By Sheila Arkee
So, you have a favorite eyeshadow, pressed powder, or blush you absolutely cannot live without. Life happens, and sometimes before you even realize it, you find yourself the owner of your favorite product, smashed into 5 million little pieces.
When your powder cosmetics are broken into 5 million pieces, you can always put them in a small container and use as a loose shadow, but you DO have the option of fixing the products so it’s almost as good as new.
It’s easy! I mean it! You’ll thank me!
The only extra product you’ll need is Rubbing Alcohol that you can get from any old drugstore.
Here is a lovely L’Oreal H.I.P. #319 eyeshadow that was sadly broken upon arrival.
Step 1: Dump the shadow into a small bowl. You can use an extra makeup brush to get the original container clean.
Step 2: Use the back of a brush to crush the shadow into a fine powder.
Step 3: I used the cap to my rubbing alcohol as a measurement and poured it into the container with the shadow. Make sure to mix well until you end up with a paste! Start off by slowly adding the alcohol, to make sure you don’t make the mixture too watery. In the case that happens, it’s all good – it will just take a bit longer for the shadow to dry down.
I used a wooden stirrer that I had lying around, but you can use a spoon or anything you want.
Step 4: You’ll have a paste that you will mold into the original shadow container. Try to make it as even as possible! You will be able to make little adjustments later!
Step 5: Place the shadow where it will not be bothered for the next few hours. In my case it’s where a certain assistant can’t reach my makeup brushes, either!
Step 6: Time goes by ….. and after a couple of hours you can see the powder coming together. You can use a piece of fabric (or in my case a paper towel), tohelp mold the shadow and also give it a nice finish. Afterwards, leave it alone for several hours.
Step 7: All set! When all is said and done, it took around 8 hours or so to complete! Not bad!
This happened to my favorite gold shadow! And of course I’ve had it so long, all the lettering on the lid has rubbed off and I have no clue what brand it is. Thanks for the tip to save my shadow!!
Yay! You will be thrilled – it’s super easy!
Beauty blogger and GENIUS! Loved this tip!
Fantastic!
Just curious, L’Oreal sent the product for review and it came all crushed up like that just on the one side? Did they not pack it well when they shipped?
LOL, Ninjagato! Yes, it arrived smashed into a zillion bits – just not packaged well. I saw an opportunity and ran with it!
THAT.IS.AWESSSOOOMMMME! Freaking ingenious!
To be honest, I heard of this technique a while ago from a book called Beauty 911, but I’m just bringing it to the masses! LOL!
No matter if you’re the originator of this idea, or just the messenger – this is AMAZING! Freaking ingenious and awesome, as Abby said. Thanks TONS for passing along this precious lifesaving gem!
Lol, of course! I forgot to mention that this is a good trick to use with loose pigments, you can make them into pan shadows by mixing in some alcohol. I’ll have to do a breakdown about that sometime soon!
Sheila this is an awesome awesome tip!! This has happened to all of us, and it always happens to the favorites!! Thank you!!!
You are welcome (and happy b-day!)
This is an INCREDIBLE tip all on its own, but you mentioned (in the comments) that it can be done with loose pigments TOO?? Please please tell me that post is coming soon!
Yes, for sure! I intended to do that when this first posted last year, but it totally escaped me. I just cleaned out some stuff and will be taking photos and putting up a post later this week.
I just launched my current favorite Sleek Oh So Special Palette… and it did not land on its feet :’( So how awesome to rescue your beloved! Not as pretty as it used to be, of course, but a whole lot better than having to say goodbye! And I am definitely think about doing that to my pigments too, because the poor darlings always get terribly neglected by yours truly…
Brilliant! Thanks for posting this. Is it possible to place a few drops of alcohol on eye shadow that’s just cracked?
BRILLIANT! I’m pinning this!
I don’t use eyeshadow myself but my mom does and she doesn’t store them properly. They end up falling off the closet shelves and breaking. Now I can fix her eyeshadow with the alcohol we just got to clean my scrape. Thank you.
this is brilliant! but say it was eye makeup and i put it near my eyes then i get my eyes wet or i rub my eyes wont the rubbing alcohal like get in my eyes and it will really hurt!
