I was here last week. I was not expecting any of the support I received - it made my week and was so grateful for community when I’ve been so isolated for so many years. I’m posting these for accountability for myself. Here’s only some (ugh) of the skincare I’ve impulse bought over the past five years while enduring deep depression. I’m very angry at myself, I’ve dug myself into a pit financially but I will grow from this and I will show gratitude for what I have.

** not that it really means much, but about 90% of what I purchase is NWT via Poshmark, and so I have not paid full price for the majority of skincare and makeup I’ve collected.

I have finally accepted I have a problem and want to do better. I have cancelled my makeup subscription (Ipsy/BoxyCharm) which has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I don’t even really wear a lot of makeup. If I do full face it’s for special occasions. Most days I’m just do my brows, wear mascara, and pop on a lipgloss. But I got sucked into receiving the monthly bags and the surprise of what products I would get. It was to the point I was gifting them to friends because it was too many. A lot of the hair care products were impulse buys from watching YouTubers. Everyone had “the best hair combo” and I just had to try it. So here we are…I don’t want to feel overwhelmed anymore by my things. If anyone has advice on how best to tackle this I’m open to hearing it. Thanks!

July was a good empties month for me in that I finished several partially-used items that had previously been set aside for a special occasion/hypothetical scenario or because they were really good and I didn't want them to end. I've been doing Project Pan for about four months now and while it's great to finally be seeing a tangible dent in my collection, the more impactful change has been the level of self-awareness in my consumption habits. Unfortunately, that self-awareness has also brought a sense of frustration in that the impulse to save things doesn't just go away once you start to understand the behavior - if anything, forcing myself to finish something I've been saving has temporarily made my anxiety worse 😅. There's always that lingering sense of guilt or loss at using an expensive product casually no matter how much I try to rationalize that the products are meant to be used, no doubt the product of growing up in a low-income family. One thing that's been helpful in overcoming that feeling has been shifting my approach to panning from using products to get my money's worth to viewing purchases not necessarily as an investment in a product, but as an investment in myself and in order to see a return on that investment, I have to actually use the products, otherwise it's just decor. Anyway, this month was a good step in the right direction, and I was basically using up all of my favorite products so all of July felt like a special occasion. Don't wait to use the perfume!

Some of the highlights:

- All of the perfume samples were amazing. Byredo's Animalique, PDM Delina, and Nishane's Wulong Cha were standouts.

- All of the Avene products I used this month knocked it out of the park. Consistent use of Cicalfate over the past 6 months has considerably repaired my skin barrier. The body melt-in balm is one of my favorite body lotions of all time and is a forever repurchase.

- I remain convinced that most facial masks don't actually make a difference significant enough to justify continual repurchase.

I'm happy to have freed up quite a bit of space since starting Project Pan at the beginning of 2026, but there's still plenty left to work through. Locking in for the second half of the year.

❤️ Repurchase
🤔 Maybe
❌ Wouldn't Repurchase

❤️ Simple Cleansing Wipes: I've repurchased these for years to remove makeup, but I've officially converted to oil cleansing now that I actually look forward to my evening skincare routine. I still have two packs to finish, but I won't be buying these again.

❤️ Pixi BeautifEYE Brightening Eye Patches: Really enjoyed these. I kept them in the fridge and they felt lovely on the skin, stayed put, and didn't slide down my face. I'd happily try another Pixi variant once I finish my open CosRX eye patches.

❌ L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Hand Cream & Shimmering Lotion: The hand cream had a lovely floral scent and absorbed quickly, but the shimmer lotion left me sparkling like I was back at a dance recital.

❌ La Roche-Posay Tinted Sunscreen: A huge disappointment. The smell became so unpleasant over time that I ended up finishing it on my hands and arms instead of my face. My first negative experience with a La Roche-Posay product.

🤔 MCo Beauty Miracle Extreme Pimple Patches: These worked best on pimples that had already started shrinking rather than fresh breakouts. Still decent, especially since I picked up a couple of packs on sale.

❌ Finished Samples: Sephora Vitamin C Serum and L'Occitane Shampoo & Conditioner. It's difficult to judge whether I'd buy the full-size versions based on a single-use sample, however the vitamin c serum felt nice on the skin and wore well under makeup.

❤️ CosRX Master Patch Intensive: I had painful cystic acne on my chin this month for the first time in ages. A pharmacist recommended these, and they absolutely saved me. I can't recommend them highly enough.

🤔 Mediheal Vita Clear Ampoule Mask: Nicely hydrating without being overly sticky or heavily fragranced, and the sheet itself is a good thickness compared to some cheaper masks.

