Help! My Makeup Broke!
After spending time searching for, and dropping hard-earned cash on cosmetics, it’s heartbreaking to see purchases fall to pieces. We’ve all been there. One minute you’re easily applying makeup in the bathroom mirror, then oops! the tile floor beneath us has a new tan. Nevermind a mostly messy, time consuming clean up, similar to fixing shattered mirror, reassembling the portions of fragmented foundation seems like it would be a lost cause. However, there are some smart steps to salvaging makeup, from the pros (or as I like to call them, makeup magicians).
Hardened Nail Polish
Highlighter hues didn’t match your fall and winter wardrobes, but now warmer weather is near, and that bottle of hot pink polish has hardened. The good news is you don’t have to throw it away. “One way to revive hardened nail polish is by adding a few drops of clear top coat into the formula,” says Ivan Castro, global lead artist for Le Métier de Beauté. “Once the top coat has been added, twist the cap back on tightly. Then, give it a good shake.” Another alternative? “Try adding a little acetone. It will help to further discombobulate the formula and make the polish glide on like butter!”
Broken Pressed Powder
With one slip of the wrist, and a fall to the ground – BOOM. Instead of letting the pieces of broken foundation flop around in your compact forever, switch containers. “Take the broken pressed powder pieces and grind it up in your loose powder container,” says Hannah Hatcher, global educator and makeup artist for Jane Iredale. “Ta-da! You now have a loose finishing powder!”
Snapped Eyeliner
Sometimes the no-eyeliner look is in order, and sometimes you really wish your liner was sharp and ready to go. “Until you get a sharpener, use a dark powder shadow and a brush to line your eye,” says Sonia Kashuk, makeup artist and founder of Sonia Kashuk Beauty. “If you really want to get creative, use your mascara and a liner brush for a more intense liner.”
Broken Bronzer
Like corrupted compacts, bronzers-gone-bad can be transformed from one medium to another. “When I break my bronzers, I take the pieces and mix them in with either my body lotion or my facial moisturizer,” says Hatcher. “This way I have a homemade body bronzer, or can add a beautiful all-over bronze glow to my face before I apply my makeup.”
Topless Lipstick
When caps go missing, or roll away right under your nose, turn to meds to make it better. “Run by your local drugstore and pick up a plastic pill dispenser, i.e. the type that has the days of the week etched on top. At home, you will need a small butter knife and a few toothpicks,” says Castro. “Take your lipstick and roll it half way up, and gently slice into it – being careful to let what is being cut off fall inside the pill dispenser. Take a toothpick to press the lipstick down into the bottom of the container. Close it up, and Voilà! You’ve created your own pro palette of lipstick color.”
Murky Mascara
Screw it (the top, that is) on tightly after every use. If you don’t, try this hack to help it back to life. “If my mascara dries out too quickly, I will mist the wand with hydration spray a few times, then dip it back in the tube,” says Hatcher. “This gives it a few more runs before you have to toss it.” No spray in sight? “ Grab some eye drops out of your medicine cabinet and pour four drops into the tube end,” adds Castro.
Shattered Eyeshadow
When it comes to eyes, blending can be best – in more than one way. Thankfully there is a simple solution for cracked colors. “If I break any of my pressed powder eyeshadows, I mix them with primer to create a cream based shadow,” says Hatcher.
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