From €300 hair tools to barely used lipsticks, the beauty world's obsession with 'new' is colliding with a trend that asks a deceptively radical question: do we really need more?

You may have seen it while scrolling on social media: Project Pan – a 'trend' where people challenge themselves to finish their beauty, skincare, and body care products before buying new ones. The term comes from 'hitting the pan', that oddly satisfying moment when you finally see the metal base of a powder or blush.

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It's not exactly new, but it’s enjoying a revival. And yet, let's be honest: this shouldn't be a trend at all. Using up what you own before buying more is the most basic kind of common sense – but in today's online culture, it somehow feels groundbreaking. For years, TikTok and Instagram have celebrated overconsumption: endless hauls, giant lipstick collections, drawers of blushes in barely distinguishable shades. Project Pan is just the latest attempt to push back.

I grew up during the rise of Instagram and the glory days of YouTube beauty gurus – before influencer was even a job title. I dreamt of vast makeup collections and wardrobes you could get lost in. But here’s the thing: I only ever used about ten percent of it. The other 90 percent? It just sat there, gathering dust, eating up space, and quietly draining my bank account.

The truth hit harder when I realised how much of my money was tied up in things I barely touched. All the money I've lost. Paying by card made it even easier to ignore – it didn't feel like 'real' money. I still enjoy watching beauty content, but these days I gravitate toward honest reviews and brutal de-influencing.

Please tell me that a €300 hair tool isn't worth it. Show me your closet clear-out. Inspire me to tackle my own makeup stash. Because, I, really, do not need 40 lipsticks. And yet… I have them. I feel sick thinking of all the money I could have saved and invested in something different, like trips and memories with my partner.

And don't even get me started on the waste. So many products get thrown away unused, and all that non-recyclable packaging – plus microplastics in glitter – is now floating around in our oceans, while the production emissions are floating around the air. Even if beauty is marketed as green and eco-friendly, it still needs to be produced somehow.

Overconsumption wrapped in 'sustainable' branding is still overconsumption – and buying less will always be the greenest option, no matter how hard companies try to greenwash away our guilt.

Haul culture and algorithm-driven content make excessive buying feel almost aspirational. Starting a 'no-buy' month was my turning point. Like breaking a habit, once I stopped feeding the urge to shop, I stopped feeling it. But I have to be honest: even now, I'm always craving something new. In beauty culture, your collection is never enough – there's always a newer, shinier product just around the corner.

What frustrates me is that it took a 'trend' to make me – and so many others – rethink how we consume. This should be the default, not a challenge. I'm grateful for much of what the internet has given me, but its obsession with endless buying? That's something I'm ready to leave behind.