Every Type of Project Pan Challenge Explained

There is no official rulebook for Project Pan. No official governing body. No signup form. Someone on YouTube in 2014 decided to film themselves using up their makeup and called it a project, and now hundreds of thousands of people do some version of it across Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram.

The result is that the community has invented about a dozen different challenge formats, each solving a slightly different problem. Some are great for beginners. Some are for people with a serious collection problem. Some require the patience of a saint.

Here is what they actually are and who they are actually for.

Classic Project Pan

Pick some products, set a deadline, try to finish them. That is it.

Usually 5–20 products over 3–12 months. You document your starting point, use the products consistently, and post updates showing your progress. You do not have to finish everything to succeed — the point is intentional use, not punishment.

Good for beginners because the structure is simple. The main failure mode is picking products that take forever to use up and losing motivation by month three when everything is still at 60%.

Rolling Project Pan

Start with a fixed number of products — usually 10. When you finish one, immediately add a new one from your stash. The project never technically ends.

This is the format for people who get demotivated by long slogs. Because something is always nearly finished, the dopamine hit of completing products comes regularly. The trade-off is it requires a bit more management — you need a waiting list of products ready to rotate in.

If you have a large stash and want a system rather than a one-off challenge, rolling pan becomes less of a challenge and more of a lifestyle. Which sounds intense but is actually quite freeing.

12-Pan Challenge

Twelve products, one year. The number maps neatly onto months which makes for satisfying check-ins, and the timeline is forgiving enough to include products you know will take a while — that pressed powder, that enormous body lotion.

The downside is a year is a long time to stay focused on the same twelve things. People who start strong in January often find themselves staring down four stubborn products in October. Still, the community around the 12-pan is huge and the shared accountability helps.

Pan That Palette

One eyeshadow palette. Use it until you hit pan on every shade.

This is the most visually satisfying format and also the most punishing. A single eyeshadow shade with daily use can take months. A full palette is often a multi-year project. You will get very creative with combinations you would never normally try. You will also spend a lot of time with shades you do not particularly like.

The r/PanPorn community loves palette progress photos. There is something deeply compelling about watching pigment slowly disappear to reveal the pan underneath. Worth doing at least once if you have a palette you like but never fully explore.

Hitting Pan Challenge

Instead of finishing a product completely, the goal is just to see visible use — the pan showing through an eyeshadow, a clear dip in a cream, a lipstick worn down to the curve. Proof that you actually used the thing.

More forgiving than full-pan challenges and better suited to products that would realistically take years to empty. Good entry point if the idea of committing to full completion feels overwhelming.

Seasonal Pan

Three months on, then reassess. Pick products for winter, swap them out for spring. The built-in refresh points prevent the boredom that kills longer challenges, and it makes practical sense to rotate heavier winter products out when the weather changes.

The limitation is that three months often is not enough to fully finish anything unless you pick products that are already nearly empty. Works better as a usage-focused challenge than a completion one.

20-Pan Challenge

Classic project pan but with twenty products and usually a year's deadline. More variety, more complexity, more opportunities to neglect the difficult ones in favour of the easy wins. Good for experienced panners who have outgrown smaller challenges and want to make a serious dent in a large collection.

Team Pan

Any of the above formats done with a group. The shared accountability is surprisingly effective — it is much harder to quietly abandon a challenge when you know people are expecting your monthly update. Community energy tends to fade after a few months but the early momentum is real.

Which format is right for you

Never done a project pan before: Classic, 5–7 products, 3 months. Keep it small. Our beginner's guide to Project Pan walks you through the full setup.

Get bored easily: Rolling pan. Always something almost done.

Love eyeshadow: Pan That Palette. Accept that it will take longer than you think.

Want community: Find or start a Team Pan.

Have a large stash and want a system: Rolling pan, and consider getting proper visibility into what you own so you actually know what is waiting to rotate in.

The format matters less than the consistency. Pick one, start this week, use your stuff.

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