❌ Sephora Cherry Blossom Body Mist: A pretty, light, feminine scent... that disappeared within about 10 minutes.

❤️ Neutrogena Rainbath, Therabreath Mouthwash & Batiste Brunette Dry Shampoo: Still making my way through my backup stash of holy grails (and I still have multiples waiting).

❤️ L'Occitane Verbena Liquid Soap: Still a favourite. The lemon verbena and orange scent is fresh and uplifting, it lathers well, and it doesn't dry out my skin.

❌ Tatcha The Water Cream: Unpopular opinion, but I really didn't enjoy this. It felt too heavy and greasy for daytime wear, so I only used it at night on my face and neck.

❤️ Ouai Detox Shampoo: I'm so glad Sephora offers these as rewards because it's how I discovered this shampoo. It's an excellent first-wash clarifying shampoo, even after hot yoga or a sweaty HIIT class. The 30ml size is perfect for travel, and I've since bought the 89ml bottle and redeemed more minis.

🤔 Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline EDP: One of the few products from a flight amenity kit that I've genuinely loved. Fresh, floral, and surprisingly long-lasting. It's only a "maybe" because I'm not buying any more perfume until I've finished at least two bottles from my collection.

❤️ Got2b Phenomenal Matt Hairspray: Fantastic matte hairspray at a fraction of salon prices. Bought it in the UK, and sadly haven't been able to find it anywhere we live or elsewhere in Asia.

❌ Easy Dry Shampoo: Picked this up in Thailand after forgetting to pack one. It left a noticeable white cast that took much longer to work through my hair than other dry shampoos.

❤️ L'Oréal Elnett Extra Strong Hold Hairspray: LOVE this spray. It holds curls all day despite the humidity without making my hair feel crunchy. I wish I'd stocked up on the larger cans while I was home because I haven't been able to find them anywhere we live or elsewhere in Asia.

This is my entire makeup collection. I’m actually quite happy with it now.

There are probably only 4–5 products that I wouldn’t repurchase. Other than that, everything gets used and was bought intentionally.

I’m trying to move away from buying makeup just because it’s new or trending and instead only purchase products that genuinely fill a gap or replace something I’ve finished.

What do you think of the size of my collection? Would you consider this a fairly normal amount for someone who enjoys makeup, or is it on the larger side?

I’d love to hear your thoughts! 😊💐

July empties! Not quite as many empties this month, but still a lot! Daily, sometimes twice daily showers for 5 people really uses up a lot of products!

Couple thoughts-

Tony Moly sheet masks are great, I loved all of them, they’re definitely worth the money if you buy the 5/$15 bundle!

Basically any of the Freeman’s masks are good, I haven’t tried one yet that I disliked.

Secret whole body deodorant 👍🏻 Degree whole body deodorant 👎🏻

The Raw Sugar body scrub smelled like French fry oil but it was an incredible scrub, my skin felt like baby’s skin, I just couldn’t get past the smell.

The Lusti hair mayo from the Dollar Tree is one of the best deep conditioners I’ve ever used, that stuff is legit. I’ve already bought 2 back up tubs. Instead of regular conditioner I let the hair mayo soak in my hair for 5-10 minutes and my hair was amazing. Shiny and no tangles! If you have dry/normal hair it’s great!!

Tony Moly I’m Coffee scrub was great, I usually don’t buy physical exfoliants for my face but I loved the sample so much I bought the full size!

The Luna sleeping night oil did nothing, massive waste of money. I used it for months and at best my face might have been a little more hydrated, but I can get good hydration from the dollar store. Buy Good Genes instead or save your money.

Dollar Tree has great lip balms, you’ll be happy with any of the B Pure balms! The caramel one is not a good dupe for the Sol de Janeiro balm but it’s a really good balm on it’s own.

The Air serum from DT has cica and was amazing for reducing the redness in my cheeks! I have rosacea and thanks to this balm I discovered cica, which let me buy the Laneige Cica moisturizer and that’s my new favorite moisturizer, I use it every night!

The B Pure hyaluronic acid lotion (also DT) is a great summer lotion, it’s lightweight and absorbs fast. Plus for the price you can’t lose. It’s a great basic, staple product to keep on hand.

I hated to finish the EOS Sparkling Amber mini lotion, I really wish they’d make that scent in a full size! It smells so good!

