First of all: the item was shipped a few hours after I bought it! That says something about the dedication of FIXY! But I'm not going to go in to the rollercoaster that is shopping internationally in these times (because, boy, does my national postal service ride the delays-because-of-covid-train hard. As if they were never late and sucky before the pandemic).
Ok, I spend a great portion of my free time messing around with my makeup, de- and repot, (re-)organize, create new color stories and mix new shadows more than I actually wear it, and have an absolute time doing it. This little pressing kit, this two-toned cube of joy, has really elevated both the process and outcome for handpressing and I'm super-thrilled about it. I haven't used it to actually fix anything yet but based on what else I've created with it, fixing broken makeup is just another activity I can look forward to.
The two upper layers (press and mold) make it so much easier to pour powder into pans and press while minimizing the mess. Got a palette with one or more shadows you never use? Don't wanna risk the structural or aesthetic integrity of the palette by de- and repotting (dissolving glue, bending cardboard, breaking plastic, scratching artwork)? Scrape 'em out, place the mold over the pan and replace the shadows with something you'll actually use. The mold keeps the new shadow from spilling on to the other shadows in your palette. I couldn't do that before since my old setup was a plastic disc and to pieces of folded paper.
The press itself is a durable plastic tube in a removable rubber sleeve. The rubber keeps you (well, me at least) from pressing the shadows too firmly, and the fact they are removable makes the thing easier to clean (because you will clean).
Would you rather create something new, mix colors you already have lying around? The two lower layers are a mesh grinder and a tray. Scrape your desired colors on to the mesh (you can use the included tools), grind them through with the little handle fella and collect in the tray. It's hilariously easy! I've made some pretty cool custom everyday shadows, Frankenstein'ed from other colors that I found either too light, dark, not the right tone and whatnot. My only advice here is to stick to mixing shadows of similar type and density to get the most uniform results.
I really like that the kit covers the most common pan sizes (26 mm, 36-37 mm and 44 mm) but I'd still like to see a press and mold for 57 mm pans, since many bronzers, highlighters and body powders come in this size, as a purchasable add-on for the future. Maybe it could be made to stack on top of the existing kit? I also understand that making presses and molds for square pans presents a challenge, as not all square pans are created equal, whereas a circle is a circle.
One thing I had to add to the kit myself was a broader, flat brush to scoop powders from the tray to the mold. The included brush is a small round guy that is great to brush powders from the mesh grinder but because I press several shadows in a sitting, I needed something a bit bigger to really get all the powders from the tray. A tiny add-on to fit the way I personally use the Fixy kit.
I've only used the binder once and it's not for me - I just prefer pressing my powders in the dry. But I like that it's a spray. Also, the alcohol in the binder won't sanitize your makeup. You sanitize powder makeup by baking it (heating it up to germ killing temperature. If you do this, the composition of your powders may change as pigments and binding agents may evaporate or otherwise alter). The alcohol's job in pressing is to create an even distribution of powder, then evaporate and leave behind a firm, uniform result without disrupting the composition of the powder itself. Alcohol is especially relevant if you're pressing without actually pressing, the way we fixed our broken makeup in the olden days: grind up powder, mix with alcohol to create a gross paste, spread said paste in pan, leave out and let alcohol evaporate until paste turns back in to powder.
To summarize: I adore the Fixy kit! When you aren't using it, it stacks in to a cube! That's nothing short of fabulous! I love that tools don't have to be ugly! Girl, get that patent!
