DIY Magnetic Eyeshadow Palette (Similar to MAC & Z palette)

Do you ever just want a travel-sized palette but don't feel like shelling out the big bucks for the tiny little ones from Z palette or MAC? To my knowledge the MAC palette is around $8 and can only fit a couple of shadows, and the smallest Z palette is still a whopping $14. I'd rather make one for free from stuff laying around my house. Makeup is all about creativity so why can't we be innovative with the way we store our pretties?

Let me show you what I did...

Tosowoong Makeon Waterproof Little Mermaid Gel Eyeliner Set (Season 2)

I had ordered this beautiful Korean gel eyeliner set Tosowoong MAKEON Waterproof Little Mermaid Gel Eyeliner Set (Season 2) and I had a beautiful leftover tin once I pulled out the little plastic insert where the pencils were held snug. It was just sitting around and I didn't have the heart to throw it out because it was just so adorable, so I had to re-purpose it into a miniature eyeshadow palette (ideal for travel).

I won't lie, I thought this would be a lot more difficult, and I looked into getting adhesive magnets to lay down as the foundation for my eyeshadow pans to magnetize to. But duh!!! Magnets just stick to tins! Halleleujah you don't have to do anything at all! You just put your round adhesive magnets onto your eyeshadow pans and they stick right to the tin. Such genius, much amaze, WoW. 

If you don't know how to achieve single eyeshadow pans, please refer to my depotting guide: Depotting Your Single Eyeshadows. You can take your eyeshadows out of their respective containers and thus allowing you to customize the way they are stored. I have depotted everything from MAC single eyeshadows to NYX single eyeshadows, to everything you see in my palette below and tons more. It's such an ideal way to save space... you don't realize how much space packaging takes up until you depot.

None of the shadows move at all, I actually think the magnet sticks more to the tin than it ever did to my Z palettes seeing as things are always floating around in my Z palette. This palette is so useful for travel since it closes securely and I have managed to put a good variety of shades in there for dozens of different eyeshadow looks.

The contents of my Mini Eyeshadow Palette:
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips - Fashionista (pink and purple tones with pop of neon green)
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips - Eye Candy, Enhance Blue Eyes (blue tones with pop of red)

Nars Eyeshadow Duo - Sugarland (sparkly apricot and pink)
Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadow - Retrograde (deep purple w/ glitter)
ELF Eyeshadow Single - Saddle
4 small Estee Lauder travel singles (names/set unknown - depotted these forever ago)
Wet N Wild Single Eyeshadow - Brulee
Wet N Wild Single Eyeshadow - Nutty
NP set - Dublin (moss, emerald green, forest green eyeshadows)
Elizabeth Mott - Pop Goes the Shadow (champagne)

Maybelline Baby Lips, Napoleon Perdis and Skincare

Recently I stopped in a few stores and picked up a few essentials for my trip, but I also came across some new products that I was really curious to try out. I'll do a quick rundown, photos and review of each if you're curious about whether or not you should spend your money on these products. I do recommend that if you are traveling, it's the perfect time to try out new moisturizers, facial cleansers, etc. since I doubt most of us want to carry around all those liquid/cream products. Don't mind the hair ties, a girl's always gotta have some knotted hair-ties that look as good in your hair as they do on your wrist (I keep these in all my purses, in my makeup bag, in the bathroom - you never know when you'll have an up-do emergency)! I'm also uber-obsessed with the Yes to Blueberries Facial Cleansing Cloths, I picked them up for $5.99 and I think the scent is absolutely delightful. I was hooked on these when I got them in my Birchbox for the month of September.

NP Set at Target

"NP" Napoleon Perdis Eyeshadow Palette in Dublin - this is a green eyeshadow trio (comes in other colors as well) with nice pigmentation and flecks of shimmer. There are no huge chunks of glitter, but the shades are definitely far from matte. The tones remind me of olive-khaki and would be perfect for the fall. The texture is smooth and creamy. You can find these at Target, they retail for $20, but I got mine on sale for $5.06 because apparently someone had opened it but it was not swatched when I purchased it.

My favorite color is the one in the center as it brings the brightest pop,
the flanking colors are much more muted and neutral

Swatches are smooth, silver to golden flecks of sparkle can be seen
Color on the left swatches as a lighter version to right-most color
Swatched in daylight by a window on overcast day

I don't think that the NP Set colors are so extremely unique that they should be purchased for $20, as I know that Urban Decay has many dupes of the flanking colors in their Naked palettes. I do think that the center color is unique in this Dublin palette and I'm definitely glad I picked it up discounted because it's a set that is nice to have and I will use it. I wish the packaging was a little more high end for the price-point of these sets. It really reminds me of the ELF essentials collection packaging. The applicator is also totally useless as the sponge would pick up the color from your palette but not deposit it onto your eyelid properly. Definitely use a brush you already own to do your eyeshadow with this palette as with any other. You can purchase your set here.


Maybelline Baby Lips - These lip balms have intrigued me for a long time because I've seen them on YouTube as many of the gurus have had them on their "must haves". I only got one in "Peach Kiss" so my review isn't going to be as exhaustive here. I was pretty let down by these because when you apply them they literally feel like vaseline, but I will say that they have a much more pleasant smell. In terms of pigmentation, it's extremely light and when I apply it to my lips, it doesn't even appear as though there's product on them. It's fine for an everyday lip balm, especially since the price is low, but it's definitely not more spectacular than any other lip balm for moisturizing. I find that the product sits atop of my lips and doesn't sink in to moisturize. I'm sure over time I might pick up a darker color just to see if the pigmentation improves, but for now, I found this swatch of the collection, keep in mind this person is lightly pigmented and these colors going over an already-present lip color will be a lot less noticeable.

This blog has a breakdown of the specifics of each color, check it out if you want more info

POND'S Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream and Clarant B3 Dark Spot Correcting Cream - 

First of all, I absolutely love the scent of POND'S products. My absolute favorite so far is the Clarant B3 scent (in the rose tub) because it reminds me of cherry blossoms. I bought these in the small size of 1.75oz in the "travel section" of Target. They're the perfect trial size as they were only around $1. They're filled up generously to the top and it's going to take me weeks to go through these. Both of these creams absorb very easily into the skin and leave your face feeling very moisturized and soft. I apply both creams, with a wait of about 10 minutes in between to let the first one sink into my skin morning and evening (this is especially important if you use makeup wipes which typically contain alcohol and will dry out your skin). You really can't go wrong with these, the formula reminds me a little bit of the Nivea Light Repairing Night Cream, which is my favorite night cream/moisturizer. 

Jergen's Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer - This is a thicker formula moisturizer that is more saturated with oils because it takes my skin a much longer time to absorb. However, I would recommend this over the POND'S formula for dry to very dry skin and I apply it if I'm having a particularly dry skin day (this is for use on your body, it does not specify that it should be used on the face). It can feel a little greasy and the scent is not as pleasant. Again, if you want to try this out, pick it up at the travel section of a store near you and then commit to the larger size if you are pleased.