Project Pan: May

Hi all,
   So you would think that once graduation passes, things get easier, but with two jobs it's actually pretty nutso.  I'm trying to take on as many hours now because I will be away for a while (more on that in the next post).  Anyways I took these photos on my usual monthly 24th day mark, but until now didn't have a chance to sit down and write about them (boo). Anyways, I figured people wouldn't mind too much (sorry if I offend you?)

I feel like I've been making a lot of progress, especially since yesterday I went through all my makeup and put it into a use up asap/ giveaway and then a core collection.  I have much less makeup in my core collection, but feel much happier.

Anyways, let's get back to the products and my current progress on them.

The first right is actually the Wet N Wild Nutty eyeshadow! Holy crow it looks very different than my last post about it, but I'm so glad that it's basically done.  I'm fairly sure I'll have it done in the month of June, which amusingly enough...was my "expected" finish date (it has taken about 8 months to get this far!)

The product on the top right is the Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light to Medium, and I finally hit pan on it! I don't know why or how it has taken so long to just hit a tiny corner of the product.  I feel like I'll have this around for YEARS!

The next product on the left is a Physicians Formula Tone Correcting Powder...and sad to say...but I like the ELF version of this much more.  This still leaves a dewy finish and doesn't keep my face oil free for long.  I really can't wait till this is done.

On the right is the Rimmel Blush in Pink Sorbet, and this is another blush I would consider as a dupe for Benefit's Dandelion blush.  I have finally started to wear down the crown design in the middle. It's a pretty sheen of pink on the cheeks that also works great as a highlight.

The last product on the left is the ELF Studio Liner and Shadowstick in Green/Moss.  The "green" is more of a coppered/ antiqued gold black-green.  But this still looks nice.  I haven't started to use the Shadowstick although my swatches show that it's pretty. 

The last product is my Softlips lip balm in Wildberry.  I'd like to take a moment and say woohoo for not losing the dang thing! I have not lost it ONCE this entire month and a half block...THANK GOD. This lip balm has a carmex-y tingle, which I personally love and find that it works great on my lips.  I might actually be sad when I finish this out as I have still so many more to get through. 

What have you finished on your project pan?
xoxo,
Emi

Project Pan: March 2013

Hey All!
   I hope everyone is having a great entrance into Spring! Over here it's been a bit slow to start, a few last minute snow falls but overall I really can't complain.  Today I wanted to bring an update of my products that I'm working on using up currently, let me know if you would like to see these continue!

 

I obviously have added in a product, and made a big dent in others.  Starting from the top left:

 

The Color Workshop 15 Pan Palette: This palette is still going strong, although I have finished another pan of it, bringing my total to 3 pans out of the 15.  I hope to have this finished out by the year, but at my rate, it feels like it'll take two years. 

 

L.A. Colors Pressed Powder: This has seen a pretty drastic improvement from even last month.  I hope to say adios to this product by next month.  It still hasn't grown on me, and I'll be happy to have it gone soon enough. 

 

Wet'N' Wild Nutty Eyeshadow: I've been slowly working my way through this shadow, but sadly in transport, it started to crack so I need to be more careful with this.  I hope to have it done before I go to study abroad for 9 weeks because I'd hate to deal with the mess. 

 

ELF Studio Blush in Berry Merry: I did not expect at all this blush to develop such a dent in it.  I don't think it'll be finished this year because it looks best during the winter/fall/early spring months.  So once we hit the warmer weather, I think I'll switch this out for a peachy or pink blush again.  But I will pull it back out in September.  This is a really pretty berry toned blush, and totally under hyped.

 

Jordana Easyliner in Eggplant: I haven't really used this as much as I thought I would.  This shade especially gets smudgy and created raccoon eyes so easily, and while I experienced this with the brown shade, it wasn't as bad.  I will probably focus on getting this out of my collection even faster now. 

 

Overall there is progress, but I'm itching to have anther makeup product finished! What about you? Have you been finishing makeup?

xoxo,

Emi

Project Pan: February 2013

Hey all!
  Hope you had a LOVEly month (bad joke I know), anyways it's time for the next installment of my project pan.  This month was pretty interesting, although I swear, my shadows must be growing back during the night because I feel like I'm right at the cusp of hitting another small pan, and yet nada (grrrr!)  Anyways let's start from top left corner.

L.A. Colors Face Pressed Powder: This thing won't die! It just keeps living on, although I feel like it has made a slight improvement. (wishful thinking I believe)

Wet'n'Wild Eyeshadow in Nutty: Again doesn't look like much has been used, but I've used this every single darn day.  Let's face it, even using a single shadow daily...it might take about 4 more months to get through it (talk about  perspective...my whole collection might take more than 5 years!!)

