Pressing pigments

[Gisselle]

problems pressing pigments?

ive been pressing my pigments and all of them came out great but one. Acid Orange turned really hard, which makes me sad b/c i love that color, its a waste of pigment, and i dont understand what went wrong. Has anyone else had trouble with acid orange or any other mac pigment? any advice or tips how to fix it?

thanks in advance

 

[Classic Beauty]

Is Acid Orange a matte? I read on someone's notebook on MUA that matte's turned out really hard.

 

[MissMarley]

I love pressing my pigments! I use the C-clamp method. The only one that has turned out badly for me was Pinked Mauve. It became rock hard and no pigment will come off on the brush now. Very disappointed. But Apricot Pink and Lily White pressed beautifully!

 

[Gisselle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Classic Beauty Is Acid Orange a matte? I read on someone's notebook on MUA that matte's turned out really hard.

no its not a matte

 

[baby_love]

I read somewhere that a few pigments won't press. I know Ruby Red is one of them, and I think I may have seen Acid Orange on there.

 

[Gisselle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by baby_love I read somewhere that a few pigments won't press. I know Ruby Red is one of them, and I think I may have seen Acid Orange on there.

do u remember where u read this? could u send me the link?

 

[Gisselle]

list

ive been on the net looking around if other pigments dont press well/turn hard as well. this is my list so far(my own experience and from what others have said on lj), please add to it if you can. Or if you have been able to press any of these, let me know. thanks in advance.

Acid Orange
Electric Coral
Emerald Green
Grape


also i looked it up and all of these pigments listed above are described as having "small pearl particles," so maybe thats it.

so these might not press well as well
ruby red
steel blue ( though i hear that it has been pressed with no problems)
kelly green

 

[hungerartist]

i pressed acid orange and used it and its fine. the color payoff is the same, if not.. better. i've also done kelly green, and that one is amazing as well.

 

[Gisselle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hungerartist i pressed acid orange and used it and its fine. the color payoff is the same, if not.. better. i've also done kelly green, and that one is amazing as well.

really? could u tell me what techique u used exactly?

 

[Eemaan]

will alcohol mixing medium work with this?

 

[MissMarley]

I've pressed steel blue with no problem- just using the c-clamp method. but you could add pinked mauve to your list of pigments that don't press well

 

[MissMarley]

it's better to use 70% rubbing alcohol- the mixing medium may not have enough alcohol in it to make the pigment dry hard enough.

 

[bocagirl]

I've pressed Kelly Green and it was perfect.

 

[midnightlouise]

Those look great! I really ought to try that sometime. Has anyone else here tried it yet? How did they turn out?

 

[hungerartist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gisselle really? could u tell me what techique u used exactly?

In an empty pan i put about 1/4 tsp pigment, added alcohol, stirred. then added more pigment, then alcohol. kept it pretty runny, and not so pasty. just kept doing this until it was full. then let dry.

 

[MissMarley]

I've made two quads so far-
#1- Steel Blue, Rose, White Gold, Goldenaire- turned out GREAT!! I use it almost every day
#2- Lily White, Apricot Pink, Violet, Pinked Mauve- turned out well, except that Pinked Mauve pressed rock hard and now I can't pick up any pigment from it at all. All the others are fine, just PM. bleh.

 

[bellaetoile]

i've done 8 and i don't find it worth it. they're great for a couple days, then they start flaking and crumbling. in the end, i found it to be a waste of pigments, waste of pans, and waste of time, but everyone has different opinions.

as far as the pans, i simply used the empty free to be quad, since i de-potted the shadows. i didn't use metal pans at all, and none of the colors leaked through the insert, if that makes sense. still, i wouldn't continue doing any more of my pigments. used with mixing medium, you get the same general effect, and they're more portable as 5g samples than they are as pressed pans. they are SO freaking fragile.

 

[littlepaperstars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bellaetoile i've done 8 and i don't find it worth it. they're great for a couple days, then they start flaking and crumbling. in the end, i found it to be a waste of pigments, waste of pans, and waste of time, but everyone has different opinions. as far as the pans, i simply used the empty free to be quad, since i de-potted the shadows. i didn't use metal pans at all, and none of the colors leaked through the insert, if that makes sense. still, i wouldn't continue doing any more of my pigments. used with mixing medium, you get the same general effect, and they're more portable as 5g samples than they are as pressed pans. they are SO freaking fragile.

are you pressing them down? not just letting them dry. they shouldn't do that if you get it strongly adhered together. none of mine have crumbled, and I have over 30 now.

 

[MissMarley]

same here- mine are fragile before i press them with a c-clamp, and then just as portable and strong as regular shadows afterwards.

 

[bellaetoile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlepaperstars are you pressing them down? not just letting them dry. they shouldn't do that if you get it strongly adhered together. none of mine have crumbled, and I have over 30 now.

no no, i was actually compression-pressing them, similar to how i imagine eyeshadows are pressed. meh, not a big deal, i kind of like working with loose powders