little white truths

I mentioned on Instagram when I posted pics of my last full update that I thought there was a week (or less) left in these two items from my Project Pan list, and happily I was right: both my clariSEA exfoliant and my highlighter from The Cosmetics Kitchen gave me their last use each yesterday. Huzzah!

Here's how empty they are:

Woot woot! I'm really pleased to have knocked off two full-sized items early in November, and I'm hoping that trend continues so it will be a good PP month overall.

I've had a mental list for a while of products I want to include in Project Pan 2017, and I had a choice when it came to replacing the above two empties: pick some easier products that should be done by the end of the year, or pick two tougher products that will be hanging around for some time yet.

Silly me, I went for the tough ones ; )

Yep, I've picked two base products that are reasonably full (the two powders are the same product in different shades). 

I've been holding off on including base products because I've been going through mine in turn via Project Dent, but I've decided that the time is ripe to bring these in now - for reasons I'll touch on below.

Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Foundation in #34 Beige Medium

Full review here. I really like this foundation but it's not perfect so I'm more than happy to use it and enjoy it, then move it out of my collection and (probably) not repurchase it.

The reason I don't love it is that it's too peach for me so I have to mix it with a drop of a super yellow concealer (and I happen to have one currently on my PP list so that's a reason to use it now: I can work on two products at once), but the colour itself was the best match for my skintone in terms of depth from the range, which is why I bought it.

The other reasons I don't love it are that it's not a long-lasting foundation on me and the finish isn't dewy enough so I have to add a drop of oil to it too - but that also means it's a good product for summer (when it won't look too dry without oil), so now's a good time to include it. Not sure how long it will last - maybe two to three months? We'll see.

Bodyography Oxyplex Loose Powder Foundations in Wheat and Cocoa Tan

Full review here. I absolutely love these powders but, having dry skin, powder foundation isn't something I reach for often or use much of when I do use it, so I've had these for over two years now and there's plenty of product left in both.

I'm including them because I want to get through them before they're too old (they have shelf-lives of three years, so there's still time!). and it's a good time to bring them into PP now because I'm more likely to set my normal foundation with these in summer when I'm less dry.

Plus they're the perfect pairing with my Marc Jacobs foundation because its coverage is natural enough that a layer of powder on top won't make things cakey - and since the Marco Jacobs product isn't long-lasting, I'll be reaching for these after lunch for touch ups.

There's a bucket-load of product in these (27g each!) and even though I've used a chunk of them, I expect them to last until the end of 2017.

In sum

I'm really excited with my new PP additions because they're products I enjoy and I don't mind using them every day. While I could have gone easier on myself and included smaller items that I could finish by Christmas, I think bringing these in now is the right choice, given the comments I've made on them above.

Here's to a good start to the month: fingers crossed you'll be seeing a few more finished items in November!