1. You get caught up in the limited edition chase
Symptoms of this particular malady can last for months — in some cases (ahem!), years. Once stricken, you may find yourself doing things like going to a MAC counter at the crack of dawn (even before they’ve put out the collection for display) to snag a nude peachy pink lipstick, which you’ll eventually take home to comparison swatch against the other 20 LE nude peachy pink lipsticks in your stash.
Chances are, all of them will look more or less alike. (For what it’s worth, this is rarely a permanent affliction.)
2. You stare at brows
When you’re out and about, you’ll find yourself staring at other people’s brows and, if you’re next level, you’ll mentally file them away into one of several categories, like Instagram brows, Cara Delevingne brows, ombre brows, skinny brows and microbladed brows (among others).
There’s a whole language dedicated to describing brows, and you’ll know all of the terms. 🙂
3. You frequently ask yourself the hard questions like, “Do you reeeeeeeally need another neutral palette/coral lipstick/off-black liner?”
And even if you don’t, you can still easily justify adding another one to your collection.
4. You start coveting every shade of brown eyeshadow known to womankind
And if you happen to misplace a particular shade of satiny neutral golden brown (or whatever else it may be) that you need for your makeup on a given day, you’ll have a meltdown if you can’t find an exact dupe.
Seriously, forget about replacing it with another brown, because those other ones JUST WON’T WORK.
5. You get misty-eyed when you think of the one that got away…
You know — that one limited edition product that you wanted so badly but ended up not buying for whatever reason. Why didn’t you pick it up when you had the chance?? Were you out of your mind!?
This will haunt you for years…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. I hope you had a great Monday, babe. Mine was pretty uneventful, which was fine with me. I needed a mellow day! The most exciting thing I did was make these two-ingredient pancakes for lunch (with two eggs and one ripe banana), and all I have to say is ewwwww.
I think I did something wrong because it tasted like a banana omelet.
Yeah, not doing that ever again. 🙂
How was your day?
You are so right!! This is my life you just described here!
I am so relieved I’m not alone in this.
You’re so not alone! I actually had a brown shadow meltdown a few weeks ago, and it was epic. ? How long have you been seriously into makeup? For me, it feels like an eternity!
It’s been over 9 years now… it started in college because I had way too much free time and I was spending a lot of it watching tutorials on YouTube… I feel like all these years were necessary though, to learn and play and evolve and experiment… makeup is a journey. Now I can actually miss a mac limited edition collection and be ok with it. How far have I come.
I’m a long time reader but rarely comment. I had to post on this one because I feel like this was written about my life. Am I the only one who looks at other people’s brows and go over in my head exactly what I would do to make them look better? ?
Thanks for the post. I always love reading your entries! Have a good week!
This post was such an accurate description of my life that I don’t know if I should laugh or cry! LOL!
Hahahaha, sadly I can really relate to that last one… 🙂 And yes, I definitely analyze other people’s eyebrows. Heck, I analyze EVERYTHING.
I hear ya, Karen! Oh my, I can’t even leave a drugstore now without buying another lipstick, or blush, or powder foundation- even if I already have tons of backup at home. And my heart broke just a few days ago because my Ruby Woo is not twisting up anymore. Boohoo!!
Pretty uneventful as well, but that was fine with me.
And oh, the LE products I did not buy, or just didn’t get or, even worse, gave away trying to sort out my stash! Rellay, what was I thinking.
I still think longingly about those lipsticks/brushes/palettes that got away… 🙁 Or, conversely, there is also the remorse one feels when your favorite product EVER gets discontinued, and even though there are similar products on the market, it is a tragedy. Case in point: MAC’s Can’t Get Enough Supreme Sheen lipstick. The only lipstick I’ve ever used THREE TUBES of, and has been sadly discontinued. Can’t find anything remotely similar, though!
And RE: the pancakes. That’s an interesting recipe! I actually make something similar all the time, but I use a scoop of flavored protein powder, too.
