Tag Archives: lip primer

Project Pan, Winter 2016: Neutrals and Brights

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Hello hello! It’s time to share with you the makeup products I plan to use during the Winter 2016 season! Last season, I played around with some extreme smoky eyes and bold lip colors; this season, I wanted to experiment with colorful eyes and neutral lips. I’m excited to try some new things! If you’re familiar with fall’s Project Pan, you know that this isn’t a true PP challenge; this is a way for me to spend some quality time with makeup products I’ve bought and have never really used. It’s like a makeup date. For the next twelve weeks, I’ll be using these products on my face exclusively until the beginning of the next challenge, when I get my summer makeup out in March.

I suppose I’ll start with things that carry over from the last challenge. I won’t mention too much about essential things like foundation and primer, but there is a bit of overlap.

Face
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve written a makeup post lately without talking about this primer. Yes, it’s a big player in this look.

NARS All Day Luminous Foundation in Siberia

When I ran out of MAC Studio Fix Fluid, I was torn over what to replace it with. Part of me wanted just to get another bottle, because it actually was a good fit for me. I’m a person who likes to try new things, though, so I decided to go for a different foundation. There’s a part of me what wishes I’d just stayed with the MAC, though. I like the NARS foundation enough, but the thin consistency is annoying sometimes, and it’s not as neutral as I thought it would be. I’ll keep using it, but I probably will return to Studio Fix Fluid once it’s gone.

MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer in NW15

Yep, this again! I probably shouldn’t bother to include it since I used it like all of twice last cycle, but I already had the photo, so here it is.

NYX Radiant Finishing Powder in Brighten (pictured above)

I have a love/hate relationship with this powder. I love how complete it is; not only does it set makeup beautifully, it also brightens, color-corrects, and illuminizes, like it’s many products in one. However, it doesn’t keep oil in check, and the luminizing feature ends up making me look even more shiny than I am. It’s perfect for cool weather, but a no-go in the summer. I’m trying to use it up.

MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NW10

This powder is the best! The full coverage basically renders my concealer obsolete. Using it over liquid foundation is probably overkill, but it’s really the best complement to medium-coverage foundation. In the fall and winter, I want all the coverage I can get, and this helps me get there.

Marc Jacobs Glowstick in Spotlight

Remember this? Since I’m using neutral colors for my lip and cheeks, I wanted a neutral highlighter, and this was the best one. When I reviewed this, I reported that it was super creamy and blendable, but that was over the summer. Now that tepmeratures are lower, the stick isn’t quite so creamy, and it’s not as easy to use and apply. It’s a little disappointing.

MAC Powder Blush in Taupe

During fall’s challenge, I only used this for contouring my nose, chin, and forehead. I’m also using it as a blush this time around because I wanted a neutral base look. In this capacity, it hovers somewhere between blush and contour, and I really like it.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

Yes, this again. It’s still not dried out, so I’m gonna keep using it.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes in Brunette

Yep, this too.

NYX Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray in Matte Finish

This stuff goes a long way to keep me from looking powdery and unnatural. It doesn’t keep me mattified, but it makes my makeup look dewy and fresh. The bottle is almost empty; I’m definitely going to repurchase.

MAC Fix+ Finishing Spray (pictured above)

Having two facial sprays is probably overkill, but I feel like there’s a place for them both. The NYX spray sets my foundation, but I still use a setting powder, just for safety. The Fix+ spray keeps that last dusting of powder from looking too powdery. Probably unnecessary, but I like it.

Eyes
MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly

Painterly is also making a return in this cycle. I’d rather be using an actual primer, since my lids are kind of oily and creamy products like this have never worked for me in the past, but I’m making it work.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean and Milk

Black Bean was a godsend last cycle for my ultrasmoky eye, so I’ll be using it for the same purpose this time around. I’ll also be using the Milk pencil for extra-white whites and extra-bright brights. These pencils make eyeshadow look the way it’s supposed to look.

Urban Decay Vice 3 Eyeshadow Palette

I’ve had this palette for a while, and I’ve never used it until now. I chose a colorful palette to go with this look that’s otherwise very neutral; I wanted eyes that really stand out. I’ll talk more about this, keep reading!

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyed Pencil in Zero

For my eyeliner needs.

NYX Big and Loud Lash Primer (pictured below)

I talked at length last time about my love for lash primers, and I’m still very happy with this one.

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara

This is a sample I’ve had in the drawer for a while, and I’m finally using it! I don’t really care for it, to tell the truth; the formula is fine, but the brush is huge and I don’t like huge mascara wands. I find them difficult to work with.

Lips
MAC Prep + Prime Lip Primer

This is my favorite lip primer! It’s practically gone; in this photo, it’s twisted all the way up, and I’ve been using a lip brush to apply it. I can’t wait to buy another one!

Obsessive-Compulsive Cosmetics Cosmetic Colour Pencil in Anti-Feathered (not pictured)

My favorite clear lip liner! Sometimes I overdraw with this, or underdraw, because it’s invisible. Lately, I’ve found that the MAC lip primer is enough to keep my lip color on, so I’ll probably phase this out once it’s gone.

Obsessive-Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Sebastian

I forgot to shake it up.

When I started building this look, I started by choosing a lip color at random, and this is what I got, and it’s the part of this look I’m the most excited about. It’s a color I’ve never really worn before, a color I’ve never really seen on people. At first, I wasn’t too sure about it and nearly put it back. I put it on, though, and I loved the way it looks on me. Sure, it’s not a conventional color, but it’s strangely wearable while also quite unique. I am really enjoying it.

