We're pretty much right at this year's halfway mark, so it's perfect time for my Project Make A Dent Use It or Lose It edition progress update! I'm now 6 months into the challenge of making a concentrated effort to use my selected make-up products on a regular basis, and I'm still going strong! The photo below shows the usage on my items at the starting point of January 7...
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And this photo shows how these products look today (here's the first update at 3 months, if you're curious). I'm very happy with my progress so far; I've completely used up half of the products! The first to go was my Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Rockstar, quickly followed by the Make Up For Ever HD Powder mini. The Michael Todd Creme Glace lipgloss in Natural and Revlon Superlustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef took a while longer (actually, there's still a bit of Coral Reef left in the tube, but the consistency wasn't the same any more), as did the Face Atelier Ultra Foundation in Porcelain; however, as soon as the latter started squirting more product on my clothing and walls than on my fingers, I called it done.
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I still have five more products to go, and among those, I made a nice dent in the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Monte Carlo and Sephora Nano eyeliner in Nuage, and I hit pan on the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze! Again, the Inglot Gel lipstick no. 58 and the Stila Convertible Color in Lillium prove to be the most stubborn, but I make sure to use them as often as I can - I'll be happy just to get some use out of them before tossing them at the end of this challenge.
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Like I hinted before, I'm planning to start a separate Project Pan in an attempt to use up even more products lingering in my make-up collection; hopefully I'll be launching that next month, after I finish the Project Use Up Those Freaking Samples. You may be thinking that's a lot of challenges to have going on, but I'm actually weirdly excited about finishing old items from my stash, and not necessarily rushing out to replace them. Claire's recent post on using up the contents of her medicine cabinet really resonated with me, and I'm intending to continue emptying what I already have. Don't get me wrong, I still get swayed by the curiosity to try out new products and sometimes end up purchasing something I didn't exactly need, but I can say that I'm able to manage my impulse buys a lot better these days.
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Let me know how you're doing on your stash-reducing journeys; I know that a lot of you are making a similar attempt to streamline your collections, be it through Project Pans, purging or low-buys, even if they're not official and just a personal goal you're trying to achieve. I love hearing about your progress and tips for making the most of what you have!
