Archived Post

How do you use loose pigments/colors?


How do you use loose pigments/colors? Share!

I use them with MAC’s Water-Based Mixing Medium!   It allows you to apply it wet but also with a slightly adhesive quality, so it’ll stay on all day.

Thanks to Emily for today’s question!

Got a question idea? Submit yours here.

47 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Isheeta Avatar

I like to use them wet using Fix+.. I also like to use Fix+ and then using pigment as a liner.. it gives a new eyeliner color!!

vonnie Avatar

i thought the lasplash was cool, but i only used it like twice with a glittery loose pigment. just smoothed some over my lids and pat that onto it, stuck all day. i don’t remember how it did with blending, was going for a mostly glittery lid 🙁

Biddi_NZ Avatar

I use them wet with fix + but I’m thinking I might try the eyeliner mixing medium to make them stick as liners… Anyone tried it? Is it worth getting? I have the nepolian Perdis cake eyeliner sealer but it smudges like a mofo when I use it 🙁

Isabell Avatar

Just like regular eyeshadows. I rarely use them wet or with a mixing medium, although sometimes I use a sticky base (like a cream highlighter or whathaveyou) for a more vibrant color!

queenfrostine Avatar

Most of them I apply just as I would a pressed shadow. I apply my makeup sitting on my bed so juggling mixing mediums or adding water isn’t really something that meshes well with my routine. For that reason, I only use loose shadows that have proper binding ingredients in them like MAC’s. For their nicer, smoother pigments like Old Gold, I don’t really need any additional products apart from a standard eye shadow base to get it to perform properly.

Gala Avatar

I use them either over a cream eyeshadow, such as MAC’s paintpots – mine is Bare Study, or with Pixi Epoxy, which I finally got last week and loving it so far!

eun Avatar

I put on some cream shadow first, and press the loose shaow on with my finger. no sweeping motion. I make sure they adhered well before blending.

feder Avatar

I really love loose pigments and use them almost always. always with mac 239 brush, mostly just dry on the whole lid and crease. for use as a liner, I use them wet.

cakegirl Avatar

If you can find it, Make up forever’s flash colour in White stays put with powder over top. I had it put on me a few years ago as a base and I still had full makeup on when I was done working, 10 hours later.

Ani_BEE Avatar

Dry onto a cream base like MUFE Flash colour.
Dry onto nyx jumbo pencil with a primer underneath.
Foil them with just plan water onto a primer.
Use them dry onto a primer for a softer look.
Foil them with Fix+ onto a primer.
Glycerin based Mixing Medium onto a primer.

I use a lot of mineral eyeshadows and pigments and will probably for years since if you take care them the decant what you need instead of adding things to the lid they will last for year if the don’t have any biological components (like mac’s).

I also don’t have oily lids so if you do a Mixing Medium is great to have.

Chester Avatar

First, I press them. Makes them so much easier to use. Then I make sure to always use a sticky base underneath, either MAC paint pots or a creamy eye shadow pencil. For use as a liner I use regular water.

Brie Avatar

How appropriate, as I received my mica powders from Coastal Scents yesterday! I’m actually shaking them up with top coat to create my own nail polish…Wearing a shimmery robin’s egg blue that I custom mixed right now! As eyeshadow, I use them very carefully (if they’re dry) or apply them wet. They also make fabulous liquid eyeliners and lipgloss (when mixed with any clear gloss). I’m now officially obsessed!

Sarah Avatar

I use them on the eyes only with either water or MAC’s Water based mixing medium. I have not ventured on to other uses…perhaps I should…

Sarah M Avatar

I used pigments dry, on the eyes, over either an eye kohl or mac cream colour base. I use primer first and have never really had an issue trying to get the intensity I want, or creasing, or fading. If I’m feeling more adventurous, I might make a bright eye liner using mac’s eye liner mixing medium or mix a natural shimmering pigment with foundation or body lotion and use it all over. On photoshoots loose pigments are probably my most used products… great for achieving different effects anywhere on the face/body; wet or dry.

