Curses to those who sell me wobbly lipsticks!
The lipstick in question is my MAQUillage Glossy Lipstick (can’t remember the exact name, MAQUillage always give their lipsticks still names like Perfect Gloss Rogue, Nuance Perfect Rouge, Gloss Nuance Rouge, Shine Perfect Nuance Rouge etc. etc.):
I LOVE this lipstick. The texture, the colour (RS304 – cool toned pink-mauve) is DIVINE. One of my top 5 lipsticks.
My issue is this:
1. The lipstick is not just wobbly, it is falling to pieces. I’ve noticed various cracks across the bottom of it – thus the whole thing is unstable (bought this from Facial-shop.com. It was already open, but not used when I got it, I presume the poor thing had been truamatized at some point!)
2. The texture of the lipstick is VERY soft – its a cross between a lipstick and gloss, so there’s an issue with it not setting properly and even if I were to try and smush it back into place (which I already have tried). It’s texture is like unchilled butter.
3. I could easily slice this off and melt it into a pot, but I prefer a lipstick barrel over using a pot.
4. I’m not sure I can melt it and put it back into its barrel because the ridge is slightly away from the sides and I AM NOT A MACHINE!
Here’s what I decided to do.
You need:
1. Empty Lipbalm Containers (from eBay)
2. Cotton bud
3. Funnel or some card
4. A Candle
5. A Spoon
What to do:
1. Take the broken lipstick. Prepare it for plastic surgery:
2. Get an ear bud and cut the end off, flatten it. We are using this as a tool to scrape the lipstick out. You can use anything you want really, this was just an easy thing to grab and it really gets to the edges.
3. Scoop out the contents of the lipstick (the wobbly bit falls right off! hehe).
4. Place onto a clean, sanitised spoon.
5. Now – this lipstick is very soft (one of the reasons it broke in the first place!) so to make it a little harder I added some Carnuba Wax. Basically, if you want to make your lipstick harder you add a hard wax – can be beeswax or carnuba wax or olive wax etc.
How much you add is up to you – obviously it will dilute the colour if you add too much. I just added a sprinkling to firm it up a tad.
I used a candle to melt it down:
6. When it’s melted down, give it a stir:
7. You have to now pour this into your container. It’s quite tricky and you need to work fast so it doesn’t solidify. You can use a funnel – I just used a folded up business card and poured it in this way.
8. I admit I made a bit of a pouring mess of this one – because it is VERY soft it’s a little hard to work with – also I was taking pictures at the same time!
There is a slight dip in the middle of mine because I was playing with the swivel before it had set. The best way to get a smooth finish is to pour the product in, give it a tap on a table to even it out, then just let it cool down.
You can also scoop a bit out and remelt it in order to get a smoother top.
OR you can dip it in some warm to hot water to get it to smooth things out around the edges.
But you get the idea! In this kind of tube, at least it has a firm base and won’t wobble. You can add your own labels, gems etc. if you think the tube is too plain:
This is just my little way of dealing with the dreaded wobblies. Hope that is helpful if you are also a little OCD like me!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been told that you should put your lipsticks in a freezer and take them out when you want to use them. It helps prevent them from melting on a hot summers day.
But of course, this way always works too.
Reply
How funny, I just did this to my Clinique Almost Lipstick this morning. I didn’t like how the tube always opened in my bag and found the formula kind of drying. I added a little bit of lip balm to it and poured it into a chapstick container. The top of mine isn’t quite perfect either but it works and it doesn’t open in my bag anymore.
Thanks for the tutorial!
Reply
Ooh, maybe I should do this with the remains of my paul and joe lipstick – I’ve reached the bottom of the tube but there’s still a lot stuck in the base. And I’m too lazy to use a lip brush.
Maybe I can turn some of my too-dark lippies into glossy sheer lippies with spf this way! hrm, i foresee that I’ll make a mess.
Is there any easy way to add spf to the formula?
Reply
clever but all i do is scrape it out of the bottle and put it in a contact lens case
Reply
is it me or the first picture looks like a bruised willy which has been exfoliated too hard and is all red and wrinkly?
Reply
Thats an excellent idea!! I might also do this if I get any potted lipbalms or lipsticks/glosses and buy some of those twisted lipbalm containers!! Thanks a lot for the info!!
Kitty x
Reply
Good idea to save broken lippies, will have to give this a try
Reply
Great tutorial! Thanks for this. I’ve often melted lipsticks into pots, but I like having them in tubes better also. Never thought of doing this before. Next time I have a lipstick like yours there, I’ll try this out.
Reply