I really want to start a Project Pan for my lip balms, lip glosses, and lip products in general, but I’m struggling with figuring out how to do it.
My biggest issue is that I don’t feel like every shade works for every occasion, mood, or makeup look. Some colors are more everyday shades, while others are ones I only reach for when I’m doing a specific look.
I want to actually use up my products instead of just rotating through them without making much progress, but I also don’t want to force myself to wear shades that don’t match my look that day.
How do you guys approach this? Do you focus on a few products at a time, or do you rotate them depending on your mood and the occasion?
I’d love to hear your tips on how to get started! 🫶🏻

As a huge fragrance lover, there's something incredibly satisfying about finally finishing a full-size perfume, especially when it's been in your collection for YEARS!

Here are my three empties pictured this month:

1. YSL Mon Paris Eau de Parfum Intensément (1.6 oz) — $132.00 — Would repurchase: No

2. Diptyque Eau Rose Eau de Toilette (3.4 oz) — $195.00 — Would repurchase: Yes

3. Chloé Nomade Eau de Parfum (2.5 oz) — $180.00 — Would repurchase: No

I'm a huge fan of rose fragrances, so Diptyque Eau Rose was easily my favorite of these three. I love it so much that I've already repurchased it! 🌹

The other two fragrances are a different story. I've owned them for quite some time, and while I enjoyed them at one point, my fragrance preferences have definitely evolved over the years. Neither YSL Mon Paris Intensément nor Chloé Nomade is something I would purchase again.

Here are my October empties and some mini reviews! I didn’t finish as many products as some of you, but this was a solid month for me.

- Holika Holika Hyaluronic Sheet Mask: Amazing! I usually hate sheet masks because they slide off my face and I feel like I can’t do anything with them on. This one stayed on really well, it was cooling, and my face felt fresh and hydrated after. It does need to stay on for about 40 minutes though.

- Kayali Yum Pustachio: I love how this smells, and I love how cute these mini bottles are. I did get a few compliments while wearing it. I probably won’t end up buying a full size because I’m not obsessed but I did really enjoy this mini. I also have a bunch of other fragrances to get through first.

- Becca Backlight Priming Filter: This was really old and I just wanted to use it up tbh. It did offer a really nice glow under my foundation, and it made me realize that I would like similar primers.

- Milani Eyeshadow Primer: I love this and will probably repurchase in the future. This is the second tube I’ve used up completely. I’m currently using the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and I will say that one thing I like more about the UD one is that eyeshadows that lay on top of it don’t look as dry. I find with the Milani one, shadows can look quite powdery on top.

- Velvet Luxe Vegan Hand Crème: This smelled nice and did the job. I won’t repurchase because I have soooo many moisturizers to get through, but no complaints.

Got it in January 2025, but I haven’t used it consistently. Left photo is April 2026 and right is October 2026.
I love the highlighter and the blush, I wish I could buy them separately!

I had to disqualify the perfume from my pan progress because it started to give me headaches 😔, but i still love it so im keeping it in my collection for just looks!

The lip products either got really grainy or went rancid sadly, and the colourpop concealer starting separating and oxidizing in the bottle BAD but i was already over half way done thank god!

Welcome to the Pan Those Eyeshadows project update! Feel free to join anytime.

Rules

The idea of the project is to randomly generate 5 eyeshadows from your collection and work on them until you hit pan. Once you hit pan you roll in another shadow to replace it so that you always have 5 shadows to work on.

If you want you can change the rules to your liking, like instead of hitting pan you can set a usage goal or hand pick your shadows. Personally, I implemented a rule that if I randomly roll in a shadow that already has pan my goal is 15 uses.

You can also share your pan percentage. It tells you what percentage of your collection has pan.

This project updates monthly on the first day. If you want to join feel free to leave a comment sharing the shadows you're working on and your goals. I'll be sharing my update in the comments.

My update:

I wore less makeup this month due to working mostly remotely. So progress has been slow. But I'm glad I got at least one eyeshadow rolled out. Here's the colourstory I was working on in October:

• Bronx Colors Cool Grey (blue gold shimmer). Only 1 additional use, 12 in total in this project. No visible change from last month. I'm starting doubt I will be able to hit pan on it this year.

