Adios Project 10 Pan!

Almost one month ago I embarked upon Project 10 Pan and today I declare it officially finished. Save one Zoya binge, this adventure was largely successful; I cleared out a handful of products that had overstayed their welcome, made room for future natural product purchases, and had a little needed distance from the seductive beauty industry. This project didn't last too long because I had decided at the beginning to included deluxe sample and travel sized products as well since I have an abundance of those cluttering up my makeup drawers and bathroom cabinet. But to compensate for my Zoya breakdown and these smaller bottles I waited to break my no-buy until I finished up 16 products.

Here is what I bid goodbye to and a brief review of each product:

• Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder in Universal- This deluxe sample was a Beauty Insider perk from Sephora. This is nice, but I don't think it performs any better than my bargain friendly E.L.F. HD Powder.
• Suave Professionals Almond & Shea Butter Moisturizing Condition- This is actually a pretty good conditioner, but I will not be repurchasing because I have switched to the all-natural Yes to Tomatoes brand.
• Tarte Sooth Operator Amazonian Clay Illuminating Serum- Sweet goddess, I love this stuff. So much so that I bought the full-sized bottle (before I started Project 10 Pan) before I even ran out of this deluxe sample. Read my full review here.
• Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner- I love this hair treatment. While I would love to find a natural replacement eventually, until then this is doing wonders on my dry, damaged locks. 
• E.L.F. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen- I have read some raving reviews on this, but I though this eyeliner pen was pretty crummy. It dried up quickly and did not provide precise application. I had to force myself to use this until the felt tip basically disintegrated. 
• Hard Candy Sheer Envy Face Primer- I really enjoyed this primer while it lasted, and I would consider repurchasing when I run out of my Monistat Soothing Care Chaffing Powder-Gel that I use as a primer (not as crazy as it sounds, I promise!)
• St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser- This is my second bottle of this cleanser, and I really do like it. It is gentle, helps with redness, has a nice lather, and controls breakouts. I have been into Yes to Tomatoes lately, but there is a strong possibility that I will pick this up again.
• Clean Scene by Murad Gaga for Glow Gentle Facial Scrub- This was also a deluxe sample from Sephora. It had an incredibly strong fruity scent that turned my stomach. I did like the micro exfoliants in the scrub (like the Proactiv cleanser), but it also had these awful pink, blue, and orange beads that refused to dissolve away. 
• Hard Candy Plumping Serum Volumizing Lip Gloss in Girl Next Door- This is the first lip gloss in a long while that I can recall using all of. I'm talking about scraping the tube with the applicator to get at the last speck of product. The color was a nice sheer baby pink with fine  silver glitter, and it did have a subtle, tingly plumping effect. Although I wouldn't hunt it down, if I stumbled across this again I would repurchase. 
• Olay Clarify & Cleanse Daily Scrub- I bought this because I was looking for a acne fighting exfoliating cleanser that also foamed and was suitable for daily use. This cleanser is awful and I had to force myself to not trash it. The exfoliating beads were like little blue plastic balls that never dissolved and would get trapped in my hairline. In order to finish this I only used this in the shower so I could rinse the beads away afterwards. 
• Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Hypoallergenic Facial Towlettes- I went through 3 packs of 10 of these, and I really enjoy them. I have used better makeup removing wipes before, but these certainly hold their own and I like that they are all-natural.
• Yes to Carrots Daily Pampering Shampoo and Conditioner- I did not care for these, so I am glad I only invested in the travel size to try them out. The shampoo did not lather enough for me, and the conditioner did not moisturize my hair very well. The Yes to Tomatoes line works much better on my hair.
• Yes to Carrots Carrott Rich Shower Gel- This shower gel performs fine, but it didn't change my life. The scent is mild and the lather is minimal, but it got me clean. I plan to try a different all-natural shower gel. 

In addition to finishing up the above products, I hit pan on a few others in my makeup collection.  Here is what I am still earnestly trying to use up:

• Sephora Sculpting Disk- I have hit pan on the pressed powder section of this product. I really do enjoy this sculpting disk; individually each products is nice, but having one compact for my powder, bronzer, and highlighter is convenient and travel friendly. 
• Lorac Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Spotlight- I've just barely hit pan on this, but it is a deluxe sample that I received in a Sephora beauty in a box set. It is a pretty champagne powder with a fine shimmer that offers a diffused glow rather than a disco ball glitter party when applied. I like this, but not enough to pick up a full sized for $32 when this is gone. 
• Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Malibu Strip- I have had this for a while, and it is a good multi-purpose product that can function as an eyeshadow palette, bronzer, or highlight. It is incredibly shimmery, almost metalic, so a little goes a long way which is why I cant seem to finish this stuff up! I have used up all of the white shimmer strip, and now I am left with metallic bronze shades.
• Sephora Perfecting Tinted Mousturizer in Medium Peach- This isn't anything special as far as I am concerned. I am looking for a tinted moisturizer that is better at oil control, and this doesn't fit the bill.
• Maybelline Expert Wear Blush in Precious Pink- Oh my goodness I have had this forever and it just won't go away! Which is amazing since this blush is so sheer I need to pack it on for any color pay off. I like that it has a nice sheen that leaves my cheeks looking slightly dewy, but otherwise I can't wait until this is gone!
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyeliner Pencil in Zero- Recently I have been liking cream liners more, but this is the best pencil liner I have every used. Creamy and rich, and once it sets it has a great staying power. Thankfully I have another one of these that I received in an UD palette, because these are not cheap to replace.

There we have it! To celebrate the end of Project 10 Pan I picked up a few things today (here we go again...), so keep your eyes open for an upcoming mini-haul.

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Posted in Aussie , E.L.F. , Hard Candy , Laura Mercier , Lorac , Maybelline , Murad , Olay , Physicians Formula , Project 10 Pan , Sephora , St. Ives , Suave , Urban Decay , Yes to Carrots , Yes to Cucumbers

Beautiful Brains: The Cultivation of Need (& a Project 10 Pan Update)

On April 12th I embarked upon the infamous Project 10 Pan in hopes of clearing out old, unloved products, making way for future natural beauty purchases, and buckling down on my spending. How am I doing just 2 weeks in? I have actually started to finish up products a lot more quickly than I had anticipated. In fact, I have already hit 10...this is probably because I was already close to pan on some products and that I decided to include deluxe and travel sized products in the project as well. The next time I do a Project 10 Pan, I do not think that I will count these smaller sized products, but for a first go at this I am glad to be rid of all of those random little containers cluttering up my bathroom and makeup drawer. Since it is only 2 weeks in and several are deluxe sized products, I am going to keep up with Project 10 Pan for a while longer.

Using up that last little dusting of loose powder and that final squeeze of conditioner is indeed satisfying. However, this satisfaction does not always curb the desire to bring home some hauls from the store. I will be honest: I caved. A few days ago I placed an order with Zoya for their Nail Polish Earth Day Exchange, which ends April 27th. I justified my purchase by telling myself that this sale was an opportunity to get rid of old polishes in an environmentally friendly way and replace them with half-priced Zoya ones which are free of harmful chemicals. Of course, this is all true, but the bigger reason is that I totally succumbed to product lust. Did I need more nail polish? Nope, but I sure as hell wanted it...bad.

But let's consider that my polish binge might not simply be a moment of personal weakness but perhaps part of a huge capitalist beauty industry machine that is really good at inspiring consumers to hand over their cash. Of course, I am certainly accountable in important ways- I decided to shop the Zoya site, pick out 9 shades (which are gorgeous, but that is beside the  point here), and enter my credit card info. Yet, my individuals decisions, options, and desires are under the supreme influence of the beauty industry. I call this the cultivation of need.

The cultivation of need happens in a variety of ways. First, consumer culture promotes the notion that we are what we purchase. We often use the products we consume to display what kind of person we are. Brands are totally in on this, and cater to certain identities and niche markets. Are you an Urban Decay kind of girl or MAC? Hot Topic or American Eagle? Where we shop and what we buy has a lot to do with how we construct and communicate our identities. Secondly, I feel like the beauty cosmos knew that I started Project 10 Pan, because every time I open my mailbox or check my email I am bombarded by advertisements and tempting coupons. On the daily, Sephora, Ulta, Hautelook, Cherry Culture, among others of my frequently shopped beauty supply sources reveal new products and offer limited-time discount codes. My point is that the beauty industry is incredibly provocative and cunning in that it has mastered the ability to make their consumers feel elite in the interest of reaping profit. For instance, we can be Beauty Insiders at Sephora, indicating that we are the privilege lot that has special access to sweet deals and exclusive products. Moreover, limited time offers and coupons and limited edition shades and collections convince us that we must buy now. Rationally, sales will come again, and MAC will always have future collections, and dupes are pretty easy to find. Yet this marketing ploy creates a sense of necessity and urgency in buyers. Lastly, the cultivation of need often constructs a problem for or insecurity in the consumer, and then offers a solution to this problem or insecurity in the form of a product. We feel like we need a particular product, although we may have others already that perform similarly. Our needs and desires, if we aren't being critically aware and conscious consumers, are largely constructed by the beauty industry.

