This Social Media Challenge Will Make You Rethink Your Impulse Makeup Buys

With new beauty releases coming left and right, it’s exciting to give everything a try. And while that’s understandable, especially given the many innovations and promising creations that more and more brands are coming up with, it might not be totally necessary. Project Pan is the beauty community’s effort to highlight that.

Focused on encouraging people to use products they already own rather than immediately buying new ones, Project Pan is a decluttering challenge that promotes mindful consumption. The name comes from the term “hitting pan,” which means you used a product enough to see the pan or container underneath it.

Apart from advocating for intentionality and helping you declutter, taking on the challenge can also save money, reduce waste, and form smarter shopping habits. That way, it transforms from a trend into a lifestyle. It also allows you to get to know yourself better, as working with what you have can lead you to enhancing your routine and figuring out what truly works for you.

Project Pan has actually been around for a while, but its participants continue to track their progress and share it online. Consider it an accountability check. At the start of each quarter, decide what products you’ll be aiming to hit the pan with.

At the end of each month, go through your progress and realign your goals moving forward.

As with anything, making lifestyle changes won’t always be quick and easy. You’d be surprised how long it actually takes to finish a product, but just be consistent and remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Below are some tips to guide you in taking on this challenge.

Do an inventory on each type of beauty product you have. You can separate makeup into face, eyes, lips, and so on. As for skincare, there are hair products, fragrances and body sprays, face masks and serums, and the like. Eventually, you can go beyond beauty and apply Project Pan in other parts of your life.

If the categories contain an overwhelming number of items on their own, you can break them down further until they’re more manageable and realistic for you.

Undeniably, there are products you’d want to use for certain days only, especially if they were quite expensive. But the next thing you know, their expiration date is fast approaching, and you’ll no longer be able to use them at all.

There’s no pressure to keep using something if it doesn’t work well for you or if you just don’t like it. When it comes to beauty, you’d be lucky if every purchase you’ve made will suit your skin and your preferences. If a product doesn’t serve you, you’re allowed to let it go.