Project 100 Pan ~ 4 Month Update and June Empties!

Hi everyone!

It turns out I've finally hit the wall I was dreading with my Project 100 Pan. I finished most of the easy and quick products and am now left with ones that will take MUCH longer. I only finished 2 project pan items this month (so sad!), so I decided to combine the update post with my June empties so that there would be more to talk about. :)

The two project pan items I finished were the Elf HD Powder and the Elf Undereye Concealer and Highlighter. I liked the HD powder but I wish the packaging were smaller. It is a very affordable price for the amount you get. The undereye concealer and highlighter were just okay; I found the texture slightly hard to blend into my skin. That makes a total of 41 products finished so far!

The two products I finished from my Project 100 Pan

June Empties!

On to the June empties that were not in my Project 100 Pan! Here's what I finished:

1. Pureology Color Stylist Nourishing Nectar Styling Gel ~ Good gel, nothing special but it did the job! I don't color my hair, but I got this from my mom and used it anyway. :)

2. Eco-Beauty Good Day. Day Moisturizer ~ I got this in an Ipsy or Birchbox...can't remember which one. It was a good moisturizer, but it did not have SPF, so I used it at night instead of during the day.

3. Kroger Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover ~ This is the best eye makeup remover I've tried, and it's cheap! It doesn't even have to be the Kroger brand; I just buy whatever the generic dupe is for the Neutrogena one.

4. Suave Volumizing Root Boost Spray ~ I think this may have added a little volume compared to not using anything. Not sure if I would repurchase, though, because I have other sprays that I like better!

5. Dove Advanced Care Deodorant in Sakura Plum ~ This is my favorite scent by Dove and I think the deodorant works well.

6. Covergirl Flamed Out Mascara in Black Blaze ~ A lot of these mascaras are quite old and dried out, so I didn't necessarily finish all of them, but they are getting tossed. This one was okay but not my favorite. It did a good job separating my lashes, though.

7. Hourglass Film Noir Mascara ~ I honestly don't remember too much about this mascara! I think it was nice but unfortunately it dried out before I got to use a lot of it.

8. Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara ~ This mascara was really great! I felt that it gave both length and lots of volume. I would consider buying this again.

9. Benefit They're Real Mascara ~ This is one of my favorite mascaras...it makes me look like I'm wearing false lashes! The only downside is that it can be difficult to remove.

10. Zum Mist Lavender-Lemon Aromatherapy Spray ~ I got this little sample from my mom and used it as a room spray. The scent was nice, but I would not repurchase.

11. Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser ~ I got this sample from Sephora. I really enjoyed this cleanser! It feels warm when you apply it to your face and I felt that it really cleaned my skin. I would consider repurchasing this.

Whew! That's it for this month. One other exciting piece of news - I have not bought any makeup, haircare, or skincare except to replace things I completely ran out of! So far so good!

Are you doing a project pan? Let me know in the comments below, or tell me about what you finished this month!

Best,
Anna

Project 100 Pan ~ 3 Month Update

Hi everyone!

I'm a couple days late, but here is the 3 month update for my Project 100 Pan! I wish I could have gotten it up on the first of the month, but clinic schedule has been crazy lately! I've found that my progress seems to be slowing as I've gotten through a lot of the easier-to-use-up products and am left with the ones that will take more time. I still made a good bit of progress though, so I'm pleased! Here's the list of what I finished this last month:

1. Neutrogena Antioxidant Age Reverse Day Lotion
2. Olay Fresh Effects Face Wash in Out Of This Swirled
3. Bath and Body Works Frosted Wonderland Lotion
4. Yes To Grapefruit Dark Spot Correcting Serum
5. Buxom Mascara
6. Bath and Body Works Simply Strawberry Lip Balm
7. Covergirl Eye and Brow Pencil
8. Clinique All About Eyes Eye Cream
9. Origins Vita-Zing Moisturizer
10. Elf Undereye Concealer
11. Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Blackhead Extractor Mask

Here they all are! (Sorry for the pathetic carpet background...)

I was so happy to finish some of these products because they felt like they were going on forever! Now that I've finished them, I would say some of my favorites were the Olay face wash and the Buxom mascara. 

Have you tried any of these products? Which ones did you like or dislike? Let me know if you have any questions or feel free to comment down below!

Best,

Anna

Project 100 Pan ~ 2 Month Update

Hi everyone!

It's been two months since I started Project 100 Pan! I feel like I've been making pretty good progress so far, but it's a lot of the easier stuff that is being finished up first. My guess is that the number of products I finish for each update will become less and less as I move on to more of my powder products. Anyway, here is a list of what I finished this month and just a bit of what I thought of them:

The finished products!

1. Olio di Argan Shampoo - Cleaned my hair well, but nothing special

2. Bath and Body Works Sugar Plum Dream Shower Gel - Loved the smell, but it does remind me of the holidays, so I didn't want to use it in the spring and summer

3. Coolway Boost Repair Hair Mask - Didn't notice much of a difference in my hair

4. Amika Nourishing Hair Mask - Once again, not a huge difference in my hair while using this

5. Neutrogena Naturals Multivitamin Nourishing Night Cream - Nice night cream, not too heavy or too light, had a fresh, pleasant smell

6. Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder in 110 - Really liked this at first and it was a good color match, but it got really hard and difficult to use pretty quickly. I wouldn't repurchase it because of this

7. Maybelline Coverstick Concealer in Fair - Great concealer! I used this for blemishes and it worked well to cover any spots

8. Sonia Kashuk Eyeshadow - It was a light champagne gold color, I used it for highlighting my brow bone and inner eye corner, nice pigmentation. I don't know the name because it came in a palette

The eyeshadow color before it was gone!

9. NYC Black and White Eyeliner - Not a bad eyeliner for being so cheap! I think I paid a dollar for this. The black side was good for regular liner, and I used the white in my inner eye corner and waterline

10. Givenchy Phenomen' Eyes Mascara in Phenomen' Black - Good mascara, but I have a love-hate relationship with the wand, which is just a little ball at the end (see below). Works well for outer lashes, but harder to use on lower lashes

Weird ball wand...

11. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment - Nice lip balm, although I felt like I had to reapply often

12. Victoria's Secret Pink Tinted Lip Balm in Happy - Nice sheer peach-pink color, although the texture was a bit gloopy

Peachy-pink color

13. Folle de Joie Perfume Sample - Pleasant smell, got this in a Birchbox

14. Sugar Lip Gloss - This one was in a palette, which is why it is not shown above. Nice gloss that gave sheer color, not too sticky and easy to wear

It's the one on the right

That makes a total of 29 products finished out of 100! Let me know if you guys like the mini reviews I included this time around. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them down below! Or if you're doing a project pan, link your blog or video and I'd love to read/watch it! :)

Best,
Anna

Quest for Minimalism

Hi everyone!

I've been inspired today to write a post about minimalism, which in essence is having less stuff. Lately, I've been bouncing back and forth between wanting to declutter and get rid of stuff, and wanting to buy all the things (especially beauty products)! The big problem is that even when I want to declutter, I just don't have the time to go through with it while I'm on my clinical rotations. And when I finally do have the time...well, then I'm back to wanting to buy more stuff. :)

I've heard many people talk about how liberating it is to get rid of stuff, and I think that it's probably true once you can bring yourself to do it. I've recently heard of the minimalist game, where you get rid of one thing on Day 1, two things on Day 2, etc. for 31 days. I'm toying with the idea of trying it but haven't yet been brave enough to commit.

The truth is I have way too much stuff, but I'm really bad at getting rid of it! I tend to keep things "just in case" or because I think I will use them or for sentimental reasons. These are the main ideas that I am going to try to overcome in my quest to decrease the sheer amount of things I own.

How do you guys feel about stuff? Are you a hoarder like me, or do you love to declutter? And lastly, would you guys be interested in seeing more posts on decluttering and owning less? Let me know in the comments!

Best,
Anna

Project 100 Pan ~ 1 Month Update

Hi everyone!

It's been one month since I started my Project 100 Pan! So far so good! I've been trying to use all the products consistently, although I let myself cheat now and again and use my other products so that I don't get too bored. I have finished 15 products so far, and here's what I've finished specifically:

1. Josie Maran Give One Get One Mascara
2. Smashbox Photofinish Primer Sample
3. Naked Bee Hand Lotion
4. Abercrombie Lip Tint
5. Zum Tub Bath Salts
6. Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation Sample
7. Living Proof Hair Mask
8. Eva NYC Up All Night Volumizing Spray Sample
9. Phyto Volume Intense Mousse
10. Neutrogena Rain Bath Shower Gel
11. Bain de Terre Hair Conditioner
12. Murad Oil Control Mattifier Lotion
13. Maybelline FitMe Foundation Stick in 110
14. Gear Flip Gloss
15. Toni&Guy Glamour Hairspray

Here's the whole lot of them!

(Sorry for poor picture quality...my phone wasn't cooperating...)

Some of the products were really easy to finish since they were samples or one-time-use kind of products. Now that I've been going for a month, though, I have a feeling some of these products are going to take me forever! (I'm looking at you, eyeshadows and powder blushes and bronzers...)

Another bit of positive news - I have not bought any makeup or beauty products! My fiance is helping me stay on track, along with the fact that I am accountable to you guys!

Let me know if you are doing a Project Pan or any challenge of the sort! Feel free to ask questions or comment!

Best,
Anna

A little motivation...featuring steroid injections!

Hi everyone!

I don't usually choose to post about medical school since I don't want to bore everyone to death, but I thought I'd write about an experience I had today - I got to inject a shoulder with steroids for the first time!

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but it's important to understand that I am NOT a procedure person. Procedures (as in, anything that I have to do with my hands and requires any sort of coordination, haha) make me so nervous and my hands start to shake! So I avoid them if possible while trying to seem like I'm not avoiding them...but not today. Today I had no choice, so I went along and tried to put on my most confident face for the sake of the patient.

Needless to say my attending physician talked me through it (it only takes a minute or two - really a very easy and short procedure) and everything went great! The reason I wanted to write about this is that it was a huge confidence booster for me. I think people don't like to do things they are not good at (or think they're not good at) and so they avoid them. What I learned today was that sometimes you just have to do the thing, and you'll realize it's not so bad! This lesson seems obvious, and I'm sure I had thought of it before, but it's nice to have a concrete example of it working out well.

So my challenge for you today is to go out and do something that makes you nervous! Granted, there will be times where it doesn't work out as planned, but you've got to try! You may surprise yourself. I still probably won't be a procedure person, but I sure won't be as nervous the next time I have to stick a needle in someone's joint. :)

What do you think? Have you done something outside of your comfort zone recently? Let me know in the comments below!

Best,
Anna

Etsy Shop Grand Opening!

Hi everyone!

My newest project has become a reality as of late last night! I finally got up the guts to open an Etsy shop to sell my jewelry. It's pretty small right now, but I hope to see it grow in the future!

Here's the link if you want to check it out!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ItsyBitsiesJewelry?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Right now it's just earrings, but I hope to add necklaces and bracelets in the future! Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions!

Best,
Anna