Beauty goals for 2019 / Project pan 2019

So as it is the last day of 2019 it's about time to mark out my beauty goals for 2019, or project pan if you like.

So as in previous years I have selected ten items from my beauty stash, a combo of makeup, body and hair care. Some are far along, others not so much. 

So let's see what I will be dealing with in the year of 2019...

First seven products

Last three products

Lumene - Bright now vitamin C eye cream (15 ml): This item has been in use for such a long time, I think it's about time to use it up, and a rough estimate I guess I have about 4 ml left. As well I have another eye cream waiting to get used, it's an ideal goal to finish this one up.

Cover Girl - Ready set gorgeous in the color 115 (30 ml): This item is my oldest cream foundation, and truth be told probably over it's shelf life, but as long as it does not smell weird or have a weird texture I will continue to use it. The remaining product is though hard to estimate as the packaging isn't see-through, but when I squeeze all air out I would estimate I have 2/3 left of the foundation, or about 20 ml.

Origins - Drink up 10 minute mask to quench skin's thirst (100 ml): This item has been in my collection for longer than I care to remember. And do I estimate I have a whopping 35 ml left of it. And to finish it, I aim to implement mask Monday's so I will remember to use it every week. 

L'Occitane en provence - Verveine body lotion (250 ml): Each project is in a need of one give me product, a product that you are bound to finish up quickly and will pepp you for the year to come. I guess there are about 60 ml left of this body lotion, and will be ideal to finish, as I actually have body lotions that are "older" in my collection than this one, so as soon as this one is finished, I will start on one of those older ones.

Avon - Maroccan argan oil (30 ml): As I focused on two hair products last year, I thought I could at least finish one in 2019. I have about 10 ml left of this product, and as my ends are starting to get a bit dry (actually needing of a haircut) this is ideal to use up in the coming year.

Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml): This is a roll over product from my beauty goals from 2018. It has a little bit more left than half, so I would guess there are about 9 ml left of the serum primer. And as last year was such a fail to reach my goal to finish it, it will continue to be in my beauty goals for 2019.

Express - Love Express eau de parfum (10 ml): As this is my oldest roller ball, and I have two unopened ones, and I LOVE this scent, I would hate for it to go off before I get a chance to use it up. 

Bourjois Paris - Smokey eyes trio - 09 Lady vert de gris (4,5 g): There is only one color in this trio that I have not hit pan on, so my goal for this year is to hit pan on the shimmery metallic color.

Maybelline - color tattoo 24hr - gel cream eyeshadow - 35 on and on bronze: As this has started to dry out my goal with this product is to hit side pan.

Inglot - Bright amber - solid perfume (2,3 g): My first and only solid perfume I have ever owned, it is in deed an interesting concept, but still prefer a liquid one, as the scent spreads more easily, and compared to this particular solid perfume, the liquid ones last longer. 

Other "rules" for my beauty goals 2019 are the following:

1. Not to buy any colored nail-polishes (nail strengtheners and top coats not included in the definition of "colored nail-polish").
2. No impulse buys, or buys just because there is a sale or discount
3. Max 1 perfume purchase
4. No buy January and No buy March - maybe other months to be scheduled later on
5. Max 2 eye-shadow palette purchases
6. Max 2 brush purchases

Do you have any goals for 2019?

Empties September - December 2018

Here they are the items I used up from September to December 2018, also there are included two declutters.

Empties + declutters September - December 2018

Beauty by Zazie - Nail polish remover (250 ml): a generic nail polish remover, I found this one to be very dry and hard on my nails and will for sure next time buy one more suited for sensitive, and dry nails. 

Peter Thomas Roth - Mega rich body lotion (24 ml): a small body lotion I got at a hotel some years back. It had a thin and light consistency that sunk into the skin very rapidly.

Dove - Intense repair overnight cream (120 ml): finally managed to finish this hair repair cream. Would I buy it again? Probably not

Clinique - Bottom lash mascara in 01 black (2 ml): This I bought on a whim some time ago, I found it a bit dried out from day one, and would for sure not recommend or buy again.

Lumene - Bright now visible repair, tone corrector serum (30 ml): A light creamy consistent serum/cream. Would I recommend? Yes I absolutely recommend and love everything I have tried by this brand.

Abercrombie & Fitch - First instinct - woman eau de toilette (2 ml): A nice scent but considering my stash of perfumes, I do not need one more at this time.

Gosh - Darling lashes, extreme volume mascara (10 ml): When I cracked open into this one I found out it had dried out, so this is a decluttered item. 

Boots - Ingredients - Sheet face mask, charcoal & willow bark, cleansing & purifying (20 ml): This mask had a whopping 20 ml, and after using the sheet mask inside, I was able to use the remaining liquid in the packaging for 2 more applications. It had a light gel consistency and had a minor tingling and cooling sensation when first applied to the face. 

