When you go to a makeup counter, you see beauty items in all shapes and sizes. You've got your pencils, palettes, bottles, tools, and compacts. But thing is, every makeup counter you go to will always have that one thing: a potted product. Some people avoid potted products like the plague, some are unsure of buying them, and some are confused on how to use them. Looking for a Potted Products 101? Don't worry, I got you covered.

Acquiring Product

a. Clean finger

-I usually do this to potted lip balms, specifically to my own personal lip balm. I recommend doing this only to your personal beauty products ie. lip balm, concealer, Paint Pot. If you do other's makeup, never use this method. Never.

b. Spatula

-When I went to makeup school, a spatula was part of the basics kit and ever since, I reach for my spatula when I want to get product from a pot. It's very important because this means I don't have physical contact with the product which makes the lifespan of my potted products longer.

c. Clean brush

-I do this to gel liners when I can't be bothered with my spatula. What I do is I use a liner brush as my spatula. I scoop a good amount of product then place it either on a mixing palette, the back of my hand, or on the cap of the gel liner pot. This makes sure I don't double dip my brush hence no bacteria! And if I ever need more product, that's when I'll use my spatula.

d. Substitutes

-No spatula? Don't fret. You can also use the tip of your makeup brush's handle, a coffee stirrer, or a corner of a business card. Be resourceful! :)

Extras

-Always make sure to close the lid tightly! One reason why people don't like using potted products is because the product dries out quickly but I think that's only because they didn't properly screw the lid. I've had my fave gel liner, MAC Blacktrack, for a couple of years now and it's notorious for drying out quickly but mine's still alive and kicking and that's because I make sure the cap's properly closed.

-Store your potted products in a cool place.

-If your product has dried out, I got a couple of methods:

a. place pot inside a Ziplock bag then submerge it in hot water for 10-15 minutes.

b. use toothpick to loosen up product.

-A couple of don'ts in loosening dried product:

a. don't use a hair blower as it will just dry the product even more

b. don't use eye drops. Totally useless.

And there you have it! I hope you learned a thing or two here in my post and hopefully you get to use and enjoy your potted products more. If you have additional tips, do share! I'm always up for new things and techniques. Til next time!