How To Depot Lipsticks: Using Heat

Recently I decided to depot all of my MAC lipsticks, I did this because of two reasons. One, they were taking up so much room in my MUA kit and two, by depotting them it meant I could get 7 free MAC lipsticks (praise the lord for Back-2-MAC). I posted a picture of me depotting my lipsticks on Instagram and a lot of you said you'd love to see a tutorial, so here it is. 

If you're debating on whether to depot your lipsticks, I'd say go for it because it saves so much room and you're also getting your money's worth as you can scrape out every last bit of lipstick. A lot of people worry that depotting a lipstick will change the colour, consistency and finish of it but it really doesn't, the lipstick remains exactly as it did in the tube. People also worry about application, the most common question I get asked is 'how do you apply lipstick from a palette/pot?' and the simple answer is a lip brush, you can also use your finger if you want a wash of colour. Another thing you should know is that you can depot any lipstick you like, it doesn't matter about the brand, finish or colour, you can depot any, it doesn't have to be a MAC lipstick like many people believe. 

If you'd like to know how to depot lipsticks using heat, keep on reading.

What you will need...

You Will Need:

• Tissues - These are primarily used when sanitising equipment as you'll pour IPA onto a tissue and then clean a piece of equipment. They are also used to remove lipstick off the spoons, knife and disposable.
• IPA - IPA (aka. Isopropyl Alcohol) is used to sanitise equipment (e.g. palette, knife, spoons, and disposable) as it will kill any germs or bacteria. 
• Palette - You can depot your lipstick into anything you like (e.g. a palette, pot, container or pill case), I use the connectable pill cases from Muji as I find these are the best. They are connectable meaning you can move/re-arrange the lipsticks, they are easy to store, they don't take up much room and each pot has its own lid meaning when you're using the palette, you're only getting air to one lipstick and not all of them. 
• Matches - These are used to light the candle. Obviously. 
• Candle - Without the candle, you'll be setting alight thin air. A candle and matches are essential for depotting lipsticks using heat. 
• Knife/Spatula - This is used to chop the lipstick into small pieces. 
• Teaspoons - One is used to place the lipstick on, the other is used to scrape off the excess lipstick. 
• Disposable - This is used to scrape out the lipstick from inside the tube, you'd be surprised at how much lipstick is actually left within the tube. You don't have to use a disposable, you can use anything you like (e.g. a cocktail stick, cotton bud, spatula) you just need to make sure you use something small and sturdy. I always use the end of a disposable as you can wipe them clean, sanitise them and then re-use them. 
• Scissors - These are used to cut the labels to the correct size.
• Sticky Labels - These are used to identify what lipstick it is. I always write the brand, lipstick name and finish. It's important as an MUA to know everything about a product just incase a client doesn't like a certain finish or is allergic to a certain brand. It's good to write down the name of the lipstick for when you run out and need to buy a new one.
• Pen - This is used to write down information about the lipstick (e.g. brand, name, finish, tone, colour).
• Sellotape - I place a small piece of sellotape over the label just to protect it. If any liquid/substance was to land on the palette, the labels wouldn't ruin. 

Method

1.) The first thing you need to do is place the candle on a plate, then light the candle using the matches.  

2.) Using the knife, cut the lipstick into small pieces and place on one of the teaspoons. I would recommend melting the lipstick bit by bit rather than as a whole. If you melt the lipstick as a whole, it'll take a longer to melt and spillages may occur. 

3.) Hold the spoon over the candle and you'll notice that the lipstick will start to melt within a few seconds. Some lipsticks may take longer to melt than others and this is purely down to the finish of the lipstick, matte lipsticks take a while to melt whereas frost/shimmer lipsticks take seconds to melt. It's also important to know not to hold the spoon too close to the flame as you could burn the bottom of the spoon or boil the lipstick (something you don't want to do!)

4.) Once the lipstick has melted completely, give it a stir with the end of the disposable as this will get rid of any lumps and bumps. 

5.) Pour the lipstick into the pot and scrape off any excess using the other teaspoon. I will warn you that this step is tricky and it does take a steady hand. 

6. Repeat step 2. 

7. Repeat step 3, 4 and 5. 

8. Using the end of the disposable, scrape out the lipstick from inside the tube and place onto the teaspoon. Again, place the spoon over the candle and melt the lipstick.

9. Pour the last bit of lipstick into the pot and leave to set. If should take around 5 minutes to cool down and set completely. 

10. Cut a sticky label to the correct size. 

11. Place the label on top of the lid.

12. Write down information about the lipstick. Include as little or as much as you like. 

13. Place a piece of sellotape over the label. 

Video Tutorial

I hope you found this helpful and I hope it was easy to understand. If you decide to create your own lipstick palette, tweet me a pic as I'd love to see. 

My MAC Lipstick Pallettes

I've also thought I'd show you my MAC lipstick palettes as I thought this would give you an idea of how to put lipsticks in order. I know a lot of people struggle to put lipsticks in colour order so I thought that showing mine would help. If you just remember colour (light/medium/dark) and tones (red/purple/pink/beige etc) you can't go wrong. Another way of putting lipsticks in order is by their finish, for example, matte, satin, amplified, cremesheen, glaze, frost and lustre.  