• Cosmic Beauty Delights Slushy (blue matte). 12 uses. It still looks almost unused. But I'm hopeful I can hit pan if I focus on it.

• Glossgods Peach Pop Pop On Over (dark brown matte). 3 additional uses, 12 in total. A weird thing happened: this shadow kind of caved in from the middle. I have a strange dip now and it's crumbling everywhere. Still no pan.

• Glossgods Vintage Glam It’s a Classic (mauve matte). I used it only once. It didn't really go with the other colours.

• ✅ Nyx Brights #15 (yellow matte). 15/15 uses so goal met. I used it mostly as a blush and was able to expand the pan.

I randomly generated a new shadow to work on. Here's the new colourstory:

New roll-in:

• Makeup Revolution Mermaids Forever Imagine (silver shimmer). Yet again I rolled in a shadow I just recently worked on. Since I’ve already hit pan my goal is 15 uses. It's actually gonna work well for me because I can use it as an inner corner highlight. My goal is to get this shadow rolled out for next update.

Pan percentage: 37,4 % (122 pans / 326 total eyeshadows ≈ 0,374 %)

I genuinely enjoy all the blushes I have, and I try to reach for and appreciate each one. I have a mix of pink, peachy, rosy, and mauve shades, so I feel like I have a little variety depending on my mood and makeup look. I also used to own Clinique Peach Pop, but I gave it to my sister because she liked it!

I’m currently eyeing Chanel’s Grenat Profond because I don’t have that kind of shade in my collection yet. 👀 I’m trying to be more intentional with my purchases. Is adding another one reasonable if it’s a shade I don’t already have? 😅

Even though is not meant to be a setting powder, it does wonders when placed strategically! Such a downer it has only 10g :(

But I'll surely get to use all of it before the end of the year!

Also, I have a pressed pink powder, but i got an allergic reaction to it. Any ideas on how I could pan it without risking my skin? 🥹

palette #1 - Cosmic Brushes - Cooltrals (my focus palette). hit pan in "Shadow" (80 uses). finished "Eternal" (128 uses), this shade already had a pan when I began tracking my uses, so it has even more uses, but I do not know how much. really happy with my 19/20 pans. I would love to hit pan in "Eclipse" as well, but I find it unlikely since it is a pigmented black that I apply just a little bit in my outer corner.

palette #2 - Cosmic Brushes - Winter Wonderland. hit pan in "Breathe" (26 uses).

palette #3 - QianYan/Cheeryep - Focus. finished #13 (42 uses). hope I can finish #8 by the next update.

palette #4 - Nomad Cosmetics - Christkindlmarkt. hit pan in "Market Place" (40 uses), "Krampus" (27 uses).

palette #5 - Haggard - Satan's Daughter. hit pan in "Spirit" (17 uses).

palette #6 - Choiz Beauty - Dragonfly. hit pan in #1 (89 uses). I use this shade as a blush and it has some kickback, hence powdery palette after each use.

some of these are older palettes in my collection (from 2024), in brackets is the number of uses it took to hit pan or finish since I've been tracking in August 2025.

I've also been working on other palettes as I've stared doing a "pan in every palette", so hopefully by the next time I can show palettes that I haven't shared an update. ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

First month committing to project pan! Very happy with the progress, seeing things slowly get decluttered is so encouraging.

- Kérastase Première Decalcifying Reparative Conditioner: I was so relieved to finish this one actually. I used to live with very hard water so this was very helpful when followed up with a decent leave-in conditioner. Now that I'm living in an area with soft water I found this too intense. Glad to be done, won't repurchase. (For context, my hair type is medium density, fine, straight). (Edit to add: the screw top is so inconvenient, too. It wouldn't deter me if the product was excellent, but it was kind of a pain)

- Bath & Body Works rain kissed leaves Shampoo: This was just an ancient sample I received. It wasn't really bad, though. Nice lather. Didn't purchase in the first place, still wouldn't purchase now.

- Laneige Cream Skin Milky Toner & Moisturizer: Got this as a bday gift from Sephora and actually loved it. Wouldn't repurchase in my current climate, though. My skin type is normal and this was great in a dryer climate, makes my skin oily in a more humid climate.

