Saturday 2 September 2017

Project Mc2 Crayon Make Up Science Kit review


Juliette is a big fan of the Mc2 series on Netflix (which she watches on youtube as we don't have Netflix) and I am certainly all in favour of a girl-oriented show that promotes STEAM subjects, such as maths, technology and science, and makes them cool. We've already reviewed a number of  products from the range - Mc2 dolls on their own, Mc2 dolls with experiments, ... - but this time, it was an Mc2 experiment without a doll, which will undoubtedly make it appealing to a slightly older audience of tween-aged girls who enjoy watching the show but have grown out of playing with dolls.


This kit provides almost everything you need to create your own make up, and the cut away design of the packaging clearly shows you the contents while still on the shop shelf. You get two (empty) lipsticks, an empty make up palette, a lipstick mould and a crayon wheel with a variety of colours.


The only things you need from home are coconut oil and some basic kitchen equipment (a spoon, an oven safe cup, oven mitts, a baking tray and an oven). I would add some cotton buds or similar to the list - all will be explained later.


 Following the instructions, Juliette pressed one of the wedges from the crayon wheel into a bowl, added half a spoonful of coconut oil and popped it in the oven.


 To save time, and also because Pierre wanted to get in on the action, we decided to melt all of the different colours at the same time.


As Juliette was in charge, we followed the instructions to the letter - preheating the oven for ten minutes then turning it off and letting the bowls sit inside for a specific time before removing them. We did it all properly, with a kitchen timer to get it just right, but on my own, I'd have just popped them in the microwave for a quick zap and I'm sure it would have worked just as well ! The wax wedges still look solid when they come out of the oven, but a quick stir soon mixes them up into a thick liquid. They do reset quite quickly though so time is of the essence here !


The back of the box explains the science behind the experiment : "Crayons are a mixture of wax and pigments. On their own, they don't make good make up because the wax is very stiff. The solution is to mix the crayon wax with coconut oil, which is softer. The sweet coconut scent is just an added bonus. Coconut oil is a liquid when it's warmed above 76° Fahrenheit (24° Celsius) and a solid below that temperature. Mix the softer coconut oil and the stiffer crayon wax and you have the perfect consistency for make up."


Scooping the mixture into the different sections of the make up palette was easy enough, but filling the lipstick moulds was slightly trickier. It was too gloopy to pour cleanly into the mould so we used cotton buds to help push it down. Using the entire contents of the box, we had plenty to fill the whole palette and the three lipstick moulds, but you could use less and come back to the kit to make more when you've run out, rather than making it all in one go.


Juliette chose to mix up all the remaining wax/coconut oil for a swirly, multicoloured lipstick design (which she'd seen on youtube and thought was cool !).


Off to the fridge to set, while we tidy up and wash all those spoons and bowls !


The lipstick mould separates into two parts so it is simple to slide the product into the tubes. Ours did have a few holes but that wasn't a problem. We'd overfilled our moulds slightly too, so I had to chop off the wider, flat part. It's a shame that there are three moulds but only two lipstick cases, but you could reuse an old empty lip balm or lip stick if you have one at hand.


We used a blunt knife and some more cotton buds to clean up the palette and Juliette was over the moon with the final result. It's more of a soft lip gloss or lip balm than a lipstick, as it says on the box (but that's a good thing). The box also says you can use it on your cheeks too, but I would think that would feel rather greasy and horrible !

It's a fun project and we loved the fact that when you've finished, you have a useful product at the end.

star rating : 4.5/5

for more information : https://projectmc2.mgae.com



Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.

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