What do you do with cream products that have dried out? Do you try to salvage them? How? Share!
I’ve heard that Inglot’s Duraline works really well for this purpose, but I don’t think I have it. I’d probably toss, though, given my needs.
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If a quick burst of heat from a hair dryer doesn’t soften it up it gets tossed. Especially w/ products near the eye. I might be willing to work more with face products like blush vs cream shadows.
Nope. I would throw it out. Unless, I was desperate and NEEDED that product for a look NOW (thus, no time to buy a replacement) and nothing else would do, then I’d try and see if taking off the top of the hardened cream and stirring with a toothpick will help things.
Plain pure jojoba oil ( I use organic ) works just fine. I keep all my long D.C or L.E paint pots, cream color bases and liners fresh and creamy. Just a drop on the surface from time to time, gently spread over the surface. Just after, screw the lid tightly.
That’s an awesome tip! 😀
Thanks, Amalia! This is a great tip and I will definitely be purchasing some jojoba oil.
Dura line. It’s magical. Saved my dip brow and turns all my pigments into liners. Before it I was sitting on a ton of shadows I didn’t know how to use because I crease / transfer most liners pretty easily. It’s magical. No transferring and brought so much life and inspiration to my makeup doing!
if it’s dried out, it’s probably way past it’s expiry date anyway. if it’s just crusty b/c it hasn’t been used much I just scrape off a few layers.
It’s not something I’ve had happen too often but I know that when my beloved MAC Paint Pot in Painterly dried out somewhat I persevered with it for ages before finally buying a new one. I don’t think it could be saved and a good bit of the product was gone anyway so it was time for it to be laid to rest. 😛
It depends on what the product is and how much I use it. If it’s something I never use anyway then I will chuck it immediately if it’s really bad. Other than that I will try to save it!
Make Up Revolution (UK brand) has a very affordable dupe, the Aqua Seal.
I absolutely love it! Sometimes I mix a drop into my Color Tattoo’s to get a sheer color which works even better as a primer for oily lids. Totally recommend, if you don’t have as much make-up as Christine has.
I just toss ’em out. I don’t want to add stuff to them to try and fix them, I don’t trust myself with that, lol 🙂
I microwave them for tiny tiny amounts of time haha
xx
I haven’t tried it, but I’m thinking of trying Life’s Entropy Revival Serum. http://lifesentropy.com/shop/revival-serum/ Judging by the ingredients list, it sounds like it could be really good for that. The ingredients list isn’t too far off from Inglot’s Duraline from what I can see, but The Revival Serum is more affordable.
I may have to mention that I completely forgot that I asked this question. No wonder it sounds familiar. 😛
I’ve also only found out about the Revival Serum literally a couple days ago. So I guess asking the question may have been necessary for my prayers to be answered, lol.
I tried “fixing” a dried out Benefit Skinny Jeans with eyeshadow transformers from both Smashbox and Lise Watier and it really didn’t do any good to in the end, I tossed it and bought a new one. MAC Paint Pots, on the other hand, seem quite “fixable” and the easiest “fix” of all is simply to take a needle and give it a stir….I’ve done it with Painterly and it felt as creamy-soft as when it was new.
Air projectile into the bin.
A mu artist told me to either take a hairdryer to the cream (in my case BB eye gel) or put in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. It works!!
Yep, Inglot Duraline. I have only used it with gel/cream liners eye shadows. Before getting it though, I had a few gel liners that needed softening. I was told to put them in the microwave for a few seconds(like 3 literally) by a Sephora SA. I loosed the caps and did that. it worked. Softened them up enough to work. I also have used Visine in mascaras that need a little help or a week or 2 stretch. I will put a drop in and turn it upside down in a cup overnight. usually helps me get at least a couple extra weeks out of mascaras that tend to dry quick.
I could use some advice with Nars multiples. i have many and they are too drying on my cheeks. Any ideas to give that product more slip?
My experience with Multiples is they ease up over time/usage. Also, using a soft, dense brush like Real Techniques Expert Face Brush really works well to apply them. The layers tend to be sheerer, but they build up easily. HTH
Thanks for the tip! I certainly will try that out!
I think I must check out Inglot Duraline now.
As for Nars Multiples being too dry, the only thing I can think of is to put a primer or something underneath to give it more slip. Something silicone-based should work well as long as you’re not sensitive to the ingredient.
Ryou,I would try the Duraline If you can find it. I ordered mine form Beautylish and it’s lasted forever because you only need a tiny amount. it also can make shadow/pigments into a liner. It’s pretty cool. I just used mine yesterday on a liner that was only about a 1/4 used. I just have a lot and don’t use them much. So, they start drying quick on me.
I’ll play around with the multiples. I mostly use them in summer when my skin get less dry. I’ll try my primers with higher silicone amounts though. Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
I bought my Duraline at Macy’s–they are carrying Inglot now, at least here in SoCal they are.
I’ve found that putting them in the microwave for several seconds helps. But only in the short term.
Toss!
I don’t use a lot of cream products, due to my oily skin. I don’t buy anything too expensive in creams, so I just toss it. It has to be pretty old to dry out.
I use isododecane for most products. It’s available cheap on Amazon (much, much cheaper than Duraline, etc.) and it works really well.
This is the description from Paula’s Choice:
Isododecane – Hydrocarbon ingredient used as a solvent. Isododecane enhances the spreadability of products and has a weightless feel on skin. All hydrocarbons used in cosmetics help prevent the evaporation of water from the skin.
