The Three R's

No not Rosie, Rosie, Rosie. It's Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

I'm not much of a hippy; sometimes I don't wash my yoghurt pot out before I put it in the recycling and my office definitely isn't paperless. However I do enjoy “making good” something old or tired looking so that it's bright and like a new again. I also like old and vintage things for their feel and history, not to mention how damn pretty they are.

And so one of my favourite things to do, which I will now share with you how to, is to refill my vintage make-up compact. My compact was a gift from my best friend so it's even more special. I like that I can use it time and time again without worrying that one day it might not be.

Disclaimer: This I use on my skin and if you’re not sure about it just don’t use it. I’m not a cosmetic company; I’m just a thrifty girl, so if you make this and something for some reason goes wrong please don’t blame me.

On with the how to-ing!

1. Gather your equipment. These photos are a tad old as I took them to post on a forum but it doesn't really matter. You can see all of my materials are very cheap but you can buy more expensive powder if you like. The alcohol in the picture is something my parents brought back from Kenya and I have no idea what it is. Generally though I’d use plain vodka or similar spirit.

2. Mix your dry ingredients. I use Boots Natural Collections powder foundation and then add the talc to pale it down to my skin tone or a shade lighter as I am always trying to go for that pale and interesting look (as my Mum calls it!). It’s medicated talc and smells like it but I use it because it is going on my face after all.

3. Add your alcohol. I do this with a half teaspoon measure and add some then mix it in to get it to the right consistency.

4. Mix it up. It’s important to get it all mixed in with no lumps of talc or dry parts without enough alcohol. Add a drip more if necessary.

5. Fill up your compact. Once you’ve spooned it all in flatten it out as best you can; then get a square of muslin or similar fabric. Lay this on top and using a £2 coin press the mixture in a hard as you dare. Place your compact in a warm, dry place such as an airing cupboard until it is dry all over. If in the future your compact make-up begins to crack then add a drip of alcohol and rub over the crack.

xxx