When you start the dangerous (and often time perilously smelly) job of depotting cosmetics, it seems to possess you pry, heat, and destroy countless palettes and compacts.
For example, I *could* carry out my (sturdy) Viseart Neutral Mattes and Sultry Muse palettes...or I could fit them both into a Large Z-palette with the 3 biggest colors from the KVD Shade and Light eye palette AND two cool toned options from the MUFE Artist Nudes palette. Look at that hideous yellow...it was a tragic accident.
For my every day use, the Urban Decay Naked 2 and 3 palettes are so cumbersome in my handbag. I decided to place them into an XL Z-palette along with the rest of the KVD Shade and Light and MUFE Artist Nudes. This one has a balance of warm, neutral, and cool tones.
I leave my complexion products at home to finish up my base routine in the mornings. There's NARS Sin (easy depot), Tarte Exposed, Milani Luminoso (that darn mirror in the back...), Benefit Hoola Bronzer, theBalm Fratboy, NYX Taupe, and WnW Reserve Your Cabana for a makeshift setting powder/subtle highlighter. Some look worse for wear from clumsy novice work.
I also purchased 3 MUFE XL palettes. At $14 each, I can fit a bunch of highlighters in one and still have two left for my "extra" eyeshadows. Pictured here: Becca SSP in Moonstone, Opal, Champagne Pop, and Rose Gold. Also pictured is the Too Faced Candlelight Duo, Physician's Formula Translucent highlighter, theBalm Mary Lou Manizer, KVD Metal eyeshadow in Thunderstruck, Canmake Fleur Power in Planet Light, and Physician's Formula Warm Nude highlighter. Since I don't wear highlighter every single day, it didn't make sense to have bulky compacts taking up space in my MUJI drawer.
P.S.: The Becca highlighters are incredibly easy to depot (just poke a needle in the back and push it out gingerly and slap on a magnet.)
Here's my "warm" palette that doesn't consist solely of terracotta browns and oranges. There's Stila, Lorac, Shiseido, and Marc Jacobs. I've been trying to stay away from these "warm neutrals" and exploring more color options like taupes and purples.
Finally, 2/3 of the last XL palette has Vice 2, Lorac, Shiseido, and other Urban Decay eyeshadows that have massive chunks of glitter, duochrome effects, or smoky tones. I don't wear color every single day so I've placed them into one palette for easy reference when I go out clubbing or to special events (very rarely.)
Depotting pros and cons?
Pros:
- You can save space by fitting several palettes with clunky cardboard or tin packaging into one sleek palette. Even the XL Z-palettes are incredibly thin and easy to lug around.
- You can organize eyeshadows by warm/cool, color families, frequency of use, and/or finish.
- More room = more eyeshadows! Depotted MAC blushes and eyeshadows can be recycled for more products as well.
Cons:
- Get ready to deal with melted glue, the smell of plastic burning + angry husband complainers, buying more magnets, and general dust and debris. Eyeshadows or blushes that are too soft can easily crumble. (RIP MAC Ripe Peach...you are now one repressed coral mess rather than a beautiful gradient of peach to pink...)
- You can't transport very large palettes and it may make more sense for pros rather than consumers.
- Seeing a bunch of colors at once may be overwhelming if you like pre-planned palettes that tell you which colors to place together.
- It's not as easy to re-sell depotted products.
I'm on the fence about depotting my entire Suqqu collection (6 palettes total) mainly because I like the packaging and they don't take much effort to take into work. In the meantime, I have to work on filling up my "colorful" MUFE palette with even more crazy duochromes and glitterbombs.
If you have no qualms about an expanding collection that you love and no space to store them, depotting is the way to go.
xo Be
