Pan that Palette 2016?!

Hello lovelies, I asked in a recent post and on instagram which palette I should use in my 2016 Pan that Palette challenge. Now this would have been my first year to do the challenge, and well to be honest, I have never been so afraid of a challenge before. I am someone who changes my palettes on a weekly-biweekly basis, and well the idea of sticking to just one palette scared me a bit. The answer came to me when I was watching a video that Lauren Mae Beauty posted on her youtube channel. This is the video where she spoke about how she wasn't ready to do a pan that palette project either. She spoke about how she decided to instead hit pan on as many eye shadows as she could. She has about 4 times as many eye shadows as I do, but counting all mine out, totaling 324, was really eye opening for me. I have hit pan on only 2 of them, one of which was because it broke, not because I actually used it. So, like I said, I want to hit pan on as many shadows as possible, but my goal is 24. That means 2 a month, which I think is possible with the fact that there are shadows that I know are really close to hitting pan anyway, but once those are gone it is going to get a bit more challenging. I like this idea better because I don't have to deal with my commitment issues with sticking to one palette for an entire year, and I get to make sure that I am really using my eye shadows. Considering how much I have been enjoying wearing eye shadow and trying different looks with all my palettes, this shouldn't be too much! I will also be incorporating this into project pans throughout the year to help me out if I feel that I am falling behind.

I need a catchy name for this to title when I do my little updates throughout the year, so help me out with that please! 

Just a few of the shadows and palettes from my collection. 

Project Pan 7 by Spring

Hello lovelies, I have recently been seeing some people posting their 7 by Spring Project Pans, and thought why not join in! It is slightly crazy for me to believe that Spring is a thing, we haven't even really had Winter yet here in Michigan. There was one day with some light snow, but nothing that I would consider Winter worthy. Anyway, I had to really think about what product I want to add into this project because I have 2 projects currently happening and I didn't want products to overlap and keep me from being able to start using them until those projects are done. So while these products aren't particularly exciting, they are the ones that I want to move out of my collection and be done with. Side note: all except one of these are products that happen to be in my makeup use up 2016, not sure if that will keep happening, but for this project it worked out.  

In no particular order I'll just jump into the products! 

1. Revlon - Colorstay eye liner in Charcoal - This pencil is basically brand new. I haven't done more than just swatch it. I am excited to get to use this because although I have worn silver eyeliner, I have never really played around with just a gray eyeliner before. 

2. CVS brow sample in brown - I just want this out of my collection. Although it is smaller I don't know how this pencil will apply and I got away with sharpening other brow pencils every few uses or so and they took me longer to use than I had anticipated.

3. Maybelline - Babylips in Yummy Plummy - I made it my goal to get rid of these things and panning them has seemed to work so far! This is one that doesn't have much use out of it, but I actually like the color pay off of it. Will be nice for those days where I just can't be bothered.

4. Wet n Wild - Contouring Palette - I want to hit pan on the contour side. I don't think this will be too hard, especially since I really like this product. I don't really care for the light powder though. 

5. Wet n Wild - Reserve Your Cabana - This is the "bronzer" that everyone uses as a highlight. I don't care much for it honestly. I shattered when my niece dropped it and I repressed it. It used to be very powdery and I could have probably hit pan already, but I think I pressed it too tight. Who knows though, I may end up liking it better now that it isn't as cakey looking on my skin. The goal is to just hit pan on this product.

6. Wet n Wild - Coverall Powder - I want to use this all up. I am a bit worried about that since the last powder that I finished took me forever, but I haven't been using this for that long and I already see the honeycomb pattern of the pan showing. 

7. dr. brandt - Pores no More primer - This isn't that big of a product, but since I am still working on my other primer for my Finish 14 by Feb 14, I want to make sure that I can actually get to it and actually finish it up. I feel like it takes me forever to get through primers even if I remember to wear them everyday.

Well there are my 7 products for you. I wanted to make sure that I can be successful at finishing all 7 products. Even when I hit pan on the products that that is the goal for, I will probably keep going until March 20th using them. I will be posting monthly updates on the 20th of each month....or I will at least try to! Happy Panning! 

Sorry about the horrible quality photos, I have been moving my room and there is next to no sunlight since it has been raining for days. Winter is not going to be easy if the sun continues to hide away! 

Love to Project Pan: Finish 14 by Feb. 14 Update #2

Hello lovelies, I know I am a day late and that it is 11:40 pm as I type this, but better late than never. I have one more paper to finish and then I will be done with the semester from hell, so I will try not to be so late with posting again! Anyway, on to the update because that is what you are all here for.

