little white truths

I sat down to write my 2018 panning goals this morning and saw that I'd already done them! See here if you're interested.

So instead I've decided to write my panning resolutions for 2018 - not to be confused with my goals, which are more specific (eg finish one bronzer and hit pan on another) - these will be more general.

Without further ado...

Stick to my skincare no buy

As you may know, I recently put myself on a six-month skincare no buy (see here). I also finally did my skincare inventory (see here) and I wasn't surprised to discover that I have far too much stuff - especially when it comes to things like face masks and cleansers.

The good news, though, is that most of the stuff I have is smaller (eg deluxe samples and travel-sizes), so it's entirely possible that I can reduce my collection by half when it comes to the beginning of June, that being when my no buy ends.

I've already done a month and I can't see any problem with sticking to the spending ban, although I will 'break' it if I run out of something essential like facial sunscreen.

Wish me luck!

Keep my Project Pan list at no more than ten products total

I learned this one the hard way. In the early days I had as many as twenty products on my list, and while I could handle that amount and also photographing that many products in my update posts, as soon as I started having children I had to drop the total down to fifteen, and now that I've had my second child I know I can only handle ten or twelve.

So when you see me kicking off PP 2018, my list will be at ten to twelve products, because I'll have included a few items that I know I can finish during that month. 

This way I'll not only remember to photograph everything (because I've forgotten an item or two more than once!) and I'll also be able to photograph some products individually (and give you progress shots), rather than sending you to a different post so you can see how much I've used month-by-month.

Implement my lessons

As a panner and a beauty lover I'm always learning, and I suppose that's not surprising because I approach life that way too. The day I stop learning is the day I die. I know others would say the same.

One of the lessons I learned this year was the importance of 'preparing' products to pan. That is, even if I've only got ten products on my list, that doesn't mean I can't be focusing on a few other items at the same time - so by the time they hit my list, I'm already partway through them.

Not only does this keep my list moving so we're not seeing small amounts of progress on products each month (all those marker lines can make for boring 'viewing'), but it also means that I won't get sick of using the same products for long periods of time.

By way of example, I've started focusing on lip products 'behind the scenes'. So at the moment I've got two products I'm focusing on and then next month I'll pick a couple more and put the original ones in the panning queue. Then I'll keep cycling through things and pan the items I've used most first. I wish I'd started doing this sooner! It really helps with 'panning fatigue'.

Go hard on Project Dent

As you may know, this is my own project and it quickly became my favourite one. Not only does using products for around two weeks mean that I'm able to cycle through my collection so everything's getting used, but it's also a great feeder project for Project Pan and Pan that Palette.

Also, through Project Dent I've been able to get better at lateral thinking (more on that below), and I've taken some ideas I've come up with during Project Dent and applied them to my other projects.

My aim for the denting year is to dent four products each month, which will mean that I'll really have to stay on top of getting those posts done when I need to. There may be some months when I'll have to dent one product for the whole month (eg one of my large custom palettes) - which will mean only denting three products in total - but for most months, I'm aiming for four.

Keep getting better at lateral thinking

Lateral thinking is one of your best assets when it comes to panning, and with every year that passes, I think of new ways that I can work on products and make the most of my collection.

For example, this year I learned to carry around a little container of whatever foundation or tinted moisturiser I was panning: that way if I needed to touch-up, I wouldn't reach for a powder foundation, I could just dab my base on where needed. You can also do this with your concealer if it's the same colour as your base and it plays nicely with texture like open pores (not all concealers do).

I've also learned to run a brush through whatever I'm panning before putting the brush into my setting powder. For example, I'm doing that at the moment with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette. Adding some of the pink blush in with my setting powder won't turn me pink if I don't use too much, but it will brighten my complexion a little and make even a small amount more progress than I would have otherwise.

Of course, you don't need to stop with your setting powder. I also run my brush through the plum blush before applying my bronzer (which isn't very pigmented), and the blush helps intensify the pigment without changing the colour of the bronzer.

Stick to my makeup 'rules'

I've been doing pretty well when it comes to not buying too much stuff, so I'd like to keep that going for 2018. Sure, occasionally I'll break my own rules but there's usually a good reason for it, and that reason is often related to getting something I would have bought later anyway for a better price.

For example, at the moment I'm not letting myself buy any more bronzers until I've panned two (with my ultimate goal being no more than four bronzers), but if I've finished one bronzer by the time that Sephora has its next 20 per cent off sale and I have a good amount of pan in a second one, then yes I'll buy a bronzer that I'm desperate for at the reduced price.

However, I won't open the new one until I've panned the second bronzer - that way I'm still sticking to my rules in terms of how much I want to have open at one time.

In sum

That's all from me! I hope you found something interesting in this post: I do love hearing how others are hoping to 'run' their panning years, so I guess others must feel the same.

Do let me know in the comments what your resolutions are for 2018 - I'd love to hear.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

* All images courtesy of unsplash.com