Monday, December 29, 2014

Project Make A Dent 2014 Finale

Oh the circle of life of these stash-reducing challenges (if you haven't been following my updates, see the inaugural post here): first you get super pumped about your new project, then you get increasingly bored using the same products over and over again and slowly fall off the wagon, and then suddenly, you realize it's almost the end of the year, and you need to get cracking! That's basically the gist of my experience with Project Make A Dent #1. Anyway, are you ready to see my progress from the entire year?
Products at the beginning of Project MAD #1, January 2014
Updated selection of products at a half year mark in June 2014 (Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and the Annabelle eyeliner having been completely used up)
Let's start with the unrefutable success stories: I've completely used up one bottle of foundation (Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in the shade 51), two eyeliner pencils (Annabelle Smudgeliner in Rich Chocolate and GOSH Waterproof liner in Black Ink) and one lipstick (Rimmel Moisture Renew in Soft Coral). That's four make-up empties! Verrry nice. Now, for the partial success: I've managed to put a noticeable dent in an eyeshadow (Annabelle Vanilla Chilla), another eyeliner (Urban Decay 24/7 in Whiskey), another lipstick (NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose), and another foundation (added later, Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in Intensity 1). Lastly, the womp womp of my project - the two neverending blushes, NYX Powder Blush in Angel and NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink. I promise, even though I've used them a lot, there's barely any product missing! I swear it's some kind of self-refilling make-up magic :/
Products in December 2014: GOSH Waterproof eyeliner in Black Ink (not pictured, already thrown away) and Rimmel Soft Coral lipstick completely used up
Overall, I'm very happy with the results of my first Project Make A Dent. I was kind of hoping to maybe use up one more eyeliner completely and hit pan on the NYX blush, but it is what it is and I'm feeling satisified. I definitely used my products as much as I possibly could, and given that I don't wear make-up everyday, I gave them a lot of attention without ignoring the rest of my collection. I will admit that at some point, the Project MAD got a little confusing - subconsciously, you strive to use up your selected items completely, but it's not in fact the goal of this challenge. I think that's usually the breaking point when you want to abandon the Project, but it's important to take a step back, maybe take a little break from your basket of products, and then return to it when you're feeling refreshed. That's the benefit of doing the project over the course of an entire year!

The lessons I learnt from this year's Project Make A Dent have definitely helped me to introduce some improvements for 2015 - yes, there's going to be a second edition next year! I'm already planning my challenge and selecting new products I want to focus on, but I'll talk more about the changes I've decided to make in the post dedicated to the new Project. How have you guys been doing with your stash-reducing projects? Are you happy with this year's achievements, are you already setting goals for next year?

16 comments:

  1. Congrats, Monika! You made some MAJOR dents. But this just goes to show all the powder things like eye shadow & blush are near impossible to hit pan on unless you only use those exclusively.
    I am totally impressed with you & Helen on all of what you've finished/dented/panned.
    No major goals for me, I think. Especially as makeup variety is really fun for me and I always buy more than I can ever dent. :)

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  2. I think you did very well! A foundation, eyeliners and a lippie gone - impressive. I do see progress in the NYX blush but man, that sucker looks tough. I love these posts from you. They remind me to pay my own Project MAD a little bit more attention! Happy Holidays.

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  3. You've clearly been really good with using up makeup! I have been on a no-buy for close to 4 months but still haven't managed to use up what I have, mainly because I don't wear everyday either! I did make a HUGE dent in my Tarte's Exposed blush which I am really happy about :-)

    TheConscienceFund

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  4. hmmm.. might need to do something like this for 2015! I haven't used up too many products this year which is quite shameful! Congrats on using up those four! Isn't it funny how that's a success for a blogger, but normal thing for other women haha?

    www.lilting-grace.blogspot.com

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  5. I've joined this challenge a bit late, my final update will be in March... and like you I've used up some products, made a serious dent in others, and after 9 months I don't see how I'll ever finish my blush :)

    Looking forward to your 2015 picks :)

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  6. I did Finish 6 by Christmas this year (started in...October I think?) and I definitely want to do something like this again! I only got about halfway finished all 6 projects, but I'm still pretty satisfied.

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  7. I agree! Looks like a lot of progress was made in 2014. But blushes do always seem like they take forever to finish.
    I've been meaning to start this Project Make A Dent for next year. Too much makeup is being unused right now. I don't want them to go bad :X

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  8. I think you made really good progress! I can see a change in the blush even though there isn't any pan! I've only been doing Project MAD since the beginning of this month but it's felt like AGES already haha. I've been weaving in other products here and there to add some variety but I'm surprised I've been sticking to the same eyeshadows pretty consistently. Excited to see what products you pick for your next project! I love seeing some pan and how other beauty bloggers use up their stash :)

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  9. I didn't officially make a goal like you did however I subconsciously started to weed out certain products to focus on using up. I've been pretty impressed with the progress I've unintentionally made and hope to see more empties in 2015! This has not slowed me down (much) from buying (because I have a problem, clearly) new products but I'm more deliberate about certain product types (foundations, powders, etc). I had a huge stash of these items that were unloved and needed to be used...and now they're my priority items - can't let good money and product go to waste! Good work and looking forward to seeing your updated list for 2015 :D

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  10. This is such a good idea. I'll try to buy less in 2015, so I might give this project a try and see what happens! :)

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  11. So refreshing to see such a progress. I finished my ''finish by xmas project'' and I'm quite happy with results too. I'm actually teriffied to do an empties post since I have a full bag of makeup empties from June. Geeesh, I need to start writing! :) Oh, and I'm definitely doing a ''use up in 2015'' list this year on my blog. Geeks!

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  12. Great job on making a dent on these products! That's a interesting project, I definitely doing this in 2015! :)

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  13. As always, I really admire your dedication on using these products. I'm actually inspired to do something similar, but it is still brewing. Stay tuned..

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  14. awesome post! love the Tea Rose lipstick! :)

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  15. good job!! I totally failed :( Lol

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  16. Nice project! I think you need a lot of patience and endurance to wear all these products in one year without opening tooo much new stuff. I am also reducing my make up stash, but I have decided to use all my blushes, eyeshadows and nail polishs to clean out my stash. I'd like to decide which one I would like to use and sell some stuff. Well, I think this project will be a nice one for the second half of this year. I'm too buzy with trying all my blushes and nail polishes xD

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