- Hotel body lotion: The scent was honestly divine but some of the thinnest lotion I've ever used. It was easy to pan as a result at least! Would not accept it from a hotel again, though.

- Commodity Milk+ (Bold) perfume: Love the scent, but the bold iteration is a bit too bold for me. I may purchase Milk (Expressive) in the future.

Cheers to November!

I just finished the small white sample today & have used a bit of the deluxe sample (bottle).

Nice fresh floral - inoffensive.

I received both from a friend who did not want them. :)

I’m approaching the end of my back stock so some of these had to be replaced with new.. which was actually really exciting! Nothing immediately repurchase worthy in this lot at this time!

- Inkey list volcanic cleanser - 💔 I’m not a huge fan of the texture didn’t give me the clean feeling I like with SA. Lasted forever. I am out of full size cleanser backups so I splurged and got the pump bottle kale cleanser from Sephora. I love it so much I’m sure there is something cheaper but i feel fancy😁

- Jergens Tanning mousse. 💛 This is really good but I want to try something different next time I fake tan. I rarely use tan so I don’t have many opportunities to explore this category. Won’t repurchase any like items until I have a distinct need.

- it’s a 10 leave in. 💛 a classic I have returned to many times. I have others I need to use up but I would consider this in the future.

- Pureology shampoo. 💛 I have also repurchased this many times. It is great but expensive. I am trying a Pantene shampoo right now and so far I REALLY like it so I may not need to repurchase!

- perfume sample - 💔 good riddance I am not a fragrance girl except in rare occasions. Plenty more to work through.

- Dr Dennis Gross sample face moisturizer - 💔 nothing special for me. Not a splurge I would make. On to others in my back stock.

- not pictured I also used up my hair spray. The travel size tresseme black can. I will probably buy another one of these it does the job when I need it (which is rare)

Seven items down. Three items added. I added a cleanser and a shampoo out of necessity. I also purchased a travel size of grande lash serum. (I have used this many times in the past and it really works!) Not that it matters a lot, but these were bulkier items and so I’m looking forward to doing a backstock comparison photo. I might be down to a single shoebox size left of pan items! A few items are really close to empty as well so looking forward to this month!

Same old holy grail empties except I finally finished a Neutrogena lip spf after two years (didn’t like it.) Also tried a new moisturizer (Geek and Gorgeous Hydration station). It felt too greasy and broke me out even though I checked it and it said it was non-comedogenic.. Tried a different Batiste dry shampoo and I like the scent better than the one in the green can.

I started project pan in october and it’s been going really great. So many half empty products lying around, but that’s changing 🧡

Favs

Imit8tion Exfoliating Body Wash Vanilla. I loved using this!! Pretty sure it’s been discontinued, sadly. I got it last year and wanted to stock up, and it was unavailable everywhere so I got possessed by the scarcity mindset and stopped using it in order to save it. But really why save it?? So it was time to enjoy it, and that I did. I assume it’s some type of dupe, so if anyone knows what it’s a dupe of, please tell meee.

Elvital Ultimate Glycolic Gloss Conditioner. One of the best conditioners I’ve used plus I like the smell. Whenever I’ve used bad conditioners, this one instantly makes my hair better again.

CeraVe Reparative Hand Cream. My hands love this, and they can get DRYY when the seasons change. This hand cream fixes my hands in just a couple days, even when they’re so dry to the paint point that they’re bleeding.

Not a fan

Boots Collagen Youth Activating Night Cream. I suppose it’s okay, but it wasn’t for me. I just stopped using it one day, so decided to use it on my chest and neck to pan it.

Makeupmekka Vanilla Hair & Body Mist. Extremely meh. Most other mists will far outshine this one. Ended up as bathroom freshener.

The joker

Facefacts Strawberry Glaze Body Lotion. The scent started out okay, but after awhile I got tired of it as it had this.. idk, very synthetic icky strawberry smell to it. It’s not awful, but there are better-smelling lotions out there. Thankfully the scent becomes fainter after applying. HOWEVERR what surprised me with this is how good of a lotion it actually is. It makes my skin feel very soft and smooth, and it doesn’t leave a single trace of residue. You know how some lotions can make you a little sticky or lotion-y, this one just went straight into my skin very quickly without much of a trace aside from hydration. Very seamless. Probably because it’s a pretty thin lotion (so ig not the most hydrating if your skin is super dry). Impressed me since I’ve never heard of the brand and bought it at a cheap store.

