Finish 9 By New Year, Update 1;-

So it's been just over a month since I began my end of the year project pan so I'm here to show my almost half-way progress!

There are some products I've done really well with and there are others that I know I have absolutely no chance in finishing before 2018 is over.

1 - Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera (Not Cruelty Free)

I've expanded the pan in this lip balm quite significantly, but I don't think I'm halfway through the what I began with yet, so I don't think I'll manage to finish this one by the end of the year. I have finished the lip balm that I was keeping in my handbag when I started my project so I think my progress will pick up a little this month, but I think there will still be a little left. I'm not too worried as I always need a lip balm I was just hoping to get through this a little quicker as I have quite a lot of lip balms in my collection!

2- Smashbox Eyeshadow Primer (Cruelty Free)

I began with product up to the bottom of '24' and now I'm down to the words 'photo finish' which means that I'm definitely not halfway through this. But I have used it every single day and I'm beginning to notice that there are a lot of air bubbles at the bottom so I'm still holding onto a tiny slither of hope I can finish this before the end of the year.

3 - L'oReal Infallible Matte Foundation (Not Cruelty-Free)/Revolution Fast Base Stick (Cruelty-Free)

Around 3 days after my intro post I managed to finish up the last of my L'oReal foundation, I thought there was around a month's worth of product left as the bottle seemed neverending, but that obviously wasn't the case! This is not Cruelty-Free and I don't always love the foundation so I'm really glad its out of my collection.

I've been using the Revolution stick foundation since I ran out of the other one (you can read my thoughts on the foundation here and here) and I found that it's really easy to go through this. I didn't reach for it overly often as it's not my favourite, but in using it over the past few weeks I've already used over half. I didn't anticipate myself putting any other products in this project but I think I actually could finish this by the end of the year. There's around 1cm of product in this and hopefully soon there will be none.

4 & 5 - Collection Contour Kit (Not Cruelty Free) 

I think it was quite the long-shot hoping I'd finish this by the end of the year... It's taken me so long to get where I am and I think it will be many months until I've completely used this duo. I'm really pale so I don't use a lot of bronzer and I like to switch up what highlighter I use. I do really like this duo so I will continue to use this until I finish it as I own more than the amount of bronzers and highlighters I need and I want to reduce my numbers even if it is very slowly. My new aim is to finish the bottom corner of the highlight and maybe hit side panel at the bottom of the bronzer.

6 - Stila Eyeliner in Starfish (Cruelty Free) 

I think I've maybe rolled this up once since my first update and although I can't roll this up to see my progressI don't think I'm near done. This isn't the colour I'd prefer to use so I think in turn I'm using less eyeliner on the whole. I'm going to give this one last try for the last month of the year, then I'm throwing this out because it's old and I don't really like it that much!

7 - Ted Baker Nude Lipstick (Not Cruelty Free)

I've used over half of what's left in this lipstick. It's not my perfect nude but I've been layering it over a brown liquid lip and it's made a browny-nude that's perfect for Autumn. I think I can finish what's left in maybe a week and I'm excited to get it out of my collection.

8 - Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake (Not Cruelty Free)

I also think I've made pretty good progress on this lipstick as well. I haven't used this as much as the Ted Baker lipstick as I think it only pairs well with cool-toned eye looks. I do think I'll be able to finish this up by the end of the year though.

9 - Essence Lip Liner in Wish Me A Rose (Cruelty Free)

I'm not feeling quite as good about my lip liner, I've used this every time I've used my Revlon lipstick and I've sharpened it twice, but it's definitely not going to be done by the end of the year. But this does pair well with some other pink lipsticks I own, so I'm thinking I could put one of those shades in a project next year and finish one along with this liner.

Is there anything your looking to finish by the end of the year?