So, as I mentioned, it has been the semester from hell and there were about 2 weeks where I kind of just skipped the whole makeup thing. If I did wear makeup it was just bb cream, brows, and mascara. Because of this, my progress isn't nearly as much as I had hoped it would be. I did finish 3 products, but I will get to that at the end! 

I will just go in order that they are in the pictures. I did forget to include the Maybelline concealer in my photos and that is why it is in its own picture. 

1. Maybelline Babylips in Grape Vine - Made some amazing progress on this! I will definitely be able to get through this with no problem and I will be happy to move it out of my collection. 

2. Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation - I finally got a wringer and so I squeezed as much of the air out of this tube as I could. The progress doesn't look like it is as much, but I pushed all the product from the top down and I used more than is actually visible. 

3. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded - If you follow my instagram (subtlebeauty27blog) than you will know that I switched out the Bare Minerals 5-in-1 for this. I felt like that was too dark and cool toned than I was enjoying for daily use, and I also couldn't track my progress and I thought that would make me give up on it a whole lot faster. So I am trying to finish this color tattoo that I have had in a previous project. I marked it with the black marker when I brought it in, and then I marked it with the red this time. I don't think I will have too much trouble using this up by Feb. 14!

4. It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye - I swear I am using this under my eyes and all over my face, but I can not for the life of me get that air out of there! I am so afraid that all the product will just squeeze all over the place and get wasted. I don't want that to happen because I am actually enjoying using this now that I have found the perfect brush to use with it (Real Techniques setting brush!).

5,  Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss in au Naturel - I am getting some use out of this, but not nearly enough. I need to just buckle down and finish it already! 

6. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Brightener - I haven't used this as much as I did last update. I feel like because I am a bit fairer than I was when I bought this in the summer that it looks a bit ashy underneath my eyes. It is kind of weird because it highlights the rest of my face well. I will try to use this a bit more, but I found that I don't twist up product every time I use it because there is already enough on the sponge applicator for about 3 uses after twisting it once.

7. Trestique Mini-matte Lip Crayon in Nantucket Nude - Need to force myself to use this more. I am forgetting that I have it and based on the little progress I made that is pretty obvious. I don't like to wear it alone because it is too nude, but it works well to highlight the center of my lips or tone down colors that are a bit brighter. 

8. Noyah Desert Rose lip stick - I told you all that this broke, but I didn't end up deciding to change it. I won't give up that easily! I have made some awesome progress on it because I have been so determined to get rid of it haha. Funny thing is though, that I don't hate the way this looks on me anymore! I don't like the formula though so I won't miss it when it is gone! 

9. Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Honey - I am really disappointed with the progress on this. I am using it all the time, I lay it on thick mind you, and I am using it as a lip balm which means I am constantly putting it on. My lips are stained a terrible pink, and more often than not I find sparkle remaining on them as well from this. I wish this would just move on already.

10. Benefit Watts Up - I have been trying to get through this as well and am not seeing much progress. I know that those 2 weeks where I wasn't wearing this hurt my progress. I won't be mad if I don't finish it since that is kind of a long shot, but I do want to finish at least half of it by the end of this project.

11. Pacifica Fringe eyeliner - I am using this everyday I am happy to see that my progress has gone further than last time. I think I am going to start using this in my brows to kind of further the progress a bit more.

And here are the products that I have finished! 

12. The Balm Flirty shadow sample -  This is super exciting because I have never hit pan on a shadow before, so lets just take a moment to give me a round of applause, this is a really cool feeling! I love this and I am going to continue to use it even though for the purposes of the project I am done with it. I decided that just hitting pan was enough to call it quits on even though I wanted to finish it, but since I am doing a whole thing with my shadows that I will talk about in a later post, I am going to put this aside for now. I love the Balm shadows and this is such a beautiful purple with gold sparkle in it. I do have the full Nude Dude palette. My favorite way to wear this is to use a gold/bronze base on the lid and use this all over the lid and blended out to the crease, it has such a gorgeous effect and the base really brings out the gold in the shadow. This is hands down one of my favorite shadows! 

13. Benefit Porefessional - This is a really great primer, but I don't know that I will purchase a full size of it. My pores aren't that big of an issue for me. I do have quite a few more samples of this to go through, so I will enjoy them while I have them. However this does not count as a completed item since it is part of a duo (Smashbox Photo Ready Primer), so once I finish the other half I can say that I finished another item. 

