Depotting Eyeshadows: Urban Decay Vice Palette Edition

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

I've been holding onto a Z Palette that wasn't full for some time now and decided that I wanted de-pot some of my palettes to fill it up. I really love the Urban Decay Vice Palette but I wasn't using it very often for some reason so I figured putting it in a palette would spark my interest in the shades again. I googled how to depot the Vice palette and I actually came up with nothing! There were lots of posts about other palettes with a cardboard surrounding but the Vice Palette is made of a sturdy plastic which made it more difficult. I managed to get the job done with this method, though the process wasn't perfect and I did almost ruin a few shadows I'm still happy with the end result. And don't worry, if you do crack a few shadows like I did, my next post will tell you how to fix this problem.

Products You'll Need:
1. Thin spatula, I used one by Cinema Secrets. It needs to be very thin to fit on the sides of the shadow.
2. Blow Dryer
3. Magnet palette, I used the Z Palette (If you do not have a magnetic palette you can purchase a roll of magnetic tape from Michael's and stick those to the back. I did that with a Makeup Forever Palette that I will also show you).



I just want to leave another disclaimer that this process was not perfect. The plastic made it very difficult to remove so I got creative. If you find that this method broke a few eyeshadows like I did (4 out of 20 isn't bad!) my next post is a trick on fixing cracked or broken shadows and I will post is right away. But until then give this a shot!

1. Take the spatula and slide it in the cracks of the case to loosen and remove the top layer. It actually pops out pretty easily, you just might have some trouble with the springs that are attached to the portion where the mirror is.


Note: You'll notice in these pics that a few shadows are missing before I popped out the frame. Those were my attempts to de-pot the shadows using the same method as the cardboard palettes and it was a total fail as this is where I ruined most of the shadows. Taking out the top frame and using the blow dryer is really what makes the difference. 



2. Once you pop out the tray the shadows are sitting on, take your blow dryer and aim it at the back of the shadow you intend on removing. You want it to be nice and hot so the glue is melted and it can be easily loosened.


3. Take a look at the shadow and find the side that seems the loosest from the frame. Gently place the spatula in the crack to make sure it fits. Once you find the right side, slide the spatula in the side so it loosens the shadow. If you can do this on a second side that would be ideal, you want it to be as loose as possible before you try to pop it out.



4. Like I mentioned before, the plastic does not really give so when you're spooning out the shadow, grip the spatula very low and put most of the pressure toward the plastic and not the shadow. I made this mistake multiple times and ended up cracking a few shadows. Do this slowly, if the glue is warm enough you should have no problem. If you feel some resistance, just put the blow dryer on the back of the shadow a little while longer to get the glue nice and hot.


You continue this process until you have all the shadows out, set aside the ones that are cracked and place the remaining shadows in your palette and you're ready for travel!

If you do not have a magnetic palette, take a roll of magnetic tape, peel off the back to reveal the sticky side and stick that to your shadow. I did this with a Makeup Forever Palette and my MAC Eyeshadows, worked great. My only complaint would be that the magnetic tape I purchased was not super strong, try to find one that's super magnetic for extra grip.




If you give this method a try PLEASE let me know, I haven't seen any other posts about it and would love some feedback. See you soon for my post on repairing broken shadows!

1 people left comments on: "Depotting Eyeshadows: Urban Decay Vice Palette Edition"

  1. I was definitely able to pop out the tray so I'm glad I found this tutorial that said you could, I didn't think it would work before I read this. I tried a hairdryer but I think mine just wasn't hot enough. I ended up using a clothes iron and a couple layers of parchment paper and that worked fine.

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