So, today I decided to depot my Morphe 35O palette into single pans. This project stemmed out of lust for some new eyeshadows to put in my new rose gold 'Z Palette'. You and I both know I already have enough eyeshadow to last a person a life time, so I figure I'd recycle! Not to mention, Morphe packaging isn't my favourite; its rather large, and frankly, cheap feeling. I know some people agree with me on that, so I figured I'd document the process in case you wanted to also give it a go!
So, you will need;
- Your cumbersomely large Morphe palette
- An empty Z Palette (or two)
- Stick on magnets (these come included with Z Palettes)
- Depotting tool - this can be a depotting spatula or a small knife. In my case I had my trusty Swisse army knife. (mainly because I couldnt find my spatula)
So, how does one go about depotting a Morphe palette?
This process is somewhat trial and error. A Morphe palette essentially consists of 3 elements, the frame of the palette, which is the outside and the lid, the insert, and the shadows themselves.
Step 1: For the first row I was able to pop the shadows out, as there wasn't as much glue on this part. Using your knife and fingers, pry the insert from the outside packaging. From here, you should be able to wiggle out the first shadow. If you can't, go straight to step 2.
Step 2: Using the knife, cut away a row (rather, column). This will reduce the area you are focusing on, essentially reducing stress on the shadows on the other rows.
Step 3: Using the knife, seperate the insert and shadows from the packaging. This my require some wiggling. Sometimes the glue wont budge, but don't force it. If it was too problematic I would leave the singular piece and return later.
Step 4: This part of the process will come down to personal preference, and once more, trial and error. It will also depend on how much glue secures the pan to the insert. The best approach I found with depotting was to pry the packaging from the pan, rather from the pan from the packaging. This puts less pressure on the pan, and minimises fractures within the pan. For most pans fingers were fine, but I also tried using a lighter, which made it easier to pry the packaging off, but was also more messy and tedious.
Step 5: At some point, you will be left with an assortment of shadows, and unfortunately, also some broken ones. In this case I suffered two casualties, RIP. You're now in the home stretch. With the shadows that made it out alive, the next step is to magnetise the eyeshadow pans. Unfortunately Morphe eyeshadows from palettes are not magnetised, however this is easily fixed. With every Z palette comes adhesive magnets, which you simply peel off, and stick on the back of the pan. Prior to doing so I used the knife to create a cross hatch pattern on the back of the pan in the hope it will help adhesion, however this step isn't necessary!
Once magnetised you can place your new pans into the Z Palette, and wallah! There were a few shades I had no interest them, so they didn't make the cut and were ditched with the broken shades. I ended up creating a palette with shades I would use most regularly, including Makeup Geek, and placed the other shades in a second Z palette.
Final result!
The Morphe palettes currently retail for $30 AUD, and contain 30 eyeshadows, so therefore these work out at $1 AUD per eye shadow pan. Compare this to Makeup Geek, of approximately $9 AUD. So, if your Morphe shadows are lacking some loving, why not give depotting a go before seeking out new single eyeshadows!
If you give this a go, let me know how you go by either commenting on this post or mentioning me @themakeupgrub in your Instagram post!
Happy depotting beauties!
Em xx
