It's hard to believe, but I have now been using ONE eyeshadow palette for six months straight! That's half of the year gone wearing the same palette day in day out. I mean... Wow. But yes, another two months have passed, and I wanted to show you my progress. Just to recap, here's how my theBalm Nude'Tude Eyeshadow Palette looked like at the end of April:
At that point, after four months of use, I had hit pan on three shades: Sassy, a pearly white, Stubborn, a light pink, and Selfish, a greyed taupe. I also had some dips going on in Snobby, a pale yellow, and Sultry, a warm medium brown - as you can tell, I'd definitely been staying within the lighter half of the palette, which isn't surprising considering my fair skintone as well as my opinion on some of the darker shades in this palette, expressed here. Now here's how my palette is looking today:
MOAR progress! I have now also hit pan on Stand-offish, a metallic champagne, and Sultry, my matte crease shade. I have also further expanded the pan on Sassy, and have good dips going on Snobby, Schitzo and Serious. To be honest, I think I'm just milimeters away of hitting pan on the matte black, which I use to either darken my lashline or set my black pencil liner. I have also sporadically used Stubborn, the light pink shade, but the pan hasn't moved really, and I have not touched Selfish since hitting pan - it's not my favorite taupe in general, but I also haven't been feeling very cool-toned eyeshadow looks.
My plan for the next two months is to hit pan on Snobby, Serious and Schitzo - although I feel that this last one will be a bit of a struggle because this shade is firmly pressed in the pan and also has great pigmentation. I would also like to expand the pan on Sassy, Stand-offish and Sultry, and deepen the dip in Sexy, a matte burgundy. Even though I use Sexy multiple times a week to darken the outer corner of my eyes, this shade is pigmented and hard pressed in the pan, so my progress is very slow.
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And there you go! My current feelings about panning this palette oscillate between 'OMG, I've never hit pan on so many eyeshadows in my life!' to 'Why the f*ck am I even doing this'. I have realized that there's no way I'm going to finish this palette within the span of a year - I don't even think I would empty it completely within two years. I'm not sure how other 'palette panners' do it, but I just don't use that much eyeshadow in one application. And I'm certainly not going to rock smokey eyes for four months just to use up the dark shades in my palette.
While I'm okay with not finishing the palette and simply putting in my best effort instead to see how far I can get, I often question my motives to continue this Project. I have a lot of eyeshadows I like better than this palette that I have not touched in 6 months, because I'm stubborn like that - once I decide to do a panning project, I want to do it the best I can, even if I would rather wear different products, or a different style of make-up altogether. On the other hand, I'm glad I've embarked on Pan That Palette this year, because the project has very effectively quenched my interest in new eyeshadow palettes, as well as taught me valuable lessons about my own preferences when it comes to eyeshadow. So there's that - I do think it was worth it - but am I still learning new things now, after 6 months of panning? I'm not so sure.
So these are the thoughts running through my mind most days when I open up the Nude'Tude to do my eye make-up. I haven't really come to any conclusions and for now I just keep going, but I do sometimes incorporate other eyeshadows, housed in my small Z-Palette (shown here), to break the routine a little bit. I will tell you now I'm definitely not doing this Project next year - and possibly, never again. I actually seriously question if I should wrap it up at the end of September, before my baby is due - realistically, I don't think I'll be wearing much eyeshadow for the last three months out of the year.
Anyway, how are my fellow panners doing? Do you ace your powder products, or are they always a bit of a challenge? I find all powders pretty hard - even face setting/ finishing powders move very slowly around here, despite daily usage. Do you have any tips?
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| My palette after 4 months of use, April 2016. |
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| My palette after 6 months of use, June 2016. |
My plan for the next two months is to hit pan on Snobby, Serious and Schitzo - although I feel that this last one will be a bit of a struggle because this shade is firmly pressed in the pan and also has great pigmentation. I would also like to expand the pan on Sassy, Stand-offish and Sultry, and deepen the dip in Sexy, a matte burgundy. Even though I use Sexy multiple times a week to darken the outer corner of my eyes, this shade is pigmented and hard pressed in the pan, so my progress is very slow.
While I'm okay with not finishing the palette and simply putting in my best effort instead to see how far I can get, I often question my motives to continue this Project. I have a lot of eyeshadows I like better than this palette that I have not touched in 6 months, because I'm stubborn like that - once I decide to do a panning project, I want to do it the best I can, even if I would rather wear different products, or a different style of make-up altogether. On the other hand, I'm glad I've embarked on Pan That Palette this year, because the project has very effectively quenched my interest in new eyeshadow palettes, as well as taught me valuable lessons about my own preferences when it comes to eyeshadow. So there's that - I do think it was worth it - but am I still learning new things now, after 6 months of panning? I'm not so sure.
So these are the thoughts running through my mind most days when I open up the Nude'Tude to do my eye make-up. I haven't really come to any conclusions and for now I just keep going, but I do sometimes incorporate other eyeshadows, housed in my small Z-Palette (shown here), to break the routine a little bit. I will tell you now I'm definitely not doing this Project next year - and possibly, never again. I actually seriously question if I should wrap it up at the end of September, before my baby is due - realistically, I don't think I'll be wearing much eyeshadow for the last three months out of the year.
Anyway, how are my fellow panners doing? Do you ace your powder products, or are they always a bit of a challenge? I find all powders pretty hard - even face setting/ finishing powders move very slowly around here, despite daily usage. Do you have any tips?