Revive Dried Out Mac Paint Pots--EASILY!

This weekend, I randomly remembered my old Mac Bare Study Paint Pot that I got 3 years ago (yes THREE!) and decided I wanted to see if I could find a way to revive it and make it useful again. I am usually skeptical of this sort of thing, but I actually found a super easy method that works, so I wanted to share it!

First of all, for those who don't know, a Mac Paint Pot is a cream eyeshadow that can be used as a regular eyeshadow, or as a base under other shadows. They retail for $18.50, so you can imagine why I wanted to try to save mine rather than buy a new one. Although I have only used this method with a paint pot, I heard that you can use it with gel liners and other brands of cream shadows and cream bases as well.

While looking up ways to salvage my paint pot, I came across many ideas. Some of these included microwaving the product and even mixing in strange concoctions, which I did not want to try. I saw some sources suggest the method I'm showing you, and I was impressed with it when I gave it a try. This idea is not my own, but I wanted to share with you my take on it and how it worked for me.

Before I share specifics, let me tell you the basic reasoning for this method. Whenever paint pots (and other cream products I imagine) dry out, they tend to pull away from the sides of their containers and gather towards the middle. Supposedly, the oils and moisture needed to keep the product creamy are still in the product--they are just concentrated in the middle.

In this picture you can see how the product is puling away from the sides of the pot. Mine is not too terribly dry, but I have seen this method work on EXTREMELY dry paint pots (so dry that they aren't touching the sides of the pot at all).

 

When the product is dry like this, although it may still be slightly usable, it is hard and you don't get the product's full pigmentation and potential. The picture below is this paint pot swatched when it is still in this dried out state.

 

Basically all you have to do is thoroughly mix the product together. I don't mean give it a little stir, I mean really mix it, like you are cooking or something! I mixed mine with the end of a little old spoon, but you can use a makeup spatula, a toothpick (although it may take longer), a butter knife, a manicure tool, or even the end of those little thin paint brushes you get when you're a kid. Just make sure you clean it before you use it!

 

 

Just keep mixing!

 

 

When completed, it won't be all smooth and pretty like it was when you bought it, but it will be super creamy and basically like new! I'd say the only downside is that it makes it a little messy looking. It took me about 5 minutes to do the whole process, and I probably only spent about a couple minutes mixing it (but keep in mind it will be different depending on the product, what you use to mix it, how dry it is, etc.).

 

 

And you're done! Although it looks much messier, the texture is so much better! I thought I'd conclude the post with a picture of it swatched after using this method. The product applies much smoother and easier and the color is more vibrant.

 

 

Hopefully this method helps you save your paint pot or any other cream product! If you use this method on anything other than a paint pot, comment and let me know how it works! Thank you all so much for reading!! If you have any questions or comments, comment them! I hope this was helpful :)