Almay - eyeliner - 207 brown (0,28 g): This item is also a decluttered item, as when I cracked into it, it was dried out, when I broke a tip of it, it seemed to be soft enough for the eyes, but when I tried to apply it on my eyes, it turned out to be too dry and hard to apply.

Lancome le crayon kohl noir (0,7 g): this item was a roll over product from 2017 and finally I managed to use this one up this year. And considering how long this item lasted, compared to the Almay roll up pencil, a wooden eyeliner seems to have a much longer shelf life than a roll up one.

Dr. Belmeur advanced - Cica recovery cream (1,2 ml): This I got as a sample in a beauty store in Toronto, if I remembered correctly. These small samples are perfect for depotting into a small jar to take with me while travelling. 

Did you finish anything of late?

Beauty goals for 2018 - results

So as it has come to the end of the year, it is time for an update on my "Beauty goals for 2018" where I planned to finish ten selected items from my collection.

So out of the ten items I planned to finish or hit pan on, I was successful on seven of the items. 

Five products that I finished marked with X (original photo)

I did finish my Lancome kohl pencil

 

Two fails and reached my goal to hit pan on one (marked with /)

Did not finish this one but managed to use up about 1/3

So I reached my goals on seven of the ten items, and the items I reached my goals on were:

Dove - intense repair overnight cream (120 ml): used up 1/3 of the product that was left.

The body shop - Vitamin C skin boost (30 ml): estimated 6-10 ml used up.

Dove - Repair therapy, Color radiance hair mask (200 ml): used up the remaining 3-4 applications.

Wet and wild - nail polish in the color 442A (14 ml): when this got too thick and difficult to apply, I finally gave up on it, I had originally 4-6 ml left. And maybe I was able to use up about half of the remaining product.

Victoria's secret - Unwrap me, beauty rush, whipped cream and winter pear, body dial-a-shimmer lotion (200 ml): this item probably had about 100 ml left when I started the project. The pump on it broke early on, so I ended up depotting it and use it up from a different container.

Lancome le crayon kohl noir (0,7 g): it started the year 2018 as a 3,5 cm long pencil and was I able to use it until it became 2,5 cm long, at which point the kohl itself fell out of the pencil. And to use that 1 cm took me almost the entire year.

Maybelline - depotted eyeshadow in a champagne shimmery color: this item was a roll over product from 2017, and whas my goal to hit pan on the eyeshadow. Which I managed to do in early January. 

So the three remaining items I did not reach my goals on were:

Clinique - Blush in Fig (1,8 g): this is a depotted "gift with purchase" blush, and if I compare how the pan looked in the beginning of the year, I perhaps finished a little less than half of the blush I started the year with. OMG and this has been my primary blush of the year, and I probably finished less than 1 gram of it - BUT it is a very pigmented blush and I only need a tiny bit of it to give me a nice rouge on my cheeks. 

Estée Lauder - Double wear, stay in place powder makeup SPF 10 (16 g) - color 2N2 Fresco 01: I acknowledged the fact that it would be hard to use this foundation up in the year as the pan was and still is quite thick on the sides. And as can be seen this goal was far from reached. As a matter of a fact I kind of gave up in the middle of the year and abandoned this as my main foundation, and used Cover Girl - Ready set gorgeous, which I hauled in 2015. 

Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml): from the point I started the year until now, I have probably used up just over 1/3 of the product, so about 5-6 ml of product I have managed to use.

So all over I am pretty glad about my success, as there was more success than failure for sure. And super glad that I was finally able to use up the Lancome le crayon kohl noir, which I first put in a project pan for the year 2016 - so it "only" took three years to finish up. 

Did you do a project pan this year?

UK + GR haul

So it's time for the last haul of 2018, which is fairly small, as I only bought two items on my holiday in London and Thessaloniki. 

Last haul of 2018

Nuxe - Huile Prodigieuse, multi-purpose dry oil, face, body hair (100 ml): This I grabbed on my Easy Jet flight from London to Thessaloniki, my friend had highly recommended this to me, and it was on 20% off on the flight so it was a yes yes yes.

Collection - Lasting perfection ultimate wear concelaer- Fair 1 (6,5 ml): This I grabbed in Superdrug in London, but on my stops in London I have always been keeping my eyes open for this item, as the UK bloggers/vloggers speak so highly of this concealer. Originally I was not planning to get it, but color match me and pick it up at a later time, but as they had almost every color in stock I decided to grab it and keep it as a backup when one of my 2 current concealers run empty.

Have you bought some x-mas treats recently?

Sample summary

So as I have accumulated a few samples through the last few months, I decided to post a short sample summary.

Brush soap and facial cream

Serums

Sigma - Sigmagic - Liquid brush clenser (7,5 ml): I got this sample as a bonus with my Sigma brushes. Hope it is as good as my beauty blender liquid soap, which I use currently to wash my brushes.

