I, by accident, made my first trip to Saks Fifth Avenue. Of course I knew what Saks was (who doesn’t) but I certainly didn’t need any temptation to fuel my shopping habit…especially at a place where one item would leave me struggling to pay rent. With that said, on Saturday, I found myself in the midst of Christian Louboutins and Chanel handbags among salespeople who repeatedly wanted to know if I needed any help.
Just to give them something to do, (some people still have money to shop but it was less crowded than I anticipated) I asked to try on a pair of black patent leather Louboutin pumps. The shoes came. I tried them on and loved them (naturally) and tried to rationalize their purchase until the $600 shoes started hurting my feet.
I became quickly irritated and came to my senses when the salesman reminded me of the “golden” Louboutin rule, “Louboutins are not for comfort. Women come in, ‘Oh! They hurt my feet. I’ll take them.’”
His comment immediately propelled me out of my impulsive nature. I politely smiled, wrestled the shoes off my newly manicured feet and ventured over to the beauty section where things were cheaper and didn’t cause pain.
I fell in love with Twilight, a rose and gold tinted lip gloss and Emeryveille, a light rose blush waterproof mousse eyeshadow at the Chanel counter. Over at Bobbi Brown, I grew an infinity for Coral blush. The three items resulted in a perfect “no-makeup” look, morphing my “fresh from the gym look” into something more presentable and worthy of the environment in which I found myself.
While purchasing my items, my friend and I overheard a makeup artist complimenting an older African American woman on her completely pore-less face. Naturally the makeup artist began to inquire about her secret and we were all shocked to discover that Dove soap, Vaseline and Pond’s cold cream were her staples. Here we all stood, slaves to our beautifully packaged beauty products, feeling quite superior about the quality we could afford, while this woman never spent more than $10 on her skincare routine and looked flawless.
I instantly thought about how many $20 cleansers I’d bought over the last two years and cringed. I rationalized my affinity for expensive beauty products by patting myself on the shoulder for escaping the shoe section. Sure I’d spent $100 but it wasn’t $600…
On the way out the door, I stopped by Cle’ de Peau and impulsively scooped up a $70 tube of their fabulous concealer…guess everyone has a weak spot.