[tutorial] pressing eyeshadows
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Hihihi I decided to write a post that is NOT a review for once, at least to just break up the monotony haha. Since I'm... pretty obsessed with pressing and repressing my makeup, I thought I'd just write a quick post about it. 



What you need:


If you are repressing a broken blush or shadow, you won't need a pressing base or preservative, since it should already have been included in the product originally.

I use Portrait of Mai's pressing formula for loose indie shadows, which is 1/2 tsp of eyeshadow, two drops of pressing binder, and one drop of preservative. I just eyeball it lol.

Urban Decay Afterglow Blush in Indecent

  1. Scrape out some pigment into the mixing bowl. 
  2. Add alcohol until the pigment starts to form little balls. (if pressing loose pigments, also add your preservative and pressing base here). I took a picture a little bit early, but when it comes to matte formulas, I usually put a bit less alcohol than with shimmer formulas. 
  3. Then scrape the product into the pan and spread it out as much as possible.
  4. Place tissue on the pan, and press using a flat object such as a book. Turning the pan upside down with the tissue on the bottom and pressing down with your hands also works.
 UD Afterglow Highlight in Sin



I wanted to show the difference in repressing between a matte blush and a highlight. I find shimmer formulas to be much easier to press than matte formulas. I find that adding too much alcohol can actually negatively affect the pigmentation of matte shadows, so I like to err on the side of caution.


One UD afterglow highlighter filled two 36mm round pans. I kept one and gifted the other to a friend.



Pressed indie shadows - the pans aren't full, so I included a side shot so you could see. Some of these were minis, most were sample bags, and one was a full size.

Top, L-R: I think it is Dawn Eyes Northern Lights, Shiro Master of Whispers, Shiro Alpaca Picnic, Notoriously Morbid Goblet of Red, Shiro Alkahestry
Bottom row: Dawn Eyes Solemn Prince, Shiro No Men Like Me, Shiro I Loved a Maid, Femme Fatale Flowers from Flames, Shiro Good Looking Foreigner


These are some of my repressed shadows. I believe all are from Urban Decay electric palette, 1 UD single (lounge), BH Cosmetics Foil Eyes palette, with 2 from the Juvia's Place Zulu Palette.

This is what my 36mm palette looks like. Most of these came in original 36mm pans (Zulu, Sugarpill, Looxi, JD Glow). #6 is UD Indecent, and #13 is UD Sin.

  1. Sugarpill Love+, Juvia's Place (M) Calabar, Juvia's Place (M) Ada, Juvia's Place (Z) Pink, Looxi Valley Girl, UD Indecent, Looxi Stripped
  2. JD Glow Papaya, Sydney Grace Tiger Pigment, Juvia's Place (Z) Orange, BH Cosmetics (Foil Eyes) Mix, Juvia's Place (Z) Yellow, Urban Decay Sin, Juvia's Place (M) Dahia
  3. Looxi Voodoo, Juvia's Place (Z) Green, Juvia's Place (M) Mali, ABH Peacock/BH Cosmetics Foil Eyes Mix, Sugarpill Home Sweet Home, Juvia's Place (M) Zola,  Juvia's Place (M) Dalia
  4. JD Glow Peacock, Juvia's Place (M) Chi, Juvia's Place (Z) Purple, Juvia's Place (M) Makeda, BH Cosmetics (Foil Eyes) Mix, Looxi Charmed, Sugarpill Tako 
(M) stands for Masquerade palette, (Z) for Zulu palette

Anyways, hope this post helps you think a bit about how to salvage makeup that you've broken or mixing shadows/pressing loose pigments. I really prefer the use of pressed products compared to loose pigments, so I personally like pressing a lot.