How to Repair a Broken Blush, Eyeshadow, Etc.
It’s happened to all of us-that horrible moment when you’ve dropped your favorite blush, bronzer, eyeshadow (basically anything made of pressed powder) onto the bathroom floor, where it has shattered into a million dusty pieces. If you’re a true lover of makeup, you’ll also keep that absolutely destroyed bit of cosmetic dust, reasoning that at some point you can figure out how to put it back together again or even keep using it, even though every time you open the container chunks of it get all over your bathroom counter.
Well it finally happened to me, and because I basically live on the Internet looking things up, I found a few ways to repair broken powder cosmetics. I decided to be your guinea pig and try my hand at Makeup Repair DIY. It actually turned out rather well, and it’s incredibly easy to do. You probably already have everything you need to do this at home, and if not, a quick trip to the grocery store or corner drug store will take care of it.
Here’s what you need:
- The broken cosmetic, in its original packaging
- Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (the percentage of alcohol doesn’t matter, but the higher the number the faster it will evaporate and speed the process along)
- Small bowl
- Spoon (I used a teaspoon)
- Butter knife/off-set spatula/any kind of spreading device
- Paper towel or lint-free cloth
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| Here’s the sad remains of a favorite bronzer
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Step 1:
Empty the broken product into a small-medium sized bowl. Use the back of the spoon to gently smash up the product into a finely ground powder.
Step 2:
Add enough rubbing alcohol to the powder to make it similar in consistency to frosting. You don’t want it too runny, but you want it wet enough that the powder is fully dissolved.
Step 3:
Pour the product back into the original packaging.
Step 4:
Using whatever you have to hand to smooth the product, try to smooth the mixture evenly within the original packaging as best you can.
Step 5:
Set the product aside for about 90 minutes, with the package open, to dry for a bit. After 90 minutes or so, take a paper towel or lint-free cloth and cover the product. Using the back of a spoon or other small, flat object, GENTLY smooth it over the cloth and onto the product to absorb some of the rubbing alcohol. This will also smooth out the surface of the product more.
Step 6:
Leave the product WITH THE PACKAGING OPEN to dry overnight undisturbed.
Step 7:
After a night of drying, you should have a perfectly usable, intact bronzer, blush, eyeshadow, or whatever it originally was. It may not appear to look exactly the same, but it should work the same as it did before it was broken.
This may not work on every product, but it’s worth a shot to try, considering that you were probably just going to throw it out anyway. I have also heard that this is a great way to turn loose pigments into pressed eyeshadows, but I have not actually attempted this.
If you want to see me in action doing the above process step by step, watch my video below:
Let me know if you’ve ever tried this, and how it worked out for you!
