Not gonna lie, I am writing this on Saturday and posting on Sunday. This is entirely due to wanting to ride 50 miles of gravel tomorrow, and knowing full well that if I do so, it’ll take me many hours and my day will be devoted to biking rather than blog posting and crafting. I expect to be so exhausted when I get done that doing much of anything else will be out of the question.

So pretend you are chatting with me on Saturday. Miss Butterfly got home from camp today. I had the impression that she would be spending the weekend with her father, as it was his weekend with her. I went out to do some errands, and when I returned, she was home! She told me that he’d made the decision to drop her off because he thought she might like to spend time at home, and he was right, she DID want to spend time at home. It’s very very hot here right now, and very humid. And it turns out, the AC in her cabin was broken all week so the kids in her group were pretty miserable. She’s looking forward to a night of good sleep in her own bed in a cool and comfortable room. Then she’ll hang with her father tomorrow. That seems fair, and I am not gonna lie, I’ve enjoyed having her home with me today.

Anyhow, let’s move on to product empties. Here’s the round up for this month.

I decided just to line them all up instead of spreading them out, and we’ll work left to right again.

A sample of Prada Candy Sugar Pop-This was in my project pan, and it’s gone now. I find it hard even to use perfume samples, as quite frankly, I am not a perfume re-applier. I want to put it on in the morning and not think about it again. Frankly, while this perfume is nice enough, it doesn’t have the staying power for me to put it on in the morning and not reapply. I still didn’t reapply, but it’s not something I would purchase mostly because of that. Also, I found myself quickly getting tired of the fragrance. I liked it initially, and then by the end of the sample I was a little bored. So, not a win for me.

Benefit Porefessional-This, too, was in my project pan for the summer. It’s gone now. Toward the end of this sample, I found it trying to bead up as I put it on. I don’t know if it was reacting poorly with moisturizer or what. But that was unpleasant. Other than that, it’s been just fine, a good go-to primer. I ended up setting aside the other little sample of the same product to use while traveling some time. It’s got plenty of shelf life in it, and it’s so tiny it would be a perfect travel primer. Plus, I know I like the product well enough to use it that way.

Origins Night-a-mins night cream-I didn’t love this product but also didn’t resent using it. It’s a little heavy for summer use in my opinion. I don’t like the smell of it either. I wouldn’t be upset if I got another sample, but I am not heading out to purchase it either.

Origins Ginzing gel moisturizer-I really didn’t like the smell of this one, but also didn’t have a problem with how it worked on my skin. After the night-a-mins was used up, I used this one for morning and night, with no issues. Again, I would use it if I got a sample, but I am not going to purchase.

Clinique chubby stick moisturizing lip balm in Strawberry-This was in my project pan just like all the above products. I liked the ease of use on this one, but am not purchasing any more of them because they give me a mild sore throat and that’s not pleasant when I know other products don’t do that. I can say though, that this is a product that gets used up very quickly if used throughout the day. There may well be less expensive options out there that work similarly.

Mary Kay Mineral Foundation Powder-So this product was quite old, I don’t even know when I picked it up but it had to be ages ago. I must have used it at one point, but I KNOW I didn’t use it properly. I think I probably just dusted it on the face as a setting powder. I knew so little about makeup and assumed that was the appropriate use. Now that I know more, I pulled it out and buffed it into my skin and was extremely pleased with the results! It held up nicely during the day, and I liked that if I was having foundation issues around my nose or chin I could just buff a little more in and fix the problem. It doesn’t cover texture but it does do a nice job covering redness and other color imperfections, helping to even skin tone overall. I was surprised at how much I liked it, used it up, and bought some Bare Minerals to try. However, I think I like the Mary Kay more, AND it’s cheaper, so I may just have to go back to that once I am done with the Bare Minerals experiments. (I picked up both original and matte, so it’ll be awhile since I am also panning other liquid foundation.) I can also say that Mr. Ink far prefers the mineral foundation options on my skin, says liquid foundations “look odd” comparatively. So, that’s another little win.

Peter Thomas Roth Firmx Peeling Gel-I LOVE this product. It is so gentle and yet works so well for my skin. When finished, I end up with such soft skin on my face. Love it! I have another sample size just like this to use, but I’ve also got a few other peeling products open so I am trying to save it for later.

e.l.f. Mist and Matte setting spray- I only have this because Miss Butterfly didn’t want it. She wanted me to pan it. I did so. I wouldn’t have purchased it before, and I won’t purchase it again. I don’t think it has a great staying power, and so I often felt like using it was fairly useless.

IGK Mistress Hair Balm-I really liked this product and it surprised me. I didn’t think I would. In fact, I was looking at it today when in Sephora. But, I won’t be getting it yet because I’ve about a million hair products to use up first. However, I REALLY see this as being a great wintertime product. During the driest months, it would add what I needed to keep static at bay.

PureHeals Centella green tea calming mask-This is a nice product, it doesn’t leave my skin dry like many masks, and it smells nice. However, I don’t think I’d purchase it. I’ve got one more pack, and I plan to get a use out of it tomorrow after my gravel ride. Gravel tends to get everywhere, including on one’s face and can leave the face feeling a bit raw after the ride. So, I already have plans to break into it tomorrow night, and then save the final use for after the ride next weekend.

Urban Decay Primer Potion-This eyelid primer works quite nicely. And it’s hard to use even such a tiny sample. So little is necessary. I might repurchase this in the future, but I’ve got a mac paint pot, a wet n wild primer, and SO MUCH concealer to use up first.

And that’s it! So many tiny things. So many tries. I really think that the subscription boxes are great when one is just getting started, but I absolutely think that at some point I’ll find what I love, and not want tiny products in my stash anymore. But, project pan has been a fantastic way to use many of them up, and use them so consistently that I am able to get a real feel for if I like the product or not.

Now I just have to find some more time to shop the stash and grab a photo of that, before the storms start. Hope everyone has had a great weekend!