Project Pan 2020 Update #2

As expected after last quarter's many use ups, this quarter has been pretty slow with only one original product gone along with an add on one.  Lockdown has meant that I've basically worn makeup every day as I haven't been able to work, do any other outdoor activities that really don't require any form of makeup, and it's been good to have something to add to my day to help the time pass.  There's not really much else to say so let's just get to it.

The Mistine Cosmetics OHH Lipstick No. 01 is now completely finished.  This was my final lip colour and I'm going to go lipstick free until the end of this year to decide what I want to do next.  This was a really nice colour, good texture, and had pretty good staying power.  It also didn't dry out my lips too much which is always good for a matt lipstick.  However,  I won't be buying this lipstick again as I can't find out anything about its cruelty-free status.

The last original product left is the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette.  As with all palettes, this is taking its time, but I am getting to every shadow and using a number of them for more than just eye colour.  I was using Bathwater as my highlighter but now that I have a good pan on it I've moved to Blonde.  Zone is now my all-over base eyeshadow instead of Anaheim as I've started using Anaheim as my contouring shadow, and it's actually a really good colour for that.  I've also started using Stark to set my concealer as well as it's not a bad match for my skin tone and, now that I no longer have a lipstick to wear, I've started doing much darker eye looks, which means me using much more of the shadows then were being used before.  This includes using Danger as my undereye liner as the blue coincides with the blue of my eyes and it's a subtle but nice pop of colour.  This should mean that I get through a number of these shadows pretty quickly by the end of the year, hopefully.

Now for the two products that I've added to this project pan as an incentive to use them up.  There's nothing wrong with either of these products specifically, they are just getting a bit old.  The first is the Fair Squared Shea Lip Balm, which I started really working on at the beginning of June and managed to finish in June as there wasn't nearly as much as I thought there was.  It's a good moisturiser, but it does leave a weird feeling film on your lips and, even if you put on just a little bit, leaves white bits in the corners of your mouth.  There is also a slightly weird taste, which is probably why I was put off using it, to begin with.  The other balms that came in the pack were really good though and I would recommend them overall.  They're also fairtrade, vegan, and cruelty-free.

The last item I've added is the Welsh Lavender Ltd Farmers' Hand Cream.  I didn't really feel like I needed this too much at the moment as I'm not doing my usual manual work.  However, I am doing a lot of hand washing and I've noticed that there are some dry patches forming so moister would be a really good thing right now.  It's a good incentive to use this up as I have had it for quite a while now.  It's also a really nice cream, so if you can get it I would recommend it.

So that's it for now. I can't believe how few items I actually have left in this project compared to the projects I've had over the last few years.  The number of beauty products I own has definitely gone down and I'm really happy about that.  I'm thinking I probably will do another project next year just to work out what I actually want to keep, but that will be the last one and, hopefully, I won't find myself in another situation where I need to do this again.

Project Pan 2020

I have to say that last year went pretty well when it came to my project pan.  At least, much better than how I was expecting it to go.  I'm expecting this year to be pretty similar as I don't have a lot of items this time and this year is mainly the year where I go through the last of my products to really downsize and simplify my makeup.  However, though there aren't too many items (5 really), most of them are going to take a while to use up so this is going to be a pretty slow project pan.  Because of that I'm going to do the quarterly updates that I did last year otherwise there's going to be some pretty boring posts.

Starting with the one item that I know is definitely going to take at least this year to go through and that's the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette.  There are 15 shades here, though they're not the biggest eyeshadow pans I've seen which gives me a little bit of hope.  They are a little powdery, but I do really love most of the colours so it shouldn't be too difficult to make myself wear this every time I wear makeup.  However, I definitely don't need this many eyeshadows and there are some colours there that I don't normally gravitate to, at least not anymore.  So, to push myself out of my comfort zone I'm going to make myself hit every single one of these colours at least once this year.  In fact, let's say at least once every quarter.  I think that should be do-able.  I'm not expecting to finish it but I am hoping to hit pan on at least five of the shadows.

Powder foundation is definitely my foundation of choice.  That's probably quite strange for a dry skinned girl, but I just find it much easier and less messy to use, and I don't feel like it's sitting on my skin like an unpleasant layer.  This is my last foundation and it is the Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation in Blondie.  I really like it and it suits my skin, but if I'm honest I much prefer the compact foundations or the loose powder.  Just so much less mess involved.  I've already gone through quite a lot of this but getting it finished by the end of the year is still going to be a challenge.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do once it's used up as, as with all these types of products, there's always the issue of mica.  I guess I'll just have to do my research and make a decision when the time comes.  For now, I'm just going to concentrate on getting this finished.

This The Body Shop Eye Definer Crayon Kohl in Black is also my last eyeliner.  It's a very soft product and, whilst the colour is good, I do end up putting on a few layers when I use it so I'm not expecting this to take that long at all.  I don't think it's a product I'll get again once it's gone as I prefer a liquid or gel eyeliner, but once it's gone I'm going to use up the black eyeshadow I have in the UD x Gwen Stefani palette before I make any decision on buying another eyeliner.  Right now The Body Shop Kohl is 9.5 cm long.

The Burt's Bees Matte Lip Crayon in Napa Vineyard is one of the last two lip products I have and, as you know, I'm thinking about not owning any lip products once they've gone other than a lip liner.  We'll wait and see on that front, but for now this is the first lip product I want to get through this year as I'm already using it.  It's a beautiful colour, however, I find it difficult to apply this neatly as the crayon is so thick and it was difficult to keep the point it had at the start.  To be honest, it probably needs a lip brush to really apply it properly, but I can't be bothered buying one of those so I'm just going to persevere with it as it is.  I also think that the texture and colour would make it a good cheek colour and will be using it there as well.  That should probably reduce the amount of time it'll take to use it up.  This lip crayon is 2.4 cm at the moment.

This was a naughty buy I really shouldn't have done when we stopped off at Bangkok on the way to New Zealand.  I just really want to try an Asian brand.  However, if I'm honest, a liquid eyeliner or mascara probably would have been better, I'm just more obsessed with lipsticks.  Any way, this is the Mistine Cosmetics OHH Lipstick No. 01.  I can't really say too much about it as I haven't started using it yet and won't until the Burt's Bees product it finished.  It seems like it will be a lot more matte in texture and pigmented than the Burt's Bees.  I guess I'll find out.  At the moment it's 2.8 cm in length.

Lastly are the Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blushes in Royal, Genius, Pop, and Vibrant.  I'm not going to try and use these up (that would be insane) but I am going to try each one and decide if I want to keep all of them or if there are any that really don't suit me and can be gotten rid of.  I also want to play with the two blush brushes I own as I really don't feel I need both and could probably get rid of one.  I think I know which one it's going to be, but I still want to give both of them a fair go.  I should probably have this one completed by the end of the first quarter.

There is one extra thing I'm going to be doing whilst I go through this project pan and that is basically going on a no buy for 2020.  I will let myself buy mascara when I need to and concealer once the foundation has finally run out (I've basically got my eye on the RMS "Un" Cover-Up), but for everything else I'm not going to buy anything new until I have used everything else up.  So no eyeliners until the one I have and the eyeshadows are completely gone; definitely no blusher, highlighter, or contour probably ever - that stuff is going to last me for years; and definitely no lip products until these are all gone and I've gone a few months without any lipstick at all.  I actually feel like I want to use up most of the eye shadows before I let myself even look at another lip product.  I don't actually think it'll be too hard and I like the challenge of it.  

So possibly the last year of project pan here we go.  Good luck everyone, I hope yours all go well.  Let me know what you're planning to get rid of.