Project Pan 2014 Update #6

I've finished the 6th month of my project pan. I won't end up finishing most of the products in here so I am going to try to finish at least over half of them.

Project Pan Round 2 Update #5

I have another project pan update. I am more than halfway through the time set for this and I still have so much left. I went a little overboard with the makeup products, I think. Still, I'm going to keep going and see what I can finish. Some is better than none, right?

To see the full list of products that I had in my project pan, click here.

Project Pan 2014 Round 2 - Updates 3 and 4

I'm almost at the halfway point of my 9 month project pan. It's starting to get difficult as I use up the easier products. I didn't get around to posting my 3rd update so I'm going to add the video to this post.




If you're interested in the whole list of products that I have in my project pan, check out my first post here.

Project Pan 2014 Round 2 Update #2

It's time for another project pan update. I just completed my second month of this project pan and I feel like I did a pretty good job. I finished several products- far more than I really expected to. There were two that dried out so I consider those finished as well.


For a complete list of the products in my Project Pan, check out my intro post.

Completed Products: 11
Total Completed Products: 15

Influenster Spring VoxBox

I got my very first Influenster VoxBox in yesterday.

Influenster is kind of cool. You get badges and an impact score for completing tasks. These, along with random selection, will get you a sample box, called a VoxBox, to try out and share on various social media sites. The best thing is that it's free.

Tarte Golden Days & Sultry Nights Palette

I feel like I've been pretty good about not buying a ton of makeup recently so when I got a card in the mail for a free lipgloss from Sephora in JC Penny, I decided to go get it. While I was waiting to ask about it, I saw this palette.

I will admit, I decided to get it for Oceanview, the green eyeshadow. All the other colors, while pretty, aren't really any different from a lot of other colors I have. Espadrilles, the matte taupe, is the worst of the palette and requires a lot of work to show up. Overall, I'm happy with it but it's nothing amazing.

Tarina Tarantino Jewel Box Palette

I picked up the Tarina Tarantino Jewel Box Palette last time it was on HauteLook. I decided to get it because I really liked the box and HauteLook always has good deals.

*It's back up on HauteLook until 5/19/14 at 8am Pacific! Sign up for HauteLook with my referral link!*

I liked the first row the best in the palette. The worst of the bunch to me is Suede. Baby Sparkle and Cinematic were sparkly but neither looked chunky.

I do like the lip gloss color, too. The primer and mascara are going to be added to the pile of similar products that I have to use but it'll be nice to try something different.

Overall, I'm happy with the palette for the price I got it. I don't know that I'd spend the retail price of $78 that HauteLook lists, though.

May Ipsy Bag

It's time for the May Ipsy bag. This month, the theme is Fresh Picks.

At first glance, this bag wasn't very exciting. I only got one makeup product and the rest were skincare. As I looked at the products, though, I realized that either my husband or I would actually use all of the skincare products included.

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April Glossybox

Recently, I've been loving sample subscription boxes. I already get Ipsy and wanted to try out a new one. I picked Glossybox, which is $21 a month, because I wanted to try new brands. The problem with a lot of the sample boxes in the same price range as Ipsy ($10-$15 a month) is that they all have the same brands and often the same products.

I have to say, though, that Glossybox is pretty disappointing. This is actually my second box but the March box wasn't worth taking pictures of. I pretty much gave away everything. The April box is a little better but I don't love anything in it. I was also disappointed that several products are things you can get at the drugstore or places like Walmart.

I also just got the April box yesterday... a little more than a week after April was over and several days after I was billed for the May box. It made me feel a little better that quite a few people also had delayed boxes because at least I know that it wasn't just me. But, if you check out their Facebook page and read comments, it highlights that Glossybox has bad customer service. For me, the delay wasn't that big a deal and I wouldn't mind if I loved the products... but I don't. Seeing I was already billed for it, I'll have the May box but I don't think I'll keep Glossybox.

The box value is $76.50, however, so if you like the products then it's a good value.

Glossybox's packaging is really pretty and I do plan to keep the box for storage.

Memebox - Banila Co. Box

I recently got in my Banila Co. Memebox. This box is the regular Memebox not the Banila Co. Superbox.

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And despite being a regular Memebox, it was $39. I got it because I had some points on the site. That being said, I think this is my favorite Memebox so far. I've never tried Banila Co. before but I would definitely try them in the future.

March and April 2014 Empties

I had a few empties from my project pan, but I did have a few more empties from the last couple months. Some are empty and some are ones I'm just throwing out.

Project Pan 2014 Round 2 Update #1

It's been a month since I started my really large project pan. For some things I feel like I'm making decent progress and others seem like they will not be finished by the end of the year. It's just the beginning, though, so I'm still feeling hopeful.

April Ipsy Bag

I got my Ipsy bag for April last week. This theme is Beauty Rocks.

 I still like Ipsy after all these months. Overall, I enjoy the products that I'm getting... though I do wish I'd get less hair products. I don't really want to say I don't like the Sexy Hair products because I do but I just don't use a lot of hair products outside hair oil and the occasional hair spray. I also find myself wishing that they would release their potential products list and then let you request the ones you want... maybe you wouldn't get them all but at least you'd get a chance. I really wanted to try the Benefit Lolitint but didn't get it.