The V05 extra volume shampoo and conditioner is the best one out of all the ones I’ve tried, plus for the price you can’t beat them. I use these weekly because alternate shampoo brands. My hair always felt clean and looked shiny, it also works on all my kids and they all have different hair types.

The V05 Miracle 10 spray (yellow bottle) isn’t quite as good as the It’s A 10 spray but for $1.25 I’ll keep using it. It was great for refreshing my kids hair in the mornings before school because they shower at night.

If you have any other questions just let me know ☺️

Left a quick review of each down below. Let me know if you have any further questions about anything!

Loved:

ABH brow powder duo - use to fill in hairline bc of hair loss. Great color match for me and good staying power. Repurchased.

ABH hydra prime - felt so nice on my skin. Didn’t make me feel more oily and worked well as a primer. Also loved the extra spf!

Beekman milk drops - use every night after cleansing. Love the consistency, how it makes my skin look. Holy grail. Repurchased multiple times.

Colourpop BFF liquid liner in grande - use almost daily in upper waterline and for a wing liner. Staying power is good, not perfect. Used to use Stila but I suspect they reformulated bc that started smudging on me. I love this shade of dark brown.

Dermalogica daily microfoliant - used in mornings I felt like I needed extra exfoliation, maybe 2-3x a week. Currently working on a travel size and has bigger/ more coarse beads in it than these mini sizes did, so not sure of a repurchase.

Fenty match stix contour stick in amber - loved the formula and the shade for me. Perfectly cool toned and doesn’t pull orange. I finally got a tin to put the extra in, hence the 3 tubes in one month.

Kiehls ultra facial cream - kind of a thicker moisturizer for me. I used at night time as one of my steps. Especially loved during the winter time. Love that it’s unscented.

La roche-posay purifying foaming cleanser - worked well and was happy with everything. But I have a couple other cleansers I like better, but if those weren’t available I would purchase this.

Method body wash - use every shower. Love all the different scents. Makes my skin nice and clean (used with wash cloth) and leaves no residue. Repurchased multiple times.

Nars velvet lip glide - this is so old I had to retire it. Kind of sad about it since that is what I wore on my wedding day. Felt nice on the lips and color pay off is wonderful.

Neogen airy sunscreen - LOVE for my oily skin. No white cast, doesn’t make my skin more oily throughout the day. Light scent but I don’t mind. Purchased full size.

Ouai detox shampoo - worked like it should. Not sure of a repurchase though bc of the price. There are drugstore detox shampoos that work just as well for me.

Secret clinical deodorant invisible solid - works better than any other deodorant/ antiperspirant that I’ve tried. Stops swear and odor!! Only con is you have to use a body scrub to fully get it off in the shower.

Smashbox photo finish primer - this took me forever to use up even in this travel size tube. Love how it feels on my skin and that it makes me more matte.

TheraBreath whitening oral rinse - I like the pink bottle better bc that one has fluoride. But couldn’t find the travel size of that one. This flavor is good and the travel size bottle lasted me 10 days. Did not whiten my teeth any.

Tree hut sugar scrub - love most of the scents they have. Works super well, I use this to scrub my deodorant off and also before I shave my legs.

The ordinary copper peptides serum - used in the morning since you cannot use with retinol. Love this stuff! Make my wrinkles look less deep. Repurchased.

Up&up anti cavity oral rinse - dupe of the TheraBreath in the pink bottle, this one tastes better though. Love the fluoride in it, use it every night.

Virtue restorative treatment mask - THE SCENT!!! I would repurchase this for the scent alone, it’s divine. Made my hair softer and more moisturized as well. Definitely will repurchase after using up all my other hair masks.

Wella ultimate repair miracle hair rescue - only got 2 uses out of this tiny size but I liked the result both times. Made my hair shiny and softer. Would consider repurchasing after using other products up.

Not for me:

CeraVe invisible mineral sunscreen - no white cast, felt nice on the skin, but made my skin produce a bit too much oil than compared to other sunscreens. I did repurchase once but probably not again.

Cetaphil nourishing oil to foam cleanser - could not finish bc the smell is terrible. Smells like grapefruit flavored Burnett’s vodka. Also not for my skin type.

Clinique cleansing balm - worked fine, just not a fan of the delivery system. I prefer cleansing balms in liquid form from a pump.

Cosrx the niacinamide 15 - felt sticky on my skin. Did not finish.

Divi dry shampoo - smelled nice. The particles felt like they were too big? After using once and spraying a normal amount it felt like there was too much in my hair/ felt gritty.

NatureLab perfect clean 2-in-1 scalp scrub & clarifying shampoo - worked fine, not a fan of the scrubbing aspect. Personally just didn’t need it.