Color Workshop Palette: The lower right corner shadow is the one I've been focusing on this month. It shows a dent, but won't hit pan (cruel joke!)

Jordana Easyliner: whoa hey, did this really grow back? Nope! I finished my Lavish Brown shade in the middle of the month, so I've started onto the other Jordana Liner in Eggplant.  It's a nice shade switch!

 

How are ya'll doing on your project pans?

xoxo,

Emi

Product Empties Finale 2012!

Happy Holidays Everyone!
    I hope everyone is having an AWESOME holiday time! I figured this would be a great time to do my holiday wrap up post regarding my project empties for the year! I've kept all the containers in a bag in a corner of my room and boy does this thing take up some space!

So I had a friend ask me exactly how much space does 156 products take up in a typical room, and that got me thinking about how much space did I really give myself back. Most bloggers or youtubers just keep their products for a month or two but I kept all my stuff from the year!

My extra large Hallmark bag

All my products smushed together took up my entire bedside table!

I also was thinking back about my experience with my year long purging and realized quite a few things:
1.Be Reasonable:  Makeup takes a long time to get through and so often the beauty bloggers and youtubers that I follow think that they can get through almost 30 makeup products in 4 months.  It won't happen, that is really a year long project (at least) and even longer if you are using brand new, never touched stuff.
2. The Addiction: Purchasing things nonstop really is an addiction which can lead to larger and larger purchases. We often chuckle that we have so much makeup and that we will never use it all. In this last year I found it really hard at first to stop buying, it was just so ingrained that when you go to the drugstore you just pick up a few things from the beauty aisle.  It was that whole buying equals satisfaction,  but then once I actually shopped my stash I realized I didn't need a lot of the new things. I also found it a lot more exciting to be finishing out my products. 
3. New Forms: While products are coming out in a lot of new forms, once on the face, eyes or lips, they look exactly alike. Thus I didn't need to go out and purchase a lot f the hyped up things. My current glosses looked exactly like a lot of the new glosses, some even had a staining ability on my lips, so I didn't really need that brand new product.  Also, guru's love to review the new products and create looks centered around them.  That is great, but just look through what you have, I'm sure you'll find something similar.  I found a lot of similar colors that I learned to enjoy.
4. Learn About Yourself: This taught me a lot about what colors I like, the forms they come in, and even how long they last.  I now know that I love the B&BW body washes, but that I only need to purchase 4 or 5 in a year to last, because they take me a while to get through.  I learned how to fine tune my makeup skills, tried out liquid liner, and figured out I'll never wear bright colors on my eyes.  This shouldn't be a punishment, but instead a chance to learn what you like or don't like about products so that future purchases can be made more wisely.  
5. Using them up: Just because I had used up a product, didn't mean that I liked it.  As most of my posts had indicated this year, I was not impressed by a lot of the products I used up.  But that also doesn't mean that I hated everything I owned.  I wanted to actually use my makeup, not just let it sit in the drawer and look pretty.  By pushing myself to use them up, I am actually enjoying them for the purpose they were purchased for.  

So what does this mean for the next year? 
Well, I am still moving in September, and my space is still going to be extremely cramped.  Also going back to purchasing products wouldn't be useful after putting in so much effort to finish them out.  So for 2013, I will continue my project! My goal this year is going to be 75 products, but I would love to hit 100.  I gave myself a lower number since my half-used products are done, and I'll be starting from the top with all my products.  My focus will also be on my actual makeup products, let's hope I get through another 25 of them :) 

What about you guys? Any resolutions to stop spending? Anyone else looking to downsize their collections? 

Happy New Year!
xoxo,
Emi

Updated Product Empties

Hi ya'll!
    So I'm sure many of you are like "come ON Em, you've done so many updates and haven't done much else on this blog" honestly, a lot of my products are old discontinued products...hence the reason why I won't bother to write about them. But yes! Another update about my Empties!! This will also be the last one before my 2012 finale where I will reveal how much space all the products would have taken up in my room, and pretty much give ya'll a chance to gander at how much stuff it truly is. Can't lie, I'm shocked that I've gone through so much! 

For Some Reason always the biggest category! 

From Left to Right, Back row to front
B&BW Magnolia Blossom Body Splash: I've said it before, I like very few body sprays, and this was one of those I wasn't crazy about. It had a musky and very strong floral scent. Reminded me slight of old ladies and could be really overdone. I used this as a room mist. Not Repurchasing. 

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Conditioner: This was a good product, I mean it did lighten up my hair without seeming too drastic. It was a good conditioner, but with the lightening ingredients I am a little weary about long term use of this. I feel like this might just be a summer product for me. 

