Finish 5 By Cinco De Mayo Challenge- The Finish

Well here's the final instalment of my Finish 5 by Cinco de Mayo Challenge! I've been late photographing and posting this due to my laptop crashing twice and having to be sent to PC World to be fixed, as well as a long bout of RSI (Repetitive strain injury in my hands) which is why I was forced on a blogging break these past 3 weeks. So here in the photos are the five products I chose to use up and my progress.

May 5th The Finish

January 21st The Beginning

 

Sleek Oil Free Crème to Powder Foundation

Since I don't wear make up everyday anymore, foundations lasts me a long time (which is great for my bank balance!) As I was applying Sleek's foundation with a damp Real Techniques Expert face brush and later a damp Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge I used less product that I would have if I'd used the provided dry sponge in the compact. The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge actually used more product that the expert face brush and also gave a better, even finish. This is almost pretty much done- with only a few more applications left.

No 7 Eye shadow Palette Gold eye shadow

I've almost used up most of the gold eye shadow. I found as the pan got bigger the eye shadow became more fragile and would crumble and move so that it got trapped in the hinges of the palette, which is why there is a lot less than in April's finish 5 update. I love wearing the gold as my no makeup make up look. Although I didn't finish the eye shadow by May 5th, I'm almost done and will keep going.

E.L.F Cream Blush and bronzer Duo (Blusher)

Although it looks like it's hardly been used, I've actually been wearing this a lot and there's hardly a dent in it! I've been using my finger tips to apply this, I guess if I used a brush I'd use up more, but it would just get wasted with excess left on the brush. I find that my fingertips the easiest way of applying cream blush. After throwing out a beloved Bobbi Brown Cream Pot Rouge blusher as it got rancid I'm going to try to get much more use out of my cream blushers. This has a nice colour and you do get a lot of product for your money but unfortunately it doesn't last throughout the day and needs reapplying or locked in with a layer of powder blusher on the top.

Revlon Super lustrous lip gloss

I have been using this but not as often as I wanted to since it's quite sticky which is off-putting to wear in hot weather. It has a nice peach glossiness and some sparkle to it. It's hard to see how much I've used up. Stood on it's end I've used about a finger- probably just over 1cm. Apart from matte lip lacquer I've decided to stop buying any more lip glosses as I have loads that I don't wear anymore since I've been getting  into lipstick.

No 7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse in Fudge

This is something I was confident I'd finish, but I was concentrating using up the gold eye shadow  (as well as road testing other eye shadow for the blog) and I forgot about this!  It is small enough that I can use it up over the next couple of months.

So I pretty much failed on my Finish 5 by Cinco de Mayo Challenge but I have enjoyed it and found it useful and fairly satisfying. It's been useful to actually have a go at finishing products and having an idea of how long things take to finish (which was longer than I expected.)

What I've learnt

Start small! I think if you don't wear make up everyday products will take longer to use up. I overestimated how much I would use and I think if it's your first time doing such a challenge I'd use smaller sized products such as samples or mini sizes.

Choose just a few products to use up. Since this was Finish 5 by Cinco de Mayo I had to choose five products, but again as I don't wear make up every day, I'm going to choose fewer products in the the future such as three or four. I'm glad I didn't choose Finish 7 by spring as there's no way I would have completed it!

The type of Products. Think about the type of product that you use a lot and let that guide you. Obviously if you have loads of eye liner that you never wear but want to use up then go for it. Some products do seem to take ages though- such as lip gloss. I've never actually finished a lip gloss (only thrown it out after having the flu or if it smells odd ) and I think wand applicator ones have more product and are so much harder to finish than lip glosses in squeeze tubes.

Are Deadlines useful?
Deadlines give you motivation and push you to keep using products and if you plan to reward yourself at the end (by perhaps buying more make up!) then they can be useful as there's an end in sight. By documenting your progress publicly (such as posting on a blog, instagram etc) you feel bound to your word and that you must see it through.

The Project Pan community
Although Finish 5 by Cinco de Mayo wasn't one of the most popular project pan projects (I think because Cinco De Mayo isn't a well known festival over in the UK at least compared to the USA/Spain) I did manage to find about 8 or so people doing the project on instagram which was great as they were doing the same thing to the same deadline and I also found a couple of other long term project panners who are very supportive and nice. I think instagram is the best way to show your progress, get encouragement and find other project panners because it's so visual and supportive rather than listing stuff on a no picture feed on reddit.

Would I do this again?
Yes. My makeup collection has expanded since I started blogging and I've become aware of using up liquid and cream products (that have a shorter shelf life than powder) much more often so that they don't go to waste and you get the most use and enjoyment out of them. I also think Finish projects are better than Project pan as you don't actually end up finishing products if you just stop as soon as you hit pan. The gold eye shadow took years to hit pan and its taken me months to finish the whole thing. Finishing products mean you actually use it up rather than have loads of half filled products everywhere.

I do want to do this again so that I actually start using up products but I'd probably do it without a set time limit and will probably post my progress on instagram.

How are your experiences with project pan type challenges? Let me know in the comments.

Cinco de Mayo 10 week update

It's time for my April update Finish 5 by Cinco De Mayo Challenge.
The Finish 5 by Cinco De Mayo is a challenge started by Megan +megsmakeup8. The challenge involves choosing 5 products to finish by May 5th 2015. You can see the first post on this here. and the March update here. I started the challenge on January 21st 2015 (two weeks later than the official start on January 5th.)