14. Rimmel Scandaeyes in Nude - So as you can tell, this pencil is pretty beaten up. The lead actually fell out of it and so I can't use it anymore. The product completely dried out on me and it is kind of my fault. I put the lid on the back of the pencil and it pulled off that piece and I couldn't get it to close properly. I did use more of it though, and it is a drugstore item -- I also already have a back-up -- so I am not too torn up about it being gone! 

Goals for the next update:

1. Finish the maybelline babylips. So close to finishing this and then I could use the revlon balm stain full time as a lipbalm and hopefully see more progress there. 

2. Finish the Noyah lipstick. I really want this gone. 

3. Focus more on the trestique lip crayon.

There it is, if you are still reading all the way down here, thank you for going through all of my rambling today. It is late, I am slowly losing my mind because of school, but makeup is something that I love and that I genuinely enjoy writing about and I also really love being a part of the project pan community. There is so much support and awesomeness that happens within the community and I really enjoy watching videos and seeing other peoples progress because it is really motivating to me personally. Like if they can do it so can I! I am happy that I was able to actually use up some products this year and I hope to continue next year as well! It is 12:40 now and I am tired, so goodnight and happy project panning everyone! 

Post a Day in 2016

Hello people of the internet. I have decided that if I am going to not suck at this whole blogging thing then I would need to really do something about it and actually try posting. So, what I have decided to do is I have gathered journal prompts (I am still in the process of gathering them) and I am going to be writing a response on a daily basis. I love to write and I never get the chance to do it and this is a way to make sure I get the chance to do that. I have been getting so caught up in my daily schedule that I am forgetting to take a chance to kind of slow down and just be for a moment. I was going to keep a journal, but I thought that sharing it with random strangers on the internet would be more fun, also who knows maybe someone will respond to prompt that I post and from there a discussion with start and I will get to speak to someone that I probably wouldn't have otherwise! Afterall, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet right? Seriously though, I do love to hear peoples stories and opinions on things so I would genuinely think it is cool if someone shared their response.

Alright, well I guess I will be writing to you all again in 2016! Happy reading and writing my friends.

Project Pan Roulette Update #2

Hello lovelies, I have yet another update for you all on my project pan roulette. I am only going to be updating you on the products that I actually have progress on. Some of the others I either haven't used or I have used and you just can't see a difference. 

First of all, I finished one of my products! I had planned on only needing to hit pan on the NYC Sunny bronzer and I have finally done that. I am still using this since it is in my z-palette, but for the purposes of this project it is done! 

The Salon pro brow pencil is so close to being finished. I probably only have about a week left, if that. It is getting a bit hard to sharpen. 

Artistry Light Up lip gloss in Champagne....I made the line for this as a guess. I tried the whole putting it in hot water trick, but it just wasn't working to bring down the product. I am happy that this is getting close to just being done. I won't take out the stopper because I don't like it enough so once the product stops coming out, then that would be it. 

ELF Mist and Set, I use this just about everyday. I am right under the line, using nailpolish is not that great of a marker but I couldn't show you all otherwise. 

Jordana Easy Lip Liner in Rock n Rose is still my favorite liner. I haven't used it as much as I would have liked to, but there is still some progress on there. 

Urban Decay Naked Skin has been one of the only things I have used a lot of. I have been having a lot of "no makeup" days since I am always running out the door. I am basically just wearing this, my brows, and some mascara and I am out the door for class. I prefer the extra 15 minutes of school over wearing a full face of makeup honestly. I have used it enough that I can actually start marking my progress.

You can see from this photo that I have made some serious progress on the eyebrow pencil. Also there is less progress this month compared to the first update on the lip liner. 

As for the other products, I will kind of give you a quick run down on them.

Used but can't see progress:

NYC Smooth SKin Loose Powder - It is a loose powder and it is kind of really hard to track this. 

Wet n Wild - Heather Silk blush - I am not using this as much as I had anticipated. I don't use much because it is so pigmented, but I have worn off the detail slightly. 

Kat Von D - Love Craft lipstick - I have used this quite a bit, but the pointed part of it isn't wearing down. The rest of it is though, and I don't know if it is because it is such a mini size that it is doing that, but the lines for the update hasn't changed.

Bare Minerals - Get Ready lipstick - this is the same case as the Kat Von D lipstick except I haven't used this one as much as I have the other. 

Products I haven't used:

Stila - Stay all day concealer - I don't plan on using this any time soon because I am working on 2 others in my Love to Project Pan Finish 14 by Feb. 14. So until those are both gone, I won't be using these.

