Hey ladies,

I know from reading previous posts that some of you press your own AL eyeshadows successfully, so I was wondering how! I just placed my order last night so I will have enough shadows to fill a palette now. A friend tried pressing Underworld and it rose up and looked like a volcano! She didn't bake hers, however, as some people recommend. Does anyone know what the best method is for mineral shadows?

Ok, so i tried pressing, and some things turned out ok, but the majority of it crumbled. Coastal Scents sells a binder for mineral makeup that you can use for pressing, but I haven't tried it. However, I've seen others try it via online tutorials and it worked for them.

I've actually recorded what I've done in my blog if you're interested:
http://decoratived.blogspot.co...uccess-failures.html

For stocking stuffers for the ladies in my family, I made several pallets of pressed Al minerals for them and myself . I used Coastal Scents EZ Prez and they turned out gorgeous. It was easy to do with good instructions that come with the medium. I didn't do any mattes but did many Pure Hues, Frosts, Lustres. The colors actually are richer after being pressed than they are dry. The medium gives a creamy quality. I like the finish much better than water application and has great staying power.
I thumped the pallets on the table after they were filled to test my stick-on method for the pots and none of the colors cracked.
I even used the medium to repair some old MAC eyeshadows and they turned out great. Kathy

I press all of my AL shadows and LOVE them!

The technique of pressing took some practice, but now I've got it down to an art. I began by trying the Coastal Scents technique here, and also Koren (EnKore on YouTube) has a good video here and here! These methods are good, but I've found them to leave the shadow still not packed tightly enough for me. Also, the 'baking' causes my eyeshadows to swell and puff wierdly.

So this is my modified method. The shadow is packed tightly, and the color payoff is gorgeous! Plus, there is little to no fallout!!!

1.Sanitize everything with 90% alcohol
2.Add pigments to small glass/plastic dish- I use a little soy sauce/sushi dish!
3.Gently shake Pressing Medium (Coastal Scents), and add drop by drop to dish with pigments.
4.I add about 18-25 drops for most shadows. Matte shadows are tough, and I stay away from pressing those. I have found that adding a bit of a luster/frost shades to mattes does help with adhesion.
5.Mix pigment/medium carefully with small spatula. Then I mix even more by pressing the mixture against the side of the container. It should look like crumbly sand.
6.Then, this is where I modify. I take a little spray bottle full of 90% alcohol and add this little by little to the mixture until it forms a firm paste. It should be moist, but not liquidy- like a cake frosting.
7.Then I place the little 'mound' of mixture into a clean/sanitized eyeshadow pan. I place it in the middle and then gently 'tap' the pan on a flat surface. This causes the eyeshadow mixture to settle and even out in the pan.
8.I let it dry overnight.
9.After it is dry, I mist the surface with alcohol lightly, let it absorb, and then press the pigments firmly with a quarter and a piece of cloth.
10.Voila! Cute little AL eyeshadow pans!

I hope this helps! Let me know if how have any questions- I just love my little compacts full of AL!

I for one have to admit that I love the loose aspect of the mineral make-up as I travel with them so much and don't have to worry about dropping them or having the airlines toss them about and break them.

You guys are ingenious though!