Tips and Tricks :) and NO it is not halloween...

Tip to cheap(er) eye makeup from your favorite (not so cheap) brands

Tip 1 : Ever have an eyeshadow you love and not be able to find a matching eye liner that was exact match? Or you buy a compact and drop it then think the entire thing is wasted because it shattered?There is multiple ways to fight this problem...

• Give up. (don't like this idea? ok, keep reading)

• Look on ebay for smashbox off set shadow converter (smashbox discontinued this great product)
• find BE weather everything (current product line)
• find Benefit "She laq" (current product line - 30.00 on website, ulta, sephora)
• find Pixi by Petra Eye Colour Sealer Eye Liner No. 1 Clear (avg 20.00usd @ target or 6.00 ebay)
• LA Splash eyeliner sealer base (found it at ulta for 6.49)
• Make up forever eye seal (20.00 at sephora)
• As you see multiple brands to choose from. I use smashbox's but only until I can no longer find it in even the online venues.... I know people who use benefits, BE's, and Pixi's...not sure how other 2 work...
• On ebay...do search for "5 gram jar with lid". You will get a ton of cheap options. The place I go through sells 50 for around 14.00 counting shipping, thats average pricing. and yes. I buy 50 at a time. there is reasons for this :)
• If you don't want to buy jars and you have any small "exclusive tester" size jar from eye cream? that works too as long as it is clear so you can easily see the contents.(but once you do this once, you will be wanting 25-50 of these jars and you can even get the screw together stackable kind for easy view/ storage)
• Ok. got your eye shadow? your seal? your jar?  put the eyeshadow color into the jar and with eyeliner brush end (not end you use) crush up the remaining eyeshadow until it is a fine powder (resembling the mineral style makeup). Dip your eyeliner (end you apply with) into the seal then into your jar of shadow powder. Apply as liquid eyeliner. This seal stuff is a best kept secret to saving your broken shadow shades and creating your own matching eyeliners.  I hate buying an eyeshadow and it shattering on me but I can still salvage the purchase with these items. With the seal I have had eyeliner stay waterproof and smudge proof for up to 10 hours (some advertise as 12 but most I have seen is 10).  NO stick eyeliner or liquid I have bought already able to be applied has lasted this long for me. ..

• My reason for buying so many jars? Many times I have used a palette until my favorite colors are empty blocks but there are still a lot of color choices that I simply would not use as eyeshadow. Makeup / eye palettes usually have 5-10 colors in them. (mega palettes around holidays have 30-50 sometimes and only 10-15 I would wear as shadow) If you use the colors you like, but the others are not so appealing....can try to turn them to eyeliners. if it does not work as a good color for you still? no problem, set it aside and play with the next color from the palette that your not using. The colors you love as eyeliners each get their own jars, (can get blank stickers to label them at any office supply in stationary isle and many types sold are cheap and ARE removeable).  The remaining colors you do not care for? can try mixing them to create a new color, if you love it...great. if not? wash out jar and reuse with another color.  

Tip 2 :  5 and 10 gram jars are perfect for those packets or "free deluxe size samples" of creams seen in many of the kits, just squeeze what you do not use into a small jar and put lid on, you have the rest for the next day instead of tossing the packet :) 


Tip 3 : The jars in the 30 gram size (can get 20 for around 22.00 of the multipurpose but best to do this type if using up within a few days) (can get 5 of the type made for creams for around 17.00 and you can wait longer before having to use it up) also work well when you are down to dregs of a large lotion bottle (i recommend the 30 gram jar for this it equals around 1 ounce) .  The small cosmetic spatulas that are "disposable" but ARE dishwasher safe plastic are very handy as well for this part (25 of these average 5.00 with free shipping on various ebay stores).    If it is a tube? cut the end off (not end where product comes out) then cut line down center and open up. Scoop product out and place in jar.   If it is in a bottle and can not be cut open?  couple options (NONE of which include adding water to product and diluting its formula- ick!)

• can remove lid then microwave 15 seconds at a time, as lotion warms it gets liquidy more and will slide more easily out of container...this can take 1 time or 5....it is something you have to watch very carefully and is based on product container. glass is no problem, cheap plastic is bad idea for this tip. Again, REMOVE LID. if not? bottle explodes and microwave can die a miserable death. 
• boil water in saucepan on stove. turn off heat. then wait 3-5 minutes so it is not scalding. immerse tube,  wait 5 minutes, remove. then pour out lotion into jar. let sit until cool completely. voila, that extra ounce or 2 is great for another few days of use :)

Tip 4 There are cosmetic artist supply companies out there...lots of them. and they do not require membership nor a cosmetology card to shop at them. (I can't stand a certain one and will not shop there because of it) Staple items for my home vanity table i get from these places, it makes my table or travel bag a lot less cluttered and more organized.  One of my favorites is a company called Japonesque.  They have 2 sections consumer (individual sales) and wholesale (selling to companies like ulta in bulk).  In their palette section, they have 2 items that I am a huge fan of.  

• lip palette kit - (2 versions black holds 8 for 18.00 and I use --or --a silver that holds 6 and is around 11.00) this is a small kit that is microwaveable safe.(this is important. if you look at most compacts, where they join together has small metal rod in there. you do NOT want to microwave metal)  You get down to last dregs of a tube of lipstick and don't want to touch up in public with something that is less then attractive or makes you dig to get product? no problem. this is a palette set that holds 8 colors in a purse sized compact. you scoop out colors and with help of your microwave, colors are "perfectly formed" into the palettes pans....I love this.  it is great for those shades that you only use on occassion but are down to the last bits of and if high priced lipstick, why toss if there is still half stick of color hiding below the swivel up mark.... If anyone reading this knows of another company offering similar for less, please let me know

• the other item from them that i love for my at home kit (that no one sees but me so what difference does it make) ...the 35-well pro palette (60.00).  this closes up book style with 14 large pans on one side and 21 smaller ones on the other with a plastic divider thing so the colors dont get mixed when it is closed.  this thing is great.  when your using the cream formulas of blush / eye shadow / foundation / gloss in squeeze tube...this palette is really handy when your almost finished with the product (cue the cosmetic spatulas i mentioned earlier for digging out product).  you simply put a different color into each well, use spatula to form / press it down so it is not looking overflowed, use a removeable style label sticker on the plastic divider to mark whats in the well(not included but as said before - office supply stores have these) and with this palette, you can hold 35 colors / products in 1 palette that can fit in large purse but depending on formulas of items, isn't always advisable. I use this only for my at home use.  its about 6 inches x 4 or 5...but if a product is very liquidy? then it may run into another products spot....so use proper judgement.  ....if anyone knows of another company that has similar item  for less...i would love to know about it since this was 60, and i want another but not at that price....

Tip 5 Invest in brush cleaner.  It is better for the conditioning of brushes and cleaning them then using shampoo or dish soap like i have heard some people use.  i tend to use the spray style after each use and the scrub style monthly.  if your paying 20.00 or more for each brush, you can drastically extend the life of your brushes by cleaning them...and even longer when you use the stuff made for cleaning them.  i have a brush collection of 44 brushes. i bought a brush kit roll that holds that many cheap ones on ebay for 5 or 10.00 ....then replaced each one with a good brush over time....do the math. good brushes are expensive and by properly caring for them, i have had some for 2 years and they still look and feel brand new. I know many kits of cosmetics come with brushes, but there are certain brushes that i do not see offered with kits (fan brush is my favorite)  each brush has a specific function and makes you look more "put together" and why have to replace them every 6 months if you can clean them and get 3-5 years out of them?  doing the math it is MUCH cheaper to buy the cleaner and maintain the brushes properly.