This is What to Do If Your Lipstick Breaks

I once walked home from a college class to find a dinner plate in the middle of my sidewalk with an upside-down tube of Yves Saint Laurent lipstick turned on its head baking in the summer heat. Puzzled to say the least, I inquired to my roommate at the time who explained that her brand new lipstick had melted at the wrath of the Alabama heat, and she was determined to reverse the process by melting the lipstick back into the tube. Clever as she was, I’m afraid to report that the results fell short of a success.

There are few things more exhilarating to a bona-fide Southern lady than perusing the beauty counter for that perfect new shade of lipstick to freshen up our look and leaving more confident and refreshed than ever. Likewise, there are few things more devastating than when after just a few swipes, said lipstick snaps in half (and takes our hearts with it). And rest assured that every time a lady’s lipstick falls prey to the heat of a Southern summer, Truvy Jones is out there somewhere shedding a tear.

Woe is me, but lipstick mishaps are just a fact of life. But we wouldn’t live up to our reputation as Southerners if we didn’t have a few tricks up our sleeves to turn any situation into a fixer-upper opportunity.

So, what to do when your favorite shade bites the dust? First step: don’t panic.

Reddit user Artemis11 has a brilliant solution that she shared with Makeup Addiction: put the pigment in a de-potted makeup compact. She took an old lipstick and placed it in an empty pressed powder container to create what she describes as, “my mini lip palette in my purse." Brilliant. What’s more? This compact in particular had a built-in mirror, making for more flawless application than any old lipstick tube could boast.

All of those half-empty makeup containers you swore you’d use again and/or replace have finally met their purpose in life. (You’re not a hoarder! You were just waiting for the right opportunity!) Pro tip: this also provides an excellent palette for mixing shades together to create something entirely new. Though not the ideal form we’d prefer to see our precious lipstick in, this clever beauty hack will keep you from having to toss out or re-purchase your signature shade (which frankly is significantly less thrilling while still in the mourning process).