Tatcha - The water cream (1 ml): A very light moisturizer, I got a 2 and a half use out of this sample. Did I like it? Yes, love it? Maybe not - maybe too small of a tester to get one hooked on it.

L'occitane - Imortelle reset, overnight reset oil in serum (5 ml): This I got as a gift in store, it was a part of a promotional campaign, where you would get this sample, and it would reset your skin in 7 days. I have not tested it yet, as it would be a perfect serum to take with me on a short holiday.

Kiehl's - Midnight recovery concentrate (4 ml): This I got with one of my Sephora orders, as a 100 point perk. And as this is a product I have heard a lot about, I was very curious to try it. That being said, I have not tried it yet, probably the same reason why I have not tried the L'occitane serum, it is small and convenient for travel. 

What about you, have you gotten any interesting testers recently? 

Or are you  reluctant to use these mini-sizes for travel, like me?

Final USA + CAN haul 2018

In my last few stops in the States and Canada I grabbed a few items

The ultimate haul

Nurse Jamie - Uplift massaging beauty roller - 69 USD: As I saw Tati on Youtube highly recommending this item I decided to treat myself with buying it - decided to get it in black, as I prefer that color instead of the original purple. Intended use for myself, is to diminish my slowly emerging double-chin.

Mac - Eye kohl in Teddy - 22,05 CAD: As this has been on my wish-list for a few years, I decided to grab it in Toronto duty free. 

Laneige - Lip sleeping mask - 20 USD: A makeup artist acquaintance of mine highly recommended this lip mask, so ofc I had to pick it up and give it a try as my lips tend to be super dry in the winter.

Sephora Collection - Waterproof eye makeup remover (125 ml) - 15 USD: A friend of mine who is just as much or even more into makeup than I am, recommended this product, and stated it works just as good as the Lancome bi-facil eye makeup remover, at a fraction of the cost I decided to pick it up and give it a try.

Tom Ford - Bronzer brush 05 - 115 USD: This brush had so many good reviews online and on youtube, I really wanted to buy it. Originally I had planned to buy it next year, but as I heard from Michelle Wang on Youtube that Tom Ford is planning to change it's brushes into synthetic hair I decided to grab it this year as I prefer natural hair bristles over synthetic ones. And omg is this brush a dream. It is the softest face brush I own. I would love to own more of his brushes but the price tag is way to expensive, so I will just treasure this one. 

Victorias Secret - Love eau de parfum roller ball (15 ml) - 22 11 CAD (offer): Another fragrance was the last thing I need in my already too big of a perfume collection. But as it was on 50% off I decided to grab it - and in a roller ball version.

Pixi by Petra - Glow-y gossamer duo in Subtle sunrise ( - 16 USD: As I only own one highlighter, which is a cream-stick highlighter I wanted to try a powder one. I was trying to decide between a mini Bobbi Brown highlighter in pink light and this one by Pixi. After much contemplation and testing and swatching I opted for the Pixi one, as I found the Bobby Brown one a tad too glittery.

Real techniques - Blush brush - 8.99 USD: For some reason it was really important for me to grab this brush, but now when I have it, I have no idea why it was so important to get it.

So now I have managed to purchase two more items of my 18 item limit (which is my updated limit - original limit was 12 items of color cosmetics). Those two items being Mac Teddy eye kohl and Pixi by Petra highlighter, which brings my total to 17 items in 2018. Only one left - and if I can do without that is even better. 

USA + CAN Haul

So in the last few stops I have had in N-America I picked a few things up

USA + CAN Haul

John Frieda - Brilliant brunette multi tone revealing moisturizing shampoo (750 ml): This shampoo I have used from time to time, I really like the brand, but it tends to be way too expensive in Iceland. So when I saw this at 9.99 CAD in Marshalls, it jumped into my hand and to the register.

Vichy - Aqualia thermal hydrating serum (30 ml): this I picked up in a Shoppers Drugmart in Toronto, in spite of me planning to go "stock free" as my friends motto is. Not to have a big stock of backups waiting to be used, rather buy when you are out, or couple of days/a week of running out. I wish to go more towards that direction, but given the price difference of French pharmacy skincare products between Canada and the States, I decided to pick this serum up as a backup for the one I am using now from Lumene.

La Roche-Posay - Micellar water: the lovely shop assistant at Shoppers Drugmart, who suggested the Vichy serum for my skintype, kindly gave this to me as a bonus with that purchase. An absolute perfect travel size.

Shea Moisture - African Black soap, acne prone face and body bar: I am not acne prone, but love this soap for my skin, and it seems to keep my perioral dermatitis at bay. And as long as it works, I am reluctant to try anything else, and when I saw this small bar, I thought it would be a perfect replacement, when I run out of the last pieces of the rest of my original bar - which now live in a small soapbox in my suitcase.

