Project Use Up Update #5 and Other Products

So it's June already, hasn't this year gone fast.  I thought using up the products would slow down but I've actually managed to use up two products this month. Go me. 😁

Let's start with the Neutrogena anti-aging hand cream.  I didn't think I was going to use this up this quickly, but the amount of sun we've been having this month and the fact I have been outside all day long has meant that there has been a lot of reapplying.  Having the extra moisture of this with the SPF has been great, but as Neutrogena is not cruelty free and there are other options I won't be getting this product again.  I've also reached my goal of having only one hand cream now.

The next item was the Pacifica roll-on perfume in Island Vanilla.  The more I used this the more product the ball released at each application (hopefully that makes sense), so I used proportionally more of it each time.  I do like the smell, but I don't like the roller ball application and the scent doesn't last so I wouldn't buy this product again.  However Pacifica is a cruelty free company so I will try other products of theirs.

Whilst I haven't finished the Burt’s Bees hand salve I have used a lot of this over the last month.  My work does dry my hands a fair bit so they do need moisture at night and, at the moment, this is what I'm using.  I think it'll be gone by next month.

And now for the other products.  Barbara Day eye primer is still plodding along nicely.  I can actually see into the tube now and there's a fair amount gone - yay, finally!  It will still be a long time before this is finished and will probably last all through 2018.  I don't know if the product has started to deteriorate or if it's a change in the face products I'm using or heat, but the eye shadows are definitely not staying on as long as they used to.

The NYX Dark Circle Concealer Corrector in Light / Pale has gone down a little, but as I don't use it a lot as it only goes on my undereyes I'm not expecting it to be a fast mover.  It does help hide the darkness under my eyes, but possibly not as much as I would like.

The Living Nature eye liner in Midnight is moving along in the same steady fashion.  It is going a little faster now that I am also using it in in my lower lash line, but there is no way I'm going to use this up by the end of the year.  Not unless I start eating it.

I've only photographed the Gosh Velvet lipstick in Matte Rose here as that's the only one I've really been wearing this month.  I have been putting the Gosh lipstick in Plum on my cheeks just not enough to make any difference to the length of it.  I'm going to really concentrate on the Rose lipstick this month (this should be especially easy as I'm off for a week this month) and hopefully get it almost finished.

I have actually been remembering to use the Argan Oil hair treatment this time, but you only need one pump each time so it is definitely a slow mover.  I think this will be one that lasts for a few years, unfortunately.  It does make !y hair very soft so I guess that's not a bad thing.

The last two products are not part of my project use up but which I am no longer using and decided to just get rid of.  The first is the travel sized Superdrug nail polish remover.  This works very well and I had almost finished it, but as I no longer have any nail polish to remove it seems pointless to keep it.  The other is the Barry M Iron Mani nail hardener.  I had thought that I would carry on using this even after I had stopped using nail polish.  However, in the end I haven't used it at all and my nails are doing fine without it.  So it's going, which is a shame as I haven't used that much of it.

My progress so far:

• Project Use Up 2018
• Project Use Up Update #1 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #2 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #3 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #4 

Project Use Up Update #4

So this was definitely going to be the month were using up the products slowed down significantly.  The main reason is obviously I'm not wearing makeup on a daily basis now that I work outside.  However, I have needed the moisturising products more and so have been able to work on these more.

So, let's start with the Barbara Day eye primer.  We all know the score with this, I use it every time I wear makeup but you still couldn't see any difference from the outside.  I did get bored and swirled the brush around and there is now a section where the product has moved away from the size (finally!) and I most be half way through by now, but I just can't tell for certain.

The NYX Dark Circle Concealer Corrector in Light / Pale is now my only concealer and is getting a lot more use.  However, I do only use this on my undereyes and so it is going down, just slowly. It will definitely take me the year though.

The Living Nature eye liner in Midnight is another slow mover in my makeup bag, but like the other products it is going down.  I am trying to do makeup looks which use more eye liner (especially as I am using the Gosh Velvet lipstick in Rose more), but it is still moving slowly.  Though I am beginning to think I might be able to get it almost finished by the end of this year now.

I have given all my lipsticks some love this month.  Once I had worked out that I could use the Gosh Velvet lipstick in Matte Plum as a very pretty blusher I've stopped using it on my lips for now.  Instead I now mainly wear the Gosh lipstick in Rose.  I also bit the bullet and wore my MUA lipstick in Raven.  This lipstick was much more creamy and transparent then I was expecting and didn't really stay on my lips evenly when I first put it on, but I do still love the way it looks and will wear it again.