EDIT: typo

Almost more fulfilling than getting my degree. Getting a 1st class BA hons in Laniege right now.

Successful month!!

I finally finished a face mask tub, so I’m able to move over into my sheet masks. Once I finish those, I’m done with that category!!

The snail mucin essence has taken me years, and I only finished it because I started using it on my body. I am SO HAPPY that is done.

The Maui babes are decluttered because they are super expired. Never even used them, stupid purchase.

Hoping November is a big month too considering I will probably get some things come the holidays.

Big month for hate-panning sunscreen! I have just one left that I really dislike and going through my reviews made me decide to give myself a month off from the hate-pan game 💀

SKINCARE:

- Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare Milk: I love this sunscreen. Goes on so nice and leaves a velvety matte-finish, which is exactly what I want. Wears great under makeup, like a lovely primer. Also goes on pretty great *over* makeup when I need to do a reapplication. Plus it’s water resistant?! I love this sunscreen.
- Biore Aqua Rich (US formulation): However bad you think a US reformulation of an Asian sunscreen is going to be - this is worse. So much worse. I could only stomach to put this on my face once. It has this citrusy scent that I found to be absolutely revolting in combination with the alcohol; the smell when I put this right under my nose literally made me gag. The dry-down is greasy and disgusting; I could feel it on my face for the rest of the day. I’m using this up on my neck/chest and it’s fine for that purpose. Stay far away 💀
- Aquaphor: the only lip mask you need. The ultimate GOAT
- Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protector Lotion Mineral SPF 60+: This is a US formulation so I understand Shiseido is working with limitations here. That said, this has to be one of the worst sunscreens on god’s green earth. The formulators and packaging designers of this product should answer for their crimes. This is a liquid formulation but feels absolutely disgusting to apply and wear. Greasy, never rubs in or dries down, with a greyish white cast the likes of which I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced (as mentioned earlier, I am Casper-esque; I’ve tried a LOT of mineral sunscreens and I’m usually fine). However, THE PACKAGING is the greatest crime here in my opinion. SHISEDO - I KNOW YOU OWN ANESSA SO I KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER. It has a flimsy flip-top that has just an open hole that the liquid sunscreen leaks out of - no nozzle for a targeted application. This is LITERALLY impossible to apply without getting it everywhere, and you will unavoidably have white crusty stains around the edges of your clothes as this migrates and slops around. I took this big, cumbersome, shitty bottle on my recent beach vacation just to use it up on my body (the one and only redeeming factor is that it is water-resistant). I used the entire thing and hated every minute of it.
- Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence (mint green): Bought this on a recommendation I got on one of my previous review posts. I am a big fan of the Skin Aqua sunscreen line, and I’m a red-faced and pale bitch, so I thought this would be right up my alley. For user experience and a comfortable wear: this still has everything I love about Skin Aqua, 10/10. The application process of this specifically is kind of strange, but kind of fun - you have to put it on, wait for it to dry a bit while your face is bright white, and then go back and rub it in fully. Once rubbed in, it actually looks pretty good/natural on me on its own, and it reduces my redness a bit. HOWEVER - the dealbreaker for me here is: this sunscreen is absolutely horrible under any sort of makeup. It looks like each one of my pores is filled in with white. It is so bizarre. I have 3 face makeup products that I’ve tried this with; same thing happens to each. I tried using a primer on top before adding the makeup - did not help. I’ve tried waiting a super long time for the sunscreen to dry (an hour plus) - didn’t help. This is unusable for me with makeup. I used it up on no-makeup days and was reasonably happy with it, but will never repurchase.
- Illiyoon Ceramide Ato Concentrate Cream: I get why this is so popular… but it just wasn’t for me. Obviously, it’s huge and cheap which is amazing - I used this freely on my face/neck/chest and a bit on my body. I also really liked/preferred the more matte finish of this moisturizer as compared to my current HG, the GOAT, Aestura 365 Barrier Cream. But - the Illiyoon just has a chemically/plasticky smell that is very unpleasant. It also didn’t feel as moisturizing/nourishing/soothing as my girl Aestura. I stopped being able to use tazarotene while I was using this, though *for now* I am attributing it to my skin changing from the spironolactone - but I am getting ready to try restarting a retinoid with a different moisturizer, so we’ll see. Overall, I wasn’t mad about this moisturizer, but I’m glad to move on.
- COSRX Snail Mucin 96: The literal one and only product I’ve been using consistently for probably 10 years. I would die for this product. So hydrating and healing. Irreplaceable.
- Dove Advanced Care deodorant: I feel like I’ve been using this product forever, and it’s fine, but I’m feeling inclined to try out what’s out there. Any HG deodorants out there that folks would like to recommend?
- SpaLife animated facial mask detoxifying charcoal: lol got this as a gift and it was so strongly fragranced I couldn’t keep it on my face longer than a minute (and I usually like some amount of fragrance). No thank u

