Welcome to this delayed first update! And hello 2020. The holidays are for many people tied to stress – as for me. I hosted the celebration for Xmas Eve for the first time at my place! It was amazing. I went on holiday only few days later to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the swamps under the stars. I took the »Project Pan« weight photos much earlier, around a month into the project, but understandably just now got around to arrange them and write the text.
Okay, I’m done babbling! How did my »Project Pan« go? Do I even like this concept after trying it out? Was I able to use all of the products? Did I hit pan (thus the name of the project) on some of them after a month of use? How will I continue, if at all?
My resolutions after one month
First off: No, with two products I unfortunately wasn’t able to fit them into a look and forgot to plan a dedicated look around them. I have to be more conscious of what is actually in my »Project Pan«! If you missed my introductory post, you can find it here. Well other than that, it mostly was fun to keep using the products I chose, and coming up with new ideas to use them! I feel like it makes you more creative, especially when you’re not someone who always goes with the same type of look for their everyday (work) makeup. And I’m 100% one of the latter. This project also makes you think of ways to actually finish a product – an example would be removing the stopper of a liquid concealer which is something I sadly had never done before as I wasn’t even aware it was possible. The weight comparison of the products – before and after a month – are showing how essential it is to have a good scale. The weight differences, at least for me and the products I chose, are very small and reminds you either of the small amount that’s in a product and how much of the weight is just packaging, or how long it actually takes you to go through the whole thing. If find both of these aspects quite interesting.
Before sharing my future plans, let’s look at the products and the progress I made!
The products
Pacifica Stellar Gaze Mascara and Milk Makeup Kush Mascara
Just as I stated in my introductory post and my mascara review, I only get a result that works for me when I use them in combination with other mascaras. In my first month, I mainly used the Kush Mascara combined with the Pacifica one for my top lashes and a different one for my bottom lashes that does not smudge. It looks really pretty that way and has more impact than the mentioned mascara I use for my bottom lashes (it’s all in my review). The Kush mascara is getting quite dry however, which is probably not surprising considering it’s not freshly opened. 😀 I also used the Pacifica mascara on top of the lash primer – scroll down to learn more about why it works so well.
Essence Lash Base Mascara
I did not use this mascara as much as I planned to, but the results I had when it’s layered with the Pacifica mascara are really nice. The base adds volume to any thinly and more natural mascara. Since this base is white, you need to be able to cover it completely without getting clumps, that’s why this combo works so well. I find my lashes to be volumized, lengthened and I’d say it might hold the curl better than usual. I’m curious to see, whether I manage to use this lash base up before it’s dry. Further, I’ll try to find an ingredients list of this one to compare it with the new one Essence has as the new one just might have gotten a packaging update.
Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer (C2)
I removed the stopper of this tube with a tweezer (or was it a spatula?) and I was surprised how much more product you can get to. However the product got quite dry and doesn’t look as pretty on my skin anymore as it did previously. I’m still dedicated to use it up as long as it is usable and doesn’t get funky. It also surprised me that on the scale, it doesn’t look like i used it often. But that just might be just due to the fact I use concealer only on very targeted areas.
Catrice Eye Foundation Primer
Admittedly, I consciously didn’t use this primer a ton as I had the idea to document how it compares to the e.l.f eyeshadow primer. I already bought that one, but then I got scared that I might not be able to finish the ones in my “Project Pan” soon enough before the e.l.f one will go bad… 😀
Terra mere Anti-Aging Shadow Base
I used this eyeshadow primer a lot more than the other one as I don’t feel very attached to it. I noticed once more, that it doesn’t hold the eyeshadow in place for long when you have oily lids – as I do. That’s why I prefer using it with lighter eyeshadows as creasing shows much more with dark eyeshadows. I like how it feels on the skin and I think it would be sufficient on someone that doesn’t not have oily eyelids.
Essence Glitter Primer
Ugh, I used this one only once and almost forgot about it! I absolutely want to change that as I still don’t know what to think of this.
100% Pure Lip Glaze “Vixen”
What lip colour I’m going to wear with my eye look is mostly an afterhtought for me as I do the eye look first and then check what fits. As I said previously, I’m not a big fan of pink on me (unless it’s berry or very dark) whis is why I didn’t use this pink lip very much. My plan is to try changing my habit so that I’ll be starting with a lip colour and matching the eye with it. In case that doesn’t work, I’ll remove it from this project!
Colourpop Super Shock Shadows in “Wattles” and “Cuteologist”
In this month I wanted to try the rosy mauve “Wattles” as a blush, and I did. I don’t like it very much as it’s too cool-toned, and desaturated for my liking, yet it’s pretty on the eyes. I hit pan on “Cuteologist! because this one sadly feels very dry now and hard to pick up, so I tried to dig under the surface to see if the formula is still nicer underneath. Was it? Not really. But digging into the product at least helped with getting more product on the brush or finger.
KvD Blotting Powder “Fair”
As y’all hopefully know by now, I don’t support Kat von D anymore since her coming-out as an anti-vaxxer and discovering her and her husband’s links to anti-semitism. In this past month, I found out that I don’t really enjoy it anymore to set my whole face – it looked too dry on me. I remembered that I mainly liked this powder for traveling as it obviously is a pressed one which is much less messy. It also comes with a sponge so that you don’t have to bring a brush for touchups. As you can see, I accidentally dropped it on the floor and it’s now shattered and annoying to use. But I’ll still try to keep using it at home, thinly applied.
NUI Cosmetics Liquid Natural Foundation “Intense Kanapa”
I still like this foundation and am happy to use it. It might seem annoying that I have to mix it with a green concealer to make it match my undertone, but mind, I have to do that with every foundation – none is yellow/olive enough. Another reason why I rarely wear foundation. At least I have this option, unlike many people of colour that can’t find products with the right depth. 🙁 I want to support brands with a wider range of depth than NUI.
Limecrime Plushies “Marmalade”
I clearly haven’t used this product much and I want to change that. I wish it would be even warmer in tone or more opaque, because my lips are naturally quite pigmented and pink. I just got a new brownish nude lipliner that I want to try layered underneath soon.
Colourpop Lippie Pencil “Wet”
Shame on me, I didn’t use it once! Since taking this photo I already changed that. I even took a photo of the look I created with it – you can find it here!
Linda Hallberg Cosmetics Crayon “Calm”
This is the second and last product I forgot to use. My goal is to plan looks around it so that I can find out if the formula is still smooth enough for easy application. I also decided to weigh it because I think I prefer it to measuring the length – it’s much more precise and the photos will still show if the pencil got visibly smaller. That means that this weight down below is the starting point.
Swatches of the colour products can be found it the introductory post.
What will happen in 2020 with this project?
After seeing the following video of Kat and Hailey from the YouTube channel and Instagram profile “Beauty News”, I felt really motivated to reconsider this wishy-washy concept I created and change it to something that is parallel to their #projectpan2020 (it’ s a community project so everyone can join and support each other). I feel it would motivate me more and hold me more accountable. That also means, I might add more products from categories that aren’t represented (enough) in my current product selection. I’ll think about that and will make a new introductory post then. 🙂 Will you join as well?