Review (more like rambling!) by Joeybunny - Holy hell, I decided to use up some of my stash!

I was having a really hard time thinking about what to write this week. I haven’t bought much of anything lately since I’ve been trying to be a good little bunny and focus on paying off my student loans and whatnot. Also, not much has entirely interested me. Not only that, I still have not replaced my dead digital camera so I needed an article that didn’t require swatches. I apologize.

But then it hit me - I could tell you all about one of my little personal projects!

What I have been doing (in both the interests of saving money and remembering what the hell I own) is challenging myself to complete a “Project (insert number here) Pan” of a sort. Any of you familiar with MakeupAlley should be familiar with Project 5 Pan, for example. For those of you who aren’t sick makeup addicts, please go to a different webpage. Haha, joking! - Project 5 Pan is when someone challenges herself to finish or “hit pan” on 5 different items before buying anything new. It’s a way to save some cash and to not be as wasteful: why buy some new stuff when you have perfectly fine stuff at home that needs to be used but hasn’t been used because you’re too busy collecting Paul and Joe and Edward Bess, Joey!...I digress.

However, I can freely admit that going on a total no-buy would not work for me. First off, as a blogger, it is inconvenient. Secondly, to hell with not shopping! What I decided to do was to just be more judicious than normal whenever I was lemming an item and went to check it out, and at the same time, I would make the conscious effort to focus on finishing a bunch of items. Despite my monstrous makeup (and skincare) collection, a good amount of it is actually either well-loved or almost finished. I decided to use these items up and then decide if they are worth repurchasing (or if an item is something I’m not going to repurchase, then why?).

Since January 1, 2010 I have barely bought any makeup. Whatever I have bought since that time has been reviewed on this blog minus a Paul and Joe eyeshadow that I *WAS* going to review before my damn camera decided to die. I promise you’ll see that review soon.

What’s amazing is that in this short time period I have used up an extraordinary amount of products! I’ve hit pan/used up three foundations, a loose powder, a bunch of face washes, a huge tub of face cream, a mascara, a brow pencil, an eyeliner, a bottle of perfume, a facial exfoliator, two shower gels...and there might have been other products but this is what I can remember so far. That’s a lot of stuff, no?

Here’s a couple of short reviews on a few of the things I’ve used:

Paul and Joe Creamy Powder Compact in shade 40 (image from Dermstore.com):

This is my HG foundation. I have finally found a perfect shade match! The creamy formula dries to a satiny powder finish. It has SPF 15, it covers well enough that I barely need concealer, and hello - cutest compact ever! The price is right at $38USD, too. I’m picking up a new one next week as I refuse to be without this foundation. The downside? It isn’t the easiest foundation to get a hold of, and since the only counter is in NYC (although there is a boutique in California that sells the line too), finding a color match would be hard to do because we all know online swatches aren’t the most accurate.

Clinique 7 Day Scrub (image from Sephora.com):

It’s cheap enough at $18 USD and gets the job done, but I almost find it to be a little too drying for my sensitive, dry skin. I have instead started using the Paul and Joe Facial Gommage as it is more moisturizing. However, I know many people who love this stuff and I do recommend it if you’re in the market for an effective exfoliator.

NYC Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in Black (image from Polyvore.com):

At $3.99USD, you really can’t go wrong with this. Granted, the Armani #4 eyeliner is my HG black pencil liner, but it’s $26 and not everyone can or is willing to pay that much for such a staple makeup product. If you can get your hand on this pencil, I highly recommend it. It’s waterproof but you have enough time to smudge the liner before it sets (about 30 seconds), and once it sets, it STAYS. Awesome. It also comes in a bunch of other shades, including a bronzey-brown I’m quite fond of.

DDF Advanced Moisture Defense UV Cream SPF 15:

I was given this as a PR sample by a work client who works for DDF/Olay. Never noticed a huge difference in my skin besides some decent brightening properties but this was a very nice daytime cream. Not sure if I would repurchase though, as it costs a whopping $105USD and I used it up really quickly (the 1.7oz jar lasted me less than 6 weeks). Slightly funky smell (tumeric!) but it did do its job.

So, are any of you fine readers out there doing something similar? Let me know how Project 5/10/Kabillion Pan is going for you! And if you’re not currently on a use-up, why not?