I spent part of my last holidays organising my skincare and makeup stash. To get more organised, I made a list of what I had for each category, and I am overwhelmed with the number of products I had. At this moment, I am subscribed to a couple of beauty boxes, get advent calendars every year and place frequent orders in different retails. I need to do something, or I will have to buy a new house only to store my products. In 2022, I am going to join Project Pan Challenge to use what I have and avoid buying more products.
What is a Project Pan Challenge?
A Project Pan is a conscious, deliberate practice of “hitting pan” on, or finishing, your makeup products. In a world where you are constantly encouraged to consume, project pan encourages the opposite, to stop consuming and enjoy what you already have.
Moon Emissary
A Project Pan challenge consists of choosing a certain number of products and setting a goal for each one. The goal can be using the product a certain number of times, hitting the pan, or fully finishing the product. In the same way, you can choose only makeup, or you can include skincare, body care, and hair care products.
How long does it take to finish a product?
It is amazing how quickly and easily you buy a new product, with a click the product is yours. However, it can take from 3 months to 3 years to finish the product if you use it continuously. I have in my stash some blushes which I bought 10 years ago when I was living in Paris.
According to the website Twindly, the usage of different type of products is as follow:
- Colourpop LippieStix last 313 swipes
- MAC eyeshadow (1.3 g) lasts 1000 swatches
- Stila liquid eyeshadow (4.5 mL) lasts 100 applications
- Max Factor Blush (1.5 g). You may use 1 gram in a year.
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filter Foundation (32 mL). 180 pumps
- Tarte Tape Shape Concealer (10 mL). 250 swipes
As you can see from these numbers, a single product lasts for a huge number of applications.
Benefits of Project Pan Challenge
The main benefit, I feel Project Pan Challenge has, is that you become aware of what you have, what you use and the real value of the product. But there are other benefits.
- Allows you to save money. You are using your stash so there is no need to buy new products.
- Reduce the waste. You are reducing the number of plastics you dispose of as well as delivery packaging if you buy online.
- Easy to do the makeup. Sometimes, when you have a lot of makeup, it is a waste of time to decide the palette, blush, bronzer, etc you want to use. When doing the Project Pan Challenge, the decision about what to use is easier, as you reduced your choices when selecting the products.
- Increase your imagination. You can use a product for whatever you want and not only for the intended use. For example, you can use bronzer as eyeshadow and lipstick as a cream blush.
Tip for the Project Pan Challenge
- Choose products you like. You will find it easier to use them and it will be funny.
- Do not choose more than one product for each category.
- Decide the goal. You can set different types of goals. Your goal can be a certain number of uses, finish a certain amount (for example, finish half), hit pan or fully finish the product.
- Keep an eye on the expiry date and PAO. Choose first the products with a closer expiry date.
- Share online. It is easier to get motivated if you join a panning group. You will share your advances and see what other people are doing. You can find some panning groups on Facebook and Instagram.
- Decide which type of products you want to include. It is entirely up to you to choose only makeup or to include skincare, body care or hair care products.
- Decide the deadline. You can use the same products during a year or make the Project Pan Challenge in a rolling way, changing products every month or after reaching your set goal.
Which Project Pan Challenge will I join in 2022?
In principle, I am going to join three project pan challenges and make one of my own. It is easier for me to join established project pans with set prompts than to choose my own products. However, I want to make one only for eyeshadow palettes as I could not find any. I will, therefore, create my own.
The project pan I am going to participate in this year are:
Beauty A to Z.
I will assign one product to each letter and set a goal for each. The objective is to complete all the goals by the end of 2022. This project pan has monthly updates.
I already published my products and goals for the year.
Child of the 80s
In this project pan, there are 80 prompts already set. The idea is, at the beginning of the year, to randomly choose 8 prompts and assign a product and a goal to them. Once you reach the goal for a product you roll it out and roll in another prompt. I will be doing monthly updates.
I generated 8 numbers and assign the products and goals already.
Lip Service Project
This project pan is exclusively for lip products. You choose a certain number of lip products and set a goal for each. Once you reach the goal for a product you can include a new one. That is very useful as it allows you to go through all your lipstick collections.
I am going to start with 5 products, each one in a different category.
Pan that Palette
This is the one I could not find any established challenge. What I am going to do for this Project Pan Challenge is to choose three eyeshadow palettes that are already partially panned. I would like to fully pan them or even finish them off.
I will be doing monthly updates for each project pan. I am really excited about the idea of using what I have. Hope that helps me to spend less money on makeup.
Are you going to join any Project Pan Challenge this year? Let me know in the comments.
Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
