Yesterday, I was playing with my makeup stash and I've realized how little it has grown since 2011. While my move to Vietnam put a damper to my makeup shopping habit, there is something more to it that makes me not buying makeup as much as I used to. I could not put that idea out of my head and kept on asking myself why I haven't bought makeup anymore. Of course, the love for makeup is still there but why?
About a year before I started makeup blogging, my stash was relatively small. An eyeshadow quad here, a couple of lipsticks there, and probably 5 brushes. I was happy and my mind was not cluttered with the question of what products should I use during my makeup session. And then, I discovered makeup blogs. The result? Makeup hoarding began.
To make it worse (or better, depending on how you look at it!), I decided to open My Makeup Blog. As a makeup blogger, I had to buy makeup, makeup, and more makeup. It was a vicious cycle. I bought things only to use 2-3 times before I lost interest. And they were good products, too. Before I went to Vietnam, I sorted out my stash and donated about 2/3 of it. The stuff I brought home are things I truly love. My must-haves.
Since I came back to Vietnam, I haven't bought more than 20 makeup items. To think about it, when I started wearing makeup back in 2001-2002, I probably bought that much makeup during a month. Or even in 2 weeks if Ride Aid had sales.
To come back with our original question- why do we buy makeup- I have a few answers:
1. The novelty effect
Every season, makeup companies roll out with new products to entice us. New colors, new textures, new scents, new packaging. And guess what we do? We buy the new stuff and forget the old ones that are still full in our makeup drawers.
If you notice, some makeup companies like MAC come out with new limited edition collections very frequently. MAC is notorious for it up to a point I got sick and tired of their new LEs. It is hard to keep up with MAC collections anymore and after a year or so of following them, I have come to a conclusion that their regular lineup is just as good. On top of that, they don't have the limited factor that worries me.
2. The sales effect
As a bargain hunter, I love, love, love sales. Sometimes, I could get a whole lot of things for cheap when combined with coupons. However, not all the time the sale items are worth it. Once in a while when I sorted my stash, I had to throw away barely touched items that did not live up to my standards. Yet, I bought them because they were such awesome bargains.
3. The happiness effect
I don't know about you but always, when I have a new makeup item, I feel happier. A new lipstick, eye shadow, blush, or even nail polish put a smile on my face. It does not take much to make me smile because most items I bought these days are affordable.
I guess I am not the only one. Coined by Leonard Lauder, the lipstick effect is an indicator for economic uncertainty and recession. During tough times, lipstick sales go up. Now, even nail polish sales increase in this economy. Lipsticks and nail polishes do not cost as much as a dinner or even a movie ticket. On top of that, you can use them over and over again. Therefore, they have better pay offs in this economy.
My internet can't handle True Blood!
Now, here comes an interesting part: since last Thursday, I was not able to go online at all. My internet decided to quit on me. It was the second time this week and the internet guy began to remember my face.
Guess what happened two days before that? Two friends of mine encouraged me to watch True Blood, starting from the very beginning. So, I went online and watched a few episodes in two days. Ok, I lied. I watched half of season 1 in two days. And then, le internet decided to call it quit!
It was beyond frustration, ok? I was in intense pain. It was like the Internet God was toying with me to lure me into something dirty and raunchy only to yank it away when I was hooked.
So, I called the internet guy again and he came, took a look at my setting, and told me there was nothing he could do. My internet setting was messed up beyond his repair and he needed to call in the crew to fix from the main line. That was Friday evening. Internet was down since Thursday. And there was a weekend without the World Wide Web.
Thankfully, I had books. During the weekend, I managed to polish up a book and started reading half way through another one. Not so bad. But now that le internet is back, I guess I am going to watch True Blood again. This time, sparingly since I know my internet cannot handle half a season of raunchy, dirty, sexy TV in two days.
That's all for Monday. I did Hip Hop Abs earlier today and I felt so good. Week 2 is more intense and I already feel a slimmer waistline. How about you? Do you have any plans for Monday? Also, are you a fan of True Blood?
With love from your makeup addict friend,
Dao xoxo
P.S: show me your love by subscribing to my blog, yeah?