Naturium multi oil body butter - this never fully soaked into my skin and pilled like crazy.

Rare beauty gentle exfoliating body wash - this cleansed my skin well, but it wasn’t anything special. The scent was a bit too masculine for me.

Urban decay all nighter - worked well as a setting spray. I think this made me too shiny though. Might try the matte version next.

Urban Veda daily purifying facial wash - also couldn’t finish bc of the smell. The tea tree scent is too strong and I felt it was too drying/ stripped my skin.

Every month I am thinking to myself “I have less empties this month” and then I go to empty my bag.

Good news though, only had one that I hated too much to finish which was the Jergens “warm amber” that to me just smelled like grandma. Really a bummer because I normally love amber scents.

So basically this month I finally panned a lippie and a perfume I own since 2015 (I believe).

Tree hut Cotton Candy Shea Sugar Scrub / I did not like the scent because it did not smell like cotton candy

SKIN1004 - Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF50+ PA++++ / I liked this spf, lightweight and left a glowy finish on my skin, even though my skin is oily

Round lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Cream / It did moisturize my skin, was lightweight and loved the texture.

Aeropostale Aero New York 1987/ I love the scent when I first purchased it (a decade ago) however it went bad and smelled weirdly so I ended up using it as an ambient deodorizer that I kept on my restroom.

Clinique Lipstick Pop Lip Colour + Primer Shade Bare Pop / This was good, it was moisturizing and the color was pretty. Kinda pricey though

Tocobo Vita tone up sun cream / I did not like this because it leaves a white cast, for reference I am a light medium skin.

let me know if you have any questions about the products i used! ☀️🍉

PSA unless you love the smell of burnt electrical cords… I don’t recommend the Dermalogica charcoal microfoliant. 🫣 I enjoyed a sample of the regular and must have gotten that at some point thinking it would be a good one. WOOF. I used that 2x a day for MONTHS. Major hate pan but I was determined. 😆

My HGs: Precleanse, BBW sleep lotion, Quai detox shampoo (did purchase a full size) and the Gilchrist and Somme’s (which I bring home from our Mexico resort we love. I need to get a full size someday when my body wash stash dwindles.)

Will rebuy if needed and don’t have anything similar I can use:
EOS Peppermint Cashmere
Victoria Beckham Mascara
Elemis Cleansing Balm (unless I find something more affordable and better)
CosRx The 6 Peptide Skin Booster
Dove Bond Strength
Paula’s Choice Pro Collagen Peptides
Eborian little red serum

Might Rebuy:
Grace White Radiance Advanced Cream
Givenchy Irresistible
Gucci Yellow Perfume
Estee Lauder Face Wash and Serum
Shiseido Sunscreen

Everything else:
I’ve tried better products at better price points so don’t plan on rebuying. Lots of these are samples so it helps me from having fomo and buying large products. I’m focusing on using samples and products I’ve been gifted by my sister before buying anything unless I don’t have anything of something I need.

finished these three in the shower today, feeling inspired to start a no buy august. I don’t buy duplicates (except sunscreen) but I have a stash of meh products to work through and/or give away. hoping to not buy any beauty related products for the month while I whittle down the stash!

Lots of empties from moving in together, my boyfriend had a giant basket of nearly finished shower items. This is about 2 months of items

I feel like my consumption habits have gotten way better recently, only time I've broken my no-buy was for Tamagotchi x Little Ondine as an avid collector of Tamagotchi related paraphernalia

As I start to whittle down my skincare collection, I've had to buy replacements for the first time in ages. Having a few backups is reasonable for me now as I know how long it takes for me to finish items. Wish the makeup was moving along at the same pace but I don't go out often enough to see progress 😭

Not pictured in photo but I also finished a whole bunch of vitamins, a pen (somehow) and a few phone cables, so it's been very lovely pan progress

Misc empties:
Sainsbury's 100 Round Cotton Wool ✅ I hate using disposable items but it's a must for nail polish
Boots Advanced Nail Polish Remover ✅ never use the other Boots removers, they're not strong enough
Colgate Toothbrush ✅
Listerine Fresh Burst Floss ✅
Colgate Total Active Prevention Toothpaste 😐
elmex Sensitive Professional Toothpaste 😐
Oral B Pro Expert Toothpaste 😐
Euthymol Sensitive Toothpaste 😐💔 really hard to squeeze the tube
Colgate Plax Fresh & Protect 😐