Thanks, Jackie! Not to worry, the alcohol won’t irritate your eyes!
works a lot faster if you use 99% alcohol . its also less messy if you crush it up in the pod already and just add a few drops of alcohol to moisten it in the pod already.
Thank you so much!! My absolute favorite gold EVER- Stila Oasis broke into about 12 pieces because I dropped it. Now it’s as good as new!
Thanks alot for sharing ..now i know how to fix my broken powder cosmetics…
I’m impressed! I’ll try it right away!
I love this tip. Should i leave the container open to dry out?
Yep! Leave the container out to dry up.
Can 99% be used or does it have to be70% alcohol?
Yes, 99% works just fine!
Pure Genius!! Love this!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Thank you!! About six weeks ago, I dropped my beloved NARS blush compact. I couldn’t bear to throw it away, so I’ve been lightly tapping my brush on it, trying not to create a mess on my counter (and on my cheeks!) ever since. I came across your post on Pinterest the other day, and JUST finished pouring the blush back into the compact. I’m so excited to use it (properly) as soon as it dries.
This is genius. Thanks for sharing!
This is the best thing of my life.
Just wondering, does this work with loose eyeshadow that i want to turn into a powder? i don’t really like loose eyeshadows very much, they get pretty messy for me. thanks!
Alexa, it does! Check out this tutorial.
You are KIDDING me! My Benefit pressed powder broke a few weeks ago, so I got a new powder from Lorac. And I JUST now see this! It’s a good thing i haven’t yet thrown away the Benefit powder… I’m going to go ahead and use this technique since the Lorac is a bit dark for under my eyes anyway. Thanks for the tip!
I’ve dropped my newly purchased and turn it into a mess! I don’t know what to do to make them stick together. My friend told me to mix it with a using a warm water but I end up buying a new one. I’m glad I found this post, really helpful! I’ll keep this in mind.
I just arrived in San Antonio for a friend’s wedding and all of my makeup was smashed, I’m assuming due to baggage handlers at the airport. Note to self: carry on makeup from her on out. I have a few days before the wedding and this little tutorial completely saved the day. I was afraid I was going to have to go get my makeup done at a department store for the wedding. I always pack a little rubbing alcohol, you never know when you’re going to need to do emergency surgery. . .on your makeup!
thanks so much for sharing! just this weekend i realized that my $30 bronzer was in “5 million pieces”. i didn’t have the heart to throw it away. i will definitely be fixing it tomorrow!
This is so great! I discovered this via Pintrest and wish I would have learned this great little remedy sooner in life!
xx,
http://www.empirestilettos.com
Brilliant!!!! I hade to share it on my blog!! Thank you so much!!!!
Does the affect the way the shadow applies or skin reactions to the alcohol?
Nope, not at all!
I love this tip! Thanks a bunch! I found it on pinterest and I’m so glad I didn’t throw away my two favorite shadows that shattered a while ago. Will be passing this on. Thanks again!
Ummm…how about the fact that you are then putting the shadow/powder etc., on your face that has been soaked in alcohol. Are there no concerns from that respect?
The alcohol evaporates as it dries. Considering the numerous other ingredients that are used in eyeshadows, it is the least of your worries.
This is genius, and I am now a little bit in love with you. Thanks for the fantastic tip!
~Lori
Awesome tip! Does the rubbing alcohol affect the skin in any way as part of the mix? I like the idea of “reusing” makeup. I’ve read some similar eco-friendly ideas on: http://www.taaz.com/advice/advice.html
Tried it this morning on a broken pan of Smashbox shadow, and it worked like a charm! I used an orange stick to stir, spread and smooth, and it helped get it into the pie-shaped wedge since it has a flat edge.
Would this work with face powder too? I love my Shishedo but it ALWAYS smashes after a couple of weeks!
It sure will!
I love this! its sooooo easy!