little white truths

Hello and welcome to my September Project Pan update.

Happily it's been an excellent panning month for me and I've finished ten products, including the above lip gloss - which will be done by the end of the day so I'm removing it from my official list now.

Also note that I've switched out four products - three because I know I can't finish them by the end of the year so I would rather focus on products that I have more chance of finishing, and one because I plan to crush it up (that's the highlighter) and add it to the remains of some eyeshadows that I'm sick of using. Doing this will give me some new shades to play with and it should help make panning everything easier.

As for my remaining list:

Revlon Ultra HD Lipcolour in Desert
Laura Mercier Blemish-less Foundation Primer
Hask Macadamia Oil Revitalising Shine Hair Treatment
Laura Mercier Baked Powder in Highlight 01 (switched out)
Bobbi Brown Bronzer in Medium 2 (switched out)
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser Oil Free SPF 20 in Sand (switched out)
Natio Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20 in Beige (switched out)
~~Becca First Light Priming Filter~~
~~MUFE Ultra HD Foundation in Y305~~
~~Natio Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20 in Honey~~
~~Australis Matchmaker Shade Adjusting Drops (Lightening)~~
~~L'Oreal Pure Clay Exfoliating & Smoothing Red Algae Mask~~
~~Urban Decay Anti-ageing Eyshadow Primer Potion~~
~~Skinstitut Glycolic Cleanser 12%~~
~~Revlon Ultra HD Lipcolour in Coral~~
~~Marc Jacobs Hi Shine Lip Lacquer in Want Me?~~
~~Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer Creme in M19 Cool~~

Let's have a quick look at what's remaining on my list.

First up, the Revlon lipstick in Desert. This is a nice product but I haven't focused on it that much yet because I panned the shade Coral first, so this will be the month that I finish it and I should be able to kick it out within a few weeks because there's not much product in these anyway.

There's how much I've used:

So we're around halfway.

Note that I like the product and I plan to review it soon, so stay tuned for that if you're interested.

As for my Laura Mercier primer, I'm getting close with this now and I expect it to be gone within the next few weeks.

It's a really lovely primer and I've been happy to pan it (I'm not sick of it yet either), and thankfully it's only a travel-size so it hasn't given me too much grief over the panning period.

The Hask hair oil I forgot about for the second half of the month (oops), and if I hadn't done that, I'd likely have finished it by now. Annoying. I'll have to make a big effort to remember it this month.

Unfortunately it's not that great so I can't use it as a leave-in treatment, although it does work ok as a pre-wash treatment so that's how I'll get through it.

As for my replacements, I've picked seven so I can bring my list up to ten. Let's have a quick look at each one in turn.

The first is my Laura Mercier Candleglow Soft Luminous Foundation in Dusk. I don't expect to finish this by the end of the year because it's brand-new, but I'll do my best because it doesn't work for me and I want to see it gone from my collection.

It's annoying that it doesn't work, I must say, because I'd seen such great reviews. Note that I need to mix this with whitening drops because it's a shade too dark, so even though it's not super pigmented, that's going to make it last longer.

The next is my CLE Cosmetics cushion highlighter in Copper Rose. This came from Maslow & Co at the end of last year, and while it's been sitting in my declutter pile since then, I've decided to keep it because I do love it for highlighting on the body (I prefer powders for the face) and we're coming into summer now so it'll be seeing some good use.

Unfortunately I can't mark this product so we'll just have to guess how much I was using on average each month once I've finished it. It contains 12g so I've got my work cut out for me.

Next is another Laura Mercier primer, being the SPF 30 Foundation Primer.

Obviously Spring/Summer is a good time to pan this product, which is why I'm bringing it in now. You'll see that I've already started marking this because I was going to introduce it last month, but instead waited until October. Still, I've been using it often enough since then, which is why I've made a second marker on the product that shows where I'm currently up to.

Above is my Becca blush in Bolero. I've brought this in to replace the Bobbi Brown bronzer I was previously panning, simply because not only does it make a great bronzer, but it's also showing a lot of progress already so I'm confident I can pan it by Christmas.

Note, though, that I may keep the remains of it to re-press into an eyeshadow pan and add to one of my custom palettes once I get to the outer edge, because it makes such a great eyeshadow. We'll see.

Next is my Freezeframe whitening treatment. This product surprised me because I thought I would hate it, but instead, I really like it: it doesn't turn me white but blurs the look of texture on my face (especially open pores). This means it's great to whack on before doing the kinder run - it makes me look a bit younger and smoother.

But I don't need the extra step in my morning routine so I would prefer to just get through it and maybe buy it again later when I'm not so time-poor in the mornings (if that ever happens).

Above is my Kevyn Aucoin blush in Dolline. As you may know, this is currently on my Project Dent list and I've decided to add it to Project Pan now because I would like to make a start on it before panning it next year.

I love it but I've had it far too long so it's time to get through it. Thankfully it's only 3g in size, although it will still take me the better part of a year to pan because blushes hang around for ages.

