CartoonChic
Well-known member
Thank you!Oh CC...I LOVE depotting, which I'm sure has some deep psychological meaning. We'll leave my husband the shrink to deal w/that. I agree that palettes are much easier to use, organize & store. Anyhoo, I like to keep it real simple---no flat iron, hair dryer, blah, blah, blah. Tools: One small stiff paring knife, one pair sturdy tweezers and one long-handle zippo lighter. Rubbing alcohol, cotton buds (ala our Buick) to complete the task. The first step is to separate the inner eyeshadow holder/pan from the outer casing (pot). With the eyeshadow pot open, this is achieved by inserting the tip of the paring knife into the line/crack that separates the inner housing from the outer pot. I've found this happens with less resistance and is much easier than it used to be, for some reason. Once this is done, set the outer casing aside. Grasp the inner pot and shadow between the tweezers with one hand and hold the lighter flame (not too high) to the bottom of the eyeshadow pan. Hold the flame for 30-45 seconds and then look at the bottom, which will show a small circle of the metal pot, as the black plastic melts. Put the shadow on a flat surface, and with the tip of the paring knife, push to dislodge the shadow. If you have to use a lot of force to do this, stop and again put the flame on the pan, because too much force could cause the eyeshadow to crack. Once you've dislodged the eyeshadow, set both the inner and outer housing on a heat resistant surface. Wipe the bottom of the eyeshadow with alcohol to remove residual glue and pop it into your palette. This is so easy. I have 160 MAC eyeshadows in palettes, and I depotted at least 1/3 of them.
Your question was quite timely because I just depotted Parrot, which was gifted to me along with a double pro palette with eyeshadow & blush inserts. I'm also depotting six blushes, that will add two the four Pro Blush Palettes in my stash.
I'll receive my new pro double palette tomorrow. I wish I could find my Miss Piggy shadow to practice on. I wouldn't care if it gets messed up. All of my shadows are LE, so I'm nervous. But I'm more excited to make my shadows more accessible.