13 By Halloween – Update 2

Hi!

This update is not going to be the best update due to my mental health – I had a complete breakdown halfway through August and makeup and skincare went out the window. Thanks to pharmaceuticals, a great psychologist and amazing friends things are looking better.

I also want to give a shout-out to Bonds of Beauty and Sassy from Birth for their encouragement and support – I am truly blessed to have such wonderful ladies in my life.

On to the update! You can find the intro and first update by clicking the links.

1. Estée Lauder Advanced Night MicroCleansing Foam

Steady progress on this, and hopefully this will be gone by the next update.

2. The Body Shop Chamomile Silky Cleansing Oil

This is a real pain to mark. The bottle is coated with a thin layer of oil and it’s gross. I will be so glad when this is gone.

3. Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

I like this cleanser, but I’m bored of it. I want to try out some other stuff so I’m really trying to use this up.

4. Monu Skin Hydrating Facial Oil

I’ve finally figured out a use for this as a night cream. I’ve made some progress, but I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it by the end of the project…

5. Elizabeth Arden Visable Difference Hydration Boost Night Mask

I only managed to use this once, and I think there’s maybe 2-3 more applications in here. If I put my mind to it, it will be done.

6. Crabtree and Evelyn Gardener’s Nail and Cuticle Therapy

This is irritating me – I need to use it for just a week and I’ll be done! It’s just such an effort to make myself do it.

7. Unnamed Powder Duo

Top Left – Currently Top Right – before I repressed it

I re-pressed the powder foundation and I think I messed it up a bit by adding too much alcohol and pressing too hard. It’s a real pain to get any product out. I’m going to try once more and if it doesn’t work I’m just calling it done.

As to the pressed powder, I’m happy with my progress so far and now that the other one is almost finished I can use this exclusively and get it done.

8. The Body Shop Eye Pencil in black

I never realised how quickly eyeliner goes if you just use it! I have a soft spot for this liner as being one of the few products I managed to start using when I felt like makeup again. I’m glad that this is almost gone – I have lots of eyeliner that I’d like to make progress on.

9. Catrice Eye Brow Pencil

Again progress! I am still enjoying this and have even considered repurchasing it once this one (and all my other brow stuff) is gone! I don’t think I’ll be done by the next update, but definitely by the end of the project.

10. Elizabeth Arden Flawless Start Instant Perfecting Primer

There is maybe one use of this left if I squeeze. I really do enjoy this primer but there are so many I’d like to try that I needed to get it out.

11. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

I am so bored of this. I have been using it for months and it does not want to quit. Since I cleaned the wand it’s better than ever and I just want it to be over.

I think that I am done with using this. It’s just too much for me – I have been using it every day for close to 4 months and it’s not going anywhere. I’m going to switch this out because although I want to just throw it away, the waste averse hoarder inside me cannot deal with that right now.

12. Guerlain Lipstick in Beige Mousseline

This is gone! I am super proud of myself for managing this. The only sadness I feel is for the absolutely gorgeous casing that I have no use for. The lipstick itself was lovely, but definitely on the old side and I’m glad it’s out.

13. Avon Lipstick in Black Wine

This was a “gimme” product from the start, and I’m ready to let go. Digging it out with a lip brush is super frustrating and time consuming. I feel like I got my money’s worth and enjoyed this lipstick, and it’s time to move forward.

Onto things I’m subbing in:

14. Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer

I enjoy this primer, I even have a backup that I keep in my travel makeup bag, but I want to try more primers. I’m particularly keen on finding more mattifying primers, especially good drugstore options, so if anyone has any recommendations please them below!

It’s currently just over half full but I’m sure I can make a dent in it on two months. Primer is something I use everyday, makeup or not, because it leaves such a soft and blurred appearance to my skin which I like.

15. essence Lipliner pencil in 12 wish me a rose

I have discovered that nude lipliners do very little for me and I want them out. This one matches my essence Lights of the Orient lipstick that’s in my year long project well, and I feel like I can work on that as well as this.

16. Chanel Lipshine in Cancun

All these extremely expensive lipsticks come courtesy of my sister who used to declutter all her stuff to me when I was a broke med student. I’m very grateful, but they’re getting old and I need to use them up. This is very similar to the Guerlain one it’s replacing and I used that up in maybe 10 uses. If I use this and carry it around for touchups I’m sure it will be gone by October.

17. Elizabeth Arden Great Lash Mascara

I love this mascara. It’s one of the few that I will consider repurchasing should I ever use up my 8 unopened mascaras. It has excellent lengthening and defining properties without the spider-lash effect.

Just a note on the pics in here – I am traveling this week and ran out of time to take all of the pics before I left. So I took the pics later that day. Sometimes blogging just has to fit around life.

A Scented Collection

Hi!