Last up, my third and final L'Oreal Pure Clay Mask. This is the black version, and the one that a lot of people swear by. I haven't used it much yet so I'm not prepared to comment on it until I've used it some more, but suffice to say that it hasn't impressed me yet - which is why it's on this list. I'll use it more, review it, and hopefully finish it within a couple of months.

In sum

That's all from me. I must admit that I'm tiring a little now of my panning projects, so it may be that I wind everything up at the end of October and give myself a couple of months off before the end of the year. We'll see.

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

Hello and welcome to my third empties post for September.

I'm pleased to say that it's been a fantastic month for empties and I've managed to clear a good bunch of stuff from my stores. This of course means that I'm in the process of opening a bunch of new products to replace them, which is always a nice situation to be in.

Let's have a look.

Sukin Super Greens Facial Exfoliant

Full review here. I think this is a nice exfoliant and it's worth testing because it's not super expensive.

It has a sweet, green, cranberry scent and it comes in cream form. The grains are very fine but there's enough of them (and they're not too round) so they offer a gentle exfoliation that's still effective. I found the product enjoyable to use and it left my face feeling soft and smooth afterwards, plus it made my skin look a little brighter. Purchase? Yes.

Natio Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20 in Honey

I really wanted to like this product and I do like Natio as a brand overall, but unfortunately this just didn't work for me. It didn't have enough coverage, and it also didn't have enough warmth to it so I couldn't add my whitening drops to it (which add some coverage) and try wearing it as a base. I've reviewed it here.

Thankfully I was able to get through it by mixing some with my facial sunscreen every day in order to make that last longer, and it worked fine for that purpose because it didn't mess with the formula too much, plus it gave my skin a slight bronze glow beneath my foundation. Repurchase? No.

Urban Decay Anti-Ageing Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Full review here. I panned this recently and I'm glad to be through it because it wasn't working that well for me.

While it went on ok, I found that it wasn't great for longevity and most of my eyeshadows tended to crease over it. Still, I used it all up so it can't have been that bad, and it did help a little with intensity at least. Time to try something else. Repurchase? No.

Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer Creme in M19 Cool

This concealer was ok but I found that it creased under my eyes so it was better for using on the face. This particular shade was also very orange and very warm on me (even though it's called 'cool') and I found that it made me look like I'd had an allergic reaction around my eye area when used as a concealer.

This is why I mostly used it as a kind of corrector beneath my normal concealer and it worked pretty well for that (see my review here) although I certainly wouldn't buy it for that reason alone. I was able to pan it via Project Pan and I'm glad that I've finished it because I don't need it. Repurchase? No.

Sukin Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner

Full review here. These two didn't work for me and they also don't work for my kids, so I can say that they don't suit my dry, wavy and frizzy hair, and they also don't suit my kids' normal hair.

I found that the shampoo didn't wash properly so I needed to do three washes with it (and even then my hair didn't feel clean enough), or if my hair was really dirty, then I needed to use another shampoo first. The conditioner tended to weigh my hair down, make it look dull and also reduce the time between washes, so again, it just didn't suit me. Repurchase? No.

Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolour in 740 Coral

Full review here. You may remember that I tried the shade Vineyard in this range and liked it in theory, but in practice it ran up and down vertical lip lines not long after use so it looked pretty bad, pretty quickly.

Thankfully this shade doesn't do that so let's hope that Vineyard was just a dud. This one in Coral is lovely. It's hydrating enough that I don't need to wear a balm underneath it, and it feels lightweight and comfortable to wear. I also like that these aren't super opaque so they look more natural, and I like the gentle shine of the finish. Worth trying, but you don't get much product so I would only buy one on special. Repurchase? Maybe.

Thursday Plantation Macadamia Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm

These kinds of tube lip balms generally don't work for me, as indeed this one didn't. It slipped into my mouth so I was always tasting it, and it was greasy so I didn't like how it felt on my lips. I've reviewed it here.

What I could use this for, however, was as a multipurpose balm (even if it's not labelled as such) so it was great for softening dry winter skin on my feet, knees and elbows. I also used it occasionally on my cuticles and it was good for softening the blisters on my hands from chilblains too. Purchase? No.

Clarins Moisture Rich Body Lotion

Full review here. This product was ok but I burned through mine because it's quite thick so I needed to use a lot per application, and it's expensive to start with so that makes it even worse value.

Also note that it's heavy on the artificial fragrance and I personally found the scent to be too much, and the smell does linger so it won't be for everyone. Still, it was quite thick and heavy so it suited my dry skin during the cooler months and I did like how nourishing and moisturising it was. Purchase? No.

Skinstitut Glycolic Cleanser 12%

This cleanser was ok but I added it to my Project Pan list to get through it because it wasn't doing much for me and it was my least-favourite of the cleansers I had open so I'm glad I've finished it. I've reviewed it here.

What I found with this cleanser is that the glycolic acid it contains wasn't doing enough for me, so I had to use it as a kind of mask/cleanser hybrid twice a day in order to get any effect from it - and even then the effect wasn't great. Still, it wasn't a bad product and I didn't hate using it. Repurchase? No.

In sum

Overall this wasn't a great round of empties and the only product in here that I would recommend is the Sukin exfoliant. Everything else I wouldn't use again.

That's all from me. Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x

little white truths

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