I have a $200 giftcard to Sephora.I haven’t spent a dime off of it yet. I got it for my birthday on Dec.4th and the guilt of getting stuff for myself even with a birthday giftcard instead of picking up x-mas gifts for my friends and family overwhelmed me.
But in the past I ‘ve been really bad about buying stuff for myself when I’m supposed to be getting stuff for other people but I don’t think I’m so unusual.I’m blessed with a normal amount of aquisitiveness.So when out to shop for others I’m bound to see a lot more stuff that I’d like to have,too.Anyway, everyone knows it’s easier to shop for yourself than someone else.There’s just so much stuff you can buy for your self that you can’t buy for someone else.Like shoes.Or pants.I hate to put someone throught the torture of trying to return a gift that they don’t like or need or want or that doesn’t fit.It seems like these days it gets harder to return stuff and one has to sign a contract before they get a credit or a refund with lines of customers sighing and fidgeting behind you as you get your issue sorted.
But now that things are back to normal and I am allowed to shop again for some reason I’m shy to go.
I’ve gone to Sephora plenty of times when I couldn’t spend more than 50 bucks.
Now I have a lot more than that and I guess I know what’s bound to happen.I’m going to get all nervous and cheap and try to keep a balance on the card instead of just buying like mad until every last cent is gone.
I love the makeup they have at Sephora and I love having new makeup but so many trips to the store to buy new makeup have returned disappointing results.
I no longer plaster every centimeter of my face with foundation and I no longer have to have powder on top of it in order to feel facially armed enough to go outside. I guess this is in part due to feeling more comfortable with the way I look to others.It took a few decades but thank God! Because it used to take me so fucking long to get myself made-up.And I probably could’ve used a few obsessive/compulsive treatments.Somehow though I grew out of it with only a few relapses now and then when I cannot make myself look “OK” according to my OCD.
It’s in part due to the fact that I never had perfect skin but I always wanted perfect skin and the only way in my mind to acheive it was to paint it on.Certainly any other method didn’t work.It wasn’t until I discovered a simple soap called Basis All Clear Bar that things got more under control.
And due to a past course of retinol my skin changed from quite impervious to really sensitive.I used retinol for about 3 years in my late teens and early 20’s. And it is my theory that it made me allergic to most facial moisturizers. I have tons of proof of this.I used to use a clinique moisturizer-the yellow one- but after retinol my face would react like it’d been burned.
I found the only thing I could use to keep my face from resembling a dried out river bed was plain old Vaseline.And we all know what Vaseline can do to exaserbate an already troubled skin.This is where Basis came in,it turned out that it was stress that mostly made my face break out…but processing stressful situations is a talent that comes with time,I guess.I really didn’t need the big guns of retinol after all. Turns out a simple glycerine soap with tea tree oil was sufficient to combat minor zits from occurring.
And to go back to the make up issue-I’ve noticed that since I stopped using so much everyday my skin looks a lot better naturally.It really does go hand in hand in my case;less make up equals less breakouts and therefore less need for make up in the first place!
But don’t worry I’ll empty that giftcard–you can be sure of that.
I’m also a perfume junkie 🙂 And there’s this bottle of Guerlain that smells like oranges just calling to me.I wish Sephora was in Brooklyn.But that’s another story.