I’m not a person that’s affected by scents much – I like certain things (Rose, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, Cinnamon as well as that fresh marine scent that I can only describe as “blue”) and I don’t like others (lavender, chamomile). I usually don’t discriminate based on scents… But there are of course a few exceptions. These products have swayed my opinion because of their scent! In some cases for the better, but often for the worst…

1. Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry – I loved the concept of dry shampoo the first time I heard of it (Tressemé foams – awful product) and when every influencer out there mentioned Batiste as a great brand of dry shampoo, I had to try. I started with the brunette version because I thought it would be easier not to have to deal with white powder in my extremely deeply brunette hair, and it was fabulous. I would have continued like that for ages except my local Clicks ran out of brunette and I had to pick another one. I chose the cherry scent, and now I have difficulty going back to brunette! It’s just so amazing! It reminds me of a desert and the scent lingers in my hair. Especially when I use it the morning and then bun up my hair – pulling it down at the end of the day and being enveloped in a cloud of cherry pie is more than enough to help me recover from whatever stressed me out that day.

2. Morocconoil Intense Hydrating Mask – hair masks are something that I find essential to attempt to manage my extremely uncooperative hair. This one by Morrocanoil is actually really great – it detangles and strengthens quite significantly. Two things keep me from buying a full size – it must be used at every wash, and the smell! Argan oil is listed as the third ingredient in here – after water and alcohol – and the scent is definitely there. They’ve also added some parfum to it and the combination is just awful. It doesn’t linger in my hair (thankfully) but hanging around in the shower for 7 minutes in a cloud of it is just not worth it.

3. theBalm Meet Matte Hughes Liquid Lipstick in Chivalrous – I bought this at 70% off, and I have absolutely no idea why I chose this shade. It is super pink and blue toned – not ideal for medium skin with properly yellow undertones! But the smell of mint chocolate ice cream that reminds me of being 10 and walking home from school is just irresistible. So I use a deep purple lip pencil to help deepen the shade and keep it.

4. Estée Lauder Pure Colour Lipstick in Black Wine – this is so super old I should probably just throw it out, but I also took it to Paris because the shade for me just screams Parisian winter, and now it has sentimental value. It’s a gorgeous colour, but the sweet floral perfume-y smell is disgusting, lingers, and gives me a headache. So I keep it, and swatch it, and try it on, and use it once before hating it and trying to throw it out. It’s just a part of my life now.

5. Tarte Pro Glow To Go – this palette smells of chocolate. I know that there are ranges specifically marketed to do so, but this is not one of them and came as a complete surprise to me! The highlighters are beautiful, I don’t have a lot of experience with bronzing or contour powders to really evaluate this one (besides that it’s a nice shade for me) but I love this palette because of the smell.

6. Monu Skin Warming Ginger Bath and Body Oil – the top notes in here are definitely ginger and spice and all things nice, but as soon as I poured this into my bath the overwhelming oudor of Lemongrass took over my entire bathroom and I hated it. It took days and scented candles to get it out. Totally ruined the experience for me, because I love body oils and I love hot baths and this felt like it would be a perfect combo, but alas.

7. Omirovicza Balancing Moisturizer – this is the product that inspired this post. It’s damn expensive, and the ingredients don’t seem to justify the price. It’s a nice cream, but I wouldn’t have even considered spending money on it except that it smells of a spa resort and water park I went to on vacation many times as a child, and every time I use I’m transported back to some of the happiest moments of my childhood. Scent is truly powerful, and in this instance, it truly overwhelms reason.

Do you have products you would buy – or never buy – for the scent alone? Let me know!

Thirteen By Halloween – Update 1

Hi!

I realized while taking pictures for this project that the products I picked are not particularly photogenic – they’re mostly opaque and even shining a light is no help. That’s great for me (photography is the part of blogging I hate most) but not so great for actually seeing progress. You’re just going to have to trust my imprecise descriptions of how much product there may or not be left…

1. Estée Lauder Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

This is empty! I’m super glad it’s out of my collection and out of my life. Will not be purchasing.

2. Estée Lauder Advanced Night MicroCleansing Foam

I can’t actually see through this, but it feels a little more than a third full. I’ve been using this pretty regularly and I can definitively say it’s not as drying as some foam cleansers, but that doesn’t make it good. I’ll really be glad when this is gone.

3. Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

Again, no way to definitely know how much is in here. It needs a moment after I flip it over to start coming out, but the bottle design does not stand up to upsidedown storage. I’ve been using this and the Estée Lauder cleanser on alternative days and I find this superior in every respect. To be fair, I have used a cream cleanser from Estée Lauder that I much prefer, but honestly, I’d rather spend the money on Cetaphil.

4. The Pink Collection Hydrating Facial Oil

So… This had an unfortunate demise when it fell out of my bathroom cabinet, hit the sink and shattered. Clean-up was easy, but it’s quite sad.

5. Elizabeth Arden Visable Difference Peel and Reveal Revitalising Mask

Empty! I got to this just in time – there were some dried bits and I’m sure if I left it it would have all dried out soon. I am keeping the container to use for mixing my clay masks as it’s a great size and if I mix too much it’s easy to store. As to the product – it was nice, but not life changing.