Nude Palette (Pink Toned)

Left to Right:

'Please Me', 'Overtime', 'Creme Cup', 'Hue', 'Innocence Beware', 'Mlle', 'Myth', 'Fleshpot' 

Nude Palette (Beige Toned)

 Left to Right:

 'Midi-Mauve', 'Kinda Sexy', 'Honey-Love', 'Blankety', 'Marquise D', 'Frou', 'Tanarama'

Orange/Coral Palette

Left to Right:

 'Good To Go', 'Hibiscus', 'Watch Me Simmer', 'Costa Chic', 'Ravishing', 'Ever Hip', 'Viva Glam Nicki' 

Coral Palette (Red Toned)

Left to Right:

 'Insanely It', 'Party Parrot', 'Impassioned'

 Pink Palette

 Left to Right:

 'Pink Pigeon', 'Candy Yum Yum', 'Behave Yourself', 'Pink Nouveau', 'Pink Friday', 'Naughty Sauté',

 'Saint Germain', 'Viva Glam Gaga'

Purple/Dark Pink Palette

 Left to Right:

 'Cyber', 'Rebel', 'Strong Woman', 'Up The Amp', 'Girl About Town', 'Quick Sizzle', 'Lickable', 'Love Forever' 

 Red Palette

Left to Right:

 'Media', 'Hang Up', 'Diva', 'Unknown Pleasures', 'Runaway Red', 'Russian Red', 'Must Be Red', 'Lady Danger' 

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. I'd also like to mention that I'm still ill so there will be no videos from me for at least another 5 days. And for all those dying to see my 'Draw My Life', you're going to have to hold your horses.

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you soon!

Mucho love,
Cole
x

How To Create: Tartan Nails

It seems like forever since I've sat down and written a blog post and that's probably due to the fact I've been busy for 10 weeks solid. If you follow me on Twitter or have watched the videos my Mamma put up on my YouTube channel, you'll know that I have been training to become a Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist. So if you were sat there wondering if I'd been abducted by Aliens, fear not, I was in fact training. 

Now I'm qualified and no longer have to train anymore it means I have lots of time to write posts and make videos meaning you're going to see a lot more of me. 

I thought I'd get back into the blogging business by showing you a funky, on trend nail tutorial. Tartan is huge this A/W so I thought I'd show you all how to create Tartan Nails.

What you will need:

• Taupe Nail Polish
• White Acrylic Paint
• Black Acrylic Paint
• Red Acrylic Paint
• Top Coat
• Thin Paint Brush

Please note that if you do not own acrylic paints you can use nail polish instead. I purely use acrylic paint for nail art as it dries very fast meaning I can complete my designs in no time. If you're wanting to buy acrylic paint, check out your local art shop as they stock acrylic paint sets for as little as £10.

Step By Step:

Step One:

Apply the taupe coloured nail varnish to your nail.

Step Two:

Using the white acrylic paint and a thin paint brush, apply a large white stripe across your nail. Place this more towards the tip of the nail than the root of the nail.

Step Three:

Using the black acrylic paint and a thin paint brush, apply a black line at either side of the white stripe and also in the middle of the white stripe.

Step Four:
Again using the black acrylic paint and a thin paint brush, apply two black lines vertically down your nail.

Step Five:
Using the red acrylic paint and a thin paint brush, apply one red line horizontally across your nail (towards the root) and one red line vertically down your nail.

Step Six: 

Apply a top coat to protect the design and you're done!

I hope you liked this tutorial and if you have any requests please feel free to comment below. 

Thanks for reading,
Cole
x

How to create Cupcake Nails!

If you have followed my blog from the very beginning you will know that I have already done a cupcake nail tutorial (of which I have now deleted), so you're probably wondering why I'm doing another. Well I'm going to tell you now.
The reason why I am doing another cupcake tutorial is because, to be quite frank, this cupcake design is 100% better than the other one. The old design is absolutely naff in comparison to this one.

So if you would like to create super funky cupcake nails, keep on reading!

What you will need:

• Mint green nail polish
• Bright pink nail polish
• Pale pink nail polish
• White nail polish
• Red nail polish
• Pale blue nail polish
• Yellow nail polish
• Orange nail polish
• Green nail polish
• Dotting tools
• Nail art brushes

If you would like to create cupcake nails all you have to do is follow my nice and easy steps!

Step One:

Apply 2 coats of the mint green nail polish to your nail. (This is the base)

Step Two:

Apply the bright pink nail polish to half of your nail. (This is the cupcake case)

Step Three:

Using a thin nail art brush and the pale pink nail polish, add several lines to the bright pink part of your nail. (cupcake case)

Step Four:

It's time to create the cupcake icing. Using a thin nail art brush and the white nail polish, create a curvy semi circle on top of the join between the mint green and bright pink nail polish. If this step sounds complicated, have a look at the photo below.

