Project 50 Pan (finale)

It’s taken me close to six months, but I have finally finished my first ever Project 50 Pan. Granted, I wasn’t 100% diligent with the whole ‘no buy’ aspect of the Project Pan, but as I am continuing on with another one soon after this I’m not going to worry about it too much. Basically the idea of doing these little challenges is for me to use up the products that I have squirreled away in my cupboards and minimise the amount of new things that I’m purchasing, which I have definitely done. So in that regard it’s been a success.

41: Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub – I think this was my second or third tube of the scrub, and it’s probably my favourite manual facial exfoliant. I would definitely consider repurchasing once I finish the scrub that I’m using now.

42: Dermalogica Active Moist – This is my favourite moisturiser to wear in the summer because it’s lightweight and doesn’t feel too heavy and thick on my skin. I’ve purchased this multiple times before and I will definitely repurchase it again in the future.

43: Bath + Body Works Exotic Coconut Shower Gel – This scent is one of my favourites from Bath + Body Works, and I really enjoyed using this every night in my shower. The smell reminds me of summer and I like the shower gel in general (it lathers up well and leaves my skin feeling soft) so I will probably buy it again in the future.

44: Ole Henriksen Roll On Blemish Attack – This was a good product, but I don’t think I’ll repurchase it purely because I’ve found on-par quality products that are available for much cheaper (ie: the Burt’s Bees Herbal Blemish Stick).

45: Lancome Hypnose Mascara – As I’ve mentioned multiple times in the past, this is my all time favourite mascara. I’ll repurchase it forever or at least until I find a product that measures up.

46: L’Oreal Elnet Hair Spray – I don’t use a lot of hair spray, (mostly on my fringe to keep it in place during the day) so I don’t have much of experience with a variety of products but I found this one to be quite good. The one downside with this product is that it absolutely stinks. Have they really not found a way to work around the ‘hair spray smell’ yet?

47: Benefit ‘It’s Potent’ Eye Cream – This was a deluxe sample size, but I’ve still included it in the tally because it took me quite a few months to use up the product. I really liked this, and would consider it one of the best eye creams I’ve ever used. It’s thick and moisturizing and didn’t irritate my eyes at all. I have another deluxe sample size sitting in my cupboard waiting to be used, and once I’ve finished up that and all of my other eye creams I will definitely be repurchasing this.

48: NYX Felt Tip Liner – This product ran out SO quickly and was all dried up after a month or so of use. Despite that fact, I really love the shape of the felt tip marker of this eyeliner, so now I’m on the lookout for something similar which will last a bit longer than the NYX pen.

49: Bath + Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Anti-Bacterial Waterless Hand Foam – I’ve had this product sitting around in my cupboard for a few years now, so I’m not sure if the anti-bacterial quality of the foam still worked, but the smell was nice. I don’t think I’d repurchase this because I wasn’t a fan of the packaging (the lid kept popping off which meant I couldn’t carry it in my handbag), plus I’m not even sure if this style of product and packaging is even available anymore.

50: Flourish Bath + Body Almond Milk Body Lotion – The scent of the Flourish (now Firebird) Almond Milk products is probably my all time favourite. It’s sweet, it’s milky, it’s delicious. Despite loving the scent of this product unfortunately I didn’t really find it that moisturising on my skin, so I don’t think I’ll be repurchasing it anytime soon.

Project 50 Pan (part 7)

Soon I’m going to start to include sample products into my pan, with 10 sample sized products equating to one full sized product in my tally. This is mainly because the landfill that is the sample product drawer in my bathroom is just about ready to overflow. I’ve finished up a few holy grail items this time around, and it’s really beginning to feel like Project 50 Pan will stretch out to Project 100 Pan.

36: Nivea Daily Essentials Fragrance Free Facial Cleansing Wipes – Out of all of the different types of makeup remover wipes I’ve tried over the years, these are my favourite. I know a lot of people don’t like these because they’re slightly dry compared to other brands, but I prefer them. These are the only facial wipes that I’ve tried that don’t leave my skin red and feeling irritated after using them. I will repurchase these in the future.

37: Givenchy Photo Perfexion Foundation in Perfect Ivory – I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing me harp on about this foundation, but it is my holy grail and I will continue to repurchase it until the day that I die (or until they discontinue it).

38: Philosophy ‘The Supernatural’ Blotting Papers – I quite like these blotting papers, and did consider them my favourite until I tried the Boscia papers that I started using once I’d finishing these up. I did enjoy using the Philosophy papers but I don’t think I will repurchase them purely because I prefer the Boscia brand ones now.

39: Skindanavia No More Shine Makeup Finish – I am still in two minds about how I feel about this product. I don’t feel like it does anything at all to control the shine on my face, but I do think that it helps to keep my makeup on for the whole day. I’ve repurchased this since finishing up this bottle, so hopefully I’ll be able to decide how I really feel about this product soon.

