The hack
A trauma suffered by all makeup wearers is dropping a beloved beauty compact and shattering its contents. This online hack promises that any pressed-powder beauty product can be saved with a dash of rubbing alcohol (AKA surgical spirit).
The test
You’re advised to take the contents of your broken item – mine is a face powder – and crush it up small with the end of a spoon (it seems counter-intuitive, I know). Next, add the alcohol, half a teaspoon at a time, until it becomes a thick paste. Finally, use a palette or butter knife to smooth the product back into the compact.
After a couple of hours, once a little of the alcohol has evaporated, put some kitchen roll over the compact, press down hard, then leave it to dry overnight under something flat and heavy, such as a jar. The next morning, my powder hadn’t regained its former beauty entirely – it was a tad lumpy – but it had regrouped to form its original solid state and didn’t change the consistency on application. I’m impressed.
The verdict
This does work, but it can be a little delicate afterwards: after I threw my bag on the floor, the compact slipped out and the powder did shatter again. (Maybe I’m the problem?) So I’d advise spending a good amount of time pressing down on it during the setting process, to help avoid this.