<< Click here to see my intro

Follow me around;

Twitter - @girlaboutvill

Instagram - @girlaboutvillage 

Monthly Makeup Buys - New Things From Revolution;-

I don't buy that much makeup anymore (in comparison to myself a couple of years ago) so I feel like when I do it is a monumental occasion and I want to talk about everything I've picked up. Sometimes I feel like I have so much to say I want to write a whole review, other things I don't feel that strongly about or I forget to review them and they never get spoken about on my blog. So I've decided I want to collect all of the makeup I've bought each month and share my first impressions on the products, any things that I feel like I could say more about or my opinions change as I use them more I will do a full review on at a later date. I have been doing a few of these posts this year, but I've decided to call this series my monthly makeup buys. I will probably post one of these most months, but not all as sometimes I can go a whole month without buying a single item of makeup.

This month I only actually made two orders for makeup, most of it from my favourite brand Revolution - I'd seen quite a few new things from Revolution coming out that I wanted to get my mitts on so I thought I would bite the bullet. I also picked up a primer because I ran out of the one I was using.

Revolution Skincare Targeted Under Eye Serum
The first thing isn't actually a makeup item, but I don't very frequently talk about skincare so I wanted to share my thoughts on this. I was quite intrigued by Revolution's new skincare range as a lot of the products look very high end, but don't carry the high end price tag, I also really love the Baking Oil which I have been using for a few months. I don't really need a lot skincare-wise at the moment, but as I said in my Superdrug Skincare Review I have struggled with finding a eye cream that works, so I decided to pick up Revolution's serum. This contains caffeine and hyaluronic acid and claims to reduce the look of dark circles and improve the appearance of under eye puffiness. As a serum I expected this to be somewhat oily, but it actually has the consistency of water which helps it sink into the skin really quickly. When my eyes are puffy, this actually reduces the puffiness and helps my eye under circles actually look less purple and it keeps my under eyes hydrating. This is the first under eye product I've used that I actually notice a difference with and for just £6.00 I think this is a bargain!

Revolution Conceal & Define Foundation
I really love Revolution's Conceal & Define concealer so when I heard Revolution were bringing out a foundation to match I knew I had to have it. This seems to have garnered a lot of hype, I've seen a lot of raving first impressions posts, but it only came out a month or two ago and I barely hear about it now! I think this happens with a lot of Revolution products. I've only tried this a handful of times and I have mixed thoughts. I want to play with this a little more before I give my final thoughts so I think I'm going to review this in a couple of weeks time.

Revolution Bake and Finish Powder 

I used up the last of my loose powders a couple of months ago and I really like to have one on hand as I find they are a little more heavy duty than a pressed powder. I've seen a couple of good reviews on this one since it was released, I'm pretty sure I saw Zoella raving about this quite some time ago so I thought I'd give it a go. I've really been enjoying this, its really finely milled so you can barely see it on the skin and it doesn't leave a white cast on my face. I'm not sure if this causes flashback, but I rarely use flash photography so that doesn't worry me. It mattifies my face for most of the day, I would say that for optimum wear I need to reapply this once during the day, but I get this with most powders. There is such a lot of product in this I can see it lasting me ages, so I've definitely got my money's worth. I'm preferring this over my Charlotte Tilbury pressed powder and this is a fraction of the price. My one gripe is that I wish the lid was larger as I struggle to fit my beauty blender into the lid to get powder on there in the first place!

I Heart Revolution Fixing Spray Green Tea
I always have a fixing spray on hand and I've recently finished the bottle I was using. I was quite intrigued to try out I Heart Revolution's new scented fixing sprays as I absolutely love green tea! Unfortunately this doesn't actually smell like real green tea, it has more of a fresh scent like cucumber. However, I really like the sprayer on this it seems to distribute the setting spray really evenly, I think its better than the regular one that Revolution sell. It also works just as well to make my makeup last all day and to foil my eyeshadows.

