Project Pan Update #12 and Other Products

Well that's 2016 over and done with, and the end of the year has been quite busy and I haven't had a lot of free time.  Our adopted dog is lovely, but does have some issues which we've been working a lot on so that we have a healthier, happier dog.

And now for my last project pan update of 2016 (and I will apologies now for the quality of the photos - it's so dark at the moment and I had trouble getting the lighting right).  I had put in a number of products in 2016 projects that I knew I probably couldn't get through, but I wanted to push myself to try and get through as much as possible.  Out of the 35 products I picked I managed to use up 26 - yay me 😁.  

So, let's start with the eyeshadow.  One of the eye shadows, the Sephora dark brown, just fell out of the pan.  I'm not entirely sure how as I don't remember dropping my z-palette, but I opened palette and the pan was empty.  As that was no longer available I started using the Maybelline dark grey shadow as a crease colour.  I'm not sure if it's just the age of the shadow, but this hasn't been particularly easy to work with and I'm happy to just get rid of it without reaching pan as I don't want to keep anything that I have to put work into using.  I have been working through the other eyeshadows at the same rate as always and I'm happy to let go of all of them apart from the pink / purple shadow from the H&M eyeshadow palette.  I haven't reached enough of a pan of this to be happy to throw it away and so I'm going to add it to my next project pan, along with the other eyeshadows I didn't even get to start on.  I won't be buying any of these again as none of the products are cruelty free.

I've finally got through the purple Elf eyeliner.  I thought I wasn't going to finish this by the end of the year, but I started using it as a lip liner as well to add some darkness to my lip colours. I thought I had one more use to get out of it, but it's gotten stuck in the lid and I can't get it out anymore.  I don't think you can get this colour anymore from Elf and I think I will stick with black or brown eyeliners from now on.  However, Elf is cruelty free and I will have a look at the website again once I need to get a new liner.

The Mac Cremesheen lipstick in Creme Cup is also finished.  The colour didn't really suit me, but I liked the texture and scent of this lipstick.  However, I didn't like them enough to justify the price of these lipsticks, and Mac no longer has it's cruelty free status so I won't be buying anymore of these product even with a range of colour selections they have.

The Sinful Colors nail varnish in Rich in Heart was also another product that I thought I wasn't going to get to finish by the end of the year.  But I actually put on the last coat on New Year's Eve.  There is a little bit left, but I'm counting this as finished as it's become too gloopy to use.  While I like the colour, Sinful Colors is not a cruelty free company and I won't be buying from them again.  The other nail varnish colours that were in my 2016 project pan will be added into this year's project pan along with the Tesco's brought Barbara eye primer.

The last project pan product is the Wella Polish Cream.  This hasn't moved very much during this year, but, to be honest, I kept forgetting to use it.  I did think about getting rid of it, but have decided to move it into this year's project pan and use it up completely.  If I remember to use it at least twice a week I should be able to do that.

The last products I've used up this year are the Bourjois 150th Anniversary powder, the Natural Collection lip liner in Mulberry, and the Urban Decay / Gwen Stefani lipstick tester in 714.  The Bourjois powder is a good powder to use for the price of it and smelt lovely, but not overpowering.  It was easy to work into my skin and Bourjois is cruelty free, but I'm not much of a fan of loose powder and the colour was a little bit too pink for me.  I'm a big fan of Natural Collection and Barry M lip liners as the colours are great and good quality.  This Mulberry colour was a lovely colour and the pigment was good enough to change the colour of the lipsticks I was wearing.  I don't need a lipliner at the moment, but I will look at Natural Collection again when I next do.  The Urban Decay lipstick tester in 714 is a lovely matte red  which reminds me of a vintage lipstick in colour, and I really enjoyed wearing it.  It does dry your lips a little, but nothing a bit of exfoliation and moisturising doesn't fix.  I actually have this in the full size.  Urban Decay is a cruelty free company.

