DIY On-The-Go Girl Portable Makeup Palette!!

Me, wearing all of the products I put in my portable palette. :)--
I'm wearing every single product in the palette, all of the lip colors mixed together in different ratios, over a separate NYX lip liner called pinky beige.

Hi guys.  Thankyou so much to anyone who is still reading in spite of my long hiatuses (hiati?  Uh...How do you pluralize that?  Lol.)

I have currently been living, essentially like a gypsy...I commute from where I currently live (in which, I have no internet, just a small phone data plan), and sometimes I have to stay at a midpoint in order to use said internet and to get to my job and have a little more time to relax (midpoint being my boyfriend's house).  Plus, my sister visited and I was going back and forth an hour out of the way to visit her where she was staying.  It has been kind of nutty.  So, essentially what I am saying is, I've had little time and opportunity to blog, although many times I have wished I could!!

I'm finally enjoying a four day break, and I've reached another midpoint (my dad's place) :)  So here I am.  LET'S GET ON WITH THIS :)  Are you ready?!  Okay I am so excited!!!  I hope you guys love this DIY as much as I do.

DIY Portable Palette :)
Scroll down to the bottom for the list of products/supplies I used.

This is a super easy little project to do.  I'M TALKING AN AWFUL LOT HERE FOR SOMETHING SO SIMPLE.  You can skip all of the words and look at the pictures if you like.  They are pretty darn self-explanatory.  However, I have written some extra fun ideas in the last few paragraphs, uses for the palette, and ways you can get creative :)

So obviously, living like the gypsy that I have been living like lately, I NEEDED something like this. I work at a makeup store, and my bag was getting FULL because I kept having to grab stuff that I needed and store it in my big work bag.  It was getting out of control :)

I have had this L'oreal True Match Powder :)  Truthfully, I'm not L'oreal's biggest fan due to their animal testing/business practices and such, but I got this for an amazing discount at my job.  What is cool about this particular packaging, as rather than have one large compartment, in one snug space, this compact has two separate compartments.  One side is the side with the powder, and the other side carries the mirror and fits a cotton pad/sponge.

Happy accident, I suppose, my powder tray was falling out of where it'd been glued in.  So I easily pulled it out...and then I thought, wait a minute.  This could easily be a makeup mixing palette.  I wiped away the glue (I used Marcelle Cleansing Water--it was what I had on hand--I think isopropyl alcohol would be much better for this particular glue removal) with half of a makeup cotton pad, scrubbing and wiping until all of the glue was gone.  Then I took the dry half of the cotton pad and dried the freshly cleaned, shiny inside of the compact (for lack of a word for that) :)  I then hot glued the powder to the OTHER side of the compact--the side that includes the mirror.

And here is my lovely palette :)  Well, maybe not LOVELY in that it is pretty to look at, but lovely in that it is useful ;)

The Portable Palette ;)

You can also fit other powders inside.  Here, I've inserted an Estee Lauder double wear powder foundation pan in Ecru.  This true match setting powder in N1 is the closest match to Ecru, almost exactly the same shade, the true match being just a hair or two pinker in tone.  It fits perfectly in here!! :)

Estee Lauder Powder Foundation Pan in Ecru, inserted here to show what it looks like.

You can't fit a powder puff or sponge in here, at least none I have tried.  Nothing is flat enough :)  But in my opinion, brushes work FAR better than those anyway!!!  I wouldn't trade a retractable brush for a powder puff or sponge.  Nope.  Wouldn't do it.  I use this eco-tools one I got on amazon for around $6.  There's plenty out there.  I also use an elf retractable lip-brush, which cost me $1.50 with a coupon code. :)  These cost me very little and they make everything easier, cleaner, and less messy in my makeup bag than I think sponges and puffs do.

My retractable brushes for my purse makeup bag.





