I went to the MAC store in Pentagon City (VA) and asked the artist if she had anything in the back that wasn't out and was perhaps from an old collection. She comes out with a couple of things from the N Collection. One was Memorabilia which I missed out on and was in my shopping cart online. So I bought it (obviously.)

I decide that I would depot it, but I have a fear of burning my house down so I did it with a little alcohol and some wire cutters. Before I get to the issue, here's my question.

Anyone ever have a MAC eyeshadow that was mis-labeled? If my camera wasn't dead I would show you all. The Memorabilia is CLEARLY a matte color and it's called matte online. But on this pot is was labeled FROST. I have never ever ever had that happen before. Ever. Has that happened to anyone?

Ok, so I had the HARDEST time depotting. I had just depotted the other 10 shadows I bought for my purple/pink palette no problem, less than two minutes each. (Though I did crack my replacement Prussian pot and half of it is gone RIP.)

I had the hardest time because it was glued all not only the entire bottom, but the sides too. That also has never happened. Makes me concerned that it was just a bad batch and I spent $$ on something that shouldn't have been sold. I saw her take the packaging off the shadows she had in the back, but this whole process was just strange.

Anyone ever had a pot glued top to bottom in a pot before? This is why I buy palettes not pots.

the issue with mislabeled finishes has been discussed for a LLOONNGG time now. for some reason, mac has mislabeled alot of their shadows, so you can no longer go on what's labeled. instead, you need to go on how it applies.

the amount of glue has nothing to do with it being a good batch or not. i've never heard of batch issues with powder products. the majority of batch issues has to do with lipglass. sometimes, lipglass is rancid right off the bat. sometimes, some shadows/blushes have more/less glue than others.

as many people have noted, if there is very little glue or it is way too easy to depot, that is one sign that it could be fake. when this occurs, if the bottom of the pan is grooved, its a 100% guarantee that it is fake. these fakes are usually purchased from ebay.

for years now some of my shadows have had more glue than others, with it oozing around the sides. as long as you purchase it from the store, you're safe.

I agree with the above post...I went to palettes a few months ago and had LOTS AND LOTS of e/s to depot. I came across lots with tons of glue, and lots with not much glue. Some were harder to depot than others. They were all purchased from a MAC store or counter, so I knew they were all genuine.
I like to use the whole "flat iron" method to depot. I know a lot of people don't like this because of the plastic fumes and whatnot, but I think it's ok as long as you raise a window, turn on a fan, do whatever to keep the room ventilated. I tried using the alcohol method, but it was a lot trickier to me. Before I started depotting, I watched a lot of those youtube tutorials about different ways to do it and almost all the ones that used the alcohol method without heat, they followed the video with another video on how to repair broken shadows from depotting. Hmmm... something tells me that's probably not the best way to do it then, right?? lol
I depotted about 40 something eye shadows and didn't break a single one and I'm not steady handed at all...I was shocked! Try using a flat iron next time.

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^^ Agreed!! I dont glue has a lot to do with it either. BOTH of my Parrot e/s almost fell out of the pot - they were not glued well, but my Li Lily was a nightmare - not only did I end up chipping it, but the pan dented as well

I used Enkores method of no heat and using alcohol - Lil Lily was the only one I have ever had trouble with

Edit - I take that back - I cracked an UD e/s as well

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Cullen Llandon George
My little pride & joy!!!

Thanks for all of the great tips! I have been wanting to depot for some time now but am really worried I am going to break some of my most beloved shadows that are hard to replace. I guess the best way to do it would be with a hair straightner rather than alcohol. I wish I could just pay an expert to do it for me!

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I MAC!

Proud Dazzleglass Bimbo since May 2008!

I know, right?? When I first started depotting I was like, "what the hell am I getting myself in to???" The first one you ever try will always give you trouble because you never know how long to leave it on the heat...but you'll get the hang of it and you'll be a pro in no time. You'll get your own system down.

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The alcohol works really well though if you wanted to try it - its easy, fast and no mess. You just need to be patient. Those are the only two I have wrecked, the Lil Lily was glued everywhere, I could have thrown it...LOL....and the UD one I think I was a little impatient with but the rest of my e/s are perfect depots There's a link to the demo somewhere in the tutorial threads

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Cullen Llandon George
My little pride & joy!!!

Whats the easiest way to get the glue off the pans? I've rubbed and scrubbed with alcohol, but it doesn't come off.

Yeah, it's a pain to try to do that....and kinda impossible and waaaay too time consuming for me. Thats why I just use the big sticker on the back of the pots to cover the magnet and the glue. Works great!

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Thank you! I'm so new to MAC, and this is the first time I've been like, "WHOA! What's going on?" I have three full palettes (that I've bought in the past 2 months) and I just want to make sure that I'm not experiencing something odd.

Oh and thanks for the flat iron tips too. Much better than what I was going to do.