6. Crabtree and Evelyn Gardener’s Nail and Cuticle Therapy

While I have managed to get a look inside of this with a light, the product is really all over the place and too difficult to try and mark. I’ve used it about weekly and there’s very little effect. There are two problems with this – you need so little cuticle cream that it’s hard to make a dent in it, and I’m lazy. If I can sort out the latter problem, I’m sure the former is not insurmountable, but that requires discipline I’m not yet willing to exert…

7. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

This was giving me inconsistent results which is usually a precursor to a mascara being empty, butI cleaned the wand and it started working perfectly again. The formula is significantly dryer than when I started it however, so I do have confidence that I’ll be able to get it out soon.

8. Catrice Eye Brow Pencil

I’ve been using this every day and sharpening it every 2-3 uses, and progress looks slow. I cleaned off the spoolie and there was so much product in it that I’m sure combing it through my brows applied at least as much product as I usually apply with the pencil! It was actually somewhat disgusting and I really think that I should start using disposable mascara wands as spoolies and just toss them every month or so. Not environmentally friendly, but these things hold on to so much dirt that cleaning them is truly awful.

9. The Body Shop Eye Pencil

The amount of tightlining I have done in the past month is probably equal to the amount of tightlining I had done all year before this project, and I love it. It’s a makeup step I am extremely lazy to do and yet it has such a gorgeous effect! As the pencil gets shorter it’s a bit difficult to get an even sharpening which leads to some irritation and I have no doubt that will lead to me stopping using this within the next sharpening or two.

10. Smashbox Photo Finish Radiance Primer

I finished this and I didn’t really enjoy it – there’s just too much glitter emphasizing my pores. I’d like to try other variations of this though; I enjoy Smashbox products a lot.

11. Powder Duo

More visible progress! Compact powders are honestly my favourite products to try to pan become they are so satisfying!

The powder foundation on the left that I re-pressed is going quickly, but my repressing skills being decidedly sub par, it does tend to crumble. I’ve been saving the pieces and I will be trying again soon.

The pressed powder on the right is slow going, but also tending to crumble a bit. It’s usually minimal, but I think I’ll have to repress that as well.

12. Guerlain Lipstick

When I looked at this picture, I was actually shocked. I’ve used this lipstick less than I wanted to, and yet there’s progress! I think that’s part of the magic of project panning – seeing that if you try, you can use up stuff!

13. Avon Lipstick

One of the most special things about where I work is the relationship I have with nursing staff – any health professional will tell you that the relationship between doctors and nurses is permanently set at “it’s complicated”. However, in my little department, we have a really great understanding, and when I mentioned I was looking for someone who sells Avon, I immediately got the required information. I’m looking forward to hunting out a replacement for this lipstick when it’s gone because it’s just fabulous. I’m at the stage where I have to dig it out with a lip brush, and it’s totally worth it.

I have 3 (+ 1 for the broken facial oil) pans so far. Not too bad I think. I’m so keen to see the other ladies videos soon! However, when the oil broke, my instinct was to replace it with another oil, and include that in. So I think I’m going to make this a rolling project Pan where I add products as I finish them. To give myself a reasonable chance, I’ll only add products at this and the next update. And to make it a real challenge, I’m going to substitute like for like – if I finish a cleanser another one subs in, provided I have another one (I only have one eyebrow pencil in my collection…).

So here are the products I’m adding in :

14. The Body Shop Chamomile Silky Cleansing Oil (in place of the Estée Lauder makeup remover)

I’ve been using this for about 6 months and there’s about 1/4 of the bottle left. I have marked it on the actual bottle, but it’s so messy and gross that it’s difficult to photograph well. It’s a cleansing oil that does the job, but I don’t like that it doesn’t emulsify well, that it’s chamomile scented, and that the packaging is leaking over everything. Nevertheless, if you like cleansing oil and are looking for an affordable option, this is excellent.

15. Monu Skin Hydrating Facial Oil (in place of Pink Cosmetics hydrating oil)

Although I substituted this in fairly early in the project, it’s not been easy. Using facial oil is just difficult for me. I’ve been trying to use it instead of a moisturizer at night; I hope that actually helps.

16. Elizabeth Arden Visable Difference Hydration Boost Night Mask (in place of the peel and reveal mask)

I use this for multi masking, and I’m hoping to get it out of my collection – it does leave my skin refreshed, but I prefer a sleeping mask.

17. Elizabeth Arden Flawless Start Instant Perfecting Primer (in place of the Smashbox Radiance Primer)

I love and adore this primer – it was the first one I bought, and I have every intention of repurchasing it when I have used up my collection of unopened primers. I’m choosing it in this project because I enjoy using it, and I want to enjoy it before it goes bad.

If you’re project panning, I’d love to know! Leave a link in the comments!