Zpalette Large & 4U Review Plus How to Create a Custom Lipstick Palette

Some of the products in this post were provided by PR/the brand

Update! I've just been informed by Z Palette that 10% of the proceeds from Pink Z Palette Sales for the month of October will be donated to Breast Cancer Awareness!

Are you the type that sits down to get ready for the day, then proceeds to crack open a billion compacts, already-made palettes, tubes, jars, etc.? Been there! Years ago I think I lost more shadows in my personal collection as a result of knocking them off my cluttered makeup table than anything else. I've rarely been the type that has been able to create a look using products all in one palette--I tend to use 1 shade from here, 1 shade from there, mix my cream foundations, etc. I've created custom palettes with other brands since high school, but I found it difficult to mix and match pans into one palette from multiple companies. Sizes tend to differ, some weren't magnetic, shapes varied, etc. Then a couple years ago, I came across Z Palette.

Z Palette Profile

For those of you unfamiliar with Z Palette, they produce magnetized palettes that allow you to customize and depot your existing palettes, compacts, pans, etc. They offer a variety of sizes (Pro, Dome, Large, 4U, Small) and a number of patterns/colors (black, hot pink, leopard, zebra). They also occasionally put out limited edition designs which are so fun, such as the recent cherry blossom design! The interior of the bottom of these palettes are magnetic and work with most pans from my experience. For pans that do not stick to these palettes (such as MAC), you can use the magnetic stickers that come with these palettes or purchase them separately if you need more. I have been a long-time fan and you may have noticed in past posts (such as my recent review of an acrylic makeup storage piece from ediva) that I actually own several!

When Z Palette offered to send me a few for review I jumped at the chance and instantly began brainstorming how I could show you just how versatile these are as I use mine for a number of different purposes. Obviously these are fantastic for storing eyeshadow, blush, and other pressed powders, but they can also be used to store other types of cosmetics such as cream foundation, concealer, lipstick, etc. These are beloved by many pros (so far I've never had an issue with traveling with them) and are a great way for beauty junkies to condense and better organize their products. 

Price

Z Palette Large retails for $20. Z Palette 4U retails for $17.

Where to Buy

Z Palettes are available on Z Palette's site HERE as well as through a number of beauty retailers.

Z Palette Large vs Z Palette 4U

Here you can see the size difference between the Z Palette Large and Z Palette 4U

Large vs 4U

Z Palette Large: 

• Outside 8.06"L x 4.94"W x 0.56"D
• Inside 7.44"L x 4.13"W x 0.25"D
• *Now comes with 20 pcs of our Round Metal Stickers* (the site states it comes with round metal stickers and prior to now this had always been my experience, but mine actually came with a variety of shapes and sizes so I'm not sure if that's changed)

Z Palette 4U:

• Outside 6.25″L x 4″W x 0.56″D
• Inside 5.56″L x 3.25″W x 0.25″D
• *Now comes with 15 pcs of our Round Metal Stickers*

Storage Differences

While you can obviously use these however and for whatever you like, the Z Palette 4U is a mid-size palette meant to allow you to create a personal on-the-go palette just for yourself. The Z Palette Large is a large palette meant to give you the flexibility to store a variety of shades and products. I recommend determining how much you want to store in each prior to purchasing. Thankfully, since they're magnetic, playing around with how you organize your pans is a snap and I've been guilty of spending far too much time being anal retentive and reorganizing my palettes again and again. Yes, I am aware of how ridiculous that is, but if you haven't gathered by now, I have some OCD-like behaviors!

Z Palette Large Review

Ease of Use for Storing Multiple Pan Types

The Z Palette large has been one of my favorite sizes for some time (I also like the Dome and Pro). It is easy to store pans of differing sizes and shapes. Above, I placed a variety of pan sizes inside so that you can see how they fit. The square pans are inglot freedom system eyeshadows, the small round pan in the top row is a MAC eyeshadow, the large round pan in the top row is a Sugarpill eyeshadow, and the round pans on the bottom are Inglot's (soon to be discontinued) round eyebrow powder pans.

How Much Does it Hold?

This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions I've receive regarding my Z Palettes. It really depends on the size of your pans, the shape, how you like to organize them (I like a little space between my pans to avoid cross-contamination), etc. Z Palette has a helpful resource on their site that lists how many pans of certain brands fit in each palette HERE, but aside from this list and knowing the dimensions ahead of time, you're just going to have to enjoy playing tetris and experimenting with how you personally like to set up your palettes.

Z Palette 4U Review

Ease of Use for Storing Multiple Pans

This was actually my first experience with the 4U size. As you can see above, I was able to store 8 inglot square shadow pans comfortably and then a smaller round pan (such as a MAC shadow) comfortably fit at the end. I found I had some extra space at the bottom (I think with smaller pans such a MAC you could comfortably fit 3 rows) so I put a small shadow brush at the bottom. While I don't personally tend to store brushes in my palettes, I know many like condensed setups like this so it's probably a good option for others!

How Much Does it Hold?

