Pigment, Mica, and More!: January 2013

Hey guys,
This is just the start of what is to come for this post but for now, I have 3 different palettes/compacts from TKB and will be doing reviews on them.

Ok, so the first one is TKB's Large Square 36MM Palette with Mirror found here. These are in short supply though as they were bought as a Manufacturer Clear-out and once they are gone, they are gone forever. I have to say after purchasing one to try though, this makes me extremely sad because this is an amazing palette. The picture does NOT do it justice in the least. It is great quality comparable to the big box retailer's that charge more than quadruple the price for the same palette. It holds 4, 36MM eye-shadows,is magnetized, has a great large mirror, and is super sturdy. Oh, and did I mention the price??? It's also SUPER CHEAP! This palette is less than $1.50 if you buy one, and if you buy in bulk I did the math and they are around $.76 each!! Trust me, you will not be disappointed buying in bulk while you can once you see the quality of these. Here are some pictures of the one I bought, with eye-shadow in them. :)

Ok, so my next review is on TKB's Pocket Compact. Honestly, when I first saw the picture I wasn't too impressed so I only ordered 6 to try. Well after trying them, AGAIN the picture's do not do them justice. They are just so handy, and with a eye-shadow in them, they are really pretty. And for 2 for a dollar, you can order a bunch to keep in your purse or make-up bag for single shades. :) They are magnetized as well. You can purchase those here.

And finally, this is the last palette I ordered in this order(should be getting a new order with 2 more different ones next week sometime) is the TKB's Painterly Pan. This is one of my favorite's so far. It is clear, holds 5 eye-shadows that hold a good bit of product, and is compact enough that you can fit several anywhere you need or want to carry them. And again, they are cheap. Are you sensing a pattern here yet? That's because from what I have found so far, TKB offers the best prices on tin pans, and palettes and compacts. The only thing I wish they would add(and this is for me personally) is a palette that holds a BUNCH of small 15MM size eye-shadows in an 88 piece palette or 120 piece palette because I know several make up artist's who want me to create custom palettes and custom shades for them but want them in palettes bigger than 12 piece palettes. But really, I haven't really found any supplier than offers empty palettes in that size at anywhere near a reasonable price. Boo. :( Anyway, so here is a few pictures of the painterly pan and you can buy that here. :)

Hi guys.
Other than Youtube video's, there is very little information out there about making your own pressed eye-shadows. I am just beginning as well, so bear with me but for the most part, even the Youtube video's leave out crutical steps and ingredients, so this is going to be a post on exactly how I make my pressed eye-shadows using Mica!
First of all, if you have never tried it, these are my tips for you:
1.) Start SMALL. TKB trading offer's a FANTASTIC starter kit that has everything you would ever need to get started making your own eye-shadows and their products are great. I personally did not know the offered a kit like that before placing my first order, so I didn't personally get to use it, but I have heard nothing but super positive reviews about it, and I have tried everything in that kit by itself and the product quality TKB offer's is fastastic. Here is the link to the kit:

As you can see, it includes everything you need to make your own, you just provide the colors! Even better, at 14 bucks or so, EVERYONE can afford to make their own Mineral pressed eye-shadows. It even comes with 2 gorgeous palettes. I have tried that specific palette, but plan to in the future as soon as possible and when I do, I will link it here. For everything you are getting in that kit, trust me, that is the cheapest and most cost efficient kit you will find that is as complete as this one. TKB even has a Mica sampler pack for everything you need. Or you can pick up one of these Discounted Sample Mica Pack's. I personally am dying to try Kelly's Fantasy!(pictured below-aren't those some gorgeous colors??)

2.) When you get your package, as exciting as it is to just get started right that very second once you see all those gorgeous colors you need to prep your work-space FIRST. Trust me when I say this will save you a ridiculous amount of time later and a ton of mess. Find any flat surface, and cover it with parchment paper or something like that. I personally love parchment paper for this because it catches any mess, it waterproof if I spill a liquid and it doesn't soak through like it would through a towel and it's what I had on hand, but really, anything will work!

