After seeing so many people with varying levels of success in 2025, I’ve decided that in 2026, I’ll be joining in on Project Pan.

What is Project Pan? It started out with cosmetic wearers wanting to “hit pan,” meaning the metal cup is pressed in, but this phrase has been applied to any sort of “use it up” beauty product challenge.

The term can be used for any sort of beauty product, skincare, haircare, or even cleaning supplies.

It’s a more modern way of saying, “Make do, use it up, go without.”

My Project Pan 2026 goals:

• Go through the cosmetics and skin care I have, discard anything expired/smelly/separated.
• Organize my cosmetics and skin care so that it is easy to see and use.
• Keep track of what I use daily, and make sure to rotate unused items in as I “hit pan”.
• I have cosmetics spatulas like these to help scoop out any liquids/gels that are stubbornly clinging to the sides of bottles and jars.
• I will also be cleaning my makeup brushes more often. Some of them I’ve used very vivid colors, and they really need a deep cleaning before I use them again.

I will not be purchasing any new:

• Perfumes/Body Sprays/EDT
• Face Wash
• Exfoliants
• Masks
• Serums
• Eye creams
• Lotions (I don’t use lotion too often to start with)
• Body Wash

Things I will be purchasing:

• Shampoo and Conditioner- With three people in my house, we go through a bottle of each about once a month. I’ll be using my free $10 from CVS Care Pass each month, combined with deals and Extra Care Bucks offers, to buy Shampoo and conditioner. Hopefully, I’ll get some good deals and be able to stock up and not have to use my $10 on hair care products each month. I currently have 3 bottles of shampoo and no conditioner in my stockpile.
• Deodorant: I use a specific type of deodorant, and it’s not on sale very often, so I usually only buy 1 stick at a time. Upside- a stick lasts 3-4 months. If I see it on sale, I might buy 2.

Talk Back: Have you ever done anything like this before?