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Project Pan 2014 Round 2 - The Long, Long Journey

I recently killed my last project pan. It was just so boring to be forced to wear the same makeup day after day that I found that I didn't want to wear it at all. I still wanted to do a Project Pan, though. In the end, I decided to pick a lot of products to use up through the rest of the year.

I also decided not to do a no-buy. That just didn't work out for me last time and I ended up binge shopping. I will limit myself to $50 a month plus my ipsy subscription and the occasional other box... with some other limits. I have so many lip products that I will never go through them all, so I won't be buying any lip products unless there is something so unique (I can't have a similar color) and wearable (no more Lime Crime-y colors like yellow, blue or green) that I can't pass it up. I also want to severely limit purchasing cream products because I already have a lot.

There are 9 months left in 2014 so I picked 99 products to use up or at least hit pan on by the end of the year. Obviously it would be nearly impossible to use up 99 makeup products so this Project Pan also includes skin care and hair care.

Because there are so many products, I made my very first video to go over them. This post will have a master list, though, that I will be updating as I empty products.

Memebox Superbox #2 Makeup Edition

I enjoyed the last Memebox Global that I got so when I saw that they had a Superbox, I wanted to get one. What I like about the Superbox is that it has full-sized products and they are themed. This particular box is just makeup, but they have ones that are focus on other things like certain brands or skincare. The prices vary with the Superbox from $39.99 to $69.99.

This box has four products for $39.99 and is currently still available. According to the info included, the retail value of the box is $99.29.

Project Pan 2014 Update #3 - The Premature Death

I'm going to kill this project pan. I meant to go one more month, but I am so freaking sick of these products right now. I picked basics when I started because I would be more likely to use them on a consistent basis. The problem is that I stuck myself with basically the same makeup for months. Everything but eyeshadow was the same every time. I barely wore makeup in March and didn't even want to on the occasions I did because it was just so boring. I am going to start a new and different project pan, which will hopefully be more exciting for me and everyone else, at the beginning of April but this one is ending.

Now that it's over, I have to make the decision to keep or get rid of the products. I did decide to get rid of the Smashbox eyeliner (as well as the others from that set) because I hate it. Everything else I'm going to keep and some of them may be part of my next project pan.

I finished 3 of the products in February and have 7 left. I didn't finish anything else this month, but I thought I'd show the progress anyway.

March Ipsy Bag

I got my Ipsy bag earlier in the week.

This month, the bag was designed for Ipsy by Klari Reis, an artist from San Francisco. I'm not in love with the pattern of the bag, though I don't hate it. I do like the texture of the bag.

I'm pretty happy with this month's bag. There are only 4 products this time but they are all really nice. The only thing I'd say is that I wish there was more variety. I see the same brands over and over and, while I like quite a few of them, I'd like some new brands to try.

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February Empties

I have more empties, including some at the bottom from my project pan.

Project Pan 2014 Update #2

Another month has gone by and it's time for another project pan update. I'm at the half-way point now. February was really productive project pan wise and I feel like I made some progress on most of the products. I've been pretty successful at using all these products every time I wear makeup or at least some of them when I don't wear a full face out.

Anyway, you can check out my original project pan post and update #1. For quick reference and for those that haven't seen the previous posts, here is the list:

1. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foudation
2. Revlon Photoready Concealer
3. Benefit Watt's Up
4. Jabot Neverending Cream Blush in Natural Flush Light
5. Blackheart Beauty Eye Primer
6. Bare Minerals Bisque Powder
7. Smashbox Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx
8. Benefit Posie Tint
9. Benefit Eye Bright
10. Too Faced Primed and Poreless

The "I've Been a Bad, Bad Girl" Haul

I'm supposed to be on a no-buy and I just failed big time.

I went to Sephora today to get a sample of the Glamglow Thirsty Mud. Along the way, I stopped at TJ Maxx and someone's Avon store and came away with a bunch of things. I also got my Sugarpill order in.

February Ipsy Bag

With all the crazy winter weather, pretty much anything I ordered has taken forever to get here. I finally got my February Ipsy bag yesterday and here it is.

I like this bag much better than I did last month. The only thing I didn't really want is the false lashes because I don't wear them.

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L.A. Colors Eyeshadow Trio in Water Lily

I picked a few of these L.A. Colors trios up probably during the summer and forgot all about them until recently when I was trying to organize my drawers. I found them at Dollar Tree and they still had them when I was there about a month ago.

I have to say, I think these are really good for $1 eyeshadow trios. This particular one would be great for someone looking for brighter colors that aren't too bold but aren't too sheer.

Wet n Wild Poster Child 8 Pan Palette

Memebox Beauty Box #4 Global Edition

Recently, I've become a big fan of trying asian skincare brands. I don't really know what to get, though. There are so many to choose from. I've been watching videos of Memebox unboxings lately and thought it'd be a good box to try out.

