· 3 min read
How to Choose Products for Your First Project Pan
Choose a manageable first Project Pan with products you enjoy, realistic goals and a clear mix of usage targets and finish targets.
By Vannie
Choose products for your first Project Pan by starting with what fits your current routine. A manageable selection includes items you like, can reach easily and can give a clear goal.
You do not need to choose your oldest or least favourite makeup automatically. A project built entirely around products you avoid can become difficult before you have learned what tracking style works for you.
Start with your real makeup week
Look at the makeup you wear during an ordinary week. If you usually use a lip balm and blush, a full-glam palette challenge may not match your life.
Think about workdays, weekends and days you wear no makeup. Your goals should fit those patterns rather than depend on creating extra applications.
For the background to panning, see our guide to what Project Pan means. Your first project can be very small.
Choose products you are willing to use
A product does not need to be your absolute favourite, but it should be comfortable and suitable for you. Panning is not a requirement to finish something regardless of how it performs.
Start with one easy-to-reach favourite. Add a product you want to rediscover and perhaps a partly used item you would like to finish.
Keep sealed backups separate. Opening several products just to populate a challenge can create more open items than your routine needs.
Mix goals instead of making every item an empty
A finish goal is useful for something you reasonably expect to finish. A usage goal is easier to measure when the product is still full or its consumption is hard to see.
Here is an illustrative starting selection:
| Product | Possible goal | Why it is manageable |
|---|---|---|
| Partly used lip balm | Finish it | Already part of the routine |
| Everyday blush | Record 15 uses | Clear action without a finish deadline |
| Favourite palette | Use it on ten makeup days | Tracks attention across the palette |
| Lipstick you want to revisit | Try five different looks | Helps assess whether you enjoy it |
| Nearly empty foundation | Record progress until finished | Uses an existing open product |
Change the quantities to fit your own starting point. These are examples, not targets everyone should copy.
Record a starting point
Take a photograph and write down what the product looks like now. For a powder, note whether there is a dip or visible pan. For a tube, describe the level you can actually see.
Do not assign a precise percentage just because an app or template has room for one. “Some product left near the base” may be more honest than “17 percent remaining.”
Record the goal separately from the starting condition so you can tell what changed.
Put the chosen products within reach
Keep your current targets together in a familiar place, within their normal storage requirements. Leave room for other makeup you enjoy.
Choose one check-in date to review the project. At that point you can continue, change a goal or rotate a product out. Changing a project based on what you learn does not erase the useful record.
A project can also reveal that a formula or shade no longer suits you. That is information for future buying, even if it produces no empty.
Track the project in a way you enjoy
You can use a notebook, spreadsheet or makeup tracking app. Vannie combines your inventory with usage counts, progress photos and empties, so current targets can live alongside the rest of your collection.
Start with Vannie on iOS or Android and add the products you already plan to use this week. Your first goal is to create a project you will want to return to.