To see my previous project pan updates click below:

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1
• Project Pan Update #2
• Project Pan Update #3
• Project Pan Update #4
• Project Pan Update #5
• Project Pan Update #6
• Project Pan Update #7
• Project Pan Update #8
• Project Pan Update #9
• Project Pan Update #10
• Project Pan Update #11

Project Pan Update #11 and Other Products

This month has been a month of me trying to use up the last of my samples.  It hasn't really much of an impact on the products in my project pan, apart from my Mac lipstick as one of the samples was the Urban Decay / Gwen Stefani lipstick in 714 (a matt red).  I haven't actually finished that sample yet as it's so pigmented and lasts a long time so re-apply is not necessary. Hopefully next month.......so let's begin.

As always let's start with the shadows.  Probably the most obvious difference is the pinky / purple shade which is building a nice dip.  The plan is to reach the pan on this shadow and then get rid of it and I think I will manage this by the end of the year.  It's replaced the silver shadow as my main shadow and so the silver shadow hasn't made much progress at all.  I've also been using the dark grey shadow as my eye liner instead of the brown liner and I will just see how far I can get before January.  I've finally managed to get to the pan on the top left of the brown eyeshadow and am just working down the left side of the pan and will hopefully get at least half way.  Lastly, the white shadow is carrying on the same as before.  I don't think I'll finish it by the end of the year, but seeing as this was almost full at the start of this year I'm quite happy with it.  None of the companies that make these eye shadows are cruelty free.

The Elf purple eye liner is taking a lot longer then I was hoping and I'm not sure this is going to be finished by the end of this project.  It's not very pigmented so you have to go over the same spot a few times before you get and colour.  It works better if you push harder, but obviously you don't want to do that on your eyes.  I might have to finish this in my next project.  Elf is cruelty free and, once I've used up all my other eyeliners, I will have a look at the other pencil eyeliners they have.

Next is the product I'm most happy about, the Lily Lolo eye primer.  I didn't think that I would actually finish this this month so I'm happy that it's all gone.  As I've said before, this doesn't do a lot for priming my eyelids, though that's probably because they are oily, but it did work well as a primer on my face.  I'll now start on the eye primer I bought from Tescos a while ago.  Lily Lolo is a cruelty free company and I will look at their other products when I actually need to get more makeup.

I only actually used this lipstick, the Mac cremesheen in Creme Cup, for 2 weeks this month so I'm quite impressed with how much I've managed to use compared to previous months.  I haven't completely finished the lipstick sample I was using instead this month, but I think I can finish off both of these by the end of next month - hopefully.  Mac is not a cruelty free company.

As before I haven't been wearing nail varnish that much this month either.  I still like the look of wearing nail varnish, but I'm just as happy without and I haven't really been bothered with the work you have to go into to keep them looking nice.  Because of this there hasn't been much progress on this nail varnish, and this has been the only one I've been using.  This polish is an alright quality, but Sinful Colours is not a cruelty free company so I wouldn't buy it again.

The Wella Polish Cream is the other product I keep forgetting to use despite it being on my dresser and, as you don't need to use a lot of it at a time, I'm not getting very far with it.  It's just not a step I think to use and I will probably have to put this into my next pan as well.  The scent is alright and it does help with the fizziness, but not more than my oils do and, with Wella not being cruelty free, I won't buy this again.

Apart from the never ending lipstick, I've managed to use up the last of the samples I have, but firstly I'll start with the ones that I actually finished a couple of months ago but forgot to put in my blog.  The first is the Urban Decay / Gwen Stefani lipstick sample in Firebird.  This is a deep fuschia cream lipstick and I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I actually loved the colour and it suited my skin tone very well.  It's going to be a while before I get through all my lipsticks, but I'm going to keep this in mind, especially as Urban Decay is cruelty free.  The next is a sample of the perfume Love Story by Chloe.  This is quite a flowery scent, but not too strong and it didn't give me a headache, which flower scents can do.  I'm not sure about the cruelty status of Chloe, but I want to be going for more natural scents anyway I won't be buying this in the full size.