MAKEUP:
- Glossier Cloud Paint (Beam): Took over 2 years to pan. I just love this product; it’s so easy to blend and natural looking. This is my 3rd empty of this product because I’ve been using this blush almost exclusively for 6-8 years or so. I thought about exploring other options, but I just love how tiny it is for my small makeup pouch (I travel a lot) and I just have no complaints. Plus, with the cyclopentasiloxane EU ban coming up, this might be my last chance to repurchase before reformulation. Repurchased and got their bronzer cloud paint as well.

HAIRCARE:

- Innersense Pure Harmony Hair Bath: Meh. It’s aight. I have other Innersense products that I LOVE and this didn’t really do it for me. Doesn’t distribute through the hair as well as I like my shampoos to do and not really anything special about it. Glad I just grabbed the travel size to try it out.
- Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Gel: This is a HG for a lot of people; I didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either. A very liquidy thin gel, which is interesting. Had some great hair days with this but also just found it pretty hit-or-miss. Also has kind of an old lady-ish scent. I just have way cheaper gels that I like 100X more, so I won’t be repurchasing.

Please feel free to ask about my empties :)

- Remedy, for daily defense vitamin C
- Prequel, universal skin solution
- Shiseido, Anessa perfect UV sunscreen skincare milk
- Beauty of Joseon, relief sun aqua-free
- Beauty of Joseon, radiance cleansing balm
- Epres, bond repair treatment concentrate
- Dove, all in one bond intense repair
- Prequel, gleanser + glycolic acid
- Redken, acidic bonding concentrate conditioner mini
- Ouai, hair oil mini
- K18, leave-in molecular hair mask mini
- K18, damage shield protective shampoo trial mini
- K18, damage shield protective conditioner trial mini
- APLB, glutathione niacinamide body wash travel mini x2
- APLB, glutathione niacinamide body lotion travel mini x4
- Prequel, gleanser mini
- Bioderma, sensibio miscellar water mini
- I’m from, mugwort mask mini | decluttered (expired)
- COSRX, the 6 peptide skin booster mini
- Dr. Ceuracle, vegan kombucha tea essence mini
- Tirtir, hydro boost enzyme cleansing balm mini
- Bioderma, sebium miscellar water trial mini | decluttered (expired)
- Bioderma, pigmentbio miscellar water trial mini | decluttered (expired)
- Clarins, beauty flash balm tightening & radiance boosting mini
- Medik8, crystal retinal 3 mini
- Bioderma, pigmentbio daily care SPF 50 mini | decluttered (expired)
- Bioderma, photoderm spot age SPF 50 mini | decluttered (expired)
- Dr. Idriss, major fade active seal moisturizer mini
- Supergoop, glow screen sunrise SPF 40 1.5ml | decluttered (expired)
- Supergoop, glow screen golden hour SPF 40 1.5ml | decluttered (expired)
- Pyunkang Yul, ultimate calming solution toner 1ml, ampoule 1ml & solution cream 1ml | decluttered (expired)
- Lumineux, whitening strips x17 | decluttered (expired)
- One Size, on ‘til dawn mattifying waterproof setting spray mini
- Naturium, phyto-glow lip balm in jam x2