Am I saying that us beauty fiends are victims here? Certainly not. But sometimes we are blissfully ignorant. We hand over our credit cards willfully, but it is worth taking a minute to step back to take a hard look at the beauty industry that we support. It is really easy to get sucked in and completely consumed by the beauty industry. Does this mean that our whole lives should be a giant Project 10 Pan-like spending ban? No. But I think we could benefit from becoming more critical and thoughtful consumers.

On a lighter note, what polishes did you pick up during Zoya's exchange? I grabbed 9: Creamy, Marley, Jancyn, Dove, Gaia, Faith, Willow, Buffy, and Casey.

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Posted in Beautiful Brains , Beauty Industry , Project 10 Pan , Zoya

Project 10 Pan...It's on!

Hi. My name is Power Femme. I am a makeup addict. I bought my last beauty product this afternoon. I am six hours sober.

Project 10 Pan, cold turkey.  Goodbye Sephora...at least for a little while.

To be frank, I have not been living within my means lately. As a graduate student living off of a meager stipend and student loans, I have minimal room left in my budget for beauty products after I take care of necessities. Yet as a makeup junkie, I find it hard to resist making both big and little splurges. I have recently rewarded myself for jobs well done at school with Sephora shopping trips. Additionally, my frugal side can't pass up a good deal- as I wander the aisles of CVS, I tell myself that such and such product is only a couple bucks and throw it in my basket.  But those couple bucks quickly amount to a whole lot of bucks that I don't have.

And to be honest, sometimes buying makeup makes me feel guilty. As I drive home with my latest haul and pass by the local homeless woman on the corner begging for change, I feel like a big fat idiot. While I am thankful for the blessed and privilege life that I lead, it is silly to creep further into credit card debt for a cute eyeshadow as others struggle to cover the bare necessities. I have come to realize that I have not been prioritizing my money, or my life, very well.

I love makeup and beauty products, but let's be real here. I can't give my landlord nail polish for rent. I can't trade in bronzer for my school books. And lipstick doesn't make for a very appetizing dinner. Beyond the necessities, I do have other needs, plans, and interests outside of looking fly. For instance, my partner and I are saving up money to move out of state in a few months; my car needs a few hundred bucks worth of repairs; and as an foodie and novice cook, I would love to invest in quality kitchenware.

In the spirit of Spring Cleaning, I am embarking upon the infamous Project 10 Pan. For those who are unfamiliar, Project 10 Pan is a self-imposed ban on purchasing makeup until you have finished up 10 products. Beauty fiends, depending on their level of dedication, practice this differently: for some, simply hitting pan on a product is good enough, while others completely use up a product for it to count.  In addition, some people solely count makeup products, while others include other beauty related items, such as hair, skin care, and bath products. Since there seems to be some variation in how it is practiced, I have devised my own project policies.

Power Femme's Project 10 Pan Rules
-For a product to count, it must be completely used up.
-All beauty relatedness products are included. I will also be trying to use up my hair, skin, and bath products such as face wash, nail polish, fragrances, lotions, and so on.
-Sample sized (1-3 use) products do not count. However, deluxe and travel sized products (like those your cash in your Beauty Insider points at Sephora for or those that come in Birchbox) do indeed count. I am including deluxe and travel sized products because I have a ton of them cluttering up my makeup collection.
-I cannot buy a beauty related product until I have finished 10 products. The only exceptions are for hygiene necessities. For instance, if I run out of my favorite eyeshadow, I cannot repurchase. However, if I run completely out of my stock of face washes, I can repurchase.
-I will accept beauty product gifts.

This is indeed going to be challenging. However, I have certainly encountered larger struggles in my life as a queer feminist woman from a working class background with physically disabled parents. I have encountered more severe hardship, and I will survive. Project 10 Pan will help me clear out my bomb-shelter supply's worth of beauty related products, save up some much needed cash, and take a small step back from the beauty industry that is so easy to become consumed by. Also, this project will push me to use up products that I plan to replace with more natural or organic alternatives.

Of course, I will post updates about my Project 10 Pan adventures along the way. But just because I am participation in Project 10 Pan doesn't mean that my newborn blog will be abandoned. I still have a few online orders from Hautelook that I have yet to receive, a Birchbox that should arrive at my door any day, and several recent purchases that I would like to haul and review. Furthermore, there are a few (dare I say it) think pieces in the works, as well as future nail art posts and tutorials.

Bring it on, Project 10 Pan!

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Posted in Beauty Industry , Project 10 Pan