The Process

While looking at densely populated palettes like Vice 3, I’ve often wondered what would happen if I wore the colors as they’re placed. Sure, it’s not organized to be worn a certain way, but I’ve always wanted to try wearing shadows one line at a time to see what the colors would look like, and just to experiment with different combinations. That’s the idea behind the eye looks I’ll be doing with this palette. In my first week, I’ll be using Vanity, Lucky, Reign, and Bobby Dazzle together.

I used the Milk pencil on my lower lid with Painterly on the upper lid and brow bone. I then applied Bobby Dazzle all over my lid. Can you see the difference? It’s a stark white on my lid, but a gentle shimmer on my browbone. I worked Lucky and Reign into my crease, and used Lucky and Vanity on my lower lashline. Starting with this column of shadows made this one easy; I’m definitely looking to some of the others being a challenge.

Here’s the whole look! Everything on my face is mentioned in this post. I plan to do a different eye look each week to match my Manicure Monday look, and I’ll post the eyeshadow of the day on Instagram, so follow me there to stay up to date. I won’t do any update posts until the very end. I hope you’ll follow along with me!

The Marc Jacobs Glowstick was sent for review, which is linked here. This post is not related to that review, and my opinion is not swayed by free stuff.
Everything else I purchased myself.

Project Pan, Fall 2016: Rose Quartz + Serenity-Inspired — Conclusion

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Hi Reader! You might remember that I started a twelve-week beauty challenge where I committed to a handful of products for the whole twelve weeks. I called it a Project Pan, but since I’m not using them until I hit pan or use them up, it’s not the most accurate name for it. I did, however, completely my twelve-week obligation to them, so I’m doing one last update post to talk about what I did use up or hit pan on before I move onto the Winter 2016 challenge. For detailed product information and swatches, please see my first post for this challenge.

The sun has set.

As I mentioned in my first post, the products I chose were based loosely on Pantone’s Colors of the Year for 2016, with some black thrown in for fun. I had a blast with these looks. I left the house with black or blue lipstick on for the first time since middle school. I felt edgy, fashion-forward, and bold. I forgot what I looked like without crazy raccoon eyes. I’m a little sad I’m putting all this stuff away, but I made some progress with these products, and I’m sure they’ll come out of the drawer again someday. For now, I’m happy to be moving on to new things.

Empties: 4
Let me talk first about the things I used up. I didn’t use up any products unique to the challenge, but instead used up some essential products and replaced them. I wrote about the MAC primer and foundations I used up in previous Empties Roundups. I also finally decided it was time to part with the Clarins mascara. I finished my MAC foundation up and went for NARS, I used up a Revlon powder and went back to MAC Studio Fix powder, I used up the MAC primer and went back to Smashbox, and I tossed an old mascara. That’s four empties.

Pans: 3
Honestly, I’m surprised I hit pan on anything. I hit three, though, and I’m pretty proud of myself! Have a look at that NYX eyeshadow trio. The champagne and matte black were my workhorse shadows for this look, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised I hit pan on those. It’s just that I’ve used some shadows for years and I still have yet to pan those, but I can pan these in twelve weeks. Maybe they’re small pans. I’m happy I panned the compact, because that’s a thing I’ve had for years. It’s nice to see progress made!

Notable Mentions
Lipglosses
I didn’t think I used up so much of the glosses, and I almost feel a little bad about it. These are two great colors that I should really think about wearing on their own someday.

The quality is low on these before photos because, foolishly, I didn’t keep the originals, only the edited versions.

Highlighter
Check out the fill lines on the High Beam! I’m surprised I used that much of it. A dab here and there really makes a difference!

Lipsticks
I didn’t put too much of a dent on Saint Germain, but Blue Velvet and MUFE #50 are visibly used. Blue Velvet looks the most worn-down. It seems like every time I went out, I had the blue lip on, and I feel like maybe I did use it more than the others because I was always touching it up. Obviously, when your attention is divided over three lipsticks, you’re not going to wear them down as mucha as if you’d only focused on one. You’ll also remember I had a fourth lipstick in the main post, but since I only used it once (when I saw family), I didn’t include it in the final post.

Lip Primer
Here’s my MAC Prep + Prime Lip, turned all the way up. Yeah, I’ve got to dig in there with the brush now to get to the product. It’ll be time to replace it soon!

The other eyeshadows
I don’t really want to include these, but I made the graphic, so I have to include it. Compared to the NYX shadows, I didn’t really use these at all, and so there’s practically no difference between the befores and afters. No surprise there. I really did think I was going these more when I started.

Facial sprays
While the MAC Fix+ is a relatively new purchase, so it’s not as used-up as the NYX Setting Spray is. You can see the fill line through the clear bottle. The NYX spray, while I can’t tell how full it is, it feels pretty light and, when shaken, it doesn’t sound like much is in there. It’ll be time to replace that soon, too!

I only included the products that show visible use or wear. There were a lot of things I included in the look that weren’t used-looking enough to warrant sharing. Some of the products in this look were being used for the first time and didn’t really show signs of wear. Some of them were only applied once, like blush and eyeliner, and don’t show much use. Some of them, like the Eyetini and Heavy Metal liners, were used all of twice. The most often used products were the ones with the most drastic signs of use, and that’s what I included.

And there you have it, twelve weeks of weird blue lips and raccoon eyes is over! Stay tuned for the Winter 2016 Project Pan!

I bought these products myself.