Since the Pacifica roll-on perfume in Island Vanilla is letting more product out every time I use it then it used to I'm now using this up a lot quicker.  Unfortunately the previous lines I had have now disappeared but there is definitely a big jump.  I wasn't wearing it to go to work, but have started wearing this everyday again which means that this will probably be gone in the next two months.

As before, I am completely forgetting to put the Argan Oil hair treatment on.  This is really something I need to remember to do everytime I wash my hair.  Thankfully, my travel brush makes my hair a bit frizzy which is a good reminder to regularly use this so I don't spend my time looking like I've stuck my fingers in the mains.  I don't use conditioner anymore so this is probably an important step I need to remember.

Now that the Neal's Yard hand cream is used up I've moved onto the Neutrogena anti-aging hand cream.  This is slightly different in the fact that it has SPF in it so it makes sense the put this on during the day.  This is a completely different habit for me and something I have never done before.  I've put it in my coat pocket to try and get me to remember to put this on as I leave for work.  The one good thing about this is that I can (and have) put it on my face to add SPF protection and a strong moisturiser.  The extremes of the weather means that the skin on my face takes a real beating so this extra moisture can only be a good thing.  It was full at the beginning of the month so there's only one line.

Lastly, the Burt’s Bees hand salve.  This has definitely taken on an important role in keeping my hands healthy over the last month.  Weirdly I don't think it's the work that is drying out my hands but the hand soap I use at the hostel where I'm usually staying.  At the end of every night I put this on my finger nails and along my knuckles.  The next morning my hands always feel a lot softer and it's definitely helped reduce the skin cracking I usually get.

See my progress so far:

• Project Use Up 2018
• Project Use Up Update #1 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #2 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #3 and Other Products

Product Use Up Update #3 and Other Products

I knew this month was going to be one of those slow transitional months, where your mainly just warring the product down rather then using it up.  But it’s also the last month I’ll have the opportunity to wear as much makeup for the rest of the year and therefore the last opportunity to really get through the stuff.  That being said I didn’t actually wear any at all this week when I was visiting family – ops.

Though the progress was slow I did manage to use up one product and that was the Neal’s Yard hand cream in Wild Rose.  There’s not too much to say about this product really.  It moisturises your hands and smells quite nice.  It’s possibly not as thick as I need it to be and a bit pricey to buy again, but Neal’s Yard is a cruelty free company and I do like the fact that a number of their products come in glass.  Now it’stime to start working on the Neutrogena anti-aging hand cream.

And now for the rest.  I have made progress on the Gosh Velvet Touch Matt lipstick in Plum, though not as much as I had hoped with it being the only lipstick I wore this month.  I am going to take a break from it as a lipstick in April, but I have noticed that it makes a very good cheek stain and will keep working at it as that.  There have been no change with the other lipsticks in this project.

The Living Nature eye liner in Midnight is another product I use everyday I wear makeup but which show little progress.  This isn’t a surprise with eye liners though as you never really need that much of them.  I’m going to do some more smoky looks in the future to try and get some more use out of this.  It also very blend able and I might experiment with it to darken up some eyeshadows.

I’ve only just started using the NYX Dark Circle Concealer Corrector in Light / Pale this month so there’s not going to be a big change between the start of the project and now.  It’s also not a product that is easy to layer so only a small amount can be used at a time.  Thankfully there was already a big dip in it so I’m still hopeful that I’ll finish it by the end of 2018.  It doesn’t supply the best coverage, but I’ll keep working at it.

There’s been a change in the way the roll ball part of the Pacifica roll-on perfume in Island Vanilla now works, similar to the Blood Orange perfume I had before, which means it now lets out more of the product.  Whilst there still hasn’t been a huge amount of progress I think it’s definitely going to increase now.  The scent is a little longer wearing in this fragrance and I do enjoy it, I just don’t like the applicator as much as I thought I would.

I almost feel like not bothering to put in the Barbara Day eye primer in this update, it’s almost a running joke now.  I use it every time I wear makeup but there is not an obvious progress.........yet.

I’m now using the Burt’s Bees hand salve a lot more now that I’m no longer wearing nail varnish, especially as I’m trying to improve the health of my nails after years of wearing polish.  However, you still need very little of this so it’s another product that’s showing very little progress and is in for the long haul.  I do think I will be able to get this finished at the end of the year.

