Reviving my Gel Eyeliner

Ever find a great cream or gel eyeliner only to find out that the packaging is terrible and your pretty liner dries to a solid chunk?  Keep reading to see how you can fix that.

This is what I was surprised with when I went to open my ELF Cream Eyeliner in Plum Purple a few months ago.  I absolutely LOVE this color.  I looked through my others and noticed the same problem.  They were all shrunk up, dried up, and starting to crack.  In other words, they looked like crayons. 

Rather than toss them out, even though they retail for $3 and I paid $1.50 during a sale, I held onto them knowing I could figure something out or just reuse the container.  Shortly after, I found THIS video by EnKoreMakeup and put it in a playlist to remember to watch again later.  After I moved everything into my office I remembered these liners and went back to YouTube. 

This is just how I did it following his simple instructions.

What you'll need:

• Homemade (or purchased) mixing medium, I followed THIS video by EnKoreMakeup.
• Clear Primer.  I used my ELF Mineral Face Primer that I'm not fond of just to use it up.
• 1/4 tsp Measuring spoon.
• mixing tool.  I used a spare metal cuticle pusher cleaned off with alcohol.
• Microwave or hair dryer (not pictured)

AND of course you need your liner.

This is how it started out.  See the swirly crack in the middle and the shrinkage around the edge?  Yeah, not good.  But it's SOOOOOO pretty.

I took my metal cuticle pusher & broke up the product.  I forgot to get a picture of this process.  I then took the 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon & filled it half with the mixing medium & half with primer.  I then mixed that into the crushed eyeliner as you'll see below.

Then I took this into the kitchen and microwaved it for about 2-3 times at 10 seconds each time, stirring in between.

Once I was somewhat satisfied, I brought it back into the office and let them sit for a bit. 

I did the purple one last & barely remembered to photograph everything. 

Now I'm sure y'all want to know how it worked.  Well, I haven't actually tested it on my lids, but I did swatch it and I'm totally impressed.  I "might" have to do the purple one again, but everything works fine. 

Left to Right: Plum Purple, Black, Midnight, and Olive.

I can't say this enough.  YouTube and Google are wondermus things.  I absolutely hate throwing things out, especially if I can recycle or fix them.  

Will y'all be trying this out?  Let me know how it works for you.