However, I don’t use it for things like cream liners or mascaras because I don’t trust myself to keep it sterile. For those things, I use eye drops. The glycerine in them rehydrates the product, and I know it won’t hurt me cuz it’s meant to go in my eyes.
My fave mascara is Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!. Love the effect it gives, but it dries out after about a month. So not willing to throw down $20 every month for that mascara. With the eyedrops I can stretch it out to 2. I also recently bought Too Faced Bulletproof Brows, which dried out after about a month and a half–when I still had 3 quarters of the product left. No way to I have the cash to just throw out products that don’t make it to (or anywhere near) their expiration date.
+1
I would NEVER add water into an anhydrous product like cream shadows and liners because they don’t contain preservatives. I wouldn’t add oil because it can affect how the product sets. I’m sure a little wouldn’t matter but why add that when you can get the job done with a solvent that the formula probably already contains? Microwaving would melt the waxes but it would be hard again the next use, and, if you accidentally overheat then the product may become unusable for good. Nah, just add isodecane. I use Duraline because I have it and I’ll never use up the bottle on its own anyway.
Yes i use Inglots Duraline
I’m with you Christine, I throw them out, and buy new ones.
I don’t use cream products often. I just really haven’t learned to apply them. I initially thought I would discard the product butt fatter reading comments below, I might try that.
Throw it out. There are other options?
I don’t own any cream eye shadows that dry out – I would toss them.
Inglot’s Duraline it a life saver for potted gel based product. I’m always dries out before they are done even with using my Sanitizing Wipes from beauty so clean. I still use those first, then rub in one drop into the product to add back the moisture lost and it work because it’s the same formula in a more liquid form to gel. (It’s a great converter for loose pigments as well).
If you don’t have Duraline use a bead of clear gel base primer and a few drops of glycerin to mix it in as this will reactivate the formula as well.
Most cream products are waxed/oil base so just the Sanitizing Wipes does an excellent job at cleaning the dried out top layer off to get the fresher stuff.
If I want to make my cream products look like new, the hairdryer trick works to melt the surface layer and let it cool into a smooth surface again. 😉
Ahh, thank you for the tips! I have A LOT of cream products so they tend to dry out before I can use them up.
Hello
MAC fix olus works wonders too
The only cream products that have dried out on me are pretty cheap, so I just chuck ’em.
With my gel eyeliner pots I heat them up and once they’re liquid I add a tiny drop of coconut oil and stir it in to replenish lost moisture. The first time I tried it I was worried about harming the liner’s wear time (especially since I have oily lids) but it actually didn’t impact the product’s performance at all! I do a cat eye 4-5 days a week so I do use lots of liner but still don’t ever manage to use up a pot before it dries out and needs a little rehab. What I’d really love to hear is advice on dried out ColourPop shadows. I have 1 from one of the holiday collections that dried out after only wearing it once (yes I capped it tightly after using). My other shades are still nice and creamy but that one’s dry as dust already.
I would think anything silicone based might work for them as cyclopentasiloxane is the 1st ingredient in all of their shadows…but then there’s the whole cucumber fruit extract & mango seed butter to think of also… That is a tough one…
Honestly, I tend to just toss them. Sometimes, I’ll warm them up or add a drop of oil to get them creamier, but if it’s a cheaper product, I toss it. I also tend to track which products dry out faster – and then boycott them from future purposes. Thus far, Chanel’s Illusion d’Ombre, MAC gel liner, and Mary Kay’s cream eyeshadow formulas have been the strongest contenders for a lasting formula.
(Speaking of cream products – I was very dismayed to drop by the Chanel counter and find out they’re discontinuing the cream blushes! Apparently, they’re getting rid of the pan format and switching to a stick version. 🙁 )
I’m not certain what consistency Maybelline’s Color Tattoo eyeshadows are supposed to be… I recently-ish bought four shades, & my brushes will sometimes pick up a glob or globs of product (not smooth or almost liquid-y globs like Colour Pop, they’re more dry-ish globs..), & I’ll think that I can blend it out, which I do, but it intensifies the color & then I have to change the look up.
Now I bought all 4 of these from the same Rite Aid, so I’m not sure if they’re older.. or if they were returns (YUK if they put returns back on the shelves), but they all have the same smooth if you go in a circle with your finger on the tippy-top layer, but not smooth with your brush (if that makes any sense)… There were no expiration dates so idk what to think..
* & I’ve nvr had a MAC paintpot to compare them to (working on that tho. There are no MAC stores where I live, so I nvr grew up with MAC the way most normal stateside ppl did, but there is one about an hour & 15 away, & I intend on picking up a paint pot soon).
I know this was off topic & I’m sorry… I’m just hoping that someone could tell me what their consistency is supposed to be like… 🙂
Poor grasp strength, can’t always close lid tight, so I found a long time ago that a drop of either eyeliner sealer (idbe) or brush cleaner dissolves hardened formula.
I don’t use cream products in general actually. I don’t think it’s hygienic, they go bad faster than powder products and, as you said, dry out! But if I do own a dried-out cream one day, I will give up and throw it in the trashcan within seconds 😉
I put a few drops of alcohol in it and mix it with a metal spatula. It brings them back to life and the texture is easier to work with. I learned this from a video Dustin Hunter posted a long time ago!
I’ve used eye drops on cream liners. That worked for me.