Sonia Kashuk - precision concealer makeup brush: This I picked up in Target (see here) intended for use with my Soap and glory - kick ass concealer, which has two concealer colors, one more of a yellow tone which works perfectly on the face, blended in with your finger. But the pinky/salmon tone of the concealer I have never been able to get to work under my eyes to color correct dark circles. It always ended up to thick, dry and impossible to blend in under my eye. I really hoped that this brush would work with that concealer, long story short; it did not help it at all, still too dry and difficult to blend out under the eye. Maybe I should even return the brush, as I do not really have any other use for it?

Empties May - August 2018

So here come the empties for the summer of 2018

Empties summer 2018

Bath and body works - Farmstand apple hand cream (59 ml): An above average hand cream, I might repurchase.

Wet and wild - nailpolish in the color 442A (14 ml): As I loved this color, and it was hard to replace, I am still glad this is finished and one bottle less in my pile of nail polish - maybe I will pan another one in 2019.

Dove - Repair therapy, Color radiance hair mask (200 ml): talked about this one in my last beauty goals update (see here). 

Herbal essences - hydralicious reconditioning shampoo (300 ml): One of my favorite shampoo's and it has been ever since my hair was super dehydrated from bleaching it a few years ago. Have been trying to find it in Target in the USA without success.

La Roche-Posay - Toleriane ultra face cream (40 ml): Loved this face cream for the summer, ultra light and did not irritate my skin at all. The only downside is how difficult it is to get the last drop of product out of the packaging, as I attacked it with a knife to break into it.

Victoria's secret - Unwrap me, beauty rush, whipped cream and winter pear, body dial-a-shimmer lotion (200 ml): finally this bottle is finished, and omg what an effort it took, had to depot it into other jars to use it up while on holiday, and at home. Even though I am ecstatic that it is finished, I will miss the shimmer in it a bit though.

BIO Effect - EGF serum (3 ml): it is a super moisturizing serum which I use underneath my day cream, a bit on the sticky side though.

Helena Rubinstein - All mascaras complete eye makeup remover (125 ml): I did not find this makeup remover to work as well as my Estee Lauder bi-facil eye makeup reomover. Maybe it works good on regular mascaras, but on water proof and stubborn ones it does not work as well as bi-facil.
Erborian - BB cream au ginseng (sample): Love this bb cream, would love to repurchase, but am not sure on the SPF ingredients in it. A lovely light but a bit orangy formula, but it works fine now as I have worked up a bit of a tan over the summer. Reminds me a bit of my favorite Garnier miracle cream.
It Cosmetics - Your skin but better CC+ cream with SPF 50+ (fair) (sample): I am on the fence with this product after using the sample up, it is very pigmented, but still light on the skin. But it might be a little bit too pigmented for my liking, as I like a very sheer foundation on my skin most of the time. Might repurchase in the future though.
Inglot - Beautyfier tinted cream, shade 101 (sample): I loved the texture of this light "foundation" or bb-cream. But not sure it was working with my perioral dermatitis. I found some irritation in my skin on occasion. So not a winner, sadly, as I really wanted it to be. Full info here.
The body shop - Pink grapefruit hand cream (30 ml): a light and pleasant smelling hand cream, but after I started working as cabin crew, my hands have become severely dehydrated, and this was not moisturizing enough for my dehydrated hands. Before that job, I could though not see any fault with it.
Tatcha - The water cream (1 ml) (sample): See description in this post.
Mádara - City CC -hyluronic anti-pollution cc cream SPF 15: I am not sure if this was aggravating my perioral dermatitis breakout, as I was using this in conjunction with my Ready set gorgeous foundation from Cover Girl. Will report back when I try to find out which one is the culprit.
Neutrogena - Light sesame formula body lotion: This has been living in my gym bag for years, along with a few other hotel body lotions, so now this summer I decided it was about time to use some of these samples up and get rid of them. So this is the first of them, was it good, no, I would say below average body lotion.

So now three more items of my Beauty goals for 2018 are used up, leaving me five items which I have yet to reach my goal on; Dove - intense repair overnight cream (120 ml), Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml), Estée Lauder - Double wear, stay in place powder makeup SPF10 (16 g) - color 2N2 Fresco 01, Lancome le crayon kohl noir (0,7 g) and my Clinique - Blush in Fig (1,8 g). So five items left when there are 4 months remaining of this year. Not an optimum situation, as I had hoped I would have finished more items by this point of the year. But realistically I am sure I can finish the Dove hair cream, the Lancome eye kohl pencil and perhaps the Bourjois primer. But as the year has progressed I am not sure I will be able to finish the Estée Lauder powder foundation or the Clinique blush as there is so much remaining of those products, as could be seen in my six month update for the Beauty goals for 2018.

On a sample roll

I guess you could say I am on a sample roll at the moment, as I have been taking advantage of the fact that you can get a free sample of almost any item they offer at Sephora. Which is perfect for my sensitive skin which does not seem to tolerate any given product. So it is perfect to be able to test it before purchasing.