The John Masters Organics citrus & neroli detangler worked a lot better than I was expecting.  I've stopped using conditioner and noticed it didn't make any difference to the condition, softness or how tangled my hair got, but I did notice that my hair felt less tangled when I used this product.  It also smells pretty nice too and the actual size is only £17.  I want to see what my oils are like first, but if I feel like I need an extra bit of help with my hair I will look into getting this.  I did have high hopes for the Pai Rosehip BioRegnerate Rapid Radiance Mask as this is a pricy brand and I have liked other products of those I've used.  Unfortunately this didn't have the effect I was hoping.  It didn't feel like my skin was any more improved than before and I actually got some small spots around my nose every time I used it.  I think I'll stick to my Juice Beauty face mask.  Pai is a cruelty free company though.  The Acorelle eau de parfum sample in Vanilla smelt great.  The sample doesn't come in the traditional way but is in the form of a wipe, but the actual perfume comes in the traditional bottle.  The smell is a very accurate vanilla smell, but doesn't have the overly sweet smell that lots of them have, and it lasts all day.  This is definitely a perfume I would like to get in the future and Acorelle is a cruelty free company.  The last sample is The Natural Deodorant Co clean deodorant balm in vanilla & manuka.  I wasn't sure what this was going to be like as you have to apply it with your hands, but I actually preferred this method to the conventional way.  The product was also really good, lasted all day, and didn't feel sticky or wet.  This is definitely one of the best natural deodorants I've tried.  The only problem I had with it was the smell reminded me very slightly of stale washing and that my skin reacted badly to the bicarb.  However, The Natural Deodorant Co have balms that don't contain bicarb in them and different scents, so I might give these a go and see if they work just as well and they're cruelty free and vegan.  If they do then I think I've found my new deodorant - once I've used up my back stock.

I've had these Faith in Nature Replenishing Aloe Vera Eye Gel for quite a while (in fact I don't even think they've made this for a few years) and they take forever to use up.  I decided it probably wasn't best to keep using this around my eyes, just in case, so I've been using it to moisturise my hands and other areas of my body that need it.  I have one more of these to go and am in the market for another natural eye cream, though my oils seem to be doing a good job.

To see my previous project pan updates click below:

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1
• Project Pan Update #2
• Project Pan Update #3
• Project Pan Update #4
• Project Pan Update #5
• Project Pan Update #6
• Project Pan Update #7
• Project Pan Update #8
• Project Pan Update #9
• Project Pan Update #10

Project Pan Update #9 and Other Products

So this blog is definitely long overdue (as are all the others) and I have no real excuse other than the fact that my temporary job has been physically very tiring.  I was starting to get used to the work though, but, unfortunately, it has now ended.

As I was doing physical work outside I decided not wear any makeup during the week for the last month and a half, and this means that there hasn't been a lot of progress on that front.  But I have managed to make progress through some other products as I reduce the amount of items I have.

So let's start with the never ending eye shadows.  There has been a little bit of progress and actually more then I was expecting, but I am going to be hard pushed to finish these by the end of the year.  However, it does look like I will be getting an admin job again so I will be back to wearing makeup everyday.  I am also going to have to decide whether or not I will keep these shadows after the year it out or whether I will get rid of anything that is left - they are very old and I have given them a good go.

The purple e.l.f. eye liner is actually going a lot quicker than the teal one.  This colour doesn't seemed to be as good a quality as the teal and I, therefore, need to use more of it to get the same result.  Though I know this is does make me feel quite good whenever I look at it.

I have now been using the pink shade of the Lily Lolo eye primer also as a face primer as well as an eye primer to help use it up and I can feel the pan under my fingers now.  Once I had hit pan of the yellow shade it didn't take me long to finish so I'm expecting this will be the same.

My Mac lipstick in Creme Cup has also gone down more than I was expecting based on the lack of use.  As with the eye shadows I will be able to get more use it it if I do get the administration role, but it may not be finished by the end of the year.  It won't be far off though and, with the e.l.f. eye liner, this is giving me some encouragement.

One product I have been able to finish off has been the from nature lip butter in coconut.  This was relatively effective, but not the best lip butter I've ever used and it did leave a strange white cast on my lips.  This whiteness would be gone by the morning though and it was effective enough to moisturise my lips even after using a matt lipstick.

I haven't made much progress on the Wella System Profession Polish Cream, mainly because I keep forgetting to use it despite it being on the top of my dresser.  It's not a natural thing for me to put in hair products so I definitely have to remind myself every day about this.  Though it does make my hair less frizzy I don't notice any large difference to my hair so I won't be replacing it once it's finished.

As with the make-up I haven't been wearing nail varnish on my nails either (mainly as I was harvesting cash crops where you are not allowed to wear nail polish).  I have been concentrating on this Sinful Colours in Rich in Heart as the company is not cruelty free.  It is beginning to thicken up so I don't think I'll get much more use out of it so I'm hoping it'll be gone by the end of the year.