You may also decorate this if you are feeling crafty and wanting it to be a little more beautiful.  I personally am fine with it the way it is.  Here I show you how you can remove the sticker and the glue.  You simply peel off the sticker and start patting it over the left over glue spots, and the sticker will pull up all of the remaining glue.  Easy trick.  My true match powder is only a few weeks old, so I am not sure if this trick will work for older compacts.  You might need another cotton pad and some isopropyl alcohol.  You can use swarovski crystals, stickers, labels, or mod-podge...whatever.  I would add crystals, except I think they would make this bulky.  Maybe I will think of something pretty to decorate this with later, if I have time.  If so I'll definitely post the new picture on here :)

How to remove the stuck on glue residue with the sticker itself.


This has literally made the weight of my purse makeup bag half as heavy...half of the products are gone.  I was able to completely remove most of my lip products and just swatch them into the palette. :)  I have here, three shades of Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipsticks, one lavender colored LA Girl Lip Glaze, and my favorite concealer I have ever tried, Physician's Formula RX in the Fair/Light shade, which I put in just to dab on with my finger for touch-ups.  The problem with the concealer is it likes to ooze itself out of the tube even when you are not squeezing it...by putting it in this palette I have eliminated that problem!!!

You can also smush lipsticks in here.  You can smush in concealer sticks.  You don't have to be restricted to liquid products.  Powders will be more difficult, but you can always glue powder pans where you feel they will fit, or if you use a different variation of palette, you can keep certain eyeshadows you really like that came inside the palette, and remove the other ones you don't like using a needle and dental floss :) (the needle prys up the pan, poke the floss and wedge it underneath with the needle and then floss it beneath the pan until it's released from the glue).

I'm so thrilled because it is also SO much easier to mix lip colors and control how much product I get on my lip brush.  I've also found that when I apply with a lip brush, my application looks so much better and what I have applied lasts so much longer, disperses so much more evenly, and I use up less product as well.

Plus, at the makeup store I work at, we can't bring in products we have bought at the store most of the time.  This pretty much eliminates that problem, at least with liquid products and setting powders, because I can simply dab a little of anything I need onto the palette and leave the full-size product at home.  Plus I don't have to worry about losing those products!!!  YAY.  I just adore this.  AND everything is all in one place.  Going to make putting my makeup on quickly during lunch breaks and such a snap, and I can get the color I want quickly too!!

As you can see, I absolutely am in love with it!!!

I have been carrying it around, using it all day, and it is stored sideways in my bag.  Because my swatches are small, they really haven't budged or mixed together.  Your results may vary if you use something very watery/oily.  With that in mind, you may want to make a portable palette out of something with separators, keeping the deepness of the separators in mind.  The most liquidy thing I have put in this is the LA Girl Lip Glaze, and it just spread out a little bit, and now it has set and stayed in one small spot without budging.  I like the layout of this True Match compact because I have all of my touch-up products in one place, but you may enjoy a different set-up :)

Hope you guys enjoy this too :)  It is definitely a time-saver, a clutter-clearer, and a creativity-inducer.  As I mentioned a little bit in the last paragraph, you can do this with so many other kinds of palettes.  Not just this one, but you can also make at least lip/foundation/concealer/whatever palettes by removing eyeshadows from little drugstore eye palettes (I'm thinking Wet N' Wild--they have some new six pan white ones that would be great :) ).  Then you'll have little separators in those ones as well :)  You could even press powders you would like into empty pans you have and keep powders and liquids in the palette, if you feel inclined to.

I hope I have helped everyone.  Yay!!!  Just so thrilled, I truly think this has made my life a lot easier, and my makeup more creative and managable.  You can add in and remove what you are using currently.  All of your favorite colors and products in one place, not taking up bulk and there to mix together and play with.  It is so much fun!!  Like a grown up Polly Pocket!! :)  At least for someone who loves makeup.  And at the least, it will clear out your bag of some clutter and make it easier to find what you need.

