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I have a confession to make. I once had about 50 different lipsticks in my makeup bag available to me at all times. While lipstick is one of my favorite things to purchase, carrying around multiple shades and tubes started to weigh on me, literally. I decided to tackle this problem at the root, by sorting through all my lipsticks, and separating the ones I wore the most,  from the ones that I barely used.

After a thorough spring cleaning of my collection (which was also slightly painful) I narrowed it down to the lipsticks I wanted to keep, and the ones I needed to pitch. After some online investigation of trying to find the right palette size, I finally settled for a 12 unit pill box container from  MUJI . If you need a larger sized palette, Zpalette has some great options as well. Here are the simple how-to steps on how to create your own lipstick palette:

The first step in this process is to sort your lipsticks by color and shade range. For instance, if you have 12 different shades of red or bolder pink tones, make a palette with similar colors so that it's easy to have like shades all in one container. If you have six nude colors, and 6 soft pink or peach colors, you can make a palette out of that. If you are someone who doesn't have many shades of the same tones of lipstick, then just pick the 12 colors you wear the most. I happen to have an extensive collection of lipsticks personally and professionally, so combining like colors was the easiest way for me to stay organized.

 

TIP: Don't have 12 lipstick shades? No problem. Pill box containers and palettes can come as small as 6 spaces to hold lipstick, you don't need 12 try this DIY

After you have sorted through your shades, this is where the fun begins. Twist your lipstick all the way up, and break it off onto a large spoon. What most people don't know is that there is a lot of lipstick left after you break it off from the container. Take a q-tip, and swirl around the base to get all the excess lipstick up and place on the spoon. Take a standard cigarette lighter, and heat the bottom of the spoon with the flame until the lipstick melts entirely . Although this might appear like a scene from "Breaking Bad" right in your living room, it is safe and efficient. After everything is entirely melted, pour the lipstick right into the container. Wait for the spoon to cool, wipe it off, and start again with a different color. Repeat this process until you have used up all your lipsticks and let it cool over-night.

TIP: Peel the label (usually found on the bottom of the lipstick tube) off that contains the name or number, and stick on the upper part of the pill box  container  above the corresponding shade. This way, if you run out of that color you know which company makes it and what shade it is.

Having individual custom lip palettes will make it so much easier for you to have all your shades at your disposal, whether you are a makeup artist or just a fun gal who loves to wear lipstick, de-potting is the way to go! Investing in a small lip brush that is retractable like this one from MAC is a great brush to have handy whenever you need to apply straight from your palette. What other makeup DIY's would you like to learn? Email me your requests, I'd love to hear from you!