3.) Before you start, make sure you have everything needed to press. This is one of the main reasons I stress that you really should start out with a kit like the one above from TKB because heaven forbid if you get all of those gorgeous Mica color's and everything you need to press, but you forgot ONE tiny thing(yeah, that would be me....My first order I forgot to put ANY powder eye-shadow base in my cart and so my order got here, but I was missing ONE thing I needed to actually press them. It was a sad day. Haha. So I had to wait another week or two to place a small order for the eye-shadow base and a filler that would help with adhesion, etc(that's a whole other post, so look for the next one) So anyway, with that said, just in case for some reason you can't order the kit or are ordering elsewhere or whatever, here is a BASIC list of things you will need to press your own as well as links on where to purchase these things:

First, Obviously to press an eye-shadow, you are going to need some sort of color for that. Some people use pigment like Mac Pigments, or even old eye-shadows. Those are options but for me, starting with a good quality, highly pigmented Mica powder is the best option. You can find hundreds of colors here.
Second, you need some sort of liquid binder. I have tried quite a few, but my personal favorites are both from TKB. There is either the MyMix Clear Pressing Medium OR for those who prefer to not use Silicon, Joboba Oil and Fractionated Coconut Oil are great binders as well. You can find those here and here.
Third, you need a powder base. I personally like TKB's Matte Texture Base for Eye's for someone new to making eye-shadows because when you first start and you are looking at a list of 15 different "white powders" it's VERY hard to figure out what you need. I spend well over a week doing my research on EVERY SINGLE ADDITIVE until I came across this. There is just not very many resources out there for making your own cosmetic's, and if there is, no one gives SUPER SPECIFIC lists. They just say "powder base" which could be 20 or 30 you have to look at and choose one. Hence the reason for this blog! ;) Anyway, you can find the Matte Texture Base here. I use it in sparkle eye-shadows as well without any issues personally, just at a lower concentration. (It can lighten dark eye-shadows, so I just use 3 parts Mica to 1 part eye-shadow base for eye-shadows I want to be very dark)
And finally you need something to press it in. Again, TKB Trading offer's everything you need in one place at a low cost so that is why I choose them over other companies. And by the way, no I am not paid by them nor do I work for their company. haha. I really have just had such a good experience with them so far compared to other's that I highly recommend them. :) They have various size pans that are tin plate, so they stick to magnetized palettes(aluminum pans do not stick to magnets, you have to glue them and they are pretty horrible to try to press in because they don't hold up. Along with the pans, they offer so many options for single compacts, palettes, and things to put your pans in. I will be doing a full review on every palette they offer and which ones hold up best, etc as soon as I have the money to buy more goodies, so check back soon! :) Pans can be found here. (I HIGHLY recommend a press pack as well for whatever size you get, for the tamping tool. It does an amazing job and does far better than whatever else you can use(quarters, etc) for pressing your eye-shadows. TKB also has small 5 and 10 gram jars and you can press in those as well. I personally prefer using tins, and putting those tins in the compacts I purchased from TKB.

Anyway, so this is just a basic starter list for DIY eye-shadows. I am going to share a few pictures of my very first DIY project with pressing eye-shadows. For my first time, I think these turned out pretty great. They are highly pigmented comparable to MAC or other high quality eye-shadows, without the hefty price tag. And it it just an enjoyable hobby for me. :) I will also be adding to this blog a swatch of every single Mica TKB offers as I get them(Note: this will take some time so please be patient, I have a set amount I can spend per month out of my budget and TKB offers SO many color options that there is no way I could buy them all at once, which is a good thing!) and reviews as well as complete reviews on their palettes and compacts as well since no other blog that I have seen offers that. So check back soon!

P.S.- Here are some photo's from my first DIY project! Let me know what you think! :)