How To: Depotting MAC Eyeshadows

It took me forever to finally decide that life would still go on if I depotted my precious MAC shadows and put them into one palette. And then, it took me forever to decide what palette they needed to go into. Super important decisions - I'm sure you agree.

Anyway, I watched, what felt like, a million videos on YouTube and read tons of different blogs on this topic. I think I found the easiest, and quickest, way to depot my MAC eye shadows. 

What you'll need:

Towel, Flat Iron, Wax Paper, Something to pop the shadow out, Rubbing Alcohol, cotton balls/pads, magnets, an empty palette.

Pop out the pan of eye shadow from the outer plastic casing. Hang onto this both for the Back to MAC, and so you can remove the label and put it on the back of the eyeshadow pan.

Place your shadow on top of a piece of wax paper sitting on the plate of a hot flat iron.
After about 30 seconds to a minute, remove the shadow and carefully slide a thin tool on the side to pop the pan of shadow out of the inner plastic casing. Careful - the metal pan will be HOT! I usually pop it out onto a towel. If the pan does not budge, place it back on the flat iron. Trying to remove the pan before the glue has softened may result in a cracked shadow. The time will vary, depending on how hot your flat iron gets.

While the metal pan is cooling a little, place the outer casing on the wax paper for about 20-30 seconds. Use the same thin tool to lift the sticker off the back of the casing and place it on the non-adhesive side of your magnet.

Now that the metal pan has cooled enough to handle, use a paper towel, cotton pad or ball soaked in alcohol to rub any adhesive left on the back off. I found this to be the most annoying part of the whole process, but it made for a clean and smooth surface to apply the magnet (that already has the label with the shadow name and finish on it).

Put it into a palette of your choosing :)

MAC shadows L-R, Row 1: Samoa Silk, Soft Brown, Texture, Row 2: Amber Lights, Swiss Chocolate, Antiqued, Saddle, Row 3: Rule, Red Brick, Brown Script.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to know if you have found an even simpler way to do this. I must also add - since I have depotted my shadows, they have received much more use.

Disclaimer: If you decide to depot your shadows, you do it at your own risk. Please use caution - I will not be responsible for any ruined product or physical injury you may sustain.

Now, get to work!
Becca