Sephora samples

 Samples and a blush

Beauty on the fly bag  - picture borrowed from Sephora.com

Sephora mask and Skyn Iceland eye mask

I would highly recommend to anyone to get a sample of the product you want to try out in Sephora, as one of these little pots lasts for several applications, so you can get a real feel for the product. And these were the three products I was keen to try:

It cosmetics - Your skin but better CC+ cream with SPF 50+ (fair);  This one at first try I really thought would not suit my perioral dermatitis-prone skin. As I got a few bums around my mouth after the fist application, but the trick with this one is to apply a thin layer. The first try I applied way to thick of a layer as I did't know the pigmentation would be so great. This I love to apply with a beauty blender, and it is quite likely that I would like to buy this in the future, as it has a high SPF factor, given that I probably do not apply it thickly enough to get the full effect of the 50+ SPF, but it might get to a 25 or 30 with how I apply the product. Full info here.

BareMinerals - Complexion rescue tinted moisturizer (opal); I used to LOVE the Garnier miracle cream, which was a light tinted face cream with SPF 20. I think that this might be something light and similar to that one, or I could use it as a base for other foundations which do not contain SPF. Full info here. 

Drunk Elephant - Umbra tinte physical daily defense broad spectrum sunscreen SPF 30; this I thought could be a perfect first step, including SPF, before applying a foundation which does not include an SPF, which I have in my arsenal. I also have a foundation which has only an SPF 15 so this could be the perfect base. Full info here. Have yet not tried it.

Benefit - Hervana blush (7 gr); I was missing a light pink blush in "my collection" and had really wanted to try one of the Benefit box powders, so I stumbled upon this particular blush in the Benefit store in Boston, where I had my brows done as well. I would have preferred to buy it in Sephora, and get points for my purchase, but as Sephora does not carry this color anymore, I opted to buy it in a Benefit store. And I love the color, a perfect everyday color, which is the type of a color I tend to get the most use out of. 

Madara - Anti polution CC cream SPF 15 (light beige and medium beige) (2 x 2ml); I can't even remember where I heard about this product for the first time. But I was lucky enough to grab a sample in a store in Reykjavik, and got both shades as me and the sales associate could not figure out which color would suit me better. But I figured that this might suit the same purpose as the Drunk Elephant umbra tinte spf sunscreen, to be used underneath a foundation which does not contain any spf. Full info here.

Sephora - Beauty on the fly bag; I grabbed this one in Sephora as I needed a small bag under my liquid products I keep in my cabin bag on the regular (a micellar water and toner). So I opted for this bag.

Sephora - Ultra moisturizing and brightening Rose face mask: I got this as a sample with my purchase when I got the Sephora Beauty on the fly bag. A pretty good deal here to get a mask worth 6 USD with a beauty bag for 4.95 USD. Full info here. 

Skyn Iceland - Hydro cool firming eye gels with hexapeptide technology (3,2 gr - one pair); One of my co-workers swears by this, so much he gave all of the members of our crew a pair of these. It is supposed to firm and de-puff in 10 minutes, and it is recommended to use this treatment once a week. Full info here. 

Have you tried out any of these?

Beauty goals for 2018 - Six month update

As it is about six months into my year long project to pan or finish my ten items for the year 2018 (original post here), so I figured it would be about time to give an update into how the project is going so far.

I have reached my goal for four of the items from the project pan

I have finished two of the items which are as follows:

The body shop - Vitamin C skin boost (30 ml): I managed to finish this product up, it was a kind of a serum/primer - will probably not repurchase as I did not like the consistency of the cream - as it had a bit of a silicone feeling to it - but I prefer more creamy or liquid products.
Dove - Repair therapy, Color radiance hair mask (200 ml): managed to use this one up, but it only had about 3-4 applications left.

Empties - orignial photo from December 2017.

The other two items I have reached my goal on are these two:

Wet and wild - nailpolish in the color 442A (14 ml): this has finally reached the point that it's almost impossible to use, it is super thick and takes FOREVER to dry - but I really love the color and as it turns out it has been hard to replace.
Maybelline - depotted eyeshadow in a champagne shimmery color: my goal on this product was to hit pan, and was a roll-over product from 2017. And in fact I managed to hit pan early January!

Over night hair mask - nail polish - primer

Eye kohl - eye shadow - blush - foundadtion

The progress on other products:

Dove - intense repair overnight cream (120 ml): I have used a little less than half of what was left of the overnight hair mask, I for sure have to use it more consistently for the remainder of the year.
Bourjois Paris - Happy light luminous serum primer (15 ml): Sadly I did not mark this product in the start of the year, but it is clear I have used very little of it. So I will for sure have to use it more consistently for the next six months.
Lancome le crayon kohl noir (0,7 g): At the start of this year this measured 3,5 cm and now it measures 3 cm long. So in six months I have managed to use up 0,5 cm of it.
Clinique - Blush in Fig (1,8 g): I have for sure expanded the pan on this blush since the beginning of the project. But I am not using it right now, as I am giving it a bit of a break over the summer, so I can use some of my other blushes.
Estée Lauder - Double wear, stay in place powder makeup SPF 10 (16 g) - color 2N2 Fresco 01: I can see a small "wear" in this one, at the beginning of the year only a quarter of the pan rings was showing, but now the entire ring is showing. But according to this progress, I might think it is impossible for me to use this item up in this year. But all progress is good, and I will keep using it, it is one of my favorite foundations, and better yet, it does not seem to aggravate my perioral dermatitis.