Asira Shampoo: This was a travel sized product from my trip to Aruba in the Radisson hotel. It was ok. I would say this is strong clarifying shampoo, and did not leave my hair feeling very nourished. That said, when I was using this, I had a lot of products in my hair so this got it ALL out. 

CVS Advanced Hydrating Beauty Lotion Original: This is comparable to the Olay Original moisturizer, which I have not tried, but hey I found this product to work really well. It was best used from spring to mid-fall and did not leave my skin feeling greasy. It sunk in within a medium length of time. 

April Bath & Shower Fast Glow Tanning Medium to Dark: Tanning lotions are never really moisturizing because they contain alcohol within the first few ingredients, which is used so that the color dries out quickly on your skin.  I would mix my tanning lotions with a strong moisturizing lotion so I would really get a gradual tint to my skin and so I wouldn't stink of tanner. This product though did not leave ANY color on my skin, and still stank strongly of tanner. Passing on this one!

Balenciaga Paris Perfume: Um...just not a fan. I prefer clean scents and this had a mixture of sweet and musk on my body, which was not very pleasant for me. 

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion: I'm sorry but I hated this product, and it makes me sad because my drugstore moisturizers surpass my recent samples of facial lotions. This took a long time to sink in, left a tacky feeling on my face (think kids hands after they had a lollypop...NOT fun) and would pill on my face. If your not familiar with "pilling" think of your sweater, when you rub it, it develops that little pill...well this product did it. I tried it during summer, during winter, etc and it just did not work. 

Dove Go Fresh Body Mist Energizing: This scent is described as grapefruit and lemongrass scent, but for me it has an awkward fake citrus scent. I honestly felt like a food dish with the mixture of sweet and savory of the lemongrass. I ended up using this as a room spray too because I did not like wearing the scent. I do like the mini travel size of it though. 

Suave Professionals Touchable Finish Hairspray Lightweight Hold: This did not hold my curls at all. I could safely say that while it was touchable and not crunchy looking or feeling, there was no strength to it at all. I could have gone without this spray and have had the same amount of hold time.  What I did like was that it was a very fine mist, and it did work on the tiny flyaways, but I won't be buying a hairspray for just my flyaways. 

COCO Mademoiselle Chanel: Ok, I am actually kinda sad that I don't like this. It seems that I dislike a lot of very popular scents, and that I have my own select few that I will wear, which surprisingly enough aren't as popular so they have become my signature scent? I guess I wasn't meant to follow the crowd...even when it comes to perfumes. 

Renu Derma Eye Cream: So anyone remember Go-Go Girlfriend? Yeah...if you haven't look it up on make-up ally. Anyways I got this product from that box, and I hated it. I used this for months because you only need a tiny bit and didn't see anything different. This was so, SO, greasy that my eye makeup would crease the morning after I would put this on before I went to bed. I tried using this as an overall moisturizer, but it was so darn greasy. Do not go near this product, I felt like it was such a waste, and I'm sure there are better ones out there. 

Um Can I have a whoot whoot for actually finishing some legit makeup!?

Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Stain in 25 Feelin' Rosy: This was actually a rather nice color, a light swipe made for a pretty tint, but I could build it up to a pretty red lip. It was very drying on my lips though so I'd have to use some TLC afterwards.  It lasted me a decent amount of time, my slight issue is that the felt tip marker is so darn hard! I think my Crayola markers are softer than this!

alba Passion Fruit Nectar lip balm: I loved the scent of this, but the texture was an issue. I swipe it on and I got large chunks of lip balm, which was not really pleasant and got messy. I'd just pass on this one because it wasn't worth the hassle. 

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Light: I got this as a sample from a magazine and was rather excited to try it. It started out grey and then turned skin toned, sadly this turned orange on my skin after I applied it...hello Oompah Loompah. Plus there was SOO little of it in this packet...

Love & Beauty Mascara: This is a Forever21 makeup brand, and for 2.80 I have to say that I LOVED this mascara. It had the traditional, old school wand but had fibers in it too! It gave me such lush lashes. Once I get through my other mascaras I am belining it to Forever21 and getting two!

Blistex Raspberry Lemonade Blast (x2):  Someone wanna explain to me why I hated these so much? They smelled great but boy did these stink at protecting the lips. I think these chapped my lips more, and also texturally I had chunks of these coming off. Just not worth it. 

ELF Complexion Perfect Face Powder: Now I had this for a while and didn't like it until I figured out how to use it, and tweaked it a little. Now it has four shades, and it's supposed to cancel out any dilemmas. They have minor tint to them but once you buffed it out on your face, you couldn't see any color difference. I actually used this as a mattefying powder, and it worked really well for pretty much a 12 hour day! It was very finely milled, and will probably be the face powder I'd repurchase time and time again. 

