BEAUTY COLUMN
This month, Megan Bedford asks: are you an under-buyer or an over-buyer?
There has been a lot of talk recently around the issue of environmental accountability for the beauty industry. Pressing and essential discussions around sustainable production and plastic waste solutions are taking place everywhere I look.
From carbon-neutral production methods to sustainable plant-based formulas, refillable containers and innovative alternative packaging, there are plenty of ways to reduce the adverse effects on our planet. None are a catch-all but each are worthwhile endeavours. But among the noise there is a quiet but growing movement reminding us any excess consumption should be the first place we look, asking, ‘What if we committed to using up every drop of what we currently have before purchasing more?’ For some that seems so straightforward the notion is ridiculous. For others – including many beauty lovers like me – it’s a gentle reminder that throwing out unfinished products is not offset by buying biodegradable bamboo cotton buds each month.
The beauty industry thrives on newness, and the innovation and possibilities on offer are often groundbreaking and undeniably exciting. There’s no suggestion you shouldn’t snap up these new options; more to consider the impact of buying multiple options of very similar things.
I’m the first to admit that if my handbag could talk it would say, ‘We need to chat about those numerous (almost identical) lipsticks in various shades of rose pink and bold red rattling around in here!’
What helped me understand the joy I get from a purchase was reading bestselling author Gretchen Rubin’s explanation of consumer habits. Most of us, she says, are either under-buyers and over-buyers.
According to Rubin, under-buyers struggle with spending money. They long for a curated collection of things. They get true satisfaction from using things up thoroughly. They often consider buying an item, then decide, ‘I’ll get this some other time’ or ‘maybe we don’t really need this’.
“WHAT IF WE COMMITTED TO USING UP EVERY DROP OF WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, BEFORE BUYING MORE?”
Over-buyers appreciate choice and abundance. Running out of things causes them stress and makes them feel deprived. They buy items that are not immediately needed for hypothetical occasions or ‘just in case’. In beauty terms, under-buyers will stick to a neat three-step routine, while over-buyers stockpile skincare and flip-flop between formulations. It’s ‘less is more’ vs ‘more is more’. The approach has been likened by Rubin to ‘finishers’ and ‘openers’. Finishers love the feeling of bringing a project (or product) to completion; openers thrill at the excitement of launching a new project (or product). One squeezes the last from the toothpaste tube, the other prematurely opens a new one.
Guess which one I am? Guess which one my partner is?! When opposites attract in many ways it can pose challenges!
In modern times both habits are said to meet mental demands: under-buying can sometimes be a form of control, while over-buying, or even the anticipation of it, offers both a dopamine rush and the satisfaction of preparedness.
Like most things, there are pitfalls with both and so a balance in the middle is likely the ideal approach.
Perhaps my over-buyer/opener nature is why I sought out a career where it’s my job to try new things? Addressing potential waste is ongoing, and unused products make their way into deserving hands, however if I repeatedly finish and repurchase a product, you can be sure it’s an absolute winner!