How To: Depot Urban Decay Primer Potion

At 11 quid a pop, I'd like to think I get the most out of this product. Urban Decay disagrees. If you have the old version of UDPP, you may have heard about how much product is wasted due to the poor design of the packaging. I'll be honest, I'm not 100% convinced the new wand makes much of a difference so will be depotting all Urban Decay Primer Potions in future. I know about the new pro tube but really, I'm not sure I'd use it all. I may give Too Faced Shadow Insurance a go when I've used this up.

So, to get started - disinfect everything. You'll need a disinfected serrated knife, a disinfected container (I'm re-using my Lush lip balm pot) and disinfected hands. Did I mention you need to disinfect EVERYTHING?! A spritz of alcohol over everything will suffice.



1. Firmly take hold of the base of the tube and place it on its side.
2. Remove the wand and cut through the widest part of the tube until you can separate the two sections. It's actually very easy to cut through.



Check out how much is still in there! And I thought this was empty! There was literally nothing coming off the wand when I used this.

3. Use the wand to scoop out the product and transfer it to your chosen container. The more air tight the better.





4. That's it! Stick a label on it if you wish.

How to: Press pigments & powders

This technique can be used for just about anything you want to put in a pan that's in loose powder form. I've used this to save products I'd dropped on the floor that had shattered, pigments and powder foundations (to mix the perfect shade for me) and it has worked really well.

I had some No7 Bronzing Pearls that had seen better days. Most of the pearls had been crushed up into a powder and I decided (at 5 in the morning in all my wisdom) to press the loose powder into a pan. So there I was, picking the intact pearls out of the powdery mess when John woke up and "eh'd" in my general direction then rolled over. It really does say something when this is something he's used to seeing.

All you need is:

* An empty pan - you can purchase eyeshadow pans that fit perfectly into M.A.C palettes or just use empty pans of products you've used up - I used the empty pan and compact from my Giorgio Armani Silk foundation powder (1 down 4 to go on P5P!)
* Alcohol
* Something to stir with - I used a spatula I got with a foundation
* Whatever you're going to be pressing.
* Something with a flat base that's the same size and shape of the pan you're using
* Books
* Small piece of fabric

1. Start by cleaning everything. Thoroughly clean your hands then clean the pan you're going to be using and all your utensils.



2. Put the powder you wish to press into a container and make sure it's smooth - no lumpy bits. It may help to use the back of a (sanitized) teaspoon to do this.
3. Add alcohol to the powder drop by drop whilst mixing until you get a paste.



4. Pour the paste into the pan and lightly pick up and drop the pan until the mixture sits evenly. If you need to mix more to fill the pan, that's fine. Always better to start with too little than too much.



5. Leave for an hour or so until the alcohol has evaporated.
6. Place the piece of fabric over the pan and press down with the object you've chosen that's the same size as your pan.
7. Place books (or any other heavy objects) on top and leave for about 24 hours. Make sure the weight is distributed evenly.



8. Unload everything, and you're done!