Pan Those Eyeshadows 1 (Intro)

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As discussed in my last post, I have way too much eyeshadow. I was able to bring my collection down to 53 palettes, which (with pressed glitters removed) leaves me with 720 individual shades – and zero that I’ve hit pan on.

I’m generally light-handed when it comes to shadow application, which I recognize is a contributing factor, but I truly feel like after 5 years of really being into eyeshadow I should have pan on a few shades by now. In 2018, I did a year-long One Week, One Palette project, but haven’t ever really dug in and tried to use a single palette or just a set of shades for any long period.

So here we are – starting a Pan Those Eyeshadows Project. (Shout out to Rebecca Morgan and Too Much Tash who inspired me to give this a try.)

A peek at the palettes that got selected first

Here’s my rules:

  1. 5 shades will be in the palette at a time.
  2. The shades will be chosen at random, first randomizing the palette I choose from, then the shade within the palette.
  3. I can have more than one shade from the same palette within the project at once.
  4. I will not have two shades that are super similar at once. (Ex: two matte creams, two metallic browns that are the same depth)
  5. I will keep at least 2 mattes & 2 metallics at all times.
  6. I can rotate out a shade after:
    1. Hitting pan.
    2. It’s been in the project for 2 months.
  7. I will not count how many times I use each shade (because I’m lazy and it’s not that serious).
  8. I can use other palettes or shades in these palettes to supplement, but at least one shade from the set must be included in every eye look. (Except very specific special occasions.)
  9. I will review my progress monthly at the end of the month (since it’s July 30 when I’ll first use this set of shades) and will try to remember to post an update here.
  10. Every month I will also choose a Colourpop Super Shock Shadow to complement the quintet. (I’ll pick, instead of it being randomized.)
  11. I am allowed to change these rules whenever I want. 😀

Here is my first set of shadows:

  1. Too Faced, Grand Hotel Cafe – Gingerbread Cookie: Gingersnap (gold metallic)
  2. Colourpop x Disney Designer, It’s a Princess Thing: Poison Apple (metallic)
  3. Too Faced, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar: Peanut Butter (matte)
  4. LORAC, Mega Pro 4: Eggplant (matte)
  5. Colourpop x KathleenLights, Dream St.: Kaleidoscope
  6. BONUS SSS: KathleenLights (because the TF shade may need help, and this is a super similar shade match)
SSS, then the 5 shadows in order as listed above

Surprisingly, I went exactly with the first 5 randomized choices, and this fairly cohesive color scheme came out! I know, I wouldn’t believe it if I saw someone pick it on YouTube, but you’ve got to trust me.

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ll come along with me on this journey to get more (obvious) use out of my eyeshadow collection!

If you’re doing a similar project, please comment with what shades you’re using or share the link to your blog post or video/playlist about it!

– Natalie

P.S. Here’s some referral links to some of my favorite sites. Use if you’d like!

  • Rakuten (formerly Ebates) â€“ This is a great way to earn cash back from online shopping (that you’re already doing) at many of your favorite stores! (Including Sephora & Ulta!) If you join through this link and make a purchase of $25 or more, you’ll get an extra $10 cash back and your own referral code, and I’ll get $15 as well.
  • thredUP â€“ I love using thredUP to clean out my closet and shop for new pieces at a discounted price – sometimes they’re even brand new with tags! When you join thredUP through this link, you get $10 to spend and I get $10 to shop after you place your first order.
  • StitchFix â€“ This is a great way to try out some new items for your closet, without the hassle of going to the stores and the bonus of a personal stylist. If you sign up with this link, you’ll get a FREE styling fee (usually $20) on your first Fix, and I’ll get $25 credit once it ships.

Palette Retirement Day

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After doing a full year of One Week, One Palette in 2018, then a whole year and a half of using my collection without direction or goals, I decided it was time to come up with a plan to start using my eyeshadow more intentionally again. Since COVID-19 shut things down in mid-March, I’ve been working from home, but I still wear makeup a few days a week or more due to video calls and generally wanting to feel like myself. Even so, the eye shadow looks haven’t exactly been inspired lately – usually just a brown or two in the crease with a shimmery brown on the lid.

Today I finally got the energy to go through my (excessive) collection of eyeshadow palettes. I really started getting into makeup around 2015 when I had my first full-time job, and quickly started buying (hoarding) palettes. It started with a birthday purchase of the LORAC Mega PRO 2 palette. Somewhere along the line I got very good at working my Extra Bucks at CVS and ended up with a collection of Milani Everyday Eyes. A deal on HSN landed me with the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar, and we were off to the races.

I’ll just admit it – I have 66 palettes. (And one on the way! Though it’s the only one I’ve bought all year.) And what’s a girl to do with nearly 900 pans of shadow? Keep them all to herself until they are past their prime, not even think of offloading some to friends/family/Marketplace until a global pandemic hits so no one would even want used eyeshadow anyways, and justify keeping them all by telling herself eye shadow doesn’t really expire.

So the result of my palette check-in today was the following:

  1. “Retire” 13 palettes. That’s right, not declutter. I still can’t get myself to toss things that could reasonably still be used by me. This baker’s dozen contains five of the OG Milani Everyday Eyes, four Wet N Wild 10-pan Color Icon palettes, two Elf Mad For Matte’s, and two palettes I got from Ulta for free with purchase (one Ulta brand, the other Makeup Revolution). These palettes will stick around for now. Some are barely used and still in good enough condition that I could reasonably give them to a sister or friend when I can travel to see them again, but a couple are just going to stay for collector’s purposes (hoarder’s) and nostalgia.
  2. Updated my inventory. I went through my product inventory on Airtable and moved the “retired” palettes to a new sheet.
  3. Prepped for a new eyeshadow project. I added a column in my palettes inventory to designate how many pressed glitters are in any given palette, as well as a way to show how many shades had pan or were completely finished.