Memebox beauty box is a sample box from Korea. It's $23 + shipping (It's gone up by a few dollars. My total was $27.97 for this box. My new box is $29.99). The value of the box is well over the $30ish it costs. Most of the products in this box are deluxe samples- 2 are full sized- but the retail price for the full sizes in whole box is $302.

It's not a subscription so you do have to buy each box individually. That's nice if you don't want to commit to the box. It's not good, though, if you do want to keep getting it and have to keep stalking the site to get the next box before it sells out. My box is #4 (ordered on 1/23) and they are already on box #7... #5 and #6 have already sold out.

Shopping My Stash Makeup Basket for February

I've got a new makeup basket ready for February. I have been enjoying these, even in conjunction with my project pan. I'm finding a lot of new-old products that, in some cases, I have no recollection of buying at all. I did include the Naked 3 palette this month instead of finding an older palette, but I thought it would go well with the cream shadows I picked... I also wanted to try it out.

Empties for December/January

Up till now, I've been able to do an empties post every month. In December, though, I only had two or three products and I just didn't feel like it was enough to warrant a post. I have quite a few empty products now, along with some things that I'm just getting rid of, so I there's plenty to talk about.

Project Pan 2014 Update #1

I've been doing my project pan for a few days short of a month so I thought it was time for an update. My original post is here, but I'll just recap the products really quickly.

1. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foudation
2. Revlon Photoready Concealer
3. Benefit Watt's Up
4. Jabot Neverending Cream Blush in Natural Flush Light
5. Blackheart Beauty Eye Primer
6. Bare Minerals Bisque Powder
7. Smashbox Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx
8. Benefit Posie Tint
9. Benefit Eye Bright
10. Benefit The PoreFessional  

First Impression: Avon Clearskin Blackhead Eliminating Deep Treatment Mask

Several months ago, I bought a few Avon Clearskin products. The reason I bought this mask was because someone said on some Glamglow post that it was like the Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment. The Avon mask is $5.49 and the Glamglow mask is $69. Of course I'm going to check out a product that could save me over $60.

I ran out of my open Glamglow mask in November and have not used a similar mask since. Earlier this week, I decided to try out Avon's instead of opening my new Glamglow. And, you know what? It's pretty good.

January 2014 Ipsy Bag

The January Ipsy bag isn't the most interesting. This month, most of the potential products were focused on skin or hair care. Only a few weren't and those were still rather basic.

One of the weird things that I read in the comments on the Ipsy page was how bad the bag itself smelled. It does have an odd smell to it and I'm not sure if it will come out. It's not my favorite bag from Ipsy anyway so I might just get rid of it. How many makeup bags do I really need anyway?

Even so, it's not a bad bag. I only got one product that I'm not too excited about- the Proactive+ wipes. I've never had acne problems or dark marks on my face so I'm not sure they'll do much good for me. The rest of the products are fine. I actually needed the hair mask and the exfoliant.

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5 Beauty Resolutions for 2014

I'm a week late, but I thought I'd share my beauty resolutions for 2014. I wasn't sure I was going to do them- I tend to give up on my resolutions pretty quickly. This might make me a little more accountable for them, though. They seem pretty easy anyway... at least right now.

• Drink More Water - We all know that staying hydrated is good for you and for your skin. I'm just really bad at drinking water. I need to change that.
• Use Moisturizer - I've always been really bad at using moisturizer, which has been really bad for me. Aside from helping with general dry skin, moisturizer gets rid of some skin problems I've had.
• Use My Clarisonic More - I've had a Clarisonic Mia 2 for a while and I never really use it. It'll be dead, so I just don't use it and forget to charge it later. It really helps when I do use it, though.
• Wear Nail Polish More - I almost never paint my nails because I'm bad at it and I don't want to wait for it to dry. I buy nail polish, though. I'm not really sure why I have so much nail polish... but I do. Now I need to use it.
• Don't Hoard Makeup - I have an embarrassing amount of makeup, even after sending two huge boxes to my sister. A lot of it I bought because it was shiny and new but never used it. I want to use my stuff or, for the things I don't want to use, get rid of it.

Shopping My Stash Makeup Basket for January

I'm doing a Project Pan and it includes a lot of the basics. Still, I wanted to do a basket of the products that I'm not necessarily trying to finish but want to try to use. There are a lot fewer products in this basket than in previous ones and a lot of them are eye products or basics as well.

Project 10 Pan 2014

I've been hesitant about doing a Project Pan. While I have cut back significantly on buying more makeup since June when I started doing makeup baskets, I didn't want to restrict all purchases. I was afraid there would be that one limited edition item that I just had to have. The problem is I have still been buying things I don't need.

But now is the time.

I do have an Ulta gift card that I'm planning to use on the Naked 3 palette when they get it back in stock and I am going to keep my Ipsy subscription. Other than that, I'm not going to purchase anything else until all 10 products are empty. I didn't want it to be too hard for my first time, so I generally picked products that are mostly gone already or are sample sizes. I'm hoping to be done in a few months, but I don't really want to put a time limit on it. I really do want to finish them all.