Pan It! - 2023 Challenge

[ElleElleG]

Hey all you cool cats and kittens, welcome to YEAR 6 of the Pan It Challenge!

**Join us in the 2024 thread available here: Pan It! - 2024 Challenge

The "Rules"

To accommodate a variety of interests, you all are encouraged to pick items to pan that are most suitable to your collections.  For some, this might mean focusing on a particular type of product (like lipstick) and for others this may include a larger variety spanning your entire makeup or skincare routine.

Getting Started (please share the following)

• Which item(s) you would like to work on
• How long you will work on said item
• Goal: explore a new item, revisit an old item, decide whether to keep pass or trash, and/or completely finish item, etc.
• Starting photo of item

Please Use This Thread To...

• share what item(s) you are working on,
• provide comparative progress photos of your item(s) monthly (at the beginning of the month when possible),
• ask questions,
• encourage others,
• motivate others with the looks you create with your item(s)

Tips and Tricks to Panning/Getting Some Use Out of Your Stash:

Spoiler

• Take photos!!  When you think you aren’t making a dent in anything look back at those photos, I’m certain you’ll see some changes 😃 *this is the number one recommendation for everyone, regardless of how long you’ve been panning! Those photos add up and can help you realize progress you might otherwise overlook.
• If you goal is to hit pan or use something up entirely, try concentrating your brush/applicator in the same area each time you use it
• Multitask your products: eyeshadows as highlighter, lipstick as blush, eyeshadow as brow powder, etc. 
• Layer eyeshadow to create different colors (this is especially helpful to get use out of shades you’re not fond of).
• Have shadows with a ton of fall out?  Use water
• Watching the progress of others’ can be fun but try not compare your progress to theirs.  We all use our makeup differently and have different goals.
• Don’t restrict yourself to only using the item(s) you are working on.  It’s more than OK to incorporate other items or take a break!
• Makeup should be fun….if you begin to dread doing your makeup because you made a commitment to use a product that you now hate, TOSS IT!  Do not force yourself to use up something you don’t like.  Move on to something else!  (This includes excluding particular shades from your goals if focusing on palettes, etc.)

Ideas to Help You Pan Those Items:

Spoiler

• Roll the dice: number your items and use a random number generator to pick what you will use each (day/week/month/etc.) 
• Layer/Mask: items you are less fond of under things you like
• Pan a Look: at the beginning of the week pick a look that you can wear everyday
• Recreate: a look worn by a fellow BICer, celebrity, etc.
• Spice up an "everyday" look by adding subtle pops of color (in the crease or on the lower lash line, mix lip products to make shades wearable, etc.)

Past Panning Challenges:

Pan It! - 2021 Challenge 🏆
Pan It! - 2020 Challenge
Pan It! - 2019 Challenge!
Pan It! - 2018 Challenge!
Pan It! - 2017 Challenge! 

[Guessgal]

@BluePaisley Oh, this is music to my ears! I had a feeling this would be a good one! Adding this to my list for my next sale haul; thanks for your feedback 😘

[CynthieLu]

Looking forward to your panning achievements this year @BluePaisley good luck!! 😀

[cianni]

@BluePaisley this is a great project! youve already made so much great progress already!

[haleyvvvv]

Amazing picks, @BluePaisley!! I'm excited to see your progress!! 

[missjeanie]

@BluePaisley Nice selection of products!  

[faeriegirl]

Good luck @BluePaisley! 

[heavyhedon]

Off we go! 

 Thinking deeply about what I want to do this year, & not just in panning. Last year's goals were half about finishing a bunch of samples and hitting pan on older makeup, and half about rotating through my stash as much as possible. Those usage based mini-pans were fun, but so much work in prep, choice & storage that my note-taking failed and I sometimes got overwhelmed from using many pieces of makeup.

I want to take the best part of that process, rotating through my stash with a seasonal bent, but remove the sheer volume of items I'm keeping track of-- to simplify, to get to know some newer orless-used makeup better or really enjoy old faves thoroughly without rushing. So my Pan it! 2023 is aiming to be a little different. Of course, I needed a Title, and each month will have it's own little chapter name:

❄️Getting to Know You🍃 in Every Beautiful🥀 Season🍁

Each month, I'll pick one Eye Makeup product, one Cheek product, one Lippy, one Fragrance, that jibe with the monthly vibe to enjoy and build my routine around, plus 1-2 "free" category items. Making a max total of six items per month to get good use of. The eye category might be mascara, shadow single or palette, liner, or brow; the cheek a highlight, blush, palette, contour, or whatever. You get the picture. 

 Some of these might indeed be "gimmes" that have a chance of being finished in a month, some might be on the chopping block, but most will just be good stuff that deserves to be used. I picked monthly rather than quarterly change-ups to honor the mini-shifts in light, temperature and mood that occur, the little seasons-within-a-season.

