Depotting Drugstore Eyeshadows (Clinique, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon)

As an attempt to free up some space in my eyeshadow collection, I tried depotting for the first time. Also, it feels appropriate to write my first blog post about decluttering! Time to start fresh :) For those who don't know, depotting is removing a makeup product pan from its packaging and into a palette. I saw a few other beauty bloggers/vloggers do it and it looked like a fun project. Often times I neglect my eyeshadows after a while if I'm not feeling like using that color pairing. The shadows I have are duos, trios, and quads from Clinique, Maybelline, Revlon and L'Oreal. The ones I was most excited to depot were the L'Oreal HIP eyeshadows. They are incredibly bulky and difficult to store easily. They are really pigmented so I wanted to get more use out of them.

I thought it was a really cool idea to use a sewing supply box to house all the newly depotted eyeshadows. It isn't too bulky and comes with its own magnetic strip so the eyeshadow pans can stick to them. It's not the most secure thing but it gets the job done. I ended up using 3 magnetic boxes so I can organize by color families.

I'd like to share my experience with depotting. This requires an open flame so please make sure you are working in a well-ventilated area. Please also be careful in handling a sharp blade.

List of supplies and more photos after the jump!

All products were purchased by me.

Supplies needed for depotting:

• ArtBin Sew-lutions Slim Line Magnetic Box (Buy @Joann)
• Eyeshadows you want to depot
• Box cutter or other sharp & thin blade (please be careful)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Plain labels
• Permanent marker
• Small candle and lighter
• Good ventilation!

Make sure you've got a good working surface prepared. Once you have your candle lit, take an eyeshadow and hold the down side about 3 inches over the flame for just a few seconds. Take the box cutter blade and gently pry the pan from the packaging. My pans had a lot of glue residue so I tried removing most of it by scraping and cleaning with rubbing alcohol.

The pans will come out pretty easily most of the time, but some can stand a few more seconds of heat.

I took some labels and wrote the brand and palette name on the back of each pan for my own reference. Some of the glue was really stubborn so I ended up using Scotch tape over the label to cover the excess sticky areas.

I arranged the pans by color family on the box's magnetic backing but you can do it however you would like! I went with purple & pinks, browns & golds, blues & greens. I scattered a few highlighter colors in each one.

The partially melted adhesive and stray eyeshadow bits made a little bit of a mess in the palettes. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. This is a great way to consolidate your makeup if you have limited storage space.

Have you tried depotting? Are you thinking about it? Let me know how it works out for you in the comments below!

-Jenn