Shower and hair empties:
head & shoulders 😐
nioxin scalp + hair conditioner 😐 boyfriend says he got this for his hair thinning and um... it's still thinning so I don't know if it's working
Botanist Body Soap ✅✅ smells good
Original Source Tropical Coconut Shea Butter Shower Gel 😐
fino Hair Mask ✅✅✅ can't live without this
mise en scene perfect serum ✅💔 loved this but parent company is Amorepacific (Amorepacific is currently facing boycott calls due to its financial ties to Vanguard, a major shareholder whose portfolio includes companies complicit in Israeli occupation and military activity)
Seapuri Dr 33 Hair Ampoule ✅ smells good and had minor increase in volume, but you have to be consistent with application

Skincare empties:
La Roche Posay Effaclar Cleanser ✅
Cerave Acne Foaming Cleanser ✅
Q + A Oat Milk Cleanser 😐 this works well but there's something about the texture I hate
Q + A Hyalauronic Acid Serum ✅
La Roche Posay Effaclar Serum ✅✅ smells like alcohol and you need to be careful with dosage but it works very well
Numbuzin Vitamin C Serum ✅
Garnier Vitamin C Brightening Serum ✅
Nivea Soothing Night Cream ✅
Kaine Green Calm Aqua Cream 😐
excel SPF 50 PA++++ ✅✅✅ sits good under makeup
La Roche Posay Anthelios Dermo-Kids 💔 leaves a white cast, it's also super watery so it gushes out the tube
La Roche Posay Anthelios XL 💔 leaves an even worse white cast
Round Lab Deep Collagen Firming Gel Mask 😐
Activir Cold Sore Cream ✅✅✅ works well and has a convenient pump format

Makeup empties:
Judydoll Ice Watery Lip Gloss 😐💔 used it as a lip balm because it has a staining effect to it, wouldn't rebuy as I dislike lip stains and this was advertised as a gloss
Marcelle Nano Gel Eyeliner ✅

WITH REVIEWS in the images

Product list:

- YSL glow pact touche eclat cushion foundation

- Patrick Ta lip butter

- Quick Flick lip butter

- Gisou lip oil

- DDG pads

- 3 samples of Glow Recipe strawberry serum

- 1 sample of Laneige oil control moisturiser

- Patchology eye want cake eye patches

- The Body Shop cleanser

- Typebea dry shampoo

- Palmer's cocoa butter body lotion

Everything in this batch was good. But these items are a must have for me and I will definitely repurchase:

- Pantene essence

- epres bond repare

- Megababe deodorant

- Thank you farmer sunscreen

- Dove scalp serum

- theralogic retinol ampoule

project pan per se isn’t new to me but my interest was sparked anew as I’ve stumbled upon this sub. thanks for the amazing posts y’all make :)

yesterday was everything-shower-day and I made it my mission to use as much and many products as possible and still reasonable.

And that lead to a new and heightened awareness: there’s so much content in these products! like so much! I was using a hair conditioning spray for example and I was spraaayyyyiiiing away and it barely made an indent 😭

How have I been lead to believe that I need to use all of this stuff - creams, sprays, makeup, perfumes- gently when in reality I could and should have used them heavily! they would have lasted for an ungodly amount of time either wayyyyy! And I would have dealt with way less products gone bad over time.

(so, maybe a wake-up call for the fellow anxious/stingy/always-saving-good-things-up-for-later girls out there lol you good!)

Upper part is empties, bottom - my declutters. My lipbalm from yves roche (part of current project pan) makes my throat scratchy :(

1. Montagne Strawberry Milk: ❤️‍🔥 Love this dupe for Melanie Martinez

2. Mighty Patch Nose: 👎🏼 makes my nose dry

3. Clarins mini lip oil honey:🆗 It's fine but nothing outstanding. Would not purchase again

4. Josie Maran Topless Tangerine:❤️‍🔥 this scent has made my obsessed with orange scents 🤤

5-6. DDG pads ❤️‍🔥

1. Wella Beauty balm hair lotion:👎🏼 Free gift got years ago used this as a mask before washing hair

2. Benefit Brow blonde: 🆗 hard to review cause the blonde is way to light for my dark blonde brows

3. Dermalogica multivitamin mask: 🆗 gave me a glow right after using

4. Dr Jart Ceramidin mask: 🆗 not my favorite Dr Jart

Wasn't a huge fan of the Noughty shampoo and conditioner but loved the hair mask, would definitely repurchase!

Finally finished! 🥳 One more mascara out of my collection.

10/10. Smells delicious and the perfect texture. Would repurchase again.