The intention of this post was originally to showcase a few beauty bargains I picked up in the sales. I’m not alone in loving this Hello Kitty/Liberty print wash bag, below, and I’ve mentioned before how much I love the smell of Sanctuary Spa products, but photographing everything got me thinking.
There is something about the ‘newness’ of purchases that I always have trouble parting with. When I was younger I used to keep that little plastic film that comes on the screens of box-fresh watches and moble phones until it was practically falling off, and when I buy a new notepad or sketchbook, I can’t ever bring myself to write on the first page.
Even vintage or second-hand clothes are often squirreled away for weeks before being worn, while I wait for the right ‘moment’ to wear them, despite them being far from brand new.
It’s the same with beauty and skincare products, too. Photographing my new Louise Gray for Topshop lipstick and other sale finds made me realise how much I love the appearance of a new, untouched bullet of lipstick. Ditto to pristine eye shadow palettes or pressed powders.
I remember reading a Liberty London Girl post years ago about the notion of keeping possessions for ‘Sunday best’ – not wearing, using or enjoying them every day in a bid to keep them ‘special’ – and how silly that is. I can’t count the number of times I’ve felt like that though, buying something new only to hide it away in a cupboard or display it somewhere around the house without actually using it, deriving pleasure from looking at it rather than its intended use.
This ‘Sunday best’ attitude is one I’ve tried to fight in the last few years, though I still find it a curious struggle when it comes to disturbing the perfect neatness of a never-before-used piece of make-up. Reading blogs and seeing how bloggers style their clothes helps, though. For example, Roz is one of the only women I can think of who could look this incredible while marching through the wilderness in heels, and the way Marianne wears her collection of stunning vintage finds every day, regardless of the occasion.
Am I alone in feeling like this, or do you also have a tendency to ‘save for best’?
Louise Gray lipstick in ‘Legend’, Topshop, £10 £5 / Liberty Hello Kitty wash bag, Boots, £16 £8 / Sanctuary Spa goodies, Boots, £8 £4