Beauty sales are booming. And so is Project Pan

For many beauty consumers, the onset of the holiday season means one thing: shopping for new products. But this year, some are trying to reduce their beauty collections rather than add to them.

To help themselves reach their goal of using up their cosmetics, many social media users are chronicling their participation in “Project Pan.”

“I was really proud of myself when I finally hit pan on a face powder — because before I started making the conscious effort, I don’t think I’d ever hit pan on anything. I was just always buying something new,” said Lauryn Lisle, a content creator based in Western Australia. “Because we’re in that collector mindset, it’s almost like it’s become less normal to finish a product. But that’s what we’re supposed to do with them.”

Lisle began collecting makeup with the rise of beauty YouTube around 2015. After a decade of beauty consumption had left her with a collection too overwhelming to use, she turned to Instagram and TikTok to showcase her participation in Project Pan. The term is used in the beauty community to refer to a concerted effort to use up or “hit pan” on beauty products.

“Posting about [Project Pan] forces you to be more accountable,” she said. “You’re gonna look a bit silly if you’re doing this thing and then you’re like, ‘Oh, I just bought two new palettes.’ Because people are just gonna jump on you straight away.”

Project Pan is far from a new phenomenon. YouTubers have chronicled their efforts to use up their beauty products since as far back as 2014, while the Project Pan subreddit has been going strong since 2015. But as more beauty lovers reflect on hyperconsumption and categories like fragrance join the trend, 2025 has seen a new surge in Project Pan devotees.

According to Spate’s popularity index, which tracks data such as Google searches, TikTok views, and Instagram posts, interest in Project Pan has grown 572.9% since 2024. Empties videos, in which users often showcase empty bottles for products they used up that month, are also up 17.5% year-over-year.

Project Pan’s return to popularity has coincided with a time of economic uncertainty for many consumers. According to November data, the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index hit its lowest point since April.

“We’ve had a couple of years of a lot of uncertainty. But still, consumer spending, in terms of beauty, has been relatively stable,” said Addison Cain, senior insights and marketing lead at consumer analytics firm Spate. “But maybe people are finally feeling a bit more of a pinch — and one of the best ways to still engage in content and engage in conversation, without having to buy new stuff, is to say, ‘OK, now I’m going to go through the archives.’”

Discussions of Project Pan are often tied up in discussions around responsible consumption and hyper-consumerism, with some participants also committed to a “no buy” while using up their existing beauty products. Participating in Project Pan can help consumers “shop their stash” rather than buy into the newest trending item.

“I think it’s good to encourage people to finish their products, especially beauty. That’s especially when they’re so influenced by the giant Sephora sale, or whatever — and people tend to overbuy things they already have,” said New York-based fragrance content creator @ttunasmells, who is known to her followers as Tuna. “For me, it encouraged me to finish products so I could show people, like, ‘These are all the products I finished. Here you go.’ And then it just kind of turned into a practice.”

With fragrance consumption still on the rise in 2025, fragrance fans like Tuna have also adopted the Project Pan model. But in speaking about the trend toward overconsumption in fragrance and beauty, Tuna also encouraged consumers to consider not just how much they’re buying, but also where they’re buying it.

“More important than hitting pan is that if you’re going to consume perfume, consume it from a small business. Consume it from an indie perfume house,” she said.

While deconsumption is a major part of Project Pan, participating does not always mean stopping shopping altogether. Maryland-based fragrance content creator Angie Visintainer began selling decants of her perfumes when her collection grew overwhelming. The practice allows her to use up and acquire new perfumes without amassing a bloated collection.

“Now I have around 200 bottles, which feels very manageable to me. Because I wear so much fragrance, and I change fragrances throughout the day, I actually use my 200 bottles of perfume,” she said. “And it doesn’t feel wasteful, because I’m sharing it with a whole bunch of people.”

