Project Pan 2021: Update 4

This is going to be a very quick blog as I only have one product to talk about and I am no were near finishing it. 😂

That product is The Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer.  This is a very beautiful highlighter and I also use it as an eyeshadow.  It suits my completion well and, despite how it looks in the pan, is actually very subtle on my skin.  It's also cruelty free.  Last time I wrote about this I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it, but actually I really like it so it's staying in my makeup bag for now.

And that's it, my last project pan is now over.  I can't believe how many products I actually had when I started this a few years ago, but now I'm down to just a small bag of makeup, no nail polish at all, and one of each for all my toiletries and other beauty products.  I may still get rid of some products here and there when I no longer enjoy using them, but that's it in the active using up of my items.

Project Pan 2021 Update 3

And then there was one.

As I had hoped in the last update I have managed to completely use up the Cien eyeliner pen in Black, mostly by wearing smoky eye looks every weekend.  I've looked everywhere I can think of but haven't been able to find anything on Cien's cruelty free status so it's not really a product I would recommend to anyone.  I also found that, on my eye lids at least, it transferred quite easily, though it was very easy to put on.

So that just leaves The Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer to go.  The chance of me using this product up by the end of the year is unbelievably small and right now I'm in two minds as to whether or not I want to keep it after the end of this project.  I'm not going to lie, I do really like the look of it as an eye shadow in conjunction with a blusher, but do I really need a highlighter in my make-up bag.  I'll keep using it until the end of the year and then maybe take a little break from it before I make my final decision.  It is a beautiful product though.

And that's it, a very short post as there really isn't much to say here.  It's just as well I'm going to do a 'what's now in my make up bag' with the next update otherwise it would just be a paragraph.  Bring on me highlighting absolutely everything for three months.

Project Pan 2021 Update 2

 

And then there were two, sort of.  That's another quarter of a year down and another three months of slow progress on using up these beauty products.  There is a bit of a change to these items, but nothing to do with me actually getting through the products myself.

Let's start with the NYX Blush in Taupe which I have actually decided to just get rid of.  The texture seems to have changed a bit and isn't the easiest to use anymore, with me having to constantly scratch the surface to get any colour on my brush.  It also now seems to go on a bit patchy as well.  If I'm being honest, I'm also getting a bit bored of this product and no longer have an interest in doing a sort of contoured look.  The cool tone of this blush does make it a good product to use for contouring and NYX is cruelty-free, which would normally mean that I would recommend this item.  However, I have heard some pretty bad things about the way NYX do some of their publicity that makes me not really want to use their products anymore.

I've done a much better job of using up the Cien eyeliner pen in Black this quarter than last with the more smoky eye looks I've been doing.  The liner is now down to 1.4cm from 3.1cm and I don't think it'll take me much longer to use it up completely.  This eyeliner does go on pretty easily, but it also smudges and transfers pretty easily too so I won't necessarily recommend it to anyone.

Lastly is The Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer.  It wasn't looking like too much had changed, other than a slightly larger section at the bottom of the visible pan, but then I knocked it (not even dropped it) and a big chunk of the product fell out the last time I opened it.  It's still not going to be gone by the end of the year, but I'm actually alright with that as I've found that I quite like this product.  It gives a very nice and surprisingly natural glow, at least on my skin tone, and is a pretty quick extra step.  I've been using it on my eyelids, over a blush, as well as on the tops of my cheeks to give a slightly shimmery look which actually lasts quite a long time.

So, perhaps a little more exciting project pan update than I was expecting if we were really pushing it.  I knew this year wasn't going to be one where there was a large change in my makeup collection, but 2021 is more about it down to the size I want to end the year with.  Hopefully, by the end of the next quarter, I'll have finished the eyeliner, and then that'll basically be it for the year.

Project Pan 2021 Update 1

As expected this project pan has gone very, very slowly.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure you can see any difference in the products at all.  Admittedly, I'm only wearing makeup a couple of times a week, if I even remember to put it on then, so that's probably not helping.  Prepare to be very underwhelmed.

Despite having to give the NYX blush in Taupe a bit of a scrape as the top layer had hardened and I wasn't picking up any product on my brushes, it doesn't look very different from the starting photo.  I've been using this for contouring and eyeshadow, and I guess the dip in the centre is getting a little deeper, but no pan just yet.  I'm already feeling that this product might be one I can just get rid of at the end of the year without finishing.

I had actually forgotten how lovely The Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer is.  I'm also using this as a multi-use product, using it as a standard highlighter on my cheeks and under my eyebrows, and as an eyeshadow.  I actually really like the eye look I get from layering this highlighter over the NYX blush and this combination lasts for most of the day, which is unusual for eyeshadows on my eyes.  However, as with the blusher, the pan isn't looking any bigger than before.  Not yet anyway.

The Cien eyeliner pen in Black is the one product I thought would have a more obvious change.  I was just using it to line along my top lashes, but then I realised that if I did a more smoky look, lining all along my waterline, it would use up the product quicker.  So far I've managed to use 0.6 cm and, if I keep that up, it'll be December before I finish it.  However, I've only been doing these smoky looks for the last few weeks, so I'm expecting to be finished with this product before that.

And that's it.  An absolutely thrilling post of a snail's pace project pan. It actually reminds me of the snail in Monster's University who tries to make it to his first class on time at the start of the movie and only gets there when the school year is over.  I'm not really expecting the next post on this to be any more exciting, but it is giving me more of a clear idea of how I want my makeup stash to look moving on from this year and whether I want to keep trying to use up products I don't have any love for anymore.

Project Pan 2021

 

Last year I managed to get rid of the last big chunk of my makeup to get it down to the size I want.  I will admit that I do still have too many blushers, but I do love all the colours and can't really see myself getting rid of any of them any time soon.  I've decided that this will be my last year of actively panning as I don't intend on getting any more makeup, other than mascara, concealer, liner, and lipstick (maybe) when I run out.

This year's project pan will be a very small one but will take quite a while to get through as they are mostly powder products.  In fact, there are only three items in total and they are.....

The NYX blush in Taupe.  I've had this for a while and got it because someone recommended it as a good contour colour.  It is a nice product, but I don't really see myself doing such in-depth makeup application anytime in the future so it would be good to get rid of.  I'll also be using it for eyeshadow and eyeliner, which should hopefully help move it along nicely.

Then there's the Balm highlighter in Mary-Lou Manizer.  This is a very beautiful highlighter, though it is cracking a little - probably from all travelling it's had to put up with recently, but again this is probably more than I need for the type of makeup I'll be wearing in the future.

The last product is the Cien (Lidl) eyeliner pen in Black.  I got this as part of a pack when I was buying mascara.  It's a perfectly nice liner and very creamy, but I want to go for something a bit more natural in the future if I have a liner at all.  This is starting at 3.1cm.

And that's it, just three this time.  It is going to be quite a slow-moving process and probably difficult to get these done by the end of the year as I'll only be wearing makeup on the weekends (if I remember).  So we'll see how it goes.