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)

Product Review: Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette

The Smashbox Full Exposure Palette is one I've constantly looked at in Sephora but have never purchased because the packaging wasn't gimmicky enough to draw me in or there was always something else I was coveting more. However, when I learned that Macy's had a travel sized version of the palette featuring 8 shades from the original 14 of the palette, I was thrilled! This was exactly what I wanted - to dabble in the palette and avoid colors I may not be incredibly fond of (such as some of the repeating nudes and grays).

The travel-sized Smashbox Full Exposure palette is so small it fits in the palm of my hand (and I have small hands) and it retails for $22 (Macy's often has discounts, however so I got mine for $15). The full sized palette features 14 colors and retails for $49. The travel palette features 8 shades at .02625oz each versus the 0.035 oz sized shadows of the original palette. The travel palette is sleek, can fit in any purse and seems quite resilient as it is made out of plastic - it even contains a miniature mirror for any on-the-go touch-ups.

Top Row: Chocolate brown with golden pearl, soft gold with gold and silver pearl, light tan with gold and silver pearl, midtone slate with silver pearl

Bottom Row: Matte warm chocolate brown, soft matte midtone tan, creamy matte beige, ashy dark brown

Here are my swatches of the palette. I'm incredibly happy with this travel-sized palette as I don't think I would have splurged on the full size and this really satisfies my craving for this line. I really think this palette is fairly similar to the Lorac Pro Palette but it is a travel friendly version. The shadows are buttery, perform well and are easy to blend... I find that this would be particularly useful for someone who wants an easy look or is new to eyeshadow combinations.