I always see people posting Project Pan updates on Instagram. Basically, Project Pan is when you try to finish up select products from your makeup stash. “Pan” refers to when you reach the bottom of a product, like when the metal bottom of one of my eyeshadows in a palette started to peek through. Even better: when you actually empty the product.
Happy New Year! I for one am thrilled that 2018 is over. We lost my mother-in-law and our beloved cat Walter, and the world in general was a shitshow. Here’s hoping 2019 is better.
I emptied quite a few products at the end of 2018!
It’s time for another belated post! My December Play! by Sephora box arrived about two weeks ago and I totally dragged my feet on taking photos because of the weather. I skipped making an unboxing video this month because I have to be in the right mood to go on camera, and that mood was hard to come by in the days after my box arrived. If I’m being honest, making the videos is a lot of effort to have like 10 people watch them (it’s fine if I’m in the mood). Soooooooo, yeah. 😛
I’ve been running behind on some of my regular blog posts! I blame the holidays, the work we’re doing on the new house, and on the winter for not providing me with good light for taking photos. THANKS, WINTER! Last weekend I got my first Stitch Fix since June; for a variety of reasons, I took photos that are 100% not up to my usual standards. So my apologies for the less-than-stellar photos of me wearing the clothes.
1. Christmas Eve Spread: John and I don’t do much for Christmas, but this year we decided to have a couple other non-celebrators over for munchies and drinks. We of course went way overboard on the amount of food we provided for a total of four people. The below pic is just some of what we put out to snack on! We’re still grazing on our Christmas Eve munchies and probably will be for a few more days.
I’ve been running this blog for almost four years and have never received any products from a brand…until now. But there’s a first time for everything! Just before Christmas, bareMinerals very kindly sent me a box of four full sized products from their Skinlongevity collection. The box was such a wonderful surprise—thank you so much, bareMinerals!
I enjoyed putting together a list of my top 10 skin care products that I tried in 2018. So of course I created a top 10 makeup list as well! This one was tougher because I realized that I tried a lot of disappointing makeup products in 2018, to the point where I actually returned some things. I always feel bad returning makeup, even if I’ve only used it once or twice, because then the store has to throw it out (unless, apparently, you’re a certain Ulta location).
Anyway…this post is about my favorites, not my disappointments!* Fair warning: my list contains a lot of ColourPop. I didn’t try the brand until this year, and clearly I’m hooked! Zero percent of this post is sponsored by ColourPop…or any other brand, for that matter (though this post does contain referral links).
In no particular order, here are my favorite makeup products of 2018.
1. Kathleen Lights x ColourPop The Zodiac Palette: when ColourPop first announced this palette I thought it was gorgeous but not really my jam in terms of shades; I’m very much a neutral eyeshadow palette gal. But when I started looking at swatches and watching YouTube videos, most of this palette looked a lot more wearable for me. So I ordered it, and I ended up loving it so much more than I expected! I’ve even gone out of my comfort zone and used the oranges a couple times. And of course, the packaging is beautiful.
I know, “Top Whatever” lists are a dime a dozen. But you know what? I love lists. So decided to come up with my own. In no particular order, here are my 10 favorite skin care products that I tried in 2018.
1. Tatcha The Silk Canvas: I actually don’t think I’ve blogged about this product or even posted about it on Instagram. I bought it with a Sephora discount earlier this year AND I LOVE IT. It functions as a primer under makeup, but I sometimes use it as a final step in my skin care routine. The Silk Canvas does a great job of blurring pores and giving skin a smooth finish. It smells lovely, and as with all things Tatcha, the packaging is gorgeous.
1. Pat McGrath Labs LUST: Mini MatteTrance Lipstick Trio: I ordered this adorable trio recently when Sephora was offering Rouge members $25 off a $75 purchase. I got the nude “Skin Show” trio (there’s also a red set called “Colour Blitz”) in the shades Omi, 1995, and Flesh 3. I’ve been wanting to try the brand for awhile but it’s quite expensive so I had held off. But this set was only $25 and with my discount I can rationalize it as getting these for free! The formula is a comfortable matte and the nude shades are lovely. Bonus points for the packaging: a sealed baggie filled with gold sequins.
I’ve been seeing Instagram friends post pics of their winter FabFitFun boxes for a couple weeks now. I’d always scroll past the images because I didn’t want to get spoiled. I was so excited when mine finally showed up last weekend! I couldn’t take photos right away because it was rainy all weekend. But the sun eventually came out again. So here’s my winter box of nine full sized items…with a total value of $346! All for $49.99!