And then there is one item missing in the photos, as the pump broke on my body lotion:

Victoria's secret - Unwrap me, beauty rush, whipped cream and winter pear, body dial-a-shimmer lotion (200 ml): as the pump broke on this one, I managed to crank it open and depot it, I reckon I have finished half of it - which is quite convenient as then I will for sure manage to finish it before the end of the year.

Have you had any progress on your goals for 2018?

USA haul continues

So here are come a few more items I picked up in the last few stop-overs in the States

Sigma brushes and nail polishes

Strengthening nail polish, hand creams and a makeup remover

Face mask

Sigma - Eye shading E55: This is exactly what I was looking for when I bought the Elf eye shadow brush, which turned out to be very different from the one I had previously from Elf. But the Sigma brush is beautiful, picks up eye shadow beautifully and deposits it on they eye perfectly.

Sigma - Blending E25: I was also on the hunt for a blending brush, as I wanted to have the most essential brushes in my makeup bag ready to go, and another set in my bathroom where I always do my makeup. And this brush was do disappointment either, blends product beautifully in the crease.

Sally Hansen Color therapy - 200 Powder room (14,7 ml): I was looking for a dupe for the Wet and Wild polish in 442A, that I decided to finish up this year and is a part of my beauty goals for 2018. This is a bit lighter than the Wet and Wild but pretty close.

Essie - Tea and crumpets (13,5 ml): I got this one first thinking it was a dupe for my Wet and Wild in 442A, but this is more pink than the Wet and Wild one, which is more of a peach nude.

Nailtiques - Formula 2 (7 ml) (12,99 $ + tax @CVS): One of the senior stewardesses on one of my flights recommended this polish for peeling nails, and said this was the only thing that worked for her nails which had the same peeling problem. And as The opi nail envy does not seem to be doing any miracles on my nails I decided to pick this one up and give it a try.

Kiko - intensive hand cream (60 ml): I thought I was running out of hand creams at home so I decided to pick this one up as it has a pleasant and a nice scent and seemed very soothing on my hands when I tried it out in store.

Lancome - Bi-Facil double action eye makeup remover (200 ml) (40 $ + tax @Sephora): I am running out of a good eye makeup remover, and as Lancome Bi-Facil has never failed me before I decided to pick it up in Sephora.

Nature Republic - Lime hand cream (30 ml) (8,90 $ + tax for 2 @Nature Republic): I ran into this cute little store in NYC where they were selling these Korean cosmetics, and body products. And did the hand creams just suck me in as there were scented with very different scents from the average hand cream.

Nature Republic - Avacado hand cream (30 ml): as there was an offer 2 for 8,9 $ this was the second one I chose.

Nature Republic - Real nature hydrogel mask with aloe vera (22 g): There were several different masks to choose from, but I decided to pick this one up as many of the cabin crew tend to burn in Boston, and as that is my next stop I decided to pick this one up, just in case.


So now less than one month after my latest "haul" I have managed to buy three more items from my quota for the year of 2018, three more nail polishes. So now I have gotten up to 15 out of 18 of the quota for 2018. But given that nail-polish is something I have to wear for work, it is not the absolute worst spending of my quota.

USA haul

So as my summer job for 2018 as a flight attendant will bring me to the United States of America several times over the course of the next few months, so here come the hauls for beauty products for my first three stops:

Haul one

So in my first stop over in Seattle, I managed to pick a few items up:

Elf - eye shadow brush (1 $ + tax @Target)- I bought this one as a backup for an older similar Elf eye shadow brush, but sadly they have changed the hair bristles. And it does a terrible job at applying color to my eyelid. I have to try it on more eye shadows, but now I can only see it being used wet to apply pigments, or wet eye shadow - as it does an ok job at that.

Estée Lauder - advanced night repair serum (7 ml) (16 $ + tax @Nordstrom Rack) - I have really wanted to try this serum out for some time, but as my skin can't handle any given product, I really wanted to be able to try it out before investing in a full size bottle. And finally I stumbled upon a small sample bottle, and can't wait to try it out

Elf - pencil sharpeners - set of 2 - (1.22 $ + tax @Target) - I wanted to buy a closed pencil sharpener, for two sized pencils to put in my cosmetics bag, ready to go with me to work, and this one fitted the bill, and on at a superior price. 

