Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Frugality Game: Episode 3 : I fell off the wagon.

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  So I may have suffered a minor setback, not really in the frugality game but in my quest of overcoming my shopaholicism. I kind of spent $40. On eyeshadow.
   I know that's not much of a financial setback when compared to the $90 I spent on my hair but that was an emergency, so I can rationalize that. But this? I don't know what I was thinking. Especially when I recall the fact that I have never spent more than $14.75 on eyeshadow. Till now.
   But let me tell you how it happened.
   I got a ride to work on Friday, and as I've mentioned before, I work in the den of all evil for a shopaholic : a mall. Anyway, to avoid being tempted by the stores in the mall, I've been getting to work exactly on time so that I have to go straight to my desk and have no time to window shop or browse in any of the other stores. But that day I got a ride to work and my ride deposited me at the mall a lot earlier than I expected. So I had some time to kill. I wandered up a staircase and ended up in the clothing store of one of my friends who we'll call V. I was proudly looking through racks of clothes without being (too) tempted, and basically I was just very smug about getting over my shopaholicism and being so frugal.


  Then in walks one of those MAC cosmetics girls and she has come to show V some of the eyeshadow colours they have. She shows her some samples, but I don't pay much attention. I mean, I think I know all about make-up. After all, I only watched about a million Michelle Phan and Makeup Geek videos on youtube. I'm a pro. And I definitely think I know all about MAC products. I raved about their Ruby Woo lipstick on this very blog awhile ago , and I have also used lip-glosses and eyeliners from them. I really like the MAC lipsticks but the lip-glosses and eyeliners were just okay. Didn't move the earth for me or anything. I had never tried the MAC eyeshadow before,but I figured they would just be average like eyeliners and lip gloss.
   Then I glance over at the samples and fall suddenly, madly, irrevocably in love with the grape eyeshadow. It is beautiful. Beautiful. It's an incredibly rich purple and so you don't need too much of it. I knew I had to have it when I laid eyes on it.
   But having the fickle and roving eyes that I possess when it comes to make up, I soon looked past my love and fell for the chocolate brown. And the bright orangey red. And basically every other colour that was there.
   Then the saleslady announces that each eyeshadow is $20.
   Twenty dollars each? For one bottle of eyeshadow? Good Lord. Quickly I rethink my initial plan to take all of them. I'm in a frugality game after all. Maybe I'll just buy one. But which one?
In the end it wasn't that hard a decision to make. The grape eyeshadow was like the faithful, supportive wife that I would keep coming back to while the others were mere mistresses I could occasionally use for cheap thrills. They were unnecessary play things while the grape eyeshadow would faithfully see me through the good and the bad, for better or worse. I just knew it. We had a bond like that.
   I told the MAC lady I wanted the grape. Then I realized I should probably get the chocolate brown to blend with the purple like I saw that Michelle Phan girl do in video that one time. So I bought the brown as well.   
   Halfway down the escalator I thought to myself that those purchases may not have been the greatest idea. Especially considering the fact that I'm trying to catch up to Jackie in the Frugality Game (Jane has spent more money on tupperware and books and is not even bothering anymore). Then I said to myself that not only was that a bad idea in terms of the frugality game, but it was a step in the wrong direction for me too. I thought I had come a long way from impulsive shopping. But it would seem that there is still a long way to go. Getting over this addiction is harder than I thought. Ah well. On the bright side, my eyes look great with that great eyeshadow! :)

2 comments:

  1. im a bit obsessed with makeup tutorials on youtube which is hilarious seeing as how i own (literally) one eyeshadow,one masacara, no lipstick, one bronzer, and one concealer and one highlighter...LOL i need to improve my colletion

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  2. Hehe. I'm sure your eyes look fabulous with that eyeshadow. For $40, they better!!!!

    Impulsive shopping will take a long time to get over. Two steps forward, one step back. It may feel a little dissapointing, but at least you're making progress AND heading in the right direction. Not a lot of people can say, concerning their individual obstacles.

    :)

    ~Zabrinah

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