Project Pan: 6 Months' Worth of Makeup Empties!

At the start of the year, I decided to embark on a Project Pan to see how many of my makeup products I could use up within 6 months. Here are the results!

When January 1st came around this year, I had a good long look at my makeup collection and realised that I wasn't actually using much of it. I'm very fickle at the best of times, so I easily get carried away trying out the 'latest' must-have, and I simply forgot about many of the products that I already had. A quick scroll through my Instagram feed told me that a lot of other bloggers and makeup junkies were feeling the same way, so I joined in on a six month long Project Pan.

If you've never heard of a Project Pan before, the aim of the game is to go through your makeup collection (or you can do it with skincare, haircare, body products or a mix of everything), pick out a bunch of products that you want to use up during a set period of time, and well, use them up! You can also commit to not spending any money on beauty products during this time to encourage/force you to use what you already have, or you can set yourself a small 'beauty budget' every month where you only buy essentials of things you've run out of or 'one treat'. And of course, you can set your own guidelines/rules, as long as the overall emphasis is on using up products that you already have.

For my Project Pan I tried to just stick to the following:-

1. Use up selected makeup products during 6 months and not open anything new, unless it's a review for the blog.
2. Only buy essentials or if allowing a small purchase, it must be a product that's on a very good offer / special bargain price - NO full price items!

 The Results: 25 products!

I chose makeup products that were mostly half empty already, as I wanted to use this project to mainly declutter my makeup collection. I also picked some items that I knew needed to be used up due to expiry dates, so I had a good mix of things to play with. All in all, I managed to finish off 25 products, 18 of which were full size and the rest were samples/travel sizes. I think that's a pretty good amount for a 6 month Project Pan!

Below is a brief rundown of the used up products, what I'd recommend, what I wouldn't and which ones I would repurchase again in the future.

 Primers

At the start of the Project Pan, I didn't think that I would use up any of the face primers as they're not something that I use every day, but the project really did make me reach for them on a much regular basis and I enjoyed using them. If you like the slip and feel of silicone primers, the Daniel Sandler Retexturizing Face Primer is one of the few I've tried that didn't break me out and it gives you a lovely smooth base, plus it has SPF 20 which is always handy. 

The B. Rescued Energising Balm is a different kettle of fish as it's a cream based primer that's a fantastic budget dupe for Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. I've used up one of these in the past and it does a great job of brightening up a dull complexion by making you look more awake. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion on the other hand, is a godsend for oily lids like mine and always stops my eyeshadow from creasing and looking like a hot mess at the end of the day. Can't recommend it enough!

Repurchases? I've replaced the UDPP with a full-size tube, but I haven't repurchased the other two yet as I have some other primers that I want to use up first. I will likely buy them again in the future though!

Base Products & Concealers

I pulled out a couple of foundations to use up but didn't get through any of them - not surprising really as I selected too many and I don't wear foundation every day. However I did get through a sample of bareMinerals Bareskin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation which I liked but didn't completely love, and a full size of Green People Age Defy Tinted Moisturiser* that I liked using because it gave me a good light coverage for everyday wear.

Concealer wise, I used up two segments of the Claudia Louch Concealer Trio* (the darkest shade just didn't match me at all so I left that part) which was a real battle to finish as it's a very thick concealer similar to Benefit's Erase Paste and it just lasted ages! I finished the Vapour Organic Beauty Illusionist Concealer Stick that I liked to use to brighten up the dark circles under my eyes. It's a light coverage concealer but creamy and very blendable. I also used up a sample of ReCover Concealer* which is amazing for covering up any redness or rosacea. 

Repurchases? No to the bareMinerals, Claudia Louch and Vapour Organic because I think there are better products out there at more competitive price points. I would however, consider buying the Green People Tinted Moisturiser again once I've used up some more base products, and I already have two full sizes of the ReCover concealer, plus samples, that I was kindly sent by their PR. 

 Mascaras & Eyeliners

I am a massive mascara junkie (can you tell?!) and shamefully always have a handful on the go at any one time. It's also the one product that I've always struggled to find a holy grail item in, so I end up testing lots of different ones out in search of 'the one'. These were all mascaras that I've had opened for a while so it wasn't too hard to finish them off.

Magnifibres is great for creating a false lash effect with any mascara so I used this one a lot. The others were all either disappointing or just OK, with the exemption of Too Faced Better Than Sex and Tarte Lights Camera Lashes which are both amazing. I used to love Benefit They're Real but I hate how difficult it is to remove so I don't think I'd bother with it again. 

Eyeliner wise, I only finished one which is the budget-tastic Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner - a great liquid eyeliner to try out if you want one for under £3 and easy to find on the highstreet.

Repurchases? Out of all of these, I would only consider repurchasing Magnifibres, Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara and the Collection Fast Stroke Eyeliner again in the future.

Lips, Cheeks & Nails

Despite wearing lip products almost every day, I have so many different products that I never used to use anything up, so I'm most proud of finishing this little selection right here. Typically, these are all neutral, easy to wear shades - it's going to take me a while to finish up a red lippie!

I got through two lipglosses; Lily Lolo Mineral Lipgloss in English Rose*, a gorgeous everyday pink, and Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Grapefruit, a sheer nude pink. I also finished off a Korres Lip Butter in Guava which is a tinted formula that adds a light nude colour to the lips and feels very moiturising - I love these.

Lipstick wise, two bit the dust; Seventeen Lipshine in Beehive, a lovely 'my lips but better' shade (and can you tell how long I've had this as the packaging no longer looks like this!), and Liz Earle Lipstick in Tea Rose*, a gorgeous dusky rose colour.

The only cheek product that I used up was Liz Earle Cream Blush in Rose*, a pretty everyday pink with a great long wearing formula, and the only nail product was the infamous Seche Vite Top Coat.

Repurchases? Sadly I can't justify buying anymore lip or blush products until my stash is much smaller (it's ridiculous at present), but I would repurchase all of these again if my current collection disappeared overnight! I've already repurchased the Seche Vite as it's my top coat of choice and the only one I'm using at the moment.

Summary: I'm really glad that I finished all of these products during this 6 month Project Pan as it has definitely helped to clear some space in my makeup collection and it has allowed me to bring forward some other products that I'd like to get back into. I've also saved a lot of money by doing this which is always a happy bonus! I'm going to keep my finished makeup products separate from my monthly empties posts, so I'll collect them for the next 6 months and see how many I've finished by the end of the year - wish me luck!

Have you ever done a Project Pan like this?

Have you tried any of the products that I used up?

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