Shea moisture - African black soap with shea butter, troubled skin/severely dry skin (230 g) (5.99 $ + tax @Target) - 

Two oceans - Soothing Aloe Vera, Purifying charcoal - Deep cleansing charcoal soap bar (225 g) (3.99 $ @Ross) - I just couldn't resist picking this soap up as it is made in South Africa, and contains Aloe Vera and is black in color, as the African black soap, so it might work perfectly for my perioral dermatitis, if not I can always use it as a body soap in my shower. 

Haul two

Sephora - Pro brow brush no. 20 (18 $ + tax @Sephora) - I grabbed this to put in my travel makeup bag - to go with the brow powder duo. And it performs perfectly.

Anastasia Beverly Hills - Brow powder duo - soft brown (2 x 0.8 g) (23 $ + tax @Sephora). I asked for assistance at Sephora, and was recommended the auburn shade, as I have a hint of red tones in my hair, but did not dare to venture in that direction, and she tried this on me and it looked great in the store. But in retrospect as I continue to wear it I feel like it is a bit to warm for my brows, so I might actually return this color and exchange it for medium brown.

Mac - eye shadow in Kid (6 $ + tax @Mac) - as this is possibly a limited edition re-launch I decided to pick this shadow up, as I had heard so much about it on Youtube as the perfect crease color. And I am constantly on a hunt for one of those. 

Haul three

Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow brush- detail smudge no. 230 (11 $ + tax @Target) - as I busted my Elf detail crease brush, which I used as a smudge brush, I decided to pick this one up in Target.

Neutrogena - makeup remover cleansing towelettes - 25 ultra-soft cloths (6.29 S + tax @Target). A friend of mine recommended these towelettes, and said they get off all traces of makeup, even waterproof mascara. So I grabbed the type that comes in the plastic tub, which will be very convenient on the go.

So by now I have successfully finished my entire original quota (of 12 items) of color cosmetics for the entire year of 2018.

I had a very similar project/goal going on in 2013 - except in that particular project I did not count any purchases into the total count that I purchased abroad. With that in mind and considering I have only finished five items from the haul I made in Seattle in 2013, and two of those items being mascaras, I really have to start using my products more before I hoard any more. Still I am going to raise the total number of colored cosmetic purchases for the year 2018 to total of 18 items. But those remaining six items left then for this years quota have to be considered carefully before purchasing. And they have to have a very particular function in my collection.

One month haul

So in the month of April, I managed to use up my "quota" for seven months!

April haul

As I had space for two eye shadows in my Inglot palette, and Inglot in Iceland was running an offer of buy one item, and get the second free, I decided to get tow colors; 423 (a purple brown eye shadow, with a bit of a red undertone) and 337 (a light crease color, with a hint of a pink undertone). So now I have a complete 5 pan Inglot palette, a mix of cool and warm shades. And I love them all, great pigmentation and blend-ability. I am truly hooked on Inglot now and am eyeing a few more shades for future purchase.

At Gatwick airport I picked up the Urban Decay - Naked 2 - eye shadow palette. It has been on my wish-list for a few years, and as my sister and nephews had given me cash designated for an UD palette, I took advantage of the great price at the airport.

As I was wandering around the streets of London, I decided to drop in on the Burberry Flagship store on Regent Street, and take a closer look at the Burberry eye shadows, which I have heard SO much about, but never seen in person before. In particular I swatched Pale barley and Almond, but opted for the Burberry eye shadow in Almond no. 103, as my online research showed that a combination of Urban Decays Naked 2 shadows; Suspect and YDK mixed together, looks very similar to Pale Barley (see here).

As with so many other things, I fell for an offer at Lily Lolo where they offered free shipping, so I grabbed the Lily Lolo BB cream in light, as I had heard so many good things about it in relation to perioral dermatitis.

And thanks to Jennifer Lopez collaboration with Inglot and the launch of the limited JLO x Inglot collection, I fell into temptation, and bought an JLO x Inglot eye shadow in Lilac grey (J307), on retrospect it is a very similar color to UD Busted in the Naked 2 palette. Though Busted has a bit more brown hue to it, than Lilac grey.
The one item that does not count towards my quota, is the Sigma eye shadow brush in E45. I had heard so many good reviews online about this brush for hooded eyes, so I went for it when Fotia.is was offering a discount.
As with the Burberry cosmetics, I had never been to a Charlotte Tilbury counter before, until I visited one in Selfridges on Oxford Street in London. But as I already have so much makeup, I could really not justify buying another eye shadow palette, blush or a lipstick. But as I only own three other lip liners, and none of them in a similar color to the Charlotte Tilbury lip liner/lip cheat in Pillow talk, I could justify one lip liner.

So with that said, I have now purchased whopping ten items this year of my twelve item limit for the year of 2018 - and it is only May! 