Step Five:

For the cherry you will need to use a large dotting tool and the red nail polish. Simply dot a large dot at the top of the cupcake.

Step Six:

For the sprinkles you will need to use a thin nail art brush and the pale blue, yellow, orange, green and pale pink nail polishes. Simply create small lines on the cupcake icing.

Step Seven:

Apply a top coat. This will not only protect the design but it will also give the nails a nice shine too.

And we're done!

I hope you liked my cupcake design and if you have any nail tutorial requests, please let me know.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post!
:)

How to create Marble Nails (Without Water)

Don't get me wrong, I like creating marble nails using water as it's a funky method and the results are lovely, you're also able to create different patterns but what I don't like is how messy it is. Today I'm going to show you how to create marble nails without using water, it's simple, easy and most of all, not messy!

What you will need:

• White nail polish
• 3 other nail polishes of your choice. I opted for neon pink, peach and pastel yellow. 
• Sandwich bag

You may also want to use nail polish remover and pointed cotton wool buds for any errors (nail polish around the nail).

If you would like to create marble nails without using water, all you have to do is follow my nice and easy steps.

Step One:

Apply one coat of the white nail polish to your nails. 

Step Two:

Apply splodges of the 3 different nail polishes to your nails. 

Step Three:

Place your nail onto the sandwich bag and fold one end of the sandwich bag over your nail. Pat your nail gently, you'll notice that the nail polish merges together. 

Step Four:

Repeat step three. Repeating step three creates more of a marble effect.

And we're done!

It's simple yet effective. I cannot wait to try this using other colours too, I'm thinking navy, grey and black would look cool in the Autumn/Winter months!

I hope you liked this tutorial and if you have any questions or requests, please feel free to comment below!

:)

How To: Remove Inglot Eyeshadows

Magnetised eyeshadow palettes are becoming a lot more popular in the makeup world, they enable you to choose which eyeshadows you like and you can easily swap and change the eyeshadows whenever you like. Handy for when removing a used up eyeshadow or fancying a re-arrange of your eyeshadows. 

I'm not going to explain how a magnetic palette works as it's self explanatory, the eyeshadow just clicks into a slot via magnetism. 

The only problem with magnetic palettes is that the eyeshadows can be tricky to remove once slotted in the palette as the magnetic force can be quite strong. I own many magnetised eyeshadow palettes, including MAC, Yaby, Make Up For Ever, Fashionista, and Inglot and I have to say that Inglot eyeshadows are the hardest things to remove. 

There are lots of different methods about how to remove Inglot eyeshadows including, using the magnets on the lid, using your finger nail, using a long silver pin etc etc.. but I personally find that these methods either don't work, take too long or damage my eyeshadows. 

Due to changing my eyeshadow palettes every 5 seconds, I needed to find a quick and easy method that would remove the eyeshadows with ease without damaging them in anyway. I thought of the 'magnet method' and it worked like a treat as you will see if you keep reading. 

The palette comes with a magnetic lid. The magnets on the lid can be used to remove the eyeshadows but I personally find that this method doesn't work for me as it's time confusing and fiddly! Using a magnet is much more efficient. 

As you can see from this picture, my palette contains many brown eyeshadows but it also contains brown eyeshadows with a purple undertone. This is not how I want my palette to look as I want my purple toned brown eyeshadows in a different palette. If I hadn't of thought of the magnet method, my palette would remain like this but now I can remove the eyeshadows with ease, I can place the purple toned brown eyeshadows into one of my fresh, clean Inglot palettes. 

This is the magnet I purchased from Clas Ohlson. It's a 32mm magnet which is plenty big enough, I thought it'd be too small but it's the perfect size. The magnet has a protective layer and I recommend that you keep this layer on whilst using the magnet.

The magnet also retails at £7.29 which does seem a little pricey but a magnet is a lifetime investment and you can use it on any magnetic palette, not just an Inglot palette. 

Here is the link to the magnet: Clas Ohlson

When I first used my magnet, I took the protective layer off but I really should have kept it on as I ended up ruining my eyeshadow, as you can see by looking at the photograph above. The force of the magnet was so strong that it dragged out half of the eyeshadow as well as the pan. It's really important that you keep the protective layer on as you could end up doing the same thing to your eyeshadow if you don't. 

How to remove the eyeshadow:

Step 1:

Gently the place the magnet over the eyeshadow. You should feel a 'pulling' force and the eyeshadow should stick to the magnet. 

Step 2:
Gently lift away from the palette and remove the eyeshadow from the magnet.

As you can see, the eyeshadow isn't harmed in any shape or form.

You're able to read the name of the eyeshadow with ease. This is handy if you're noting down the name for a makeup tutorial or for if you want to recommend the eyeshadow to a family member or friend.

Here's how the palette looks once the eyeshadow has been removed. 

It's a quick and simple method that literally takes no more than 10 seconds! Much more simple than faffing around with the lid or a needle!

Video Tutorial:

I hope this post has been helpful to those of you who struggle to remove eyeshadows!

Many thanks for reading!

:)