]

Yes, Karen's right - being good with your hands is just one facet. I'm a musician but would you like me performing medical surgery on you without the skills, training, knowledge base, experience and ingenuity that comes from learned application? No. But musicians and surgeons are both good with their hands! If the logic of what that person said to you was correct, then it would mean all the hard work training your mind, your aesthetic eye, your intuition, your dedication and your responses would be unnecessary. Dismiss it as ill-considered naivety from someone who likely does not know the complexity of what it takes to become truly accomplished.

[JenW]

Also, Faith, from someone who is into crafts, chemistry, and making pie crust (Yes, I have done all those things in the last 20 years! And because it is only slightly better than pre-rolled out commercial crust, making your own pie crust is not worth the trouble IMO.), I also did not like my results on pressing minerals. Then I reminded myself how much I love MMU because it keeps my skin irritation free, as I am pretty sensitive. By pressing, you are sometimes adding some of those 'not so good' ingredients back in. I do feel my inital efforts were not a waste because I know it is something I don't want to try again. I think more alcohol would have helped like Karen suggested, but it is not a good choice for my dry skin. I think my medium was mostly fractionated coconut oil wich can also be drying. I already have enough issues with dryness, and I just think both of those are ingredients I want to avoid. All in all, it sounds as if you were much more successful than I was.

Crafting truely is like inventing (makeup formulating included).........there are sometimes many more flops than successes. Still, the flops are what helps build the success. Additionally, like with the pie crust, you have to try a few things to see if your efforts are value added. I do recommend starting small in any endeavor and work up. Now if I'd only take my own adivce...........