The last three products aren't in my project pan but are part of my attempt to only have the bare minimum of beauty products.  The first is The Body Shop's Shea hand cream which I have used up completely.  It worked very effectively, especially with the hands on job I've had, but definitely isn't moisturising enough for winter.  The next is one of the natural deodorants I've been testing, the Dr. Organic Manuka Honey Deodorant.  I had though this product was effective when I first started using it, but became less so after a while and I had to use it in tandem with a conventional deodorant to use it up.  The Wella Silvikrin hairspray is not a product I've used up but one I've decided to get rid of as I never use it.  I never use hairspray, even when I do complicated hairstyles, as I don't like the feeling of hard hair.  I did try using it to help keep my eye brows in check but it seemed a very strange thing to do.  I've also read that it isn't very good for you as you inhale some of the spray.  I might look for a more 'natural' product, but as it's not something I use regularly I might leave it out completely.

It's unlikely that my next job will be an outdoors one again so I'm hoping I have more progress in the next up-date (though this is only in a few weeks). 

To see my previous project pan updates click below:

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1
• Project Pan Update #2
• Project Pan Update #3
• Project Pan Update #4
• Project Pan Update #5
• Project Pan Update #6
• Project Pan Update #7
• Project Pan Update #8

Project Pan Update #7 and Other Products

This month hasn't been a particularly good month for actually finishing off products from my project pan, but there has been progress in almost all of products.

When it comes to the eye shadows the white eye shadow is definitely the one that has made the most progress, which is probably due to me also using it as a highlighter, but the grey eyeshadow is the one I'm happiest about as it looks like something is actually happening with it, finally!  The other eyeshadows are going at the same pace as before, but I'm really not holding my breath that any of these are going to be finished in the next five months.  I've added my Natural Collections eyeshadow to the palette to use as a base eyeshadow for blending.

Now for the never ending Elf eyeliner.  It is so small now and yet still going strong.  I'm hoping August will be the month I finally finish this.  That being said, it's clearly good value for money if you're looking for a pigmented eyeliner that lasts for a long time.

This next product is the one I'm most excited about and that is the Lily Lolo eye primer. The yellow primer is almost finished and I am beginning the think that the whole product might actually be finished by the end of the year.  I just need to keep plodding at it.

I have basically only worn my Mac Creme Cup lipstick in July. Yet, despite using it almost every day, it has hardly gone down at all.  I've worn it so much I've got a little bored of it and I think I'll wear different colours this month.  So, I'm swapping this for my Jane Iredale sample lip stain and some of the other testers I have from Urban Decay in August.  I'm also going to wear some of my other lipsticks that have sat in a draw for the last seven months.

A couple of products that I have been working on, but haven't actually put in my updates yet, are the Wella System Professional Polish Cream and from Nature Coconut Lip Butter.  These have been going slow but steady throughout the year and I'm just going to be keep going till they are all gone.  I'm hoping they'll be gone by the end of the year, but I'm not sure about the Polish Cream.

I've finally got back into wearing nail varnish again, but it's going to be a while before another nail polish comes up in this blog.

The last three items are not on my project pan, but are part of my attempt to reduce the number of the products I have.  The first is Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light.  Don't let the fact that all the writing has rubbed off fool you, for the price, this is a really good concealer and works really well and Collection is cruelty free.

The perfume is Jimmy Choo's Illicit.  I don't actually know if Jimmy Choo is cruelty free, but I don't think I'll buy the full size of this as, despite really likely the smell, as the scent does not last very long.  This is my last perfume tester, so now I'll work on my full size perfumes.

Finally, the Urban Decay tester in Ex-girlfriend.  I thought I would really like this as I liked the look of the colour, but I didn't think that it was particularly pigmented enough.  As the colour was very close to my own I was hoping that I could use it to define my lips more, which don't actually have a defined line, but the lack of pigmentation meant that this wouldn't really work.  I might look at the lip pencil though - once I'm through with this.

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1
• Project Pan Update #2
• Project Pan Update #3
• Project Pan Update #4
• Project Pan Update #5
• Project Pan Update #6