Brilliant Play Makeup

My girls got some AWESOME play makeup in their stockings this Christmas. I'm pretty sure the elves made it since the brand name is "e.l.f.". (HeHeHe - clever, I know.) Being a crafty person I was able to uncover the "elves" secret and figure out how it was made.

Here's the "raw" eyeshadow before you glossy it up. The "glittery" powders look dark and sparkly when you're finished while the "matte" powders look glossy like lipgloss.

This project is easy but time intensive so do it when you have several hours to "check" on it while it's drying. You can see my time and patience were somewhat limited.

Here's the finished pressed powder. (The bronzer is my favorite but it's currently MIA so no photo.)

Doesn't this look smooth and creamy like a nice foundation?

Here's an example of the glossy "matte" powder that now looks like lipgloss. Notice the bubbles? That's what you are trying to prevent by taking your time.

You can see some bubbles on the edges of these too. If you have bubbles in your finished project they are not this obvious in "real life", the photo magnifies them.
 

Want to make some of your own?
Ingredients:e.l.f. $1 makeup
Or any other brand of "powder" makeup that comes in a compact
1 bottle of Glossy Accents (or any kind of "Diamond Glaze/Liquid Glass")
A sharp needle

Put your makeup on a level surface. Work from the outside edges into the middle.
Squeeze a generous amount of liquid on your powder makeup. Try to cover each little triangle with one "squeeze" of the bottle to prevent air bubbles (you will still get some, but not as many.)


If your liquid doesn't quite reach the edges of the powder use your needle and carefully "pull" the liquid over to the edge. ONLY touch the liquid, not the powder or you will have colored streaks in your glass.

You will have a dome of milky gloss over the powders when you are finished.

The gloss "shrinks" as it settles and your final makeup will have a smooth concave glassy surface.

Notice there are no air bubbles in the glass. This picture is immediately after applying the glass to all the triangles.

10 minutes later.

Use your needle to carefully pop any air bubbles that are on the surface. Gently tap the makeup case on the table to help other air bubbles rise (like a cake) and then pop with your needle.

The bubbles should pop easily. If they don't, tap the case against the counter again until they have surfaced far enough to easily pop. Check the makeup for bubbles every few minutes (10-15) for an hour or so. It's a great time to catch up on some TV or finish other projects, just check the makeup during the commercial breaks. (I popped bubbles about 5 times during this project.)

You can see the glass is becoming more transparent as it dries. Allow a full 24 hours for the glass to "cure". I touched this one after about 5 hours. I now have a small fingerprint in the grey triangle. It was still slightly gummy because the gloss coating is so thick. After the makeup was cured it was not noticeable. Still, I wanted it to be perfect after taking this long!

24 hours later, perfectly cured and ready to play with.

The colors darken quite a bit after applying the gloss, but I love the shiny smooth surfaces, and they are rock hard so they aren't damaged by the brushes, even after hours of play.

The e.l.f. makeup brushes are only $1 as well. They are excellent additions to the pretend makeup stash... and soft enough they don't poke my eye out when Caitlin gives me a makeover.

My girls have played with these for hours on end and the "makeup" has held up beautifully. We've lost a few lids and a few eye shadow applicators but the makeup itself is perfect and odor free... unlike the "play" nail polish makeup which still stinks, a year later. We threw ours away.

I must say, this is one of the few truly brilliant ideas I've had... that was all my own... and actually worked.

I'm linking up to these parties: (I know, I must be really proud of myself! :)