The Argan Oil hair treatment is one of those items I keep forgetting to use.  My hair could probably do with this extra TLC, but it just keeps slipping my mind.  I need to find some way of reminding myself to use it, as so far everything else I’ve tried hasn’t worked.  Because of that there hasn’t been any progress since the last update.  Any advice on this please let me know.

One additional product I’ve finished this month which isn’t in the project is the Green People sun cream in SPF 30.  I’ve had this for a while now and as sun creams have definite shelf lives I wanted to make sure this was finished before that was up.  We haven’t exactly been having the right weather recently to be able to have much flesh so I’ve been mostly using this on my face.  Whilst it’s not specifically a face sun block it did go on really well, my skins didn’t react to it badly, and it actually made quite a good base for my makeup.  I have other sun cream I need to get through at the moment, but once that’s gone I’ll definitely look into the possibility of getting this again.  It is very effective, my skin seems to like it, and Green People is a cruelty free company.

The last product is the Lush Eyes Right Mascara.  I'm not really sure how I feel about this product.  On the plus side it uses more natural products, is vegan, and cruelty free.  However, the product is quite a wet product (though it improves a lot once it's dried out for about a month), did flake a fair amount throughout the day, and didn't really give my eye lashes the look I was looking for.  Basically with this product, if you just want darker, natural lashes, and don't mind a bit of flaking then this mascara is for you.  Otherwise, another mascara might be for you.

Project Use Up update #2 and Other Products

So this month went a lot better then I thought it was going to and I promised myself by actually finished a few items (with one little accident).  The items I finished were roll overs from last year, so I'm glad to finally get them done.  I've decided to just chuck the items once they're done, after taking a photo, as I don't really have anywhere to store them this time.

The first item was the Neal's Yard lipstick in Persimmon.  It was almost finished at the end of last month, but it was still very satisfying to finish it by the end of the first week of February.  This is a good lipstick, was easy to put on, was moisturising, and came off my lips pretty evenly.  It didn't last very long, but the colour was nice though not one I would normally choose.  Neal's Yard is cruelty free, but as I'm downsizing I won't buy this again.

The second item I finished was the Pacifica Transcendent Concentrated Concealer in Light.  I probably could have classed this as finished last month but there seemed to be a lot still in there.  I pushed the stopper into the container (I couldn't pull it out as I normally would) and managed to get another month out of it.  It was a nice concealer and it covered well, but I prefer thicker concealers and this was definitely too little for me.  It also went into the fine lines around my eyes.  Pacifica is a cruelty free brand.  I'll now be starting on my NYX correcting concealer.

The last item that is being moved out of my makeup is the one item that I had a little accident with and that's the Jane Iredale blusher in Barely Rose.  The accident happened when I was putting my makeup on Thursday and watched it slip off my lap (I was putting my makeup on on my bed) and land on the floor........face down.  I tried to see if I could salvage any of it, but it wasn't possible.  On the plus side I didn't have as much product as I thought I had, but it is still a little upsetting.  Jane Iredale is a cruelty free brand and some of their products are vegan (and the website will tell you which).  

Now lets move onto the other products.  We all know the drill for the Barbara Day eye primer by now.  This seems to be never ending and it will probably be another couple of years before this is done.  It's basically doing its job though, so I can't complain.

The Living Nature eye pencil in Midnight is moving along at a snails pace.  It's a nice pencil and is easy to put on, but doesn't necessarily have the best staying power so I set it with eye shadow. 

The lipstick I've been concentrating on since I finished the Neal's Yard one is the Gosh Velvet matte in Plum.  This has pretty good staying power so I don't have to reapply it very often.  Even so, I have managed to make quite a dent in it and, you never know, I might even get it finished by the end of next month (when you wish upon a star). I have also used the Gosh lipstick in Rose to add a bit of variety, but not enough to make any noticeable difference.  I haven't even touched the MUA lipstick in Raven yet. Haven't quite built the nerve.

The Pacifica perfume in Island Vanilla is also moving along at a snails pace, but I'm pretty sure it'll be done by the end of the year.  The scent definitely doesn't last all day and I'm thinking about taking it with me to reapply during the day to keep it going and to help use it up.

I've finally been remembering to actually use my Argan Oil Hair Treatment, but as I only need about one pump at a time it really not moved very much at all.