Again, this is probably one of the most frequently asked questions I've receive regarding my Z Palettes. It really depends on the size of your pans, the shape, how you like to organize them (I like a little space between my pans to avoid cross-contamination), etc. Z Palette has a helpful resource on their site that lists how many pans of certain brands fit in each palette HERE, but aside from this list and knowing the dimensions ahead of time, you're just going to have to enjoy playing tetris and experimenting with how you personally like to set up your palettes. 

My Thoughts On Both

Obviously I was a Z Palette pan prior to reviewing them here. I can summarize my thoughts as follows:

Pros:

• Super versatile
• Good price-wise (given how many ways you can use them)
• Nice variety of sizes
• Works with most pans & can use magnetic stickers it comes with for the rest
• Hold up well if taken care of

Cons:

• Not waterproof (more of a potential pro issue than average user)
• Inside can get dirty (like all palettes with extended use)

For those of you that have heard that some of the palettes have changed their magnetic strength (and are now possibly weaker), I don't know if this is true. My experience with the two palettes I reviewed was that they were as strong as my older ones. After placing pans in them I held them upside-down and tapped on them and none budged. That being said, if you're a pro and you're concerned with traveling with these, I recommend contacting Z Palette directly.

All in all, I'm still a fan of Z Palette based on this experience and I recommend exploring them further if they seem like something you'd be able to make good use of!

How to Depot Lipsticks & Create Your Own Custom Z Palette Lipstick Palette

While I've been able to purchase a number of lipstick pans from different companies over the years, plenty of brands that sell my favorite lipsticks only offer them in tubes! Despite knowing each shade of lipstick I own by name, I still find seeing them side-by-side is often a bit more effective when I go to choose the perfect shade for a look. It also makes travel much easier. 

I've created a quick tutorial on my method for creating your own personal lipstick palette! You can do this with high-end or drugstore brands of lipstick. All you need is a short list of products (mentioned below), a little bit of time, and a willingness to slice into some of your favorite or most-used lippies!

What You Need

• Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (for sanitizing)
• Empty metal pans (I purchased mine from Z Palette)
• Q-tips
• Super small, sharp scissors or a sharp paring knife
• Small cosmetic spatula or flat butter knife
• Z Palette of your choice (I used my 4U for this)
• Lipsticks of your choice

Tip: I experimented with both teeny, sharp scissors and a very sharp paring knife. I found both worked well as long as I cut the lipstick near the edge of the tube so it supported the base and prevented breakage with less creamy lipsticks. Keep in mind, dryer lipsticks may slice or cut a little less clean than creamier lipsticks.

Step 1: Sanitize Everything

You want to make sure your pans and any other tools you use are sanitized. Applying rubbing alcohol with a q-tip to your pans and tools is a fast and easy way to get it done.

Step 2: Label Your Pans

 

You want to label your pans ahead of time so you don't have to label them after you've already de-potted lipstick into them.

You can either use small labels or write directly on the pans with a permanent marker. If you choose to use stickers, I'd recommend using thin ones that aren't meant to be permanent. The stickers will slightly weaken the magnetic hold of the palette to the pan, so if you plan to travel with your palette you may want to opt for writing directly on it with a permanent marker. The downside to using a permanent marker is that it will mean you either need to replace the pan down the road or simply keep refilling it with the same lipstick shade. You can try to remove the permanent marker, but it may be more trouble than it's worth.

Step 3: Cut/Slice Your Lipstick

Cut or slice the amount of lipstick you wish to de-pot into the sanitized pan. As I mentioned above, I found that when cutting/slicing dryer lipsticks it was best to do so at the edge of the tube so that the rest of the lipstick was supported and didn't snap off or loosen at the base.

Step 4: Smooth Lipstick into Pan

Using a small, sanitized cosmetic spatula, butter knife, or anything else that's flat and fairly small, gently push evenly down on the lipstick while it's sitting in the middle of the pan until the lipstick is flush with the top of the edges of the pan. Then you can either spread it out within the pan or leave it as-is. You just want to make sure that the lipstick does not rise up over the edges of the pan as it'll make a mess on the inside of the lid of your palette otherwise. 

This is the finished products of MAC Creme D'Nude de-potted into a Z Palette pan after it's been spread out.

Step 5: Repeat Steps 1-4 & Organize Your Custom Z Palette Lipstick Palette

As you can see, I was able to fit 15 square Z Palette pans into this palette comfortably! Some of the brands I've depotted here include MAC, MAKE Colour, Boots No7, Lippy Girl, etc.

The finished product!

In total, this probably took about 45 min from start to finish from sanitizing the pans and other tools I used to organizing the shades the way I wanted them. I have quite a few more lipsticks to depot, but for now this is a great start!

What do you think of Z Palette's customizable palettes? Have you ever created your own custom lipstick palette? 

Note: Products in this post were provided by PR/the brand. All opinions stated above are my own based on my personal experience and have not been influenced by PR/the brand in any way. 

Don't forget to enter the multi-blogger Pretty Wicked Halloween Giveaway I'm sponsoring!