NYC - 24 hr eye primer - I haven't used this because I am trynig to use the base in my other project. 

I really needed to think about these products before choosing them. Also, the no-buy that I was on was a complete fail because a week after the last update I made a huge order on Ulta and then another on Sephora during black firday. I have zero will power haha. 

Alright so my goals for next time are to finish the ELF mist and Set and the Brow Pencil. I am going to have this project go on until Feb. 10 and then I will start a new one. I want to see how much I can finish in that time. 

November Empties

Hello lovelies, I decided that I am going to start doing my empties on a more monthly basis. Since I am going to be doing the project use it up next year as well as 365 days of samples on my instagram (subtlebeauty27blog), I will hopefully be having more empties. There are quite a few here so I will just jump right into it! 

Loreal - Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm - I have had this for so long and am happy that I have finally gone through it all. I first bought it when I had bleached my hair and I had read good reviews and so I gave it a shot. I absolutely love this stuff! It makes my hair feel so incredible. I enjoyed using it the most when I was using it with the matching shampoo and conditioner. I have other deep conditioners to go through first, but once I am done with them, I will definitely be repurchasing this. It is inexpensive and really works!

Better Homes - Rustic Woods - In the past I have really enjoyed these candles (you can get them at Walmart and they are really inexpensive!), but this one wasn't that great. It didn't burn very well and there was next to no scent-throw. I don't know if the size of it has anything to do with the lack of scent throw because I have a few other ones from the same brand that smell amazing and have great scent-throw.

Equate - Regular Nail Polish Remover - I like this. It made taking my nail polish off really easy. I have refilled it as well and didn't find that I had any problems with it after that. I am only tossing it because I have been wearing a lot of darker nail polishes and the remover in there now is darker tinted and I just don't like it, it doesn't stain my fingers or anything though.

Vaseline - Total Moisture - love the smell of this and it really moisturizes my hands really well. I already have a couple of back ups of this. Really great lotion.

Jergens - Wet Skin Moisturizer - I went through 2 packets of these. I got about 3 uses from each packet so I am comfortable enough in saying that I would not purchase a full size of these. First of all I really didn't enjoy getting cold while I was putting this on because your body has to be wet, secondly it wasn't very moisturizing at all. If gave my skin a luminous look, but I don't really care for that so it was a fail for me.

Nivea - In-Shower Body Lotion - This was just as awful as the Jergens one. I didn't understand the concept of rubbing it all over and then just washing it away. It made the floor of my shower really slippery too. 

Nivea - Extended Moisture Body Lotion - This however was a great sample. I have a random spot on my thigh that gets really dry and itchy in the colder months, I used this for that only and it hasn't bothered me since. I am going to buy a full size of this once I get through a few other lotions. I would definitely recommend if you have dry skin! 

Jack Black - Daily Facial Cleanser - A product like this is why I love trying samples before I commit to a full size. This smelled so heavily of sage leaves that it kind of irritated my eyes, which is crazy because I love sage and I drink it with my tea all the time. Didn't feel like it did much for cleansing either.

Maybelline - Great Lash in I See Blue - I have had this for so long and decided that it was time to toss it because it began to flake on me. I really liked wearing this on my bottom lashes when I wear blue eyeliner because it really helped to enhance that color. Blue makes my brown eyes really glow and I am going to miss having a blue mascara but probably won't purchase another one unless it was a bit darker so that you can't tell that I am wearing blue mascara. 

Garnier - Ultra-lift Miracle Sleeping Cream - I feel like my skin is too dry for something like this right now. I didn't feel like it helped much at all. I wouldn't purchase a full size of this.

Aveeno - Positively Radiant intense night cream - I was not a fan of this. It was okay during the summer when my skin is more oily, but for the rest of the year it did nothing for me whatsoever. It irritated the eczema I have on my cheeks and since I have it all of about 8 months out of the year and I couldn't use this product during that time, you can imagine how long it took me to use this up. Wouldn't repurchase. 

Figs and Rouge - Hand Cream in Rose Berry - This was alright. I got it in an ipsy bag. It wasn't my favorite smell, so that is one of the reasons that it has taken me forever to use it up even though it isn't that much product. Roses and berries just don't make a very appealing combination in my opinion. Also, it made my hands feel slick in a very weird way before they felt moisturized, it wasn't that great at moisturizing either. 

