Project Pan rules: how to set up your own

People often ask for the official Project Pan rules. There aren’t any. The challenge grew out of online beauty communities, and everyone runs it a little differently. Bustle’s reporting on the trend makes this clear: some people finish one product at a time, some rotate their whole collection, and some track every use in a spreadsheet.

That freedom is useful, but a few rules help. Here are the ones we see most often, and how to decide which ones fit you.

Common rules people use

These are the rules that come up again and again. You don’t need all of them.

• Pick a fixed list of products to finish, and write it down.
• Only replace a product once it is completely finished.
• Set a time frame, such as three months or a year, and check in at the end.
• Choose one product per category so you are not using three blushes at once.
• Use your pan products every day, or on a schedule, so they actually go down.

A lot of people add a “one in, one out” rule once the main challenge is over. Every time you finish something, you can buy one replacement, and nothing else.

How to choose your rules

Start with why you are doing it. If the goal is to save money, a spending rule matters most. If the goal is to cut clutter, the “finish before you replace” rule does most of the work. If you mainly want to know what you like, using a product daily until it is gone teaches you that fastest.

Then be honest about your habits. If you buy on impulse, a strict no-new-purchases rule may backfire within a week. A limit, like one new product a month, can be easier to keep. Our guide to low-buy vs no-buy goes into those two approaches.

The safety rules we would not bend

Project Pan is about using things up, but not at any cost. Some products are not safe to stretch.

Eye products come first. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends throwing away eye makeup after three months, and advises never sharing it. If you get an eye infection, replace everything you used on your eyes during that time. Mascara and liquid eyeliner are almost impossible to finish before they expire, so we think they belong on a separate “use and replace” list.

For everything else, watch for the signs the American Academy of Dermatology lists: products that clump, separate, crumble, smell bad, change color or feel different on your skin. Any of those means the product is done, pan or no pan.

Rules for tracking

Tracking is where many people lose interest, so keep it light. Note the product, the date you opened it and a rough idea of how much is left. A photo every few weeks shows progress better than numbers.

If you like data, add the price. Then you can see what you saved by not buying replacements too early, or what each use cost with our cost per use calculator. The Makeup Shelf app does this tracking for you if a spreadsheet sounds like too much work.

When to change the rules

Rules should serve you. If a product turns out to irritate your skin, take it off the list. If a time frame feels too long, shorten it and start a new round. Plenty of people run Project Pan in short seasons, with a new list each time.

Our main Project Pan guide covers how to start, and how to hit pan has practical tips for getting through a product faster.