Complete List of Products Used
LA Girl Glazed, Coy
Too Faced Melted Peony
Too Faced Melted Fuschia
Too Faced Melted Berry
Physicians Formula RX Concealer, Fair Light
L'oreal True Match Setting Powder, N1
ELF Lip Brush
Ecotools Retractable Kabuki Brush
Hot glue gun
Alcohol (or in my case cleansing water...I'd recommend alcohol over that!)
Cotton Pads

Me at the end of the day wearing all of the touch-up products, using computer screen light for lighting.  Several true match powder touch-ups had been done through the day.  I did not touch up the concealer--I more or less have it because it works wonderfully, and may need to touch it up at work when I'm sweating under fluorescent lighting, or apply it at my boyfriend's where I have no other makeup :)  Not too shabby with those lip colors... I highly recommend mixing all of those!!  The melted's last, and the LA girl gives it some much needed hydration without taking away from the longevity.  I really love the type of purple this combo creates! :)  Only did one touch-up with this lip-color.

The Seven Makeup Products I Run Out Of The Slowest!!! (and one disposable makeup tool!)

Why won't you die?!?!

I see so many different types of makeup blogs, lists and compilations of "Bests," "Worsts," this vs. that, top high-end products, top drugstore products, least favorite, most favorites...

But what about the ones you use on a daily basis, but you just run out of it slower than others?!  Isn't that helpful to know?  For myself personally, I like to stock up on what I actually need, that way I can save money and not waste money repurchasing products that I probably will never run out of at this point :) (Unless of course I want to repurchase it because it is a BETTER product.  But that's a different story!!)

For the minimalists, the budgeters, it's nice to know what products we use the least of that way we can save both space and money for the products that we go through quickly!!

So without further ado, here are the makeup products that take ME the longest to use up!!!  Yours could be completely different than mine, however hopefully this will give you a sense for what takes you a long time to use up too!!  It's nice to know what we should be repurchasing and what we should be saving money for :)

Note: I have pale, combo skin.  There are a few things on here that you may run out of slightly quicker than me if you don't have one or both of these things, and that's totally okay!! :)

1.  Bronzer.  I have to mention bronzer here.  It seems I can barely put a dent in a pan of bronzer, even though I have the fairest shades available from 3 or 4 companies.  It may have something to do with the fact that I have pale skin, and dousing the stuff all over my face will surely lead to me looking strange, like I just played in a pile of dirt!!!  So for my skin-tone, bronzer is definitely a staple, but it's something I run out of extremely slowly!!!

2.  Powder Highlighter.  All you need is a tiny pinch of this magical fairy-dust and your skin is alive and glowing... Highlighter is quite possibly my FAVORITE item of makeup to use... And yet, for some reason powder highlighter still takes forever to go through, in spite of my love to reapply the stuff at the most unnecessary of times!!! :)  I would say I go through it much faster than bronzer, but to this day, the only highlighter I've ever hit pan on was one I was using continuously as my only highlight shade for 5 years!!! :P (I've broadened my horizons since then...)

3.  Pressed colorful eyeshadows.  Girls, lets be real here--how long does it take you to finish up one pan of eyeshadow in a COLORFUL shade (not neutrals, you can douse those on and they run out a lot faster!!!)?!  Depending on the pigmentation of the shade, you could be using the same one shade for years and still not even reach pan.  Makeup Forever Diamond Shadow in Turquoise, I am looking at you!!!  I used this shade almost every day for a year when I was in college because I thought it was so beautiful--and this was back when I didn't know about primer and had to reapply!!!  If the shadow were not cracked to pieces (While I've done this with other shadows and they still gave the same performance, I am too afraid to alcohol this one in case it musses up its beautiful formula), it still would not even be close to hitting pan!!!  It's hard to run out of a good colored eyeshadow...but maybe I should let this one slide, after all, we could always use another color!! ;P

4.  Pressed powder.  It feels like an eternity before I finally finish a pressed powder!!!  Considering it is a full-face product, you would expect it to disappear into thin air!  It could be because my skin only gets oily in my t-zone.  A powder that definitely deserves a mention here is Coty Airspun powder in translucent.  I'm not sure what it is about the stuff, but it takes an extremely small amount to cover and absorb oils on my face.