Revolution Soph Nude Lipstick - Cake

Another thing I picked up is this Soph & Revolution Collab. I really wanted to pick up a new nude as the only nude I own is the one I'm trying to use up in my Finish 9 by New Years project and isn't right the shade for me in any event. I'm also really glad to show a bit of support to Sophdoesnails as I really enjoy watching her videos, but I felt I already have most of the shades in her eyeshadow palettes already in my collection. This lipstick is a browney-nude shade and has a satin finish. Its not glossy or matte, it doesn't last all day but feels comfortable and wears away evenly, which is my preferred finish. I also really like the packaging and the bullet also has 'SophX' embossed onto it, which is a really nice touch and I'm really enjoying this so far.

Revolution and Emily Noel - The Emily Edit The Wants Palette
As with every makeup haul of mine, there's always a palette. This time around I picked up the Emily Noel and Revolution collaboration 'The Wants' Palette. Now this palette has been probably the most controversial makeup item since the Tarte Shape Tape. There have been reports of mould on the red shade, Tati was completely slammed for claiming that the shades were patchy. I have to say, I've been really loving this and I've used it a tonne. I've not had any problems with mould or getting the shadows to work and I really like the shade selection, I'm currently working on a 5 Looks 1 Palette and full review of the palette. However, this has been pulled from Revolution website for supposed 'reformulating', but it is still available on the Superdrug website. The most recent piece of news from Emily Noel's twitter is that the palette is currently in customs and should be available again shortly, which I really hope so that I can share the looks I have created with this.

Barry M All Night Long Primer Stick
This is the only thing I picked up this time around that isn't from Revolution, Barry M are becoming a fail-safe brand for me as they're cruelty-free and easy to get a hold of, especially as my local Tesco stock them so if I know I've run out of something I can pick it up with my weekly shop. That's what happened here, I ran out of my trust Bodyshop Primer quite suddenly and I needed to pick something up quickly (and I wanted to try something different). This primer stick is very silicone feeling, but easy to blend in. It makes for a smooth base to apply foundation on top of and does my makeup last longer. However, it doesn't make my face completely matte or fill pores, which is something I look for in a primer. I've also used primers that my makeup even more long lasting than this one.  I've used this pretty much every time I've worn makeup since I bought it and I don't hate it and I'll definitely finish it up, but I'm not sure I'd run out and buy it again when its all gone.

Have you tried any of these products? Have you bought anything new this month?

Follow me around;

Twitter - @girlaboutvill

Instagram - @girlaboutvillage

18 Eyeshadows in 2018, Update 6;-

Hello and it's that time again!
I'm here with another update on my Finish 18 in 2018 project. This month I've continued to use companion palettes but I've made sure to pair it with my project shadows. I'm feeling like I've made pretty good progress and I'm eager to make even more progress in the last couple of months of the year!

Smashbox Mini Trio - all shades left (1 done) 

I feel like I'm finally getting through this shade a little bit! I'm still using it for my eyebrows every day and I've managed to hit side pan on one of the sides and I'm now moving towards the upper side. I found that with the other shades in this palette once I hit side pan the shadow seemed to move a bit quicker, so there may be hope with me finishing this by the end of the year or shortly after.

Mac Quad - Shades 1(done), 2 & 3 

I've finally managed to hit pan on the light pink! I've been using this as an eye and face highlight pretty much all year and I've finally done it. I do like this shade so I'm going to see if I can make a little more progress with this.
I've used the taupe shade a couple of times this month, but as my goal was only to hit pan and I've done that I'm not too worried about using this anymore.

Freedom single shadows - all shades 

The shade I've used most this month out of my Freedom shadows is the shimmery brown, I feel like I've done a pretty good job expanding the pan the past couple of months. I've been using this with the matte brown from my Iconic 2 palette in the crease, and the matte purple shade in my lower lash line. This is the only look I've been able to create with the purples all year that I'm comfortable wearing to work. I feel like its a small pop of colour that makes the look interesting but not too in your face. I'm hoping if I keep this up until the end of the year, I might actually see some progress in the purple shade.
I've also worn the reds a few times again this month and I know I've said it for a couple of months, but I think I'm very close to hitting pan in the middle shade, like maybe a couple more uses and I'll see shiny silver!

