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Project Make a Dent No. 4 | End Results

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - cover

Typically this project update would be the last post (as close to the last day) I make in the year. It is supposed to be the culmination of my efforts during a 12 month period. This year I had to cut the time short some because of unexpected familial events. Nevertheless, a goal is a goal and a report is necessary.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - products flat lay

I would say a pat on the back and round of applause are much deserved at the end of this fourth Project Make a Dent. Most of the items I thought would pan out or be used well did. At this point though I think I have to come to terms with the fact that certain items will either be with me forever or have to be tossed out due to old age.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette in A03

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette in A03

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette in A03

VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette A03

After I used the last bits of the coral blush in this palette, I decided to set the foundation down and move onto other "new" old items in my stash. I had collected a bunch of cushion refills when in Korea 3 years ago and most were unopened. For what it was worth, I think I made a good dent in the foundation portion of the VDL and MULE collaboration.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation in OC-C

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation in OC-C

Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation OC-C

Nothing new here. The Kate powder was used up by June and quickly replaced with a Laura Mercier loose powder. I forgot to take photos of the Before and therefore didn't do the After but it is slowly being finished now.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

The end result photo looks misleading. It seems like there is a lot of loose powder left in the concave dip there but rest assure there isn't anything. I can't imagine how long this Skinfood powder would have actually lasted me if I used it for setting the under eyes alone. After using 2 loose powders in a year, I am 100% I will not repurchase any of that type any time soon.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

I did say I had given up using more of the highlighter and blush portions of this limited edition compact six months ago yet here I am with even less of those shades. What can I say? The 3-in-1 factor is great when I want to travel light. It covers the whole face, eyelids and all.

The bronzer shade has come so far in the 2+ years I have tried to make a dent in it. Even in June it barely looked like it was flattening out. Only now can I say for sure I have dipped the dome. Maybe it will take another year to completely see the pan?

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous, MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous, MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous, MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous & MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

I planned to swap My Highland Honey with Milani's Luminous (supposedly NARS Orgasm dupe) to use from September to December but I ended up loving the orangey blush look more than I thought. Once I finally tired of the look I moved onto a different cream blush altogether. Go figure!

Even though the dusty rose and orange shades were used aplenty over the course of the year it doesn't really show because of just how pigmented both were. Perhaps that is why I lost interest in trying to make a larger dent in them as the year came to an end?

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

The one area I completely dropped the ball in was with this duo. These became an afterthought once I discovered the JUNGSAEMMOOL and Maybelline lipsticks. Since it's been 4+ years since I bought, opened, and used the Tint Bar Triple Shot lippies it is about time to say goodbye.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Urban Decay Naked Palette

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Urban Decay Naked Palette

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I have yet to see the pan in any of the shades but the dents in a few of them have deepened over the 6 months period. As the year progressed, I applied less noticeable eyeshadow and veered towards the skin-like matte shades that are Naked and Buck. It is a regression that definitely won't help me use more of the entire palette in the next year. Maybe I have to switch to something else for a while to regain some motivation for the original Naked Palette?

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - end - Becca Tint Lychee

Becca Cosmetics Beach Tint in Lychee

My unannounced new addition to the PMAD. I didn't take a before shot but think of it as almost new. I forgot how long ago I had purchased this until I went down memory lane on the blog over the summer (early 2013). When I took it out and started to use it again, about 50% that came out of the tube was a separated mess of a product. It wasn't until after that was dumped did I get a consistency I had fond memories of. I am just glad I was able to "use it up" and will keep in mind to not neglect cream blushes from this point forward.

Daily Look | Fall Vibes

lavlilacs 2018 PMAD daily makeup look, fall vibes

I call this the Autumn look but, truth be told, I've been sporting this color palette since the summer; orange, brown, and gold are versatile shades and effortlessly compatible with either season. It seems to go well with both my tanned skin tone and, now, slightly lighter tone. Paired with loose waves that veer brown-ish under bright sunlight, this continues to be my styling of choice at the moment.