40: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Fair – This product has trumped Benefit’s Erase Paste and is now my favourite concealer. I prefer the consistency of the Maybelline concealer, and the colour match is pretty much perfect on my skin. The only thing I don’t like about this concealer is the packaging. The sponge tip applicator feels kind of unhygienic and gross after a week or so of using the product, and it can get quite messy. Despite that, I really enjoyed this product and would definitely repurchase it in the future.

Project 50 Pan (part 6)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I managed to finish up some big ticket project 50 pan items over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been finishing products quite steadily throughout this pan, so it hasn’t been too much of a struggle for me. Having said that, I do sense dry times ahead.

31: Pantene 3 Minute Miracle – I love to keep a few of these tubes on hand for hair emergencies. I think I have one left in my cupboard so I might try and make that last as long as possible (hopefully until the end of pan) but I will definitely have to repurchase these at some stage in the future. Possibly the best last-ditch hair saviour I’ve come across.

32: Lancome Hypnose Mascara – Another holy grail item for me, this time my favourite mascara. Luckily I have a backup of this in my cupboard ready to go for when I finish up the sample size tube that I’m currently working through.

33: Bath + Body Works Aruba Coconut Body Lotion – When Bath + Body Works launch a new fragrance range they usually have a limited time offer where you can buy a trial size of the product for $1 or so. I bought this body lotion during one of these promotions & used it almost exclusively when I was on holiday in Bali. Because of that I have fond memories of this scent, and as I like the formulation of the Bath + Body Works Body lotions in general I can see myself repurchasing this in the future.

34: Dermalogica Precleanse – This is my holy grail cleansing oil so I’m not sure how well I’ll fare without it, but I have a few other precleanse products that I’m going to try to use up before purchasing another bottle of this (which I will definitely do in the future).

35: Bath + Body Works Caramel Apple Anti-Bac Foaming Hand Soap – I usually buy 2-3 Bath + Body Works Hand Soaps every season and this was one of my Autumn picks for this year. I was kind of disappointed with the smell, it’s more of a medicine scent than anything too caramel for me. Having said that, my sister & other people who used this soap really liked it so go figure. I don’t think I’d opt for this scent when buying hand soap in the future.

Note: I don’t normally write mini reviews of products when I finish them up, but I’ve noticed that a lot of people do and it’s actually the way I prefer empties posts to be so I think I’ll stick to this format from now on.

Project 50 Pan: Shop My Stash

Although I’ve been struggling a bit with sticking to the no-buy aspect of Project 50 Pan lately, I’m still making some headway when it comes to finishing up products. One trick I’ve been using to help me attempt to stay on track is the ‘shop my stash’ method. This is actually a lot more legal than it sounds. Basically each week I pull 3-5 makeup items from my collection and make an effort to use them in my daily routine. At the end of each week I store these products in a container next to my makeup storage and choose new products for the week ahead. This way I am getting full use of my entire collection (or at least I will eventually) and I’m also rediscovering products that I own that I had completely forgotten about.

A few other tricks I’ve been using to help me whittle down my stash are:

– Watch Project 10 Pan videos on youtube when I’m feeling uninspired

– Use products that I don’t necessarily like, but want to finish up at least once a week (this is mostly regarding skin, hair and body products ie: cleanser, toner, shampoo etc)

– Re-organise my products (this often causes me to stumble across products that I completely forgot existed, or just generally puts into perspective how much I own already)

Do you have any Project Pan tips?

Project 50 Pan (part 5)

21 – Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Shampoo
22 – Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Conditioner
23 – Flourish Bath & Body Perfume Oil in Almond Milk
24 – Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
25 – Bloom Shea Butter Hand Cream
26 – Pantene Nourished Shine Shampoo
27 – The Body Shop Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash
28 – John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo
29 – John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Conditioner
30 – Neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser

These empties have been piling up for a while now, so I decided to do a big lump 10 pan empties post in one. It’s so satisfying rounding these babies up and then throwing them out once I’ve posted about them. I’m sure that says a bit too much about my rampant consumerism and obsession with finishing things but eh. I’ve slipped slightly and bought a few things that I shouldn’t have, so I think what I’ll do is when I’ve finished up my original 50 items, I’ll finish up another X amount of products totalling the amount of things I ‘accidentally’ bought while trying to complete this challenge. Sound fair?

Project 50 Pan (part 4)

16 – La Mer The Lipbalm
17 – NYX Matte Blotting Paper
18 – Bath + Body Works Raspberry Ganache Swirl Anti-Bac Hand Gel
19 – Prescriptives Flawless Skin Foundation in Camellia B/R
20 – Bath + Body Works Peach Bellini Anti-Bac Foaming Hand Soap

I’m still plugging away with the empties and resisting the new stuff popping up left right and centre on all of my favourite beauty blogs. I have come to the realisation that I use a lot of hand soap.