Revolution Iconic 2  Palette - Shades 1-5 

As you can see I have expanded the pan in the cream and brown shades, I'm pretty sure I can get the cream shade finished up by the end of the year but I don't think I'll finish the brown shade but I'm happy to have made the progress that I have. I said last month that I wanted to use the cold and copper shade this month as I hadn't used them the month before, I managed to use both of these a few times but I don't see any progress but I am really enjoying these and I want to use them more in the next month too!

I can't believe I only have two more months of this project left. I've feeling motivated to make as much progress as possible and I'll be back next month to show you my penultimate progress.

<< Click here to read my introduction

< Click here to read my last update

Click here to read my next update >

Follow me around;

Twitter - @girlaboutvill

Instagram - @girlaboutvillage

Essence Review;-

Essence are a brand I forget about. They are Cruelty Free, really budget friendly and I really like most of the products I've tried from them before. I think my problem is how far away my local Wilko is from the car park... I'm really that lazy. I have heard really good things about their Lash Princess Mascara so I picked that up and bought a few other goodies too.

Lash Princess Mascara - False Lash Effect

This is the whole reason I wanted to try some more from Essence, I've heard so many good things about this mascara. This mascara is just £3.30 and I didn't believe that a mascara at this price could be as good as I've heard. The wand is made up of bristles, I usually prefer plastic wands, and its pretty thin so I really wasn't expecting a lot from this... but this mascara blew me away. This goes on super black, it is more lengthening on my lashes than any other mascara I've tried and its volumizing too. This doesn't clump your lashes together and doesn't dry really solid so it can be layered. I think my lashes are the best they've ever looked, really black, defined and long. This doesn't flake, but on hotter days in the summer this did smudge a few times after a long day. It doesn't do it now that its cooler so I'll give it a pass. For the price I think this mascara is amazing and I can see myself buying it again

Eyeshadow Brushes

I can't find these exact brushes online so I'm not sure if they still sell them, but they do sell other eyeshadow brushes. I wear different coloured eyeshadow all of the time I'm always in need of new eyeshadow brushes to use when all of the rest are dirty so I decided to pick these two up from Essence because they were around £1.00 - £2.00. The first brush is a small smuding brush, I wish they did this in a bigger size because I think it would be perfect to apply shadow to the lid, but this is perfect to apply inner corner highlight and shadow to the lower lash line. The other brush is a fluffy blending brush, this is really good for applying transition shades as it gives a light application or using clean to blend shadows together.

Both of these are really good quality for the price. I've washed them and I've had no problem with shedding. As the bristles are white and they have been recently used for blue eyeshadow they have stained a little, but that doesn't really bother me. I would definitely think about picking up more of these in the future.

 Ultra Last Instant Colour Lipstick - 10 Pink Candy

I had no intention of picking up a lipstick, but this colour just drew me in. This is a pink/purple fuchsia shade, I didn't really own any other lip products in a shade like this. Its a really eye catching shade that I love wearing on warm days with minimal eye makeup. This has a satin finish and it feels super nice on the lips. It feels really comfortable to wear and lasts a good few hours before it begins to fade. It wears away really smoothly until you can't see it at all. All in all I really like this and for just £2.30 I'm really glad I bought it.

Have you tried anything from Essence?

Follow me around;

Twitter - @girlaboutvill

Instagram - @girlaboutvillage

Finish 9 by New Year;-

I like to claim that I'm into panning but I haven't actually posted a project pan this year, I've been trying to use up items in my collection behind the scenes but I haven't stuck to a proper project where I track my progress on my blog. With the end of the year fast approaching (not even kidding how the hell has that happened?!) I thought it would be fun to see if I can finish a few more products before 2019 comes around the corner and use up a few more non cruelty free items in my collection, so I can start the new year a little more fresh. I have made note of which products are cruelty free, but if you know something I don't please leave me a comment to let me know so I can correct it!

If you don't know what a Project Pan is, I've picked 9 items from the collection that I want to completely use up and I will be using my blog to update you on my progress once a month. I've done two project pans previously, which you can read here and here and I'm currently trying to finish 18 Eyeshadows in 2018.