This left me with 720 individual pans of shadow throughout 53 palettes. (Plus the RawBeautyKristi x PUR palette with 18 shadows that I bought in a haze of FOMO).

With these remaining shadows, I’m going to start a “Pan Those Eyeshadows” project, similar to Rebecca Morgan and Too Much Tash on YouTube. (I know many others do this type of project too, but these are the two I keep up with.) Follow me over to my next post, where’s I’ll share the details of that project, as well as my first set of shadows!

– Natalie

P.S. Here’s some referral links to some of my favorite sites. Use if you’d like!

  • Rakuten (formerly Ebates) â€“ This is a great way to earn cash back from online shopping (that you’re already doing) at many of your favorite stores! (Including Sephora & Ulta!) If you join through this link and make a purchase of $25 or more, you’ll get an extra $10 cash back and your own referral code, and I’ll get $15 as well.
  • thredUP â€“ I love using thredUP to clean out my closet and shop for new pieces at a discounted price – sometimes they’re even brand new with tags! When you join thredUP through this link, you get $10 to spend and I get $10 to shop after you place your first order.
  • StitchFix â€“ This is a great way to try out some new items for your closet, without the hassle of going to the stores and the bonus of a personal stylist. If you sign up with this link, you’ll get a FREE styling fee (usually $20) on your first Fix, and I’ll get $25 credit once it ships.

Colorful Capsule Wardrobe – Summer 2019

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I am really excited to share my summer 2019 capsule wardrobe! If you’re looking to learn about capsule wardrobes in general, I hope you’ll check out My Capsule Wardrobe Guide.

I’ve really loved using the format of a capsule wardrobe as inspiration as I minimize my wardrobe, but many pins, posts, and videos out there focus on a very neutral color palette – lots of black, white, gray, and denim/chambray. While I generally feel this fits my style and creates a set of items that is more wearable, more often, I prefer to add a bit of seasonal flare through color. Here’s the color palette I chose this year:

summer19colorpalette
White, Blue (denim), Black, Rosy Coral, Light Gray, Mustard, and Olive

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Current Panning Projects

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Hello! Today I’d like to share the Project Pan projects I am currently working on. At the beginning of this year, I continued a rolling project pan, similar to last year’s. I hadn’t limited the project to a certain number of items, which made me start feeling like things weren’t as structured as I wanted.

In mid-June, I decided to regroup and better focus my projects – yes, multiple – and better defined my panning goals. Below I am giving a sort of introduction to each project, and a few notes on why I added the products to each project.

Project 1: 10 in 2019

  • Time Period: Starting June 11, will regroup at the end of 2019…or whenever I want.
  • Item Limit: Focusing on 10 products at a time.
  • Set or Rolling?: Rolling. Allowed 2 days to add new item after finishing one.

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My Capsule Wardrobe Guide

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Ever since I moved from Texas to California, I’ve been curating my wardrobe bit by bit, letting go of pieces I don’t love or that don’t fit (sent to thredUP, of course!) and only bringing in items that I really love, make me feel great, and serve a unique purpose in my closet. What has guided my curation process has been the capsule wardrobe method. Today, I’m going to be sharing how I formed my capsule wardrobe and my tips for starting your own! 

What is a capsule wardrobe?

If you’re not familiar with the capsule wardrobe method, it’s basically choosing a set number of items that coordinate well together to encourage wearing your pieces in more ways, more often. Over time, following this method can promote more mindful purchasing of clothing. 

You can create a capsule for each season, or make a larger one that works for you year-round. The number of items is also very flexible, but many find that the sweet spot is 30-40 items (this includes all tops, bottoms, outerwear, dresses, and even shoes, bags, and accessories). 

I’m working toward a year-round capsule in the long-run, since I live in So Cal and our “seasons” just require an added layer or so, but I plan to refresh things each season. 

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What I Didn’t Buy – Low Buy 2019

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Today, I am sharing my list of the items I did not buy so far this year throughout my low buy. I also have a post on what I have purchased, as well as a breakdown of my progress on my low buy so far, so please check those out as well! This will not be a list of items I don’t even want (A.K.A. an anti-haul), but instead will be a list of products I resisted purchasing.

First up, an item I decided to pass on, even though it was on the “approved” list for my low buy:Read More »

June 2019 Favorites

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Today, I’m going to share my favorite products that I used in the month of June. Unless I have any strong opinions about an item, I will just be listing and linking it, just to keep things short and sweet. This list is a combination of my favorite items used, as well as the most-used products in a given category – whether or not they were my favorite.Read More »

What I Bought This Year – Low Buy 2019

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Hello again! Last time, I shared my rules and an overview of my progress on my 2019 Low Buy. Today, I’d like to share the items that have been worth the purchase. I’m going to break down my purchases based on the category they fall into, so first – here’s a quick review of the rules:

  1. No purchases until October 31 (or the fall VIB sale) except…
  2. Replacements
  3. Skin health/protection products
  4. Things bought with gift cards (+ up to $10 to round it out)
  5. Gifts for others

I’ve included the prices that I paid in each listing, along with some notes about how I feel about the purchase. These prices take into account tax, shipping, and any coupons or discounts I received on the item(s).

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My 2019 Low Buy

Natalie1 Comment

Well hello again! One year after my last entry, I’ve gotten the itch to write a few new blog posts about some projects I’ve been working on.

2019 has been called The Year of the No Buy, and I chose to take part in that as well after attempting a low buy last year. This year, I really worked to think of what rules are truly realistic to my needs and based on the items I bought in 2018. Last year, my rules were honestly more strict, but I have been significantly more successful in this second attempt.

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