Bianca Avatar

I do it a few different ways:

I use an eye primer (usually UD) and just apply it directly.
Use it as I would a regular eyeshadow.
Mix it with a clear gloss or balm it I want to use the color on my lips.
If I want to use it as a cheek color I mix it with a translucent powder.

I love pigments!

Nicci Julien Avatar

I use all sorts of different mediums. Fix plus, baby oil, hair gel, nail polish, alcohol, body lotion, Shea butter, fix + etc.I use it for eye shadow pressing, eye shadow ( loose pigment), blush, eye liner, lip gloss, temporary hair color, nail polish, mix a pretty “glowy” pigment with body lotion or oil and rub all over arms chest and legs, highlighting my face ( MAC Vanilla is perfect for this), Body art and body bronzing 🙂

Bubbles Avatar

I love using pigments on my eyes dry or wet. I have recently started mixing pigments with clear gloss and it is so much fun!! I mixed MAC’s Rose pigment with gloss and it was the most gorge color! That pigment is also pretty on the cheeks. ^_^

Linn Avatar

I LOVE to use them with the new Big Bounce shadows! I have never seen pigments look so beautiful as if you mix them with BB shadows. My favorite is to mix “Later” pigment with the sky blue of the medium green one. You have to try it, Christine!!

Lark Avatar

I find the mixing medium to be an urban myth. It’s hard to get and so intimidates the uninitiated! A really sticky high silicone content primer works fine. Pigment stacks are the old Pro formula and just glue on like a tattoo. The trick is to use a soft hair brush, not goat. New bottle/new formula pigments need hefty primer. the mixing medium is probably fine; but since it takes gymnastic shopping to get it you must not really need it. MAC sells piggies but not that in Consumer stores. They’re there to sell and make money. Doesn’t make sense to require a rare medium from Pro. And mine stays fine with MAC eye primer.

Lark Avatar

Another Urban MakeUp Myth is glycerin as pigment medium. I know, EnKore said so, but glycerin is hydrophilic (right term?). It holds water and never dries. Not a best choice when you have Paint Pot, Fresh UDP, MAC Primer… I got sent on the glycerin/ Pro Product/ impossible stuff chase and I thought it was mean hazing. Then I got my Little Monster Paws on Pro Pigment and it’s got stickum in it? Angry Make up Junkie! So now I wear that thirty color collection. And NYX Pearl. Very pretty colors- and orange. The ELF shadow brush is super for piggies; soft but beautifully cut for great control.

Brenda Avatar

I use them several ways – dry or with Mixing Medium on lids, in a bit of foundation or moisturizer as a highlight, all over depending on colour or as bronzers or cheek colours, patted over clear gloss on lips, as eyeliners with Mixing medium…. haven’t tried on nails yet.

Maggie Avatar

PIGMENT JUNKIE HERE !!! lol I looooooove my pigments esp my Vanilla pigment, that one gets used the most I mix it up in my lotion after I shower I mix it in my foundation before I apply it and almost always a sheer layer of it over whatever I apply on my eyes as well as my highlighter and more heavy on my inner corner of my eyes over my white eyeliner. But the last week Ive only been using mac pigments in naked and tan, I use the brown pigment from the summer stash on my crease and tan all over my lid and on top of that brown color as well as using it as an eyeliner for that look and I love it, its my everyday even at work look with of course my beloved vanilla as a higlight ! i loooooove my makeup esp my pigments

Annie Avatar

Matte ones are applied dry over UDPP. Shimmery ones are applied either over Pixie Epoxy or mixed with Liquid Sugar from Eye Kandy Cosmetics. Its the most versatile product I’ve used. It turns looks glitter to a gel for smooth liner application, works as a liner seal for loose and pressed shadows and foils them beautifully while still keeping them blendable.

Mel Avatar

I press them. Easier travel and I found myself skipping over all of these jars of pretty pigment because I didn’t have the patience to mess with them and of course Pixie Epoxy is a must for loose and sparkly pressed eyeshadows

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!