The soap at my work really dries out my hands so that's been a good reason to keep my hand cream in my bag to use.  Because of this I've actually managed to use quite a lot of this this month and will probably get this finished by the next update.  I'm not usually a rose scent person, but this is quite a delicate scent and I actually quite like it.  I've left my Neutrogena hand cream at my parents for now (hence it's not in the photo) but I think I'll be starting on that soon.

Lastly, the Burts Bees Hand Salve.  I've finally gotten round to using this as well, but as with the Hair Treatment the difference is not very obvious at the moment.

The other product I'm getting rid of this month is the Barry M Wet Set Quick Dry Topcoat.  I've had this topcoat for quite a while and it's done a really good job, especially for the price of it.  It is meant to be clear, but got a little discoloured from one of the nail varnishes I was using up.  As I no longer have any nail varnish I no longer need this and it has finally started to get a little bit gloppy, but only a little bit.  Barry M is a cruelty free brand, but not a whole lot of chemicals free.  

Project Use Up update #1 and Other Products

So that's the first month of 2018 down and I've done pretty well.  Admittedly I have been able to wear makeup far more than I will the rest of the year, but still I'm going to pat myself on the back any way.

The first product to go was the Korres Lip Butter in Mango.  I don't really like having a colour tint in my lip balms, but this is a nice colour if that's what you're looking for.  It never really left like it was moisturising when I first put it on, but my lips always felt very soft in the morning.  Korres is a cruelty free company, but I don't think I'll this again.

Next was the first of my role overs from last year, the Zoya Pixie Dust nail polish in Dahlia.  There is a very small amount in the bottom, but it has gotten very gloopy and is practically impossible to reach.  I did enjoy wearing glitter, but it was very difficult to get off.  That is the last of my nail polish and I won't be buying any more of this kind of polish.  Zoya is cruelty free.

Lastly, I've finished the Lush Lip Scrub in Mint Julip.  I love the smell (and taste) of this, but if I'm honest I don't think it really did anything in the lip scrubbing front.  At least not anymore then when I use my flannel.  Lush is cruelty free, but I won't buy this product again.

As before, the Barbara Day eye primer is going down, but not in any way that is obvious from the outside.  And the same is true for the Pacifica Transcendent Concentrated Concealer in Light, despite using it almost every day.  I expect both of them will suddenly give up the ghost without being obvious before.  I haven't used the NYX Dark Circle Corrector at all yet and will probably use this once the Pacifica concealer is finished.

The Living Nature eye pencil in Midnight is definitely going to take all year to use up, even with me wearing it everyday.  In fact, this product is probably going to take about three.  Still I'll keep working on it.  I may suddenly find some other use for it.

The Jane Iredale blusher in Barely Rose isn't showing any sign of the pan appearing any time soon, but I am using it everyday so it'll hopefully appear soon.

I've mainly been concentrating on the Neal's Yard lipstick in Persimmon this month, but have been using the two Gosh lipsticks as under-colours a few days.  Still, there is no real change in the Gosh lipsticks, but the Neal's Yard is halfway done.  I haven't touched the MUA in Raven at all yet.

The Pacifica perfume in Island Vanilla is another product I use every day, but it doesn't seem to have gone down by very much so this could take all year to finish.  The scent lasts longer then the other Pacifica perfume I've tried, but still doesn't last all day.

Slow progress on the Neal's Yard hand cream, probably because I keep forgetting to use it.  Must remember to make a note to use it daily.  There's no point in using the Neutrogena hand cream with SPF just yet until my hand is actually exposed to the sun.  I haven't used the Argan Oil hair treatment and Burt's Bees hand salve yet.

One of the other products I had finished this month is the Zoya nail polish remover 3 in 1.  This is the travel size (which I poured the last of the product into) and I have previously gone through about three full sized bottles.  It's a good product and is cruelty free, but as I don't intend to buy anymore of the usual nail polish I won't be buying this again.

I've also used up the shampoo I've been using for the last couple of years, which is the John Masters Organics bare unscented.  I really love this shampoo - I don't have any negative reaction to it, it lathers up really well for a more natural shampoo, and you don't need a lot of it for it to work so it lasts a really long time.  It's also cruelty free, so a win win.  I'm trying other shampoos right now, one being a shampoo bar, but if they don't work I'll go back to this.

Lastly was the Scentered Stress Less Therapy Balm.  I had got this in a subscription box from Naturisimo and it's meant to help relieve stress.  I'm not sure if it actually does that, but it does smell very nice and I used it up by using it as a daily scent.