 All 5 Items- 5 by Cinco De Mayo Start (March 4th  2015)
The Biggest difference is in the foundation, there's also a slight change in the gold eye shadow pan in the No.7 palette. I think I was being over optimistic about the products I chose, especially since I don't wear make up every day. I think if I were to do this again, I would pick sample sized products.

April 5th 2015

Sleek Oil Free Creme to powder Foundation
I've been using other ways of applying this and found that Real Techniques Precision sponge gives flawless coverage that can be easily built up (the expert face brush can leave brush strokes) but it also uses more product.

Elf  Cream Blush and Contour Palette
Elf blush is better than I expected but does fade towards the end of the day. There's also a generous amount which means it's difficult to hit pan and finish.

Revlon Lip gloss in Pink Crystals
I don't know why they have pink in the name as it's actually a peach tone- perfect for spring. It is sticky but also super shiny too. I've used this a few times although you can't see any difference. I should really keep this on me at all times for a top up. It doesn't help that I'm more of a lipstick fan now.

No. 7 palette
At last you can see a difference in the pan! I don't think I'll be able to use it up by May though, this seems to be a never ending eye shadow. I've given up on the pink shadow in the hopes of concentrating on the gold.

No 7 Cream Eye shadow in Fudge
. I haven't taken a before and after picture because of the colour of the tube means you won't see any difference. I've only used this a few times.

So that's the 10 week/ 3 months update. Have any of you attempted any Make Up Challenges- such as project pan or 5 by Cinco, 5 by Fall etc? Let me know in the comments-I'd love to know how you did and what it was like.

Finish 5 for Cinco de Mayo Challenge 6 week Update

It's time for a March update on my Finish 5 by Cinco De Mayo Challenge. I'm posting this a day early on the 4th as I usually post on Wednesdays rather than Thursdays and I'm trying to be more consistent.
The Finish 5 by Cinco De Mayo is a challenge started by Megan +megsmakeup8. The challenge involves choosing 5 products to finish by May 5th 2015. You can see the first post on this here. I started the challenge on January 21st 2015 (two weeks later than the offical start on January 5th.)

All 5 Items- 5 by Cinco De Mayo Start (January 21st 2015)

All 5 items-  6 Week Update March 4th 2015

Since I started it's fair to say that I don't seem to be doing well so far! What with trying products out for the blog I've hardly been reaching for my Finish 5 items- I'm not sure if I've been a little bit ambitious in some of the products I chose. Anyway here is a run down of where I am.

Sleek Foundation

I have been using this 2-3 times a week which is as often as I'll wear make up so I have been using this regularly and you can see a difference in the pan- I'm not sure it'll be all gone by May though! I will be doing a more in-depth review of this foundation soon.

Revlon Lip Gloss

I've only used this twice so far. I used to be such a lip gloss girl but I think this blog has turned me into a lipstick lady, judging by the lipsticks I've acquired. I used to have like 8 and wear just one or two and now it's more like 20 something! It just feels more sophisticated somehow. Back to the lip gloss at hand, you know when some lip glosses look like they have some pigment to them only to be disappointed that it's really a clear gloss? Well this certainly has colour, it's a pretty peach colour perfect for spring and summer. I chose to use this up as I thought it would be fairly neutral and go with more looks. It does taste and smell of vanilla but it's not overpowering, thank goodness. Texture wise it does feel sticky on the lips, so if you have long hair I would tie it up on windy Spring days to avoid lip gloss sticking to flyaway hair. If you hate sticky lip glosses then this is not for you.

ELF Cream Blusher and Contour Duo

I've used this cream blusher three times so far but from the photos you can't really see a difference in the amount used. It is better than I thought it was, I remember thinking that it was tacky after being applied to the skin but actually it isn't sticky at all. It is a great colour that probably suits almost everyone, it gives a pretty pink colour to the cheeks. The only let down is that it doesn't last all day. Some make up artists recommend 'locking in' cream blushers by applying powder over the top in the same way that you powder over your foundation to set it. I've never bothered with this and as long as it's not really humid, building up a sweat exercising and as long as the blusher has a fair bit of pigment I never really find the need to. I also worry powder over cream risks looking a bit it over the top which is easily done with blusher. Having sensitive skin I found no issues using this cream blusher.

No.7 Eye shadow & Blush Compact

I had such confidence that I would be using this up like there's no tomorrow, but I admit I've only used this about three or four times. You can't tell from the photo at all, there's barely any difference! Seeing that I've hit pan on the gold made me think doing so on the pink would be easy, especially as I used to wear pink a lot. But since I haven't been sleeping well lately I've been avoiding pink in case it emphasised my morning red eyes.

No 7 cream eye shadow in Fudge

I've only worn this once so far. I haven't taken a before and after picture because of the colour of the tube means you won't see any difference. It's a small tube, but I'm not sure if it's deceptively small and could take longer to use up, I do hope to use it all up by May. The eye shadow itself makes brown eyes pop it's beautiful. No 7 have redesigned the packaging so that the cream eye shadow comes in a lip gloss style tube with a doe foot applicator, but I think the formula is exactly the same.

So that's the two month update round up. I hope to do better next month and make a conscious effort to use these products much more regularly.

Have any of you attempted any Make Up Challenges- such as project pan or 5 by Cinco, 5 by Fall etc? Let me know in the comments-I'd love to know how you did and what it was like.