Visintainer has incorporated regular Project Pan videos into her TikTok content — along with haul videos that offer detailed breakdowns of how much she spent. Actually making a dent or using up a perfume can act as a barometer for her consumption habits, she said.

“It is incredibly satisfying [to use up a bottle], because I feel like it’s an affirmation that I made a good choice in buying this perfume. Because I am somebody who will declutter if I find I’m not using a fragrance,” she said. “I don’t want to be over-consuming and wasteful and grow a collection that is so large that things are just sitting there for two years untouched.”

As Project Pan has evolved, participants have also gotten creative in how they motivate themselves to use up their products. Inspired by fellow social media creators, Lisle began “debranding” her products by removing labeling and logos. The practice has helped curb the desire to buy into trending brands and products, she said.

“There’s a sense of relief because there’s not so much noise on the product, and you’re just seeing what it is,” Lisle said of the debranding exercise. “A powder is going to be a powder at the end of the day. If it’s a blush, you just see it as blush. You’re not really blinded by whatever feeling the branding is supposed to evoke within you.”

But even while Project Pan’s ethos often encourages consumers to curb their consumption, some brands have still found ways to benefit from the trend: In May, E.l.f. Cosmetics joined in on the viral trend of users filling their empty Halo Glow bottles with lip gloss.

“A lot of times, empties or Project Pans are accompanied by a review or a statement of repurchase,” said Cain. “That is definitely where [brands] stand to benefit.”

Even with Project Pan on the rise, early Black Friday sales showed consumers have not necessarily trimmed down their shopping habits: U.S. consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online during Black Friday sales, with many Cyber Monday deals still available to boost those figures.

But then there are 2026 New Year’s resolutions just around the corner. For some, that may be the perfect time to start Project Pan.

“As much of a downer as it is, some people genuinely do have shopping addictions. And it just so happens that, because it’s so normalized to buy a lot of beauty, it’s so much easier to do it with that,” said Lisle. “It’s never too late to look at [our habits] and go, ‘You know what? It’s time for a change.’”

Executive moves: 

• iLabs hired Sylvain “Max” Maur as svp of sales. Maur joined the New Jersey-based third-party contract manufacturer from beauty manufacturer Mana.

News to know:

• LVMH invested in Parisian niche perfume house BDK Parfums. The luxury conglomerate acquired a minority stake in the Parisian brand through its LVMH Luxury Ventures Fund. Founded by David Benedek in 2016, the house is known for viral hits like Gris Charnel and opened its first retail store in Paris in 2024. With the investment, BDK Parfums will focus on international expansion. 

• Mielle is the NFL’s first official textured hair-care partner. The P&G-owned hair-care brand will bridge the gap between the NFL and female football fans, with women viewers now making up nearly half of the NFL’s audience.  

• Aquaphor announced a three-year deal as the official skin-care partner of UConn men’s and women’s basketball. The partnership will focus on athletes’ recovery routines and NIL-driven digital storytelling. UConn players and alumni like Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd have driven major sponsorship deals in recent years, with Fudd garnering a Paula’s Choice partnership in July. 

Stat of the week:

Consumers turned to AI for much of their Black Friday shopping: Adobe Analytics reported that AI-driven retail traffic rose 805% during Black Friday. And American consumers spent a record-breaking $11.8 billion on online shopping on Black Friday, a 9.1% increase from 2024. 

In the headlines:

Would you get a fat transfer with someone else’s fat? Why beauty and wellness brands are going back to school. Is your scalp the new ‘it’ body part?

Listen in: 

In this week’s special holiday crossover episode, Glossy Beauty Podcast host Lexy Lebsack is joined by Danny Parisi, host of the Glossy Podcast, and Gabi Barkho, host of the Modern Retail podcast, to unpack all things Black Friday. 

Need a Glossy recap? 

MAC Cosmetics maps out its holiday live-shopping push. Merit leans into humor with its ‘The Five Minute Face Off’ campaign. Inside department stores’ big beauty shakeup