5.  Blush.  I have somewhat of a blush addiction.  It's definitely the makeup item I own the most of, next to eyeshadows (which are a lot easier to come by and come in much larger packs!).  On my skin tone, I also need very little to accomplish a brightly flushed look, so I have to use it sparingly.  I have around 25 of the La Femme blushes, and may I say I think I could use ONE of those blushes every single day for a year and probably not put a dent in it?!  I rarely find that my blush disappears.  However there are a few exceptions:  I just bought the NYX blush in the shade "Pinched," and my goodness, it's disappearing fast!!  I suppose it also depends on the pigmentation and the amount of product you are given in a container as well.  But anyway, for the most part, blush is a definite slow-go in my collection (and yet I still can't get enough of it!!!  Always looking for new colors and formulas!).

6.  Lipstick/Lip Gloss.  Oh lip products, what is it about you?  I was honestly unsure if I should even include this in the list, but it had to be done.  In my entire life-time, I've only managed to completely finish one container of lipstick, and I have NEVER finished a lip gloss (granted, until recently, I used lipgloss far, far less, so we will see!).  It isn't like they give you very much product in the tubes.  Could it be because I surround myself in a bounty of different colors and combinations at all times?  Is it the fact that I'm using less because I'm layering liners beneath it and glosses above it--even though half the time I am solely using it on it's own?  I honestly don't know.  I reapply my lip products plentifully throughout the day, and yet for some reason, my lipsticks last me years.  They don't disappear!!

7.  Perfume.  I know technically perfume is not considered makeup, but to me it is something that is so like it, it may as well be included.  It is a product from a small container that you put on your body to boost your confidence :)  So, sorry if you disagree, but this absolutely HAD to be included on this list.  I NEVER run out of this stuff!!!  In my entire life time, I have only managed to finish one bottle of full-sized perfume--it was back in Middle School, and it was the only perfume I'd owned at the time, so naturally being the only one I was using, and being used on a daily basis, it eventually ran out! (It was the blue bottle of Ralph by Ralph Lauren :) )  Years later, I now have an entire tray of bottles that still have plenty of perfume left inside them, and these are bottles I've been accumulating for almost a decade now.  In spite of their regular use (for me, every other day), bottles of perfume seem to last me forever!!  Are you the same way?


And the random funny thing that everyone seems to need, but I personally never seem to run out of:
Q-tips!!!  What is it about these little guys?  I am aware they have their uses, but I find I'm hardly ever at a loss for a q-tip, and it's definitely not something I use on a regular basis (though after a lower-lid mascara mishap today, I'm starting to believe they could be a very good thing for getting smears beneath the lashes).  Could it be the fact they come in packs of 500, or the fact that sometimes, not liking to waste and money-saving loving as I am, I'll grab big handfuls and cut them in halves all at once?!  These guys NEVER run out!!!  I have had the same two boxes of purple and blue ones for YEARS.


What do you think the next entry will be?  I have a hunch it's going to be the list of products that I use the quickest ;)  These are definitely the things we should be saving our money for if we enjoy wearing makeup!!

Hope you had fun, if not you can leave :P

Take care!


PS:  For sure, without fail, the makeup item that I've had the absolute HARDEST TIME using up is the one in the picture at the top of this blog.  It's a bronzer from Victoria's Secret called Bare Bronze.  The stuff is so packed into the pan that it's hard, dense, and heavy, and it's also difficult to load onto a brush unless it's something like the NARS Ita brush (I have the Sonia Kashuk version).  The thing sat in a cabinet in a while (before I realized the goodness of how it went on my skintype and how to apply it), and then in the last 3 years I've been wearing it at least a few times a week...and it still pretty much looks brand new, dare I say it, even untouched!!!!  Kinda funny!! :)  So I thought it was perfect to put at the top of the entry juxtaposed with the sunflower!!