Talk to me about depotting lipstick

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I've watched a handful of videos so I get how to do it (microwave and open flame) but I'm more curious as to why do it.

Did it really save you space? 

What containers did you use?

How large of a collection do you have?

Did you notice any changes good or bad?

Teach me oh wise ones of Make Up Talk! :D /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
I use to do it but only when a lipstick broke or I was basically out but there was still a ton left in the tube below the plastic that holds it into the tube. I no longer do it because it's a PITA - can be messy and can be a pain to remember names. I still do it for my jumbo WnW pencils since I hate losing product when sharpening the liners.

If you want to try it there are various containers you can use. Many people use the drug storage systems which you can pick up for as little as a $1 at dollar type stores.

Image source The Dollar Tree website.​
 ​
There are more expensive ones as well like these ones which range from $5 up to $25.

Image sources various places online including Target.​
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At TKB they sell something similar ONLY you can change out the pans!


You will need the following items REGARDLESS of how much lipstick you're working with. This is just from my experience and not really necessary.

Image above is the Norpro Cut-N-Slice Flexible Cutting Boards, Set of 3 found on Amazon.com for $5.25.​
  1. A plastic mat. Silpats are better since they don't warp or melt and are easy to clean. A thin plastic cutting board works. Target use to sell, I don't know if they still do, these "disposable" types where were like rigid pieces of plastic and came in a packet of three for under $5 (see image below). Using a towel underneath is a pain because lipstick tends to permanent stain.
  2. Some type of long, thin spatula.
  3. A metal knife.
  4. Needle-nose pliers. If you're using a flame or hairdryer to melt the lipstick having needle-nose pliers to hold the item as it gets hot helps to keep your fingers from burning.
  5. Alcohol wipes (to clean and disinfect everything)
  6. Non-latex gloves - not really necessary but when working with lipstick it, lipstick stains.
  7. Hair dryer or microwave depending on how you want to melt the items.

First things first - disinfect everything. Wash your hands and disinfect. Have a paper towels handy just in case you need them.

Open your lipstick case up. Depending on how much lipstick is in it and the depth of your container you may have to split the lipstick into various containers using the spatula. This is why I like the metal skewers because you can heat it up and plunge it into the lipstick and use it to hold your lipstick as you break/cut it from the tube. I do this with the jumbo pencils as I like to put it out of the tube and hold it in place as I use a hair dryer to melt it into the plastic pot I use.

I found if you smoosh the lipstick or liner down first into the pot or container you're using THEN melt it it works better. I've seen people do a "drip method" of keeping the item in the container it came in and heat everything up with a hair dryer so the product melts and drips into the pan. THAT is a pain and it's messy. I like push out the (liners), smoosh it into the pot then melting it with a hair dryer. With lipsticks it's basically the same thing - get out as much product as possible, put into the container then melt.

If you're going to use the pill box method you can put that in the microwave at 15 second intervals and use the spatula to stir it. You have to be VERY careful if using the microwave because the wax in the lipstick can easily boil and "explode" when you pull it out OR the pill case can easily melt. Frankly I find the microwave method to be a PITA and rather use a hair dryer but with a hair dryer you have to hold the case in place and put the heat over the top, don't angle or it'll start to blow the product out of the case. There is one other method which I've not done because it's time consuming - use a heat lamp. At Lowes and any home improvement store you can buy an inexpensive heat lamp for under $5, the heat bulb itself is about the same price. If you arrange the lamp over the container it will melt the product over time but it's a slow method.

All in all it's pretty simple but it can be messy depending on how you melt the product. Frankly with lipsticks I find it to be a pain to do it since it requires you to use a brush after to apply the lipstick plus to me the pill box method is ugly. I do like the containers from TKB (I've never used though) since you buy the metal pans and do interchangeable pans and you can put a small lip brush in it so you can take it with you. You can't use the metal pans in the microwave but they do sell these "melter cups" that you put the lipstick in and melt it there then pour into your metal pans. I think that would be better since you then can mix different lipstick shades, or even create a marbling lipstick with practice, then pour into the pan for your own custom shades.

 
Oh hey, I didn't even think to use pill boxes! That would be much easier I think than dealing with a bunch of pots. 

A video I watched had a metal one cup measuring cup held over a candle to melt and then poured it into the pot. That seemed to give the most control on not letting the product get too hot or get blown about.

 
Originally Posted by Pancua /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Oh hey, I didn't even think to use pill boxes! That would be much easier I think than dealing with a bunch of pots. 

A video I watched had a metal one cup measuring cup held over a candle to melt and then poured it into the pot. That seemed to give the most control on not letting the product get too hot or get blown about.
This is the way I do it as well.

 
As a makeup artist, I find that depotting most of my lippies helps me to consolidate products and downsize my kit. Obviously with the ton of cosmetics I carry around, it's much less of a burden to carry a lipstick palette instead of a bag full of lipsticks.

I use the Japonesque palette for my lippies, but I've also seen lots of posts/videos where people use pillboxes. For me the Japonesque palette is the best option, since it has 16 wells and a slot for a lip brush. It's also super cute and compact so that helps.

 
I depotted a lot of my lipsticks into pillboxes & I melted one set but it turned out to be more messy melting them. I could fit a whole tube in one section. I did it to save space & it is time consuming so I don't do it often, only when I start running out of room lol. I got white sticker labels & put the brand, name, & number to keep track of it.

 
All the points mentioned above are valid. It really does take a lot of effort to do it for the amount of space you're saving. Yes its messy and gooey (sometimes) but if it makes your life that much better, go for it :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

You can always try out youtube for other creative ways in storing the lipsticks.

 
This sounds like so much fun
laughing.gif
too bad i don't use cream lip products

 
I'm going to be giving this a try tomorrow if I can. My fave lipstick apparently got twisted into the cap so its one huge mess.

This should be interesting!

 
you should take pictures to show us or put up on your blog! I would love to see how this turns out.

 

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