You know I live #5. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. 🙂 Btw, you did nothing wrong with that recipe. It’s literally impossible that it would taste like anything BUT a banana omelet. And I’d have to second the eww on that. HAHA!
PS I just used the term Instagram Eyebrows the other day. I was met with a blank stare. In fairness, the Hubs isn’t too into eyebrows.
I’m a member of Brown Eyeshadow Anonymous. I have to own every shade of brown from pale almond to deep walnut.
HAHAHA these are so true! The struggle!
It’s like you know me… 😉 I just had a meltdown this past week because I broke my NW13 Studio Fix compact and went online to replace it. Couldn’t find it on MAC, Nordstrom, Macy’s, had a meltdown and almost bought a way overpriced replacement on eBay. It came back into stock yesterday and I literally bought 4 because the thought of it being discontinued makes me panic. I’m getting better about resisting the limited edition stuff but the struggle is still so real!
Actually after i got into makeup, i started analysing my own face .. dark circles which never existed , textured bumpy skin on my forehead which i never noticed before and pimples on my nose (for someone who never had acne even during teenage ) due to daily use of heavy coverage foubdation ..
It took a long time to realize that pics and videos on the internet are modified and nobody has such smooth flawless skin..
Now i’m comfortable with my skin again..
And i always worry that y don’t i find the need to wear concealer, bronzer and blush daily..
My lashes r stinging from using mascara everyday and my skin from wiping with makeup remover everyday..
My wallet is weeping due to hoarding but i’m still eyeing the 61$ dior / chanel eyeshadow palette wen nobody even wears eyeshadow in south India ..
Such a morbid assessment but so true in my case..
LOL! Thanks for a good laugh. Only in my case it’s berry lipsticks and silver/grey eyeshadows… and I’m still wishing I had that Hourglass eyeshadow Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned 😉
Oh, dear. Pancakes that end up tasting like an omelette? Yikes! Not a good recipe!
This describes me pretty well, but I don’t covet brown shadows–I covet purple eye shadows. LOL! But who am I kidding, I have a million of the same shades in every color. 🙂
This is soooooo true LOL!
I’m still weeping over not snapping up the MAC Pink Poodle LE re-issue a few years ago. Only half an inch left in my last bullet, and it’s my go-to cool pink. 🙂 And I just bought too many Shu Uemura brow products…but hey, brows gotta look good!! I’m certainly guilty of extravagant/irresponsible purchases in the name of beauty. But never tempted to hoard. Just a few products that really work well does it for me. 🙂
Haha oh man this is my whole life. I also get complexion envy if someone has beautiful, glowy skin-and overthink if they’ll think I’m weird if I tell them how wonderful it is!
This post is scary accurate!! ?? The problems of a makeup addict ???♀️
I still feel sad over a Chanel shadow I discovered after it was gone! I don’t think you get over it!!! Great post, Karen!
So glad it’s not just me! I especially feel that way about the limited editions!
I think I’m more about Taupe than brown! I could have a million taupes and still justify another. I currently only have two! It keeps me up at night 😛
I’d also like to admit evidence for point 6: You no longer care about the cost of Tom Fords LE lipsticks.
My HG blush (gel format) is discontinued. I literally bought every single last one on eBay (seven full sized tubes!!) — and I still refuse to wear it daily out of fear I will”run out. Oh, and I refuse to tell anyone what it is, out of fear a new tube will pop up on eBay and I’lI miss out on that one! have enough that even if I live to my 90s, I Will. Not. Run. Out. But still I ration it.
Thank you for the heads up that LE obsession will not last forever. I’m 4 months in to this new chasing the LE craziness, and now I obsess about each new LE palette by my favorite brand. Like, Obsess. I am looking forward to my outlook changing and at some point!
Number 1 and 5 are applicable to me. XD It’s hard to resist when my favorite brands releases LE makeup.