Looking at this photo makes me itch to dye my hair a chocolatey brown shade with a wavy perm. Knowing me though, I would be terrible at upkeeping colored and damaged hair.

lavlilacs 2018 PMAD daily makeup look, fall vibes eyes

lavlilacs 2017 2018 PMAD daily makeup look, fall vibes - products used details

Redness is always an issue on my face. Typically it is the residual effects of acne while most other times it is just blotchiness. I use the MAYBELLINE Master Camo Color Correcting Pen 10 Green to target said spots and blend it out with the JUNGSAEMMOOL Essential Star-cealer Foundation Puff. I spread about half a pump of the JUNGSAEMMOOL Essential Star-cealer Foundation in Medium Deep in the compact itself, lightly dab it onto the JSM puff, and stamp it onto my face (starting from the inner regions and moving towards the outer areas). If I feel like I need more coverage for under the eyes, around the nose, or on other discoloration then I will take a brush and work the included concealer into my routine as well. I apply a light wash of the BECCA Cosmetics Beach Tint in Lychee on my cheeks. Then set my entire base with a light dusting of the Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder. I apply the bronzer shade from MAC Cosmetics Mineralize Skinfinish in Pink Power under my cheekbones and on the temples of my face. MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey is the main focal point of the look, in my opinion, so I generously apply it to my cheeks. I smooth the Benefit Cosmetics Watt's Up! on the tip of my nose, on top of my cheekbones, and in the space above (but between) my eyebrows for highlight.

My eye makeup is far more simple in comparison. I mix Urban Decay eyeshadows in Naked and Buck before applying all over the eyelid and the lower lash line. Then I sweep some of Half Baked onto the middle-ish section of my lids space, following with Dark Horse in the outer corners of the eyes. Since my eyelids are constantly fluctuating between double and triple folds, I stick to my version of tight-lining with the Revlon Colorstay Eye Liner in Black Brown to avoid creasing issues. I end the makeup look by filling in my natural brow shape with the innisfree Brow Master Pencil in Gray.

Project Make a Dent No. 4 | Half Year Update

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - cover

This is a progress report to be proud of! Never would I have thought my picks would empty so quickly especially when I have so many blush and eyeshadow options. When excluding my tendencies to over-swirl and -scoop products, I attribute the success to using more combinations of blush (cream + powder) and using multipurpose eyeshadow colors (highlight, contour, & eyeliner).

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - products flat lay

As with past Project Make a Dents the results for certain items didn't look so drastic until I compared the before and after shots side-by-side. I am hoping there will be just as much progress in the latter half of 2018. I may never see the pan in the powder blushes and eyeshadows but making an even larger dent would suffice.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette in A03

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette in A03

VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette A03

The unexpected and most drastic update award would most likely go to this VDL palette. I never thought I would be able to pan out so much of the two cream blushes yet here I am. I am about halfway finished with the cream foundation. Scooping out the product first rather than dipping a brush directly into the cream helped a lot.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation in OC-C

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation in OC-C

Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation OC-C

Pressed powders almost never get completely used up. By the time I expose enough of the middle pan, any brush swirling increases the chances of the outer ring of powder crumbling into unusable pieces. It is just not worth the effort to re-crush the powder in order to continue usage.

I am glad I could finally let this powder foundation go. It wasn't a terrible product but wasn't the most favorite part of my makeup routine.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

Quite possibly the most satisfying comparison photo. I genuinely thought I hadn't used much of the loose powder. I guess I remembered beginning with less than I thought?  Using the product as an overall face setting powder instead of just on the under eyes area seems to have helped get through this quicker.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

Considering how large this baked powder is, I am proud of how flat the dome has gotten. It still seems like there is a long ways to go before all the rings are fully visible. At this point, I have given up on using the remainder of the highlighter/blush shades.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous, MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous, MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous & MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

