My DIY Mac lipstick palette

So I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet ;) and melt down all of my beloved Mac lipsticks into a much more easily accessible and practical palette.
​As I have been getting busier and busier with my freelance makeup I came to realize the frustration of rummaging through a bag full of lippies which was like winning the lotto pulling out the color I wanted! 

So If you are curious to know how I did this or just interested in the shades I have, then keep reading and I will take you through the method I followed and some photos along the way.

You will Need:
- Newspaper to lay down for any spills and drips (things do get messy)
- Small candle 
- A Sharp Knife
- Stainless steel measuring cup (smaller the better mine was 1/4 cup size)
- A palette with wells 
- A box of tissues or roll of paper towels
- Lipsticks 
- Lighter or matches

Method 
1. First things first. Its best to line up all your lipsticks, Take the lids off and wind the bullet up so you can clearly see the shades next to each other. Now you want to work out which order you would like the lippies to be once they are in your palette, You can see pictured below the order I chose mine to be. 
I think this step is really important (especially if your a little OCD) so that you get your palette looking exactly how you want as its easy to get excited and jump into it then think crap?! I should have thought that out first! (you might notice that there are only 20 shades as I added 4 to complete it a couple of days later )

2. Next up lay down your newspaper, get your tools ready and light your candle. Take your first lipstick and carefully slice the lipstick bullet with your sharp knife clean off at the base and into your Stainless steel measuring cup. 
Carefully hold the bottom of the cup over the candle flame, the lipstick will start melting immediately and I tried to keep the product moving as it melted because I think its important to melt it but not let it get so hot that it bubbles, This might alter the formula and or shade.

3. Now that you have a nice melted liquid consistency you want to carefully hold the measuring cup over the well and with a steady hand pour it in until it is full ( be careful not to overfill ) The lipstick should start to solidify pretty quickly.
Put your empty lipstick bullet back in line in the same order as this will come in handy later.

4. Heres where the tissues/Napikns come in handy, Wipe out the remaining lipstick until its clean again.  I found that the bottom of the cup got a little blackened, its important to wipe this off too as if the melted lipstick drips onto the bottom and mixes with charcoal then can drip onto the palette.

5. Repeat all steps until all your lipsticks are used up and the palette is complete

6. As you can see here I have peeled off all of the shade names with my sharp knife from the bottom of the lipsticks and put them on the back also in order so I will always be able to check what the color is. Which is why I think it makes it easier for you to keep the lipsticks in order as you are depotting so you don't get the shades mixed up!
​

Here are the Shades I have in my palette:

Top Row Left to Right : Ruby woo, Lady Danger, Morange, Relentlessly red, Im passioned, Candy yum yum, Vegas Volt, Pink Plaid

Middle Row Left to Right : Syrup, Faux, Brave, Modesty, Peach Blossom, Patisserie, Fabby, Blankety

Bottom Row Left to Right : Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy, Honey Love, Creme d Nude, Myth, Angel, Twig, Dark Side

So I hope you have found that interesting or helpful if you too are thinking of doing this! Or perhaps just looking at whats in my collection for inspiration. I personally love all of these shades, At first I was quite sad and a little anxious at the thought of hacking all my lipsticks with a knife but once I got started the process is actually super fun and easy! once I was done I was quite happy with my efforts and how beautiful the palette looks :) and of course has saved me so much time when working with clients

Also remember to keep the empty bullets if they are mac because when you take 6 back you can choose a free lipstick of your choice! This is actually how I filled the last empty wells, I had enough to get them all free which I would keep in mind if you want to save yourself some money! 

Fi x