rediscoveries: NYX Love in Paris 09 Merci Beaucoup

hey cutie

 

This Project 10 Pan business is not easy. I had to take a break and look through some of the other goodies in my stash. As excited as I was for the Too Face Chocolate Bar palette, I wasn’t feeling too inspired. I forwent face makeup today and did a simple bronze smokey eye look with only two colors from the NYX Love in Paris – Merci Beaucoup palette. I used the medium bronze color (top middle) on my mobile lid and accented the V of my eyes with the shimmer dark brown (middle second row). Smudge the shit out of the two and DONE. I forgot how incredibly smooth and pigmented this palette was. The other Love in Paris I have (01-A la Mode) was a total dud. While I do have higher end palettes, this little guy will be perfect for my upcoming trip. It’s beautiful, blendable, and portable. Also, if I lose it at border crossing or in a hotel, it don’t matter. Cheap thrills.

 

makeup confessions: what is this pan business

Are you there, makeup gods? It’s me, your beauty addict. I have a confession to make. Despite years of poring over reviews, swatching endless products, and buying a a fair amount to build up the Holy Grail collection, I have only hit pan twice. Five years ago, I finally bore through my MAC eyeshadow in #brun, and my Revlon matte shade in #vanilla. Since then, I’ve yet to use anything up enough to see the base of the product and it’s driving me NUTS. I used to view panned products as old and needing to be replaced, but now I yearn for the moment when I’ve used up enough product to see the bottom. It is such a gratifying feeling. I’m not alone, there’s even a reddit for it (r/panporn).

At my core, I’m a minimalist. I believe in making as little impact as possible as a consumer. I also love stuff. And even sometimes, things. I’m constantly on the search for that perfect thing. Searching for quality products for my personal needs has been a rough and tumble process. There’s just so much out there. Since I’m at a comfortable level of product hoarding, I’m ready to use up what I have. I want to hit some deep, dark pans this year. My search has to slow down for a while so I can truly appreciate what I have. Otherwise, I can satisfy my product craving by living vicariously through other makeup addicts. My collection will never match theirs, and I’d never want to match theirs because having too much overwhelms me. It’s like a bad binge-purge cycle. A few collections that make me 50 shades of green are EmilyNoel83, TaraBabyz (hhhhngggg on her beautiful storage), Promise, DAMN, Temptalia, Goss… I could go on but you get the point.

Project 10 Pan 2014: makeup + skincare megapost

 

 

Lately, I’ve found myself using the same products over and over again. Despite using the same items, I keep buying new products to try out since I’m always on the search for the Holy Grail whatever product that will change your life and make you ride shining unicorns off into the sunset.

My makeup collection feels a bit cluttered, so I want to use up some products that need a little love and attention. Enter Project 10 Pan. The goal is to finish or make a significant dent in each of these items by the end of 2014.

Set aside an assortment of makeup products that you want to make progress on or use up entirely. You might have enough things for several full face looks, or maybe just a few products here and there to incorporate into your makeup routine. It might be a good idea to create a “makeup basket” to store all of these items in the same place. If they’re out of your drawers, you can’t avoid them!

I put a blue dot of nail polish on all of my Project 10 Pan items and make sure to add at least one or two in my routine each day. I’ll update on any progress I’ve made as well as do reviews of the items.

 

Additionally, I also have some skincare products to finish up:

 

 

 

Missha BB Deep Cleansing Oil [$27]: Dear god, the fragrance in this. Bought this in 2013, but then discovered mineral oil (aka Baby Oil) works even better for me at dissolving makeup and sunscreen. It also breaks my out, so I will try this for my body.

 

HydroPeptide Cleansing Gel [$40]: Why the fuck is a cleanser that expensive? It was a gift so I didn’t pay for it myself, nor would I ever. It’s an effective cleanser with which to follow up the Missha, but it’s not $40 amazing. It’s a nice unfragranced gel cleanser that cleanses without stripping all the oils off your skin. It’s as good as my Simple Gel Cleanser, which is only $7.

 

Stridex Sensitive BHA pads [$6]: Use after cleansing to treat any closed comedomes. I used Stridex in the red box but picked up this one because the store didn’t have the red boxes in stock and hey, curiosity. Turns out, the green box does not have the right Ph balance for skin, which means the product is not effective for exfoliation. Boo-urns. I only have a few pads left so I will use it up as a toner.

 

AlphaHydrox Enhanced Lotion 10% Glycolic AHA [$16]: I’ve started using this for my body because it was a touch too harsh on my face. I got too excited about starting AHAs and irritated my skin by over-exfoliating. I’ve since ordered the Paula’s Choice 8% AHA gel. Based on the reviews and raves, I expect that to be more gentle and suitable for my skin.

 

Biore UV Perfect Milk PA+++ SPF50+ [$17]: I LOVE this. It dries quickly, matte, and makes a great base for my makeup. I’ve had this bottle on rotation for a while and I also want to finish it up because I want to try other sunscreens.

 

Trader Joe’s Jojoba Oil [$8]: Tried this for OCM, broke me out. I’ll be using it on my body and scalp. Merp derp.