Sunday 17 July 2011

DIY Lip Palette for £2... in 5 easy steps!




If you're anything like me, lip palettes are a great option; each day I add a new lipstick from my collection into my bag to match my look, and by the end of the month I discover that my entire lipstick collection has accumulated at the bottom of my bag. However, decent lip palettes are often expensive. Making your own means that the lipsticks you already own do not get neglected, while saving money at the same time!


Step 1: Get yourself an eyeshadow palette.
It goes without saying that you’re going to need something to put your lipsticks in, so pop down to the shops and pick yourself up an eyeshadow palette. Claire’s, H&M, Boots and Superdrug all sell palettes, and the size of palette you choose is totally up to you. I’d definitely recommend something relatively sturdy, so it doesn’t shatter in your bag, and one with a mirror, so that you don’t have to bring a compact mirror too.

As you can see by the picture above, I chose to use a Sleek palette for mine for multiple reasons. Firstly, I found it in the “Damaged Goods” section, which resulted in me getting it for just £2! Although many of the shadows were shattered, the palette itself was fine. The Sleek palettes are also very well made, contain a HUGE mirror which is perfect for on the go, and are surprisingly compact considering how much product you can squeeze into them.


Step 2: Scrape out the eyeshadows.
Just to warn you in advance: this is the boring part. I found that the quickest way to get rid of the eyeshadow was by making an X shape in the shadow, then scooping around the perimeter of the pan. The four quadrants should fall out, but it doesn’t matter that some of the eyeshadow will stay in the pan.





Step 3: Clean & sterilise the pans.
Next just run the palette under running water; this washes off some of the left-over eyeshadow, and the force of the water helps to break-up the remaining product. Use a q-tip to ‘scrub-out’ the shadow that may be stuck between the base and the side of the pan, and if you’re finding it particularly difficult then dip the q-tip in makeup remover first.

Give the palette a last quick rinse, then thoroughly dry it and sterilise the pans by lightly spraying each one with alcohol.



Step 4: Cut and squish!
Now here’s the fun part! You’ll need to decide what colours you want to put in your palette which, of course, is totally up to you. I tried to pick a range of colours so that I’d have a colour for every look, and I also included two lip balms; a super moisturising one, and a waxy one for underneath lipsticks. I also tried to include a range of finishes, and I made sure that I included glossy-finishes so that I could wear them over the top of my matte lipsticks if I wished.

To get the lipstick into the palette, all you need to do is scoop or chop the product and then squish it into the pan with clean fingers or a spatula.

Alternatively, you could melt the lipstick into the palette. To do this, just hold a spoon containing the lipstick over a candle, then pour the liquid lipstick into the pan. However, I tried this in the past and it changed the quality of the product. I found that some lipsticks were not as pigmented as they originally were, others dried up, and some shimmery shades became gritty. The melting-method will make your palette look far more professional and neat, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it; I’d much rather my palette look slightly messy than look nice with bad quality products!



Step 5: Clean up, and you’re done!
All that’s left to do now is tidy up; just take a little toilet tissue (unused, preferably) and wipe-off any lipstick that has escaped from of the pan.

You’ve now got yourself a great, personalised lip palette without having to spend more than a couple of quid!