Secret - Clinical Strength - I got this in a Walmart Subscription box. I am really happy I got to try it because I couldn't get myself to pay $8 for a deodorant unless I was sure about it. I don't really need the clinical strength, but I like the smell of this one. It isn't overpowering at all. I liked that if I did sweat, this is what I would smell.  I will probably purchase one in the future if I found a deal on it, otherwise probably not.

BBW - Pocket Bac in Vineyard Berries - Really loved the smell of this one. I have a few of these to go through, but I would most likely repurchase this in the future.

Crest - 3D White Luxe in Diamond Strong - I love this toothpaste and I never thought I would be one of those people that is specific about my toothpaste, but now I am. I like this specific one and I do feel like using this did help make my teeth whiter. They aren't glowing or anything, but it did lift some of the stains from all the coffee and tea that I drink throughout the day. I have already repurcahsed. 

So I finished up a lot of different products this month. Only one makeup product, but since I am going to do these monthly that is probably how it is going to be. There is also the fact that I don't include the makeup items that are in my project pans since I already write about them in those posts so much.  

Plans for 2016!

Hello lovelies, so as the title states I wanted to share what my plans are for 2016. I am hoping that this is the year that I rediscover my collection, use things that I have bought but haven't even taken out of the packaging yet. I also want to make it my aim to post at least twice a month, I have been getting better at posting more often and I really want to keep that going. I want to start posting favorites and reviews. I am not the best at reviews, but I guess practice makes perfect right? 

As for Project Pan plans, I am already doing one that will go into the middle of February, so I will definitely be continuing project panning. I really enjoy making sure I am getting use of all the different products that have been in my collection for a while. I want to use a lot of the new things that are in my collection that I have been purchasing lately, so I don't know how many projects I will be doing. I think I want to do another roulette once that one is finished and maybe 2 or 3 more seasonal challenges. 

I also plan on doing a Pan that Palette this year. I would love some input on which one of these palettes I should choose. I have posted individual pictures of all these palettes on my instagram: subtlebeauty27blog so go follow me there and take a look at the pictures. I also explained why I picked each one of these palettes, but I will just post it here too.

Hard Candy: Birthday Suit - I chose this because all the shadows are matte and I already have pretty good use on some of the shadows. I also like the fact that I can pull from other palettes and shadows and that I won't be limited to the shades in here. 

Tarte: Away Oui Go holiday set 2014 - This is from last years holiday set that Tarte had exclusively with Ulta. I added this because I feel like I haven't used the set enough and I want to see if I can get through that blush as well. I like that there are only four shadows to get through even though the pans are on the larger side, I still think I could do it. Also these are some of the shades that I always gravitate for and are an easy look for me to put on when I am in a rush.

Stila: Not so Nude - Like with the Tarte one I would use this entire palette including the highlight and cream blush. The pans on the shadows are definitely smaller and I already have decent use out of them. I wouldn't be worried about getting through all of them.

Lorac: Get Hot - I really enjoy this palette. Again it is full of colors that I gravitate for all the time, but it can go many ways. I can do a matte look or something more. I have a pretty good dip going through some of these as well.

Urban Decay: Naked Basics - This is the most expensive of all the palettes here. It is also the oldest, so I want to go with this one, but I am not sure about the black shade in there. I also think that I would get bored with these as well. 

There is my reasoning for each of those and I would really appreciate any input as well as any tips because this will be my first time panning a palette and I am as much nervous as I am excited!

I will also be partaking in Project Use it Up during 2016. I have created a master list of all the products that I would like to go through. That will probably be its own post. I often see people having monthly goals, and I think that is what I want to do, however I am having trouble organizing things just because I am not sure how long it will take me to finish certain products. I am sure that even if I made a list now, it would continue to change throughout the year based on what I am using and how quickly I am getting through them. I still need to fine tune a couple of things before I write out y post about this. 

Lastly, I want to really hold myself more accountable for all of my makeup purchases. Now, I was going to go on a no-buy, but I can't do it. I have a serious problem, and I am okay with that. I will be more conscious of what it is that I am purchasing and how much I am spending on it. I will be writing down everything I am purchasing and the price of it as well as the cost of the things I am using up. I will most likely include the products I get from ipsy even though I am not paying full price for it. I want to do this mainly because I am curious because I am trying to save up for travel and I know that I spend a lot of money on makeup. I am going to start keeping track from now (Dec. 2015) and keep going throughout next year. I won't be adding all of the little foil packet samples that I get unless it is for something more expensive. 

So there you have it. A rough guide of what to expect in the coming year from me. Let me know if you have any ideas for posts that you would like to see or specific products you would like me to do a review on!