If a pick of the month does get finished before the next month, I'll roll something else in till the next changeover. Surely as we go I'll find more things that I'd like to move out of my collection, but right now I've decluttered and am feeling happy about my stash generally.

We had mega snow last week in Buffalo as you know, so though it has largely melted away after a week of warmer temps, I'm calling Jan. Hardcore Winter. My starting line-up with swatches:

Spoiler

5 pieces, two of them minisEye/ Ardency Inn, Punker eyeshadowCheek/Pixi, GingerBlossom blushLippy/Besame, Portrait Pink lipstickFragrance/Jo Malone, Wood Sage & Sea Salt cologneFree item/ ABH Soft Brown brow pencil
Ardency Inn's iconic Punker Original Smoky Shadow pencil has never been quite what I'd hoped for, partly b/c I couldn't sharpen it after my first use. The company was unhelpful in solving the issue. Finally found a couple options to allow me to sharpen w/care, but as this needs sharpened after each use, it's is definitely on the chopping block. My hope is to be able to just smack it on fast as possible for the base of eye looks & straight up punk makeup. It's already old, even though it's still creamy enough, and this is its very last chance to escape the trash bin.

Pixi by Petra's Fresh Face Blush in GingerBlossom is a newish addition. Got it in an Ipsy bag, thought of it as a summer-into-fall shade but it's a nice deeper nude with a touch of cool in the undertone, that I think could be really perfect with many cold weather looks, too. Time to find out.

Besame's Classic Color Lipstick in Portrait Pink--1963 is a lovely formula. I bought it while on a warm baby pink lippy kick, but this shade functions as a pinky nude for me; I can wear it with no makeup on my face and it makes my skin look good, better even. Started using it yesterday and remember already why I love it so much.

Jo Malone's Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne, I knew I'd like before I got the sample spray and I do. With 40-ish mini cologne spray samples hanging around in my bathroom, it's time to start using them and this would be wonderful any time of year. 

Last, the free category choice is a mini brow definer, ABH's Soft Brown, that I've used so much-- a gimme, I think.

That's all for now-- look for my monthly updates, and thanks for reading! 

*Edited a few places for clarity on 1/3/2023

[itsfi]

I love your approach for this year's pan it! challenge @heavyhedon - a mix of goodies that are close to being fully panned and others that are just at the start of that journey and at every stage in between. It's fun and works beautifully with your lifestyle and how you use makeup. I love your themes and names too - always so creative! I think it's great how we can use this challenge in different ways, depending on what works for us or what we're looking to do at different times in our lives. 

Your starting lineup is spectacuar!! 😍 What a beautiful collection of products - not just for panning but with those pretties, your monthly look is gorgeous!! 

[heavyhedon]

@itsfi , thank you and yes, I intend to be stunning as often as possible😊

[itsfi]

You’re always stunning @heavyhedon. Just a question of what style - natural, no makeup-makeup, glam, etc.

[Samtian]

@heavyhedon I really really love how you are going about it this year! And that Besame oh my so gorgeous!

[heavyhedon]

TY, @Samtian -- I'm using the Besame everyday, like I did back when I first bought it. it's kinda perfect with everything so far.

[CynthieLu]

You've got a great game plan here @heavyhedon 🤩 and keeping it fun and fresh. Good luck in your panning girl! 

[heavyhedon]

Thanks @CynthieLu -- it's already feeling very freeing to me. 

[cianni]

@heavyhedon this is such a great idea!! i love how youre using more of your collection. sometimes it can be hard to stick to a pan when you're really tired of a product. i hate when it starts to feel like a chore because makeup is supposed to be fun! really interested in how the besame goes for you - i remember the brand but havent heard about it in a while!

[heavyhedon]

@cianni -- glad you like my project! I've had a lot of different Besame products, and none of them has been less than excellent-- powder, cream rouge, lipstick, mascara... hoping to get more someday when I'm back to buying again.

[cianni]

@heavyhedon good to know the products come recommended!! do you buy from them directly? i remember seeing them in sephora years ago, but theyre not carried anymore (in Canada at least)

[heavyhedon]

@cianni -- I've bought directly more recently but def did buy from Sephora when available-- it's been years since they were discontinued here.

[haleyvvvv]

I'm excited to see your new structure of panning, @heavyhedon!! I hope it serves you well!! Great selection of products for January.

I hope the snow is letting up and you're able to stay safe and warm!! 

[heavyhedon]

@haleyvvvv Thanks,.we're doing all right. I'm very chuffed for this year's pan, too. 

[faeriegirl]

I love the theme @heavyhedon ! Good luck!