My oh my, how am I going to cope with my work bringing me to the states several times this summer? I might have tor raise my limit this year - if I double it, it would be 24 items this year, which still in my opinion is way too much! I might consider multiplying it with 1,5, giving me a limit of 18 items in the year 2018 - which undoubtedly has a nice ring to it. I will keep you posted

Empties February - April 2018

So here are the empties for the monts of February, March and April. Also there is included a one declutter.

Shampoo, body cream and face creams

Mascara, concealer and lip products

So for the three months from February and until the end of April I have finished up seven products, and decluttered one.

Nip+Fab - Tummy fix (100 ml): this gel cream is an anti cellulite cream, which I used on my thighs by a recomendation by an icelandic beauty guru, I never used it consistently enough though to see any difference, but glad it is finished. Will not repurchase.
Maria Nila - Pure volume shampoo (350 ml):  a sulphate and paraben free shampoo from the super popular Swedish brand Maria Nila, It was good, but maybe not as good as the hype about it suggest, and the price tag? Super expensive in Iceland.
The Body Shop - Vitamin C skin boost (30 ml): a kind of a serum cream, which had a bit of a slippy feeling - for sure not a favorite.
Lumene - Lahde (spring water) Intense hydration 24h moisturizer (50 ml): my absolutely favorite moisturizer - already have a backup, but I also want to try the Lumene vitamin c cream.
Lumene - Blueberry wild volume mascara (7 ml): this used to be my absolutely favorite mascara, that was before they changed the wand on it -
Nip+Fab - Eye fix (2 ml): this is the item I decluttered, and oh my gosh, it was never good. It is a super pinky concealer for under eyes, but when I pulled it out of my stash it had separated, and the forumula was all lumpy, so to the bin it goes.
Dior - Dior addict gloss in 643 Diablotine (6,5 ml): a warm coral shimmery gloss, which was bought years ago. Really liked the dior formula, would like to buy this formula again in a different tone, when I have managed to finish some of my glosses and lipsticks I already own.
Labello - olive and lemon lip balm (4,8 g/5,5 ml): a great lip balm that does not aggravate my perioral dermatitis rash to burst out.

What have you used up lately?

Three month haul

One of the goals I put for myself in 2018 - was not to buy more than 12 beauty items in the following categories; makeup, nail polish and perfumes for the entire year of 2018. So that adds up to about one item per month.
So my shopping for January, February and March tallies up to three items form the particular categories that I have a 12 item limit on, and one item that I don't have a particular limit on.

Three month haul

The eye-shadows were a birthday treat for myself on my birthday, they are from Inglot, and did I pick the colours 303, which is a matte pinky colour with a hint of terracotta orange, and 450 which is a shimmery cranberry colour. They are really blendable and gorgeously pigmented, and am I really intrigued for more products by the brand.
The other two items I bought the other day when I was going through duty free, I was for sure not going to buy any nail polish this year until I would finish the polish that is a part of my "Beauty goals for 2018". But as I have to wear a lightly colored nail polish for my summer job this summer, and Essie help me grow and Nicole by OPI moisture plus, have not been working any wonders on my nails recently I decided to grab OPI Nail Envy in the color bubble bath. That way I could wear it for work and still strengthen my nails.
The forth and final item in this haul is the Clinique, take the day off, cleansing balm. This one does not count towards my 12 item limit for the year of 2018, but I had heard so many good things about it, I decided to try it, also I have to wear a full face of makeup this summer, so this was specially bought for that reason.

Have you bought anything recently?

Empties January 2018

In the first month of 2018 I managed of finish up a few items, three of which were left from my Beauty goals 2017

January empties 2018

Victoria's Secret - Beauty rush - Candy baby - body double mist (250 ml): as I predicted I was able to finish this item this month

The body shop - Vitamin E face mist (100 ml): absolutely love this face mist, will 100% buy again - and the new version also does not have any parabens in it - so that is a good development.

Maybelline - Instant age rewind eraser dark circles - light pale (6 ml): this I finished up quicker than I predicted, at the end of December 2017 I thought it would last me 2 months - when it only lasted for the two first weeks of January or so.

Sephora - moisturizing and soothing - Lotus face mask (22 gr): a single use facial sheet mask, it was absolutely soaked in product, to the point I found it a bit wasteful how much dripped of when I was applying it, But I really felt the moisture the mask gave, and my skin felt extra moisturized for about 2 days or so.

Erborian - BB créme au ginseng (? ml): this tester I got as a bonus in Sephora in Copenhagen 2016, so it was about time to try it, this small packet lasted for over a week, and was a dream to apply. It is perfect to spread out on your face with your fingers, which is my favorite BB cream formula, totally fuss free. It is a bit dark for me at the moment, as my skin is at it's palest. It will be perfect during the summer when I will be missing a foundation for my summer tan. The only question mark I put on it, is the SPF in it, as it claims to contain broad-spectrum spf of 20, so I wonder if it might start my perioral dermatitis to flare up.

But a very good start to the year 2018