Tips on depotting your MAC blushes!

Just a heads up you guys: this will not be a groundbreaking blog post!

The basics of depotting MAC eyeshadows and blushes have already been covered numerous times on youtube and several websites - this is just an overview based on my experience!

So, let me start by saying that I considered myself quite adept at this depotting business; you see, I had previously depotted a rather large number of MAC eyeshadows without ever encountering a problem. Before moving on to MAC blushes, that is - that proved to be somewhat tricky.

And here's the photo evidence of my flawed attempt:




The surface nicks and cracks that I managed to give to a couple of blushes.

Of course, I had to learn the hard way before I did it properly. So, here's a little how-to tutorial that might come in handy to some of you in the future (pls note that I use the dangerous "knife and lighter" method):

1. In order to separate the blush pan from the pot, place a knife at the narrow slit, but don't aim it directly at the front; move it towards a 3 o'clock position instead and the blush pan should pop out intact without much effort (I sacrificed 2 blushes to learn that).
2. Using a pair of tweezers to hold it, place the pan above a lighter or a candle. The tweezers will ensure that your fingers are far away from the heat source. Be patient and very careful, as the plastic won't melt away as quickly as it happens with eyeshadows.
3. Once the aluminum part shows through, use the knife to push the blush out of its plastic container. Be careful to not touch the metal pan, or you will burn your fingers.
4. At this stage I place the blush upside down on some tissue paper, until it cools down. Then, I use rubbing alcohol to remove the remaining bits of glue from the metal until it's clean, in order for the magnets to be attached.
5. I use two or three magnets when I depot blushes instead of just one. One magnet is not enough to keep the blush in place when the palette is upside down - this is pretty self explanatory, but you may want to count your magnets before you get too enthusiastic!
6. I remove the label from the pot (if you run a lit lighter over it, it will quickly start to stick out) and stick it over the magnets. You can stick the label first and then the magnets, if you wish, that's just a matter of preference.

At all stages, be extremely careful!
Use the knife away from your body and never look away when using a flame source. Operate on a clean and non-flammable surface (nth plastic or synthetic) and make sure that the room is well ventilated (if u can do this outside, even better). Hopefully, your depotting session will have ended in a success! :)


So, what's your favourite depotting method?
Any extra tips you wish to share? :)