Feb 8, 2025 6 min read Empties

Is Project Pan back? Review of Beauty Empties - February 2025

As a self-confessed beauty junkie (and hoarder!), committing to fully finishing each product before opening a new one has truly become a (more) sustainable discipline for me. It also allows me to assess what really works or not through time, and these articles remind me of what I loved and must rebuy and what will never be purchased ever again.

Check all past empties reviews:

Here are 7 products I emptied in January:

WELLNESS

AAVALABS Ashwagandha Root Extract

Starting with beauty-from-within, wellness is an integral part of my beauty regimen, so is exercise, food and sleep. Complemented with vitamins B1, B6, Magnesium, Manganese and Zinc, I have been a permanent purchaser of this Ashwagandha supplement. I explain all the reasons here and months later and as I feel so much better about myself, I truly feel the effects on levelling my cortisol and help me manage some of my cycle-related mood issues. I emptied this bottle in January but already opened the refill. Happy customer indeed. And if you click here, you can also purchase it with a €8 discount on first purchase with Aavalabs.

Here are the other beauty products I went through during the month and what I thought about them, one "Project Pan" included:

BODY

VASELINE Aloe Soothe Intensive Care Body Lotion

I have to be honest: this product wasn't mine to begin with, but my husband's. I am not very disciplined at moisturising my body on a daily basis (I don't know how I skip that step daily...! I am so good with my face routine, I don't get this discrepancy of mine...). Bref ! I liked this product's texture and how quickly it would dry on the skin, after leaving it moisturised and with a nice smooth shine. But I would not rebuy as the feeling was very artificial and I prefer using more natural products on my skin. Let's just say this one did the job and I didn't even have to pay for it!

SKINCARE

BIODERMA Sensibio H20 Micellar Water

I have been using this product since 2010 and I swear by it. I try other micellar waters here and there, but this is the most efficient and reliable of them all. Also the big bottle is very practical and lasts a long time for every day use. Micellar water is a part of my daily take the day off routine. I apply on a cotton pads (usually 2-3 per cleanse) until they come off clean. It's the best first step to my makeup removal process.Will rebuy, of course.

MAKE UP

I very rarely finish make up products - is packaging bigger and bigger or am I a stingy user when I do my daily weekday make routine before heading to the office? I will go for option one, I guess. But in January, I finished 4!

BENEFIT Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation - Shade 5

This one took forever to finish! I usually put a few drops of a liquid foundation with my moisturiser. It makes for a soft foundation option for me as I don't use a bigger quantity and a brush for foundation - I love my skin ever since I got rid of all my acne! - but I won't repurchase this one after emptying it as I don't feel the coverage at this point.

BENEFIT Rockateur Cheek Powder (small size)

I read the other day that "Project Pan" articles are back and I am here for it. This whole "empty products review" I do every (other) month confirms I never let it go to be honest. I eventually emptied my small Benefit blush and what makes me happy about it - after seeing the pan getting bigger and bigger every week! - is that sometimes products stop making sense for you. I used to have oily skin so I needed that "powder" finish on my face. But now that I don't have acne anymore, I feel more adventurous towards liquid blushers, such as this one that also works on eye lids and lasts ALL DAY. So I won't be repurchasing this one, as it did the job that doesn't suit the person I am today any longer.

CLINIQUE Quickliner for eyes intense - 01 Intense Black

I had already written here about my love for Clinique's Brow Pencils and it is the same for their other quickliners, that are easy to use as they are automated and need no sharpening tool. How clever?! I was a heavy khol user in my early 20s and I stopped using it all over my eye when I saw an ID picture of mine where I looked like a panda. So I started only doing a small line on the outer corner of my eyes to elongate it (what I would call the lazy girl cat eye?!). If I wanted a more intense look, I would use on my lower lid but very rarely. I liked this product and how easy it was to use but reality is that I stopped buying eye liners as I rarely go through them and now only get them if they come in a pack with something else like this Lancôme one. So I don't think I will rebuy this anytime soon but if I ever need one, it will be my go-to.

CLINIQUE Quickliner for lips intense - 07 Intense Blush

Now lipliners are a whole different story! I have been really investing a lot more on my lips in the past 4 years. I was always about the eyes but when pandemic hit, there was no patience - or need - to create a full look but realised that putting on a bright red lipstick made me pop on the countless Team and Zoom calls. And I started paying more attention to my lips in real life as well. I still have a lot to learn from colour to durability to matte-ness or full-ness and contouring but I am getting the hang of it.

As for the eye liner and brow pencil, I love that Clinique's Quickliner needs no sharpening and is automated. I feel this technology helped me getting into lip liners. As for the colour, I discovered this one did not suit me best as it was too light and I purchased the 14 Lipblush shade that suits me so much better. I have very thin lips and contouring has really improved my whole look. At least that is how I feel. What do you think?