Project Pan 2021 | My First Time!

Hello, I’m 26 years old. Have been creating online content which includes beauty for a little over three years, I’ve been consuming online beauty content for around eight years, and I’ve probably been wearing makeup for about 15 years. But this is my first ever project pan. And by my first project pan, I mean project pan 2021 is my first project pan both online and offline. I’ve never attempted this at home, with a little list in my head, and that’s sort of because I’ve always hated them.  

What’s project pan? 

For those who don’t know, it’s where you try to hit pan on your makeup products. At least that’s what it started as. Some people choose products to hit pan on, others pick items to attempt to finish completely. This year I have a mix of both.  

Why I hated project pan 

It always seemed silly to me to go out of your way to finish something. I always thought you were either asking yourself to spend more money to replace it, which I didn’t see the point of. Or there was something you didn’t really love and wanted to use more of, which I also did not see the point of.  

However, this year I’ve changed my mind slightly. Because some products last forever and no matter how much you use them, they never ever seem to look less used. Which is both a blessing and a curse. I don’t want to have to repurchase something every 5 minutes, but I also don’t want to have to throw away something I really love and enjoy using. But I also don’t want to use makeup I bought years ago that has definitely, definitely expired. You feel me? 

Also, if you only have one or two of everything and use products at a normal rate, I truly apologise for how stupid this whole concept must sound.  

Why this year? 

You may have read me explain countless times in 2020 that I was trying to move more towards CF beauty. If you’re wondering what I mean by ‘move more towards’, I explained that in much more detail in my birthday beauty haul. 

I thought attempting a project pan on some of my products that aren’t CF would be a good idea to get rid, and make my collection as CF as it was going to be. Well, I tried. When I was looking throughh my collection, I had a lot more CF than I realised. That’s obviously a good thing, but it means there’s more CF products in this post than I’d initially planned.  

Expiry dates 

A quick note on my approach to makeup expiry – foundations, concealers and liquid eye products like mascaras and eye liners get used within the recommended time frame. The only exception I make there is if a foundation is nearly finished at the point it’s due to expire, I’ll finish it because the fact it’s nearly finikshed shows it’s a product I like and use, and it isn’t going to do anything terrible to my face if I use it in 20 months rather than 18.  

If it’s a powder cheek or eye product, I go by colour, scent and texture. If it still blends like it’s new, smells the same etc, I don’t care how old it is. Judge me all you want but I know the majority of you have an eyeshadow palette at least 5 years old. Go on, glance at that Naked/ Chocolate Bar palette right now.  

Project Pan 2021 Products  

Non CF Products I’m Trying To Use Up 

Unfortunately the two things I have in this category are very similar, so this might be a little harder. For these items, I’m hoping to hit pan rather than finish them. 

Benefit Gold Rush Blush  

Bobbi Brown Nude Peach Blush 

I rarely wear powder blush these days as I have drier skin and find creams sit better, but I do really like both of these shades so I’d like to make more of a dent in them before I say goodbye. Both of these have been discontinued too, so I’m going to have to part with them and switch to CF anyway.  

Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation  

I want to finish this completely. 

Okay, this is on my repurchase list of non CF products I’m allowing myself so this doesn’t need using up to be replaced. But if you look really closely at that bottle, you’ll see no pump. I was getting ready on NYE (to sit in and do nothing but make cocktails), got one small pump out, no more was coming out. I unscrewed it, thinking it might just need a stir, and when I took the cap off the tube wasn’t on it.

As you can see, there’s still a decent amount of product in there, and I use this foundation a lot so I should be able to finish it with a different pump.   

CF Project Pan Products 2020 

Illamasqua Cream Pigment – Hollow 

Goal to hit pan.  

Back in the day this is what ever fair skinned girl on the internet was using to contour. And when I finally decided to add a cream contour item to my collection, I went straight for this one. But the thing is, contouring isn’t part of my daily routine, so this has been around a little while. Ad as it’s a cream rather than a powder, I’m not going to let this sit in my collection forever. So, 2021 is going to be the year of better cheekbones.  

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder – Diffused Light 

Hoping to finish. 

I love this powder more than I can possibly explain, and I hit pan on it a very long time ago. But it never seems to end. Seriously, it lasts forever. So, the goal this year is to finally finish it and get a new one.  

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – Pearl  

Hoping to use up as much as possible.  

There’s a tragic tale with this one. I bought it; I’d used it maybe a handful of times. Then it fell off my dressing table, which happens to back onto open slats for my stairs (my bedroom is a loft conversion). And it bounced down every single step to the bottom and smashed into a million pieces. There were some larger chunks left, and the rest had smashed to a point it was so fine I could use it as a loose highlighter. I can’t travel with it or throw it in a makeup bag, but it still looks incredible (I actually think I prefer it loose).

But I’m saying goodbye and buying a new one this year, it’s time for a replacement, but I’d like to use up as much as possible before that happens.  

And that’s the reason I’m not showing you the pan for this one.  

Too Faced Natural Matte 

Hoping to hit pan on at least one shade.  

I can’t explain. This palette probably got used daily for over a year. I use it a bit less now but still dip into it very regularly. And the pans never seem to get smaller. My best bet is the taupe shade in the centre, as that’s one of my all time favourite crease shades. But hitting at least one pan in this palette is the goal, hopefully more.  

And that’s it for project pan 2021, I kept it small for my first attempt. Are any of you taking part in a project pan attempt this year?  

Until next time, 

Sophie 

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