How to: Pressed Eye Shadow

This Spring, I decided to switch from using eyebrow pencils to 'eyebrow-shadow'.
Here is a step by step of how I put this together.

Step 1

Choose and mix pigments. I decided to do a 3-in-1 color palette for this session. Swatch the colors as you work to test how it is going to look (I used the back of my hand on this session).

Swatching Tip: don't dip your finger into the pigment mixture. Instead, transfer a small amount of mixture to your finger with a clean tool/spoon/narrow spatula, and then swatch on your skin.

Add base powder mixture to the color mixture and sift thoroughly. The base powder helps make the color stay where it is put when applied. See this post for details on how to prepare pressed powder.

Step 2

To press powder, a binder is necessary. This can be fractionated coconut oil, jojoba or a mixture of other neutral, long-lasting and light oils – depending on your texture preference.

Spray a small amount of binder onto a sheet of waxed paper and work it into the color mixture carefully by 'buttering' the paper with a dedicated spatula. Keep working the mixture until it is evenly distributed and starts to 'hang together' when pressed down on with the spatula.

Step 3

Fill your container. Tip: place a piece of waxed paper between the press and the powder. I am using a modified Wolfcraft vice. Read more about this vice in this post. 

There is also a smaller hand-held vice available from Wolfcraft. Read more about it in this post

Step 4

Add a thin layer at a time and press between each layer.

Step 5 

Enjoy your awesome pressed eyeshadow. This entire session took 2 hours. This portion will last about a year.