Olay Foaming Face Wash: I'm not going to say much because I have an overdue blog post that will be up in the next few days explaining my feelings about this product. Not bad, but not good...very bland feelings to it,  but not going to repurchase. 

asira Body Wash: This was again a hotel travel sample, and really wasn't anything amazing. It was rather stripping for the skin, hmmm clarifying much?

AVON Bubble Bath in Vanilla Cream: So this had a very fake vanilla scent which is never a good way to start. It gave ok bubbles but overall I wasn't impressed with it. 

Archipelago Pomegranate Soap: So I used to sell this brand at my old job, and really just hated this and the grapefruit scent. They did not smell anything like their names, but I still bit the bullet and used this soap. I didn't like it, but at least the scent wasn't lingering. 

LUSH Honey I Washed the Kids Soap: This was my first Lush soap (I've tried the bath bombs before) and really liked it. I got this and a few other products as a birthday gift a while back, and finally got around to using it. The scent is light and the soap itself felt moisturizing.  I think I'll have to go back to Lush and purchase a few things from there soon!

Montagne Jeunesse Squeezed Lemon Green Tea Peel Off Mask (Detox and Pore Cleansing): I felt like this was one of those masks from my elementary school slumber party days, where friend's would try to make us feel special and grown up.  I didn't really notice anything detoxifying or pore cleansing, but it did leave my skin very soft.  I might use this brand again, although the packaging is a bit awkward. It has enough product for two uses but it is a one time use sample packet. o.0

Go-Go Girlfriend All Natural Cherry Almond Soap: haha, again from this lovely brand. I actually liked this soap, it had some almond pieces in it so I felt like I had a little exfoliation. The scent at first was very strong cherry...like fake cherry, almost bordering on medicinal.  Thankfully it faded after a few months and I was left with a likeable scent. 

Of course I'd have some randoms

Colgate Total Gum Defense: Well another mini toothpaste bites the dust. It wasn't a favorite one though, but hey it's toothpaste so it did the job. 

Nivea Fresh Natural Gentle Care Antiperspirant Deodorant: I got this from my Polish market, so I don't even know if American retailers sell the roller ball deodorant. I love that European products come in glass containers because it makes it feel a little more upscale. Awkward I know, but hey this deodorant worked like a charm even on the hottest days and since it was a clear gel, it didn't leave any marks! Wooohoo!

Wow, so I've finished out a good chunk of stuff! Let's get a rundown!

Lotions/Fragrance/ Hair: 42 + 11= 53
Makeup: 17 + 8= 25
Candles/ Scents: 6 + 0= 6
Cleansers/Body Wash: 25 + 7= 32
Randoms: 19 + 2= 21

Total: 109 + 28 = 137!!! Holy cow! I'm in shock that I've hit that much! 

How are your empties going? How many products do you think I'll hit by December 31st? Anyone? Anyone? lol
xoxo, 
Em

Project Palette

Hello All!
  So today I was going through my makeup drawer and carry case when I realized how certain palettes (like 5-8 pan palettes) take up so much room and I never seem to remember to actually finish some of these.  I found some colors I loved, and some that I know won't work too well, but am willing to put effort into finishing them out.  This is kinda my spring cleaning of makeup project when I think about it.  I know I put these palettes into my carry case and then never use them, forget what I have and finally end up buying more of the exact same shade. I'm sure I'm not the only here who does that! So what I am going to do is pull out all of my palettes and try to finish at least 2 colors from them.  Whatever colors still left will be condensed into one palette that I am actually going to make! I didn't come up with making my own palettes, actually Grace & Beauty has a great video and direction list of how to make super inexpensive, personalized palettes! Shout out to Gracie...keep up your awesome work!! I will link you all to her post at the bottom of this posting :)


So my 2 rules:
1. I MUST finish, not just hit pan, at least two colors from the palettes (which have 5-8 pans in them)
2. Can't buy makeup until they are done!




I have about 5-7 palettes that are so old that the names have rubbed off completely. I feel this is really just a great way to make more space in my collection and pull out those colors we don't have a chance to wear. I mean I have a few that have the brand and names totally rubbed off! I want to just finish out all the dupes of makeup that I have before I move onto the box of newer items, not only to mention that I need the room for it all! (oopsie?) My only exclusion will be if I run out of a different product and I have nothing else that can stand into its place, so yes there will be a decent amount of other products I will finish out! (I'll include those in the updates too). But I also know that in June, the 50-75% off sale in Bath and Body Works occurs, and I will break this project to purchase all those things I love since they are just lotions and candles.


Wish me luck!! (i'll need it, it's taking me already 4 months to finish a nickel sized shadow and I use it every day!)


The link to Grace & Beauty: (subscribe to her too, she's AWESOME!) DIY Palettes
xoxo
Ema