Out of the 3 powder blushes I picked for the year, I have consistently used the bottom two thus far. Sweet Rose was great during the winter months when I seemed to gravitate towards dustier/cooler shades. My Highland Honey is currently in my makeup mix simply because of how bright and sunny it looks. I intend to swap in Luminous in a few months time.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

I have to confess, I didn't reach for these at all during the colder months of 2018. Buying the JUNGSAEMMOOL and Maybelline lipsticks kept my interests preoccupied for a while. I have only recently started to use the Triple Burgundy shade VDL Tint Bar but progress has been made. These are two products I cannot wait to complete; not that they're not good nor I don't like the gradient look but I think I have outgrown the finish these give.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Urban Decay Naked Palette

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - half year - Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette

The dents in these eyeshadow pans are so encouraging. I think some greed has grown within me to see at least one of these shades hit pan. Luckily I found it easy using some colors in large amounts (Virgin, Sin, and Half Baked) as they are great for facial highlight. There was a phase during these last 6 months where I mixed Naked and Buck together as a nose contour.

While I used Milani's Sweet Rose blush, I loved pairing it with Sidecar, Toasted and Hustle. As I am using MAC My Highland Honey, I tend to reach for Naked, Bucked, and Darkhorse or Half Baked, Smog, and Darkhouse in those combinations. I am not sure what to pick when I switch over to Milani's Luminous blush nor if I'll ever use Creep and Gunmetal. Next challenge perhaps?

Project Make a Dent No. 4

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - cover

Technically my second beauty goal, but one I could actually start on day one of 2018. Project Make a Dent has helped clear out a good sized amount of my aging makeup collection over the last few years. The one part I missed most was seeing the progression shots since I never made it official in 2017. Even though I know very well that I pan out powders, the actual comparison shots give me so much more motivation. Hence my dedication to letting everyone know this year: I HAVE MY 2018 PICKS!!

*I am still going to be using newer makeup that I have. But since PMAD is about rediscovering and making a dent in older products, I won't include those in this series.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - products flat lay

Okay...I am embarrassed to admit how long some of these guys have been in my collection for. The oldest is from 2009 and the newest 2014, everything else sometime in between. Get at me. Tell me what a fool I am and how nasty it is. I deserve it! The best thing about having kept up with all these haul posts is the access to a digital, easily-searchable purchase diary.

My only defense is the older items are all powders and I have occasionally sprayed them with alcohol over all these years. With the "newer" cream products, they've only been recently opened within the last year or two. None have an off-smell nor any visibly different formulation changes. I have tried all the items recently and have been reaction-free as well.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette in A03

VDL MULE Ultimate Cover Palette A03

One of the later purchases and even later opens in the stash of oldies. I remember purchasing this at a VDL shop in Edae towards the end of my study abroad time in Seoul way back in the summer of 2014. I believe there were two shades then; A03 was the darker of the two.

I originally wanted to buy a bunch of items from the MULE brand at the JUNG SAEM MOOL Inspiration salon/shop in Gangnam. I loved her skin-like transparent makeup style. I even went as far as to track down the building in the midst of alleyways and side streets yet couldn't bring myself to go inside. I thought I looked too shabby and would be out-of-place.

Then I found out that VDL and MULE had some sort of collab happening. While the products weren't 100% the same as the MULE ones, it was close enough to give me a taste of what it had to offer without all the intimidation of a high-end salon. I ended up blindly buying the Ultimate Cover Palette with just my confidence in Jung Saem Mool because VDL was a completely new brand to me.

Even though I bought this mid-2014, I hadn't actually opened and touched the creams until early-2017. There were just too many foundations and cushions already opened over the last few years; I couldn't bear to have bacteria fester and needing to toss it with it barely used.

The finish and coloring of the foundation aren't my favorite; it leans very matte, powdery, and not yellow enough for me—catching onto all my flakes and textural issues. I prefer to mix some of the foundation with Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer for a more liquid like application. On its own, the foundation offers medium coverage (varying with the application method used). When I mix it with the Nymph Aura Volumer, I get a much lighter coverage.

