Today, I’m putting off my third update to my 2018 Project Pan, and instead sharing how I’ve decided to revamp my project based on what I’ve learned in the past 2.5 months about what will work better for me.

Every person who does project pans will have different views on how they should work, what their reasons are for panning, and what a successful project looks like. I’m very new to the panning community, so my opinions are still forming, but below I’m sharing what I’ve come up with so far.

Why am I doing a Project Pan?
I started looking into panning projects after I started doing a product inventory in November 2017. While I’ve loved makeup practically my whole life (from my first dance recital at age three), my collection really grew starting at the end of 2015 when I started watching more YouTube. I was working in a job where I had (what felt like) more disposable income because my housing was provided through work, so I treated myself a little too frequently to trying out more products and brands. While going through my collection, I really haven’t found but a few products that I could have done without.

I’ve found myself somewhere between being a collector and a panner. Today, I’m trying to save up money and wanting to be much more selective with what is added to my collection. So, in the end, the reason I’m doing a Project Pan is to push myself to focus on some of the older products in my collection so I can enjoy them before they stop working as well.

How do I want my Project to work?
So far, I’ve been doing a rotating project focusing on eight items at a time. All of the items (except for one perfume) have been cosmetics, and I’ve wanted to finish up all of them (except for one blush I only want to hit pan on). The reason I’ve decided to rethink this form is because I want to (1) see more progress, (2) use more of my collection, and (3) motivate myself to finish non-makeup items.

For my updated project, I’m going to continue with a rolling Project with a minimum of 10 items (instead of eight) at a time across all beauty-related categories (makeup, skincare, haircare, bath/body items). I will not include any blushes, highlighters, or lip products so I can rotate those based on my look each day and try as many things as I can. If I have an item in my panning list that I decide I don’t enjoy using – I’ll just swap it out for something else and save it to try again later or declutter it. I will be starting with more than 10 items, but I don’t have to add others unless I drop below 10 at any point.

What will I consider success in my Project? 
I will consider this project successful if, at the end of each month, I’ve made progress on all of the products in my list. By the end of the year I hope to be down to two foundations (one full-coverage and one lightweight), one setting spray, one mascara, and one set of the items I use to do my eyebrows.

I will also find success in being able to try out as many of my non-project items as possible. I hope to do some decluttering as the year goes along – particularly in my lip collection, so if I am able to close my lippie drawer without everything being perfectly aligned, that will show I’ve made some progress.

Finally, I’ll feel like this project was successful through committing to a very low-buy for the rest of the year. I am only going to allow myself to purchase items that are in categories I’ve fully run out of or are special products from a select list of favorite brands. (For example – I’ll be purchasing the LORAC Mega PRO 5 palette, if that’s a thing this year.) Purchases I make using gift cards won’t be included in this.

Thanks for reading my thoughts on my panning journey! On Monday, I’ll be sharing my 3rd Update to my 2018 Project Pan; I’ll go over all of the progress I’ve made on the items from the original version of the project and introduce the items I’ll be using from here on out.

If you’re doing a Project Pan, please share your links to blogs, Instagrams, and/or YouTube videos below – or share who your favorite panning channel is to watch on YouTube. 

– Natalie

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

• Ebates – 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 I’ll get $15, as well as your own referral code.
• thredUP – 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 – 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.