With no further ado here are the products I've chosen to include in this project.

1 - Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera (Not Cruelty Free)

I always include a lip balm in my Project Pans because I have quite the collection and they're all getting pretty old now. I've made pretty good progress with this by using this in the mornings. I have another lip balm I'm about to finish in my handbag, but once I finish that I will pop this one in there and I'm sure I'll make pretty quick progress. I want to continue to use this as it isn't cruelty free and then I can move onto another lip balm in my collection before they all go bad!

2- Smashbox Eyeshadow Primer (Cruelty Free)
This is a holy grail product for me, I've used this to prime my lids for about 2 years now. Its a mousse formula and it is work, party and festival proof. However, this is £20.00 and I've heard a lot of good things about some drugstore eyeshadow primers and I really want to see if I can find a cheaper alternative. There is less than a third left of this in the tube, but it does last a really long time. I'm hoping I can get this finished up in the next couple of months so I can try something new.

3 - L'oReal Infallible Matte Foundation (Not Cruelty-Free)
I really feel like I've been everywhere with this foundation, I've even reviewed it twice on my blog (here and here). It used to be my favourite, then I really didn't like it and I've recently discovered I can work with it really well if I use a facial oil underneath it. It is cruelty free and I own four foundations that I reach for them over this. I really don't wear the thickest layers of foundation so I find them really difficult to finish but as there is less than a third left in the bottle I think I can  be done within the next month if I really focus on it.

4 & 5 - Collection Contour Kit (Not Cruelty Free)
As you can see this contour and highlight duo is already pretty well-loved. The bronzer is not too dark or warm and the highlight is subtle and I like it for everyday. But as I said in My Ideal Makeup Collection post I need to downsize my bronzer and highlighter collection and I definitely have dupes of both of these. I just want to use this product solely until I finish it up, but its taken me a really long time to get to where I have so I think I'll be in it for the long haul with this one!

6 - Stila Eyeliner in Starfish (Cruelty Free)
I really don't like this eyeliner. I got this free when I bought the Stila In The Garden palette way back in 2015 and I never really liked the shade. This is a khaki green eyeliner with gold shimmers throughout. I convince myself that this is close enough to a brown eyeliner that I would use it, but I really don't reach for it. I feel like I've had been trying to use it up for so long I may as well finish it so I can go back to using an eyeliner that I like. This is a twist up liner that won't go back down once rolled up (as I discovered the hard way) so I'm not entirely sure how much of this is left, but I think it would be less than half.

7 - Ted Baker Nude Lipstick (Not Cruelty Free)
So a couple of years ago I bought basically every Christmas gift set that Ted Baker did because the packaging was so pretty, but all of the makeup was absolute trash. I kept an eyebrow pencil and this lipstick so I didn't feel like I'd completely wasted my money. Flash forward and I still have this. This is a real concealer-lip shade which isn't greatly flattering, but I do use this over the top of matte liquid lips as it has a glossy finish. I've nearly finished this and I think I could use it up fairly quickly.

8 - Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake (Not Cruelty Free)

I used to love this lipstick, it's the first and only lipstick I ever repurchased. I don't use it so much anymore as I prefer slightly darker shades. I also don't really want to talk about this anymore on my blog as Revlon is not cruelty free the Lip Butters have been discontinued, which just shows how long I've had this! I think there is around half left of this, but I think I should be able to use this up quite quickly if I remember to reapply throughout the day.

9 - Essence Lip Liner in Wish Me A Rose (Cruelty Free)
I definitely have more lip liners than I need and this is the liner I tend to use underneath my Lip Butter, so I think this would be a good time to try and use this up. There is a lot of product still left in this so I think it will be difficult to finish, but it goes well under a lot of shades so I'm going to give it my best shot.

Are you taking part in any panning projects, because I really love to read them.

Follow me around;

Twitter - @girlaboutvill

Instagram - @girlaboutvillage