I haven't gotten around to using the pink blush shade. But the coral shade is pretty.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation in OC-C

Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation OC-C

Bestie C helped me get this way back in 2012 when she visited family in Hong Kong. I think I opened this in 2016 after I finished the Maybelline Fit Me powder halfway into the 2016 edition of Project Make a Dent. I ended up using it a lot the rest of that year. Somewhere along the way in 2017, I moved onto translucent setting powder and have even gone setting powder free for some time now.

While I love having one less step in my morning routine, I would really like to get through the end of this powder foundation because it has been in my stash for far too long. I don't hate it but I also don't love it. I can't comment on the coverage since I never use it like a foundation, only with a big fluffy brush and with a light hand. The finish is very matte though which I have grown to avoid.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

Skinfood Salmon Dark Circle Powder

Now the "Oldest product in this stash" award goes to this loose powder: 2009! I can't believe it myself. Yet it is true; search "Skinfood" and "powder" in my search bar and you'll see it in a post dated then. I long threw out the accompanying cream concealer. I'm not that crazy.~ Since this was a powder I gave it a free pass and kind of forgot about it all these years. Again, I tried this on many occasions in December and hadn't seen any reactions. So in it goes to the pile to be used up.

I like how lightweight the powder is without caking up over time. I swear I have seen my eyeliner hold up better when I powder the enire eyes area versus when I don't, especially my very outer corners where anything tends to smudge the easiest.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

MAC Cosmetics Mineralized Skinfinish in Pink Power

The continuation item from last year. I just really want to see this pan out, especially since this was a 2011 purchase and I'm pretty sure I had my fingers and brushes all over it since then.

The bronzer shade isn't my favorite, a little too orange on me if applied wrong. I enjoyed the highlighting shimmers while it lasted. Both looked natural enough and sheen-like without any obnoxiously large glitter particles. It got way too difficult to get the product though as I reached closer to the pan, I need the smallest brush and had to pay careful attention to not pick up any bronzer.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous, MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

Milani Minerals Blushes in Sweet Rose and Luminous & MAC Cosmetics My Highland Honey

This may be the pitfall of PMAD No. 4. The last time I had too many options in one category of product I ended up ignoring most of them, ahem lipsticks in PMAD No. 1 and 2. My reasoning behind this year's picks is to try and dedicate a different season for each: Sweet Rose in the colder months, Luminous and My Highland Honey in the warmer ones. I've had the Milani blushes since 2012 and MAC since 2010. Time has been long overdue to give these some attention.

I have way too many blushes that are kind of similar in color and are way old in my collection. If I don't incorporate multiple blushes in a Project Make a Dent I may be using the blush I have for 10 more years at the rate I finish them.

Color payoff for all is pretty good. Milani ones are more pigmented than this particular MAC blush but it is a bolder shade so I don't mind.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

VDL Tint Bar Triple Shot in 502 Triple Burgundy and 101 Triple Pink

Another purchase I made during my first trip to Korea in 2014. I may not have known about VDL then but I sure came back with a bunch of their stuff. I love the idea of these triple color, gradient-ready lip products. Before Maybelline came out with their version which looked exactly like the VDL ones.

Pink and Burgundy stood out the most to me of the shades VDL offered. Both apply sheer but are easily buildable. They apply like a lip balm in that it has a sheen and a tad sticky but isn't the most moisturizing product out there; they definitely aren't drying though. I may keep it in my bags and/or coat pockets for touch ups since I would also like to incorporate newer lipsticks into my makeup routine on a more regular basis.

lavlilacs 2018 Project Make a Dent - beginning - Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I remember the hype over the original Naked palette like it was yesterday. Everyone all over YouTube and Blogger lost their minds a little with how great a color selection and pigmentation it was. I remember getting and using the palette for my high school prom look in 2011, just don't ask me what I actually used. After then I probably reached for this a couple dozen times over all these years? Otherwise, it's sole purpose was to look pretty in my stash.

But that time has passed! I shall give it the love it deserves. I mean I did spend all that money on it...