Project Pan Update: How Did I Do?

Some of us wear tons of makeup, and some of us wear very little or none at all. Some of us have huge collections of beauty products and some of us just have a handful. We all have different needs, and that’s ok!

What’s not ok, in pretty much any context, is waste. I think we can all agree that it’s pretty pointless to buy more of something than we can ever hope to consume before it goes bad! And when it comes to makeup, it’s easier to create waste than you might think. Makeup is marketed as a seasonal fashion product, but it actually takes a surprisingly long amount of time to really use up a cosmetic product!

In order to curb waste and really make sure they’re using their stuff, many people in online makeup communities have started doing something they call “panning.” In the context of makeup, this means using up a product entirely, so that you can see the bottom of the pan, or container. They’ll select a few products they want to use up, and focus on using them as often as possible when applying makeup.

Three whole years ago, I started my own “project pan.” It seemed like it would be easy: I picked just 7 products, and figured they would be gone in a couple of months.

I was mostly right. The Dior Lip Glows went pretty quickly, I made it through the foundation and the cream blush in probably 6-8 months, and I ended up tossing the lip glosses because they smelled like crayons. This is apparently a telltale sign that a lip product has started to turn… ew.

But the powder foundation? It’s still alive and kicking! Of course, i didn’t wear a lot of makeup in 2020… but that still means that it will have taken well over two years to finish that product. Kind of mind boggling if you think about it.

Revisiting my old project pan gave me the opportunity to survey my makeup collection and add a couple things to the pile:

• Dior Forever foundation: this foundation has been discontinued, which doesn’t bother me because i didn’t absolutely love it. It’s fine: good coverage, easy to blend… but it also showed dry patches and tended to look mask-like if I applied even the slightest bit too much.

• NARS lipsticks in Tolède and Dolce Vita. These lipsticks are workhorse basics… but they’re just not my favorites. On me, both look like sensible, no-nonsense colors, and both pull a bit more brown than I’d like. Since I have a bunch of other sensible, no-nonsense colors waiting in the wings, these need to go!

I love the concept of a project pan because it forces us to confront what we really use and how much we might waste if we weren’t careful. I know from both iterations of my own makeup panning that I really don’t need to buy anything for the foreseeable future - and that I can get plenty of use out of the pretty collection I already have. And that, my friends, is a good feeling!

Want to get your makeup and beauty collection organized - and maybe start a project pan of your own? I can help, no matter where in the country you live! Click here to schedule your home organizing consultation and we can create the organized vanity of your dreams.

LMW