In the last few months, I've really been working on moving unneeded, less-loved material things from my possession. I wrote quite a bit more about it in a previous post, and I just wanted to talk a little bit about the progress I've made and what some of my goals are now. This is quite a long-winded post, so prepare yourself.
I've been able to maintain my smaller wardrobe; I have only purchased a few needed (and I mean it when I say needed) items in order to fill a void or replace something that was worn beyond practical use. That has been such a freeing experience for me. Getting ready every morning, whether for work or for fun, has become so quick and easy. I don't feel overwhelmed by choices, and I'm never bored or dissatisfied with the options that I do have. I don't yet have a capsule wardrobe, but I'm on the right track and that makes me really happy. The Closet Purge was truly the best personal decision I made this year.
Once I had made headway in minimizing my wardrobe, it was time to move on to the next collecting/borderline hoarding habit of mine: beauty products.
For the last year and a half, I completely lost all self-control and common sense and spent way, way too much money on makeup, perfumes, skincare, ect. I understand now that it had become a form of escapism for me; a way to distract myself from more unpleasant realities. Making that realization was vital in order for me to understand what mindset and habits I need to changed to prevent binge shopping in the future. So I have slowly but surely passed on, sold, or thrown out things that were old, unloved, or overtly unnecessary. At that point, I thought that I was in love with everything I had left. However, I kept feeling overwhelmed, almost daily, by how much makeup I had accumulated. I came to the painful realization that not only would I never complete the makeup I own, but I didn't even care to use a lot of what I had. The time had come for some serious decisions to be made.
Firstly, I made another-this time more critical-sweep through my makeup. I purged so much more than I thought I would. But there were still many, many products that I just couldn't let go, even though they are excess or duplicates in colors. For these products, I have decided to start a Project 10 Pan series.
My plan is to take ten (actually ten and a half) beauty products and use them up significantly by the end of, hopefully, five or six months. I'm not necessarily going to completely pan or empty each product, but just use them until there's barely anything left in the pan, or bottle.
Some of the products I chose because I am close to already finishing them, others because I am simply tired of seeing them or using them, but want to get my money worth from them. So let's talk a little more in depth about each product.
Lorac Eye Shadow Primer- I don't have any strong feelings for or against this eye shadow primer. It does its job pretty well, except when I use my Viseart shadows. Those apply far better when I just use concealer as a primer. Other than that, this primer is pretty good. But it's not amazing either. And I have six different eye shadow primers or bases, so I just want to use this up and move on to the next thing.
It Cosmetics Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe- This brow pencil is nice, the color works well enough, but I don't love it. I still very much prefer the formula and shape of the Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil to this pencil. However, I like this product well enough to use it everyday until it's gone. I'm glad to have tried it, but can't say I'd repurchase.
The Body Shop Vanilla Body Mist- I picked this up at a Marshall's a few months ago completely on impulse and I really regret having done that. Don't get me wrong, I love the scent. It smells fabulous. The problem is that I literally have no need or use for a body mist. If I'm going to wear a scent, it's going to be a perfume since those last longer. So I'm using this mist as a room spray until it's used up.
Marc Jacobs Dot Roller Ball Perfume- This perfume is one of my favorites for sure, in fact I have a full size bottle and another brand new roller ball that came in a set my husband gifted me for our anniversary. So since I have an overabundance of this fragrance and I'm very close to finishing off this roller ball, I wanted to try to focus on using up the last of it so that I don't have too much of one thing.
Mac Satin Lipstick in Verve- I have talked about this lipstick so much over the last year. I just absolutely love everything about it. It is my everyday shade that I use for work or low-key days. As you can see in the picture above, I am very close to finishing it off. I will be a little sad when it's gone, but I'm really proud that I actually have gotten my money's worth out of this lipstick. I will probably repurchase it again in the future, but first I would have to finish off Grunge from Colourpop, as it's a near-identical dupe to Verve and I can't justify having both at the same time.
Buxom Lip Gloss Deluxe Sample- I am not one who wears lip gloss. In fact, I'll be brutally honest; I borderline detest lip gloss. I don't like feeling as if something wet and sticky is on my lips. It grosses me out. Additionally, lip gloss does not stay put like lipstick or liquid lipstick, and that is a nuisance to me. I honestly don't know why I thought including this Buxom lip gloss in a project pan would be a good idea, because I don't want to use it nor do I like it. If I'm not able to get any use out of it within the next month, I'm just throwing it out, I don't think it would be hygienic to pass along to a friend. It was a sample. No tears shed, no money burned.
Urban Decay Eye Shadows (below, left) in Freestyle (first square pan) and Kinky (second)- Both of these shadows were from the Urban Decay Smoked palette that I picked up last November. I really love Kinky, it is the most perfect color to set primer or eye shadow base. Freestyle is a really light nude that, unfortunately, doesn't show up well on my skin. I've already hit pan on Kinky and I'm sure I'll be able to finish it up soon. Freestyle I've already decided to pass along (I decided that after taking all of these photos) as I just can't make it work for what I'd like it to do.
Morphe Eye Shadows in ES20 and ES76- I love these Morphe eye shadows, but I discovered just a few weeks ago that they are near identical dupes to one shade from my Lorac Pro 1 and another from the Lorac Pro 2 palettes, and my Lorac shadows last much longer on my eyelids without transferring or fading. So I want to use up these Morphe shadows so that I can focus on other colors and not have too much of the same shades.
Lorac Pro 1 Palette Top Row of Mattes- I have said many times how much I love this Lorac Pro palette, so I am not trying to pan it because I don't like it. I just have far too many neutral eye shadows, especially after buying that Viseart matte neutral palette. So I feel like I really need to use up all the other matte eye shadows I have so that I can use the Viseart palette without feeling any guilt. I may not completely pan all of the matte shadows in this Lorac palette, that way I can still use it for traveling. However, I want to use up a significant enough of an amount so that I don't feel guilty about having spent the money on it.
I am really looking forward to this Project Pan series and to finishing up some products. I hate feeling as if I've thrown money in the garbage, and every time I have to throw out an old, unused, expired makeup product, I feel a little piece of me die from shame. So I believe this will be an excellent way to prevent that from happening.
Thank you so much for reading this extremely long-winded post, I hope you have a wonderful week!
Till next time.
Love, Little Mouse
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