Depotting Makeup the Only Average Way

Hello my lovelies!

I've been requested to help you out with a short How-To post, on how to depot makeup, in this case eye shadows.  I recently received a GlamRx Freestyle Palette in my March '13 Ipsy bag (read all about it HERE), and promptly went to town depotting some of my items so that they can go in this cute little palette!  I will also talk about how to make aluminum pans (like Coastal Scents and Wet 'n Wild) magnetic and work with the GlamRX Freestyle Palette.

What is depotting?  Depotting is the act of removing makeup pans of product from the original packaging, leaving you with ONLY the product in the pan, and without a lot of bulk.  Many people purchase large palettes and depot all of their makeup, to save space and see everything all at one time.  I chose to depot the products below so that I can use my new GlamRx Freestyle Palette, but this tutorial would work for anyone depotting for any reason.

I do want to say, first off, that this is NOT my original idea, and that there are thousands of sources on the internet to help you do this.  I've watched and read quite a few, and this is the method that worked well for me.  This is NOT the only way to depot product, and it won't work for every brand, but it's a great place to start, and google away to see what other great ideas there are out there (many of which include using a hair straightening iron!).  Please be sure to read my How-to all the way through before you start.  Thanks!


First things first- you need to gather all of your supplies.  Here is what i used:

1. Lighter or a candle.  The lighter worked well for me, but a candle does the same thing.
2. Small flat spatula or steak knife.  I used a steak knife, but anything slender that will fit between the shadow pan and the packaging will work.
3. Old refrigerator magnets, on the thin side and flat.  I used a couple that were old business card styles, that were outdated.
4. Labels of some sort.  I used the pan itself, or the labels that were on the actual products.
5.  Sharpie (or comparable) marker with an extra fine point (only if you want to write on the pan/magnet itself).
6. The product you want to depot
7. Goo Gone, or other glue remover
8. White school glue

I know that seems like a lot, but really, it's not.  Plus, depotting just a few little pans only took me a few minutes!

The first thing I'll depot is the Coastal Scents quad that I received in my February Ipsy bag (review HERE).  I've already depotted 3 of the shadows, here is how I did the final one.

THE POP OUT METHOD (risky, but worth it)

Coastal Scents shadow mini pot, this color is Sunshine

First, remove the label sticker from the back of the pan, trying not to tear it (we will use it later!).  Then, open the mini palette, and fold back the plastic away from the pot, gently.  Push on the bottom of the plastic below the pot you are working on, and carefully ease the pot out.

Out of the plastic!

Once you pop the pot out (again, being really careful! If you are afraid to break it, try cutting the plastic away with some good scissors or try the flame method I'll describe below), use Goo Gone (or any glue remover) to remove any traces of the old glue from the bottom of the pan.  I used a q-tip to apply the glue remover.

Aluminum pans will NOT react to the magnet in a magnet palette.  We need to fix that!  If you are unsure if the pan is aluminum or not, simply place the newly depotted pan into your palette and see if it moves around, or falls into your hand when you cover it up and flip the palette over.  If it sticks, you are good to go.  If not, on to the next step.

Trace your pan onto a  magnet.

 Trace your pan onto a refrigerator-style magnet.  Here is one I received with my husband's new phone (although I never actually figured out WHY), and it already has a sticky size (hence the white backing).  Be sure to trace in a color that will show up on the magnet-pencil works well also.

Check out my BELOW Average circle tracing skills.  It's ok to laugh.  Really.

Once you have traced the pan onto your magnet, cut the circle out, inside the traced line.  You want the magnet to be the same size as the pan, or just a bit smaller.  

My cutting skills are slightly better than my tracing skills.

Set the shadow pan onto the magnet to check for fit.  If the magnet is larger than the bottom of the pan, trim your magnet piece a little, to try to make it fit as close as possible.

A little dab will do ya! (even if the picture is blurry!!!)

Use a little dot of School Glue to attach the magnet to the bottom of the pan (if you don't have sticky back magnet sheets).

All stuck together!

Finally, flip your shadow pan over carefully, and apply the glue magnet to the bottom of the pan.  Press to secure and allow to dry.

 THE HEAT METHOD (a bit more danger, but works well)

This method of depotting is the one I have seen most commonly.  Honestly, I probably would have tried this with the CS shadows, if one of my pots had not already been loose and falling out of the plastic packaging.

Forgive the weird shadow in this photo- I'm not sure how it got there!

This Clinique sample palette I received last summer was just sitting in my makeup bag, so I thought I would test out the Heat method of depotting.  First, remove the label from the back of the packaging.  You'll need it later to transfer the colors names to the pans (if you like).  

Hold a lighter to the bottom of the pan, but not touching the pan (melted plastic is bad!!!).  Your goal is to heat the glue slightly, but not set the packaging ablaze.  You can also you a candle for this method, but a lighter for a few seconds worked very well for me.

You can see where my flame was a bit too close to the plastic.

As you can see in the above picture, I got my flame too close to the plastic, and it blackened it.  The glue will still be loosened, but BE CAREFUL because the back of the packaging will be VERY HOT! (use common sense in your workspace, please!).

Gently remove the pan from the packing.

Using a knife or other thin, metal tool (mini spatula?), insert the tip in the largest gap between the pan and the packaging.  Move the blade around, and see if the pan will wiggle.  If it does, the glue is loose, and you can GENTLY and CAREFULLY lift the pan out of the packaging.  I flipped it over and let it fall into my hand. 

Be careful when putting your blade into the gap- be sure it's really the gap!!

Repeat with each pan in the palette that you wish to remove.  DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE THAT I MADE!!!!  As you can see here, I misinterpreted the edge of the palette and the plastic, and put my knife into the actual makeup pan.  I lot a small corner of product, but it could have EASILY gone the other way, and the whole thing could have smashed to bits.  Be extra careful with pans that are very close to the edge of the packaging, and be sure that you really are inserting your blade where you want it to be, and not what "looks right". 

This palette had a significant amount of glue on the pans, so my Goo Gone really got a workout here!  Just take your time, use a qtip and rub, rub, rub; the glue will eventually go away.

Check your pans, and see if you need to add a magnet.  If your pans are of a magnetic metal already, you are good to go!  If you need to add a magnet, refer to the steps above, where I use the Coastal Scents as an example.

LABELING THE PANS

If you don't want to label your pans, then you are all set (once the glue dries!).  If you want to label your pans with a color name and/or brand, continue to the next step.

Cut out the name of the shadow, making it as small as you can.

I'm super lazy, plus I didn't have any label paper here, so I just took the label from the back of the shadow set, and cut out the name of the color.  I could mark them as Coastal Scents, but I know what brand these pans are, so I wasn't worried about that.  You can mark them any way you want to! For the shadow names that are very long, I cut each word apart and stacked them, top to bottom, on the bottom of the pan's new magnet.

Nice and clearly labeled.  Plus, I don't have to interpret my handwriting.  BONUS!

Once the sticker is placed on the bottom of the magnet, you are good to go!

Sunbeam joining the rest of this adorable palette!

If your pans are without a magnet, or you don't care to put stickers on the bottom, it's easy to mark the brand and colors with a ultra fine tip Sharpie (or comparable) permanent marker pen.

Use your label to transfer information to the pans, if you like.

Just use the information from the label that you removed from the back of the packaging to record the correct information onto the bottom of the pan.

Filled mini palette in NO TIME FLAT!

And here we are, a pretty little palette, with lots of awesome shadow goodies inside it!  

If you run into trouble depotting your shadows, or have any questions, I would be HAPPY to help you sort it all out!  This was my first foray into depotting, and now I sort of wish I hadn't given away a whole stack of old(ish) shadow sets to a friend- I want to depot them!  Um, not that I have anywhere to put them. I guess I should go and get me a Z-Palette or something, huh.  Oh, goodie--more shopping!!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, and would love to hear your thoughts on it!  Leave me a comment, especially if you have tried these methods, and had different results, or would like to share any tips or tricks that you have picked up.  I AM